As you may have heard, the Federal Reserve is now releasing transcripts of its FOMC meetings, in an effort to be open and honest with the public about what it is they do all day. Out this morning are the minutes from 2006′s get-togethers and one thing that stands out is how much fun these guys are having without us! In fact, they spent most of 2006 in stitches, as evidenced by the amount of material The Economist was able to compile under “comments from the Federal Open Market Committee meetings which resulted in laughter.” They’ve got their beard jokes (Mr. Poole: “Okay. Mr. Chairman, it is a great delight to see a 200 percent increase in the number of beards around this table. [Laughter]“), their penis innuendos (Chairman Bernanke: “Still pretty large. [Laughter]“), and their deep nerd humor (“Again, within the normal errors of Okun’s law—despite its name “law,” it’s a pretty loose empirical relationship [laughter]“). But the biggest laugh riot which still holds up today and unquestionably has Alan Greenspan pissing his pants in laughter as he reads it at home? Continue reading »
Alan Greenspan
FOMC Minutes Reveal Little Known Long Time Fed Chair Tradition Of Pulling A Tiny Prank On Your Successor
By Bess LevinWho’s Got One “I Heart Ayn Rand” Neck Tattoo And A Good Chance Of Being Dragged Out Of The Theater Pee Wee Herman Style Tonight?
By Bess LevinGive you two guesses but you’ll only need one. Continue reading »
And a current and former Fed chair discuss legacies over IM.
GaldalFed: oof
GaldalFed: brutal
Maestro69: what?
GaldalFed: re: Krugman…
Maestro69: hold
GaldalFed: the post…about your FT thing
GaldalFed: k
Maestro69: no idea what you’re talking about
Maestro69: was the guttersnipe trying to blame me for that contracted period of economic dislocation? he needs new material
GaldalFed: it was in response to your FT op-ed saying we should repeal Dodd-Frank
GaldalFed: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/the-exceptional-mr-greenspan/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto
GaldalFed: “Alan Greenspan continues his efforts to cement his reputation as the worst ex-Fed chairman in history” Continue reading »
Ferrari Makes Push For “Wealthy Families” With Roomier, 4-Wheel Drive Vehicle, Fails To Target Other Potential Markets
By Bess Levin
As you may have heard, Ferrari has introduced a new car, the FF, which comes with four-wheel drive, room for four and 15.9 cubic feet of trunk space, the most in its category. The FF, which will set you back $359,000, is being targeted to “wealthy families” whose head of household would like to be in a two-seater but has a wife, kids and all their stuff to consider. But this is just as good, says Fabio Barone Ferrari owner and chairman of the Passione Rossa owners’ club. “You can finally drive a real Ferrari, with its extreme performance, to take your family skiing.” With the FF, Ferrari is “widening its offer to niches it didn’t cover before,” said AT Kearney analyst Marco Santino. “It may be a winning strategy if they are bringing something really new to the market.” True but it seems us that Ferrari could be going after hell of a lot more niches than just wealthy family men and does itself a disservice by not considering the other individuals who would happily shell out for this thing. Continue reading »
At a talk at NYU earlier this week, Alan Greenspan told John Paulson, “Whenever I get gloomy, I think of Winston Churchill. America always does the right things … after it has tried every other viable alternative.” Being pressed for time they had to go on to the next question, but if they’d had longer, Big Al would’ve shared all his tricks for turning that frown upside down. Continue reading »
“The morning after we learned of the news,” Greenspan said of the Dow Jones plunging 6.98 percent that day in September 2008, “I was able to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, not bad.’” Sure, if he’d tried just a little harder he could’ve done better– 10 percent would’ve been a dream– but really, all things considering, not bad! Solid B+ work. [NYU via BI]
Shout out to the Doctor in John Paulson’s year-end letter to investors. Continue reading »
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