This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.
• Randall Forsyth (Barron’s): Synchronicity and stock prices, November 3, 2009.
In a post-bubble world, equities move in sync with the cycle – worrying given the loss of momentum. As albert Edwards concludes, “the trend is your friend until it hits a bend. Beware, we may have just hit one.”
• Judy Chen (Bloomberg): Stiglitz says US is paying for failure to nationalize banks, November 2, 2009.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said the world’s biggest economy is suffering because of the US government’s failure to nationalize banks during the financial crisis. “If we had done the right thing, we would be able to have more influence over the banks,” Stiglitz told reporters. “They would be lending and the economy would be stronger.”
• Eric Sprott and David Franklin (Market Folly): Dead government walking, November 3, 2009.
Hedge fund Sprott Asset Management’s October market commentary.
• Robert Reich (Robert Reich’s Blog): How Obama can convince Congress to enact a larger stimulus, and why he must, November 3, 2009.
The Administration’s biggest economic mistake so far was to badly underestimate last January how bad the employment situation would become by Fall. As a result, it low-balled the stimulus — settling for a plan that, while avoiding even worse job losses, didn’t go nearly far enough. Obama has to return to Congress, seeking a larger stimulus.
• Yves Smith (Naked Capitalism): Curious meeting at Treasury department, November 3, 2009.
The Treasury invited a small group of bloggers for a “discussion” with senior officials on Monday. We are a pretty unimportant audience (yes, they did bother making time for us, but let us not kid ourselves on how far down the food chain bloggers are) and we cannot argue from a position of advantaged information, so it was inevitable that we would not get beyond standard responses.
• Michael Panzner (The Huffington Post): Treasury officials meet with financial bloggers, November 3, 2009.
Taking its cue, perhaps, from the Obama Administration’s reported efforts to reach out to the political blogging community in the hopes of cultivating broad support for its ambitious agenda, the Treasury yesterday organized a meeting between various Department officials and a group of economics and finance bloggers.
