Archives for: May 2008
05/30/08
Bloomberg: U.S. Economy: Confidence Falls as Home Values, May 30, 2008: "Confidence among American consumers fell in May to the lowest level since 1992 as the two-year housing slump showed no sign of bottoming.
The Conference Board's confidence index… more »
05/29/08
08:11:39 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com 
, 167 words 
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Research
OECD-FAO
Agricultural Outlook, Highlights, 2008-2017
World reference prices in nominal terms for almost all agricultural commodities covered in this report are at or above previous record levels.
Prices will gradually come down because of the… more »
Euro Intelligence: Euro Area Inflation at 3.6%, May 29, 2008: "The rise in the oil price led to a return of inflation back to the previous record of 3.6% in May. German inflation was 3% - and the ECB sends out increasingly the signal that there won’t be… more »
05/28/08
Swissinfo: ICRC sounds alarm over food prices, May 27, 2008: "The Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warns rising food prices are hurting the poorest in war zones.
Presenting the ICRC's annual report in Geneva on Tuesday, presiden… more »
Source: Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal: Oil Is Up Because the Dollar Is Down, May 23, 2008: "Back in December 2002, one dollar equaled one euro. But that exchange rate didn't last. The dollar was on its way down, a trend that had started more… more »
05/27/08
Project Syndicate: How Does the Weak Dollar Affect Oil Prices? by by A. F. Alhajji, May 2008
"The implications of pricing oil in any single-currency are more far-reaching than most people think. For example, some oil-producing countries ask their cust… more »
05/26/08
Bloomberg: UBS Falls After Saying More Mortgage Losses Possible, May 26, 2008
"UBS AG, the European bank hardest hit by the U.S. subprime contagion, fell the most in more than two months in Swiss trading after saying it may face more losses from mort… more »
08:36:03 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 129 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends
Streams of blood, or streams of peace
"When Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, was asked to ponder the future of the world before an audience of powerful businessmen and politicians, at a meeting in Switzerland earlier this year, he could have c… more »
Swissinfo: Watch saviour turns attention to environment, May 25, 2008
swissinfo: Are politicians helping to solve the problem?
"N.H.: How can a politician, who does not know too much about science, solve this problem? If you were the president of S… more »
05/25/08
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12:02:00 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 291 words
Categories: News, Investment, Academic, Banks/Investment Banks
Spiegel Online: Investor-Legende Buffett attackiert gierige Banker, May 24, 2008
"Der amerikanische Investor und Multimilliardär Warren Buffett hat die Finanzindustrie und insbesondere den Handel mit Derivaten stark kritisiert. "Es kann doch nicht sei… more »
05/23/08
Central Bank Institutional Structure and Effective Central Banking: Cross-Country Empirical Evidence, Iftekhar Hasan, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Bank of Finland, Loretta J. Mester, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Wharton School,… more »
05/21/08
Reuters: Consumers cut driving but not diets: poll, May 21, 2008: "As prices at gasoline pumps and grocery stores rise U.S. consumers say they are driving less but they can't cut down on eating, a new poll found..." more »
Eurointelligence: Alarming rise in US and German inflation – and oil at $130, May 21, 2008: "The oil price has been rising with clockwork regularity in the last few week, now close to $130 for WTI. German and US producers prices indices have also shot up… more »
05/20/08
06:46:45 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 64 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Politics, Strategy, Initiatives, Technologies
Knowledge Wharton: Cleaning up Its Act: How China Can Convert to More Environmentally Friendly Energy, May 2008: "If China doesn't take steps to prevent it, a big black cloud may soon engulf its economic boom. The country is growing at a torrid rate, but… more »
05/19/08
CNN Money: Builders get hammered again: Nonresidential construction held up as housing slumped. But a slowdown for offices, hotels and malls is looming, which could be another jolt to the economy, May 16, 2008: "Demand for new homes collapsed last year.… more »
05/18/08
"Economic development is a lot about adopting technologies that are already available from technology leaders but have not been diffused to technology followers."
Most of the poor world's problems are not about trade barriers. We have a pretty open ec… more »
05/17/08
08:35:41 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 65 words
Categories: Economics United States, Economics Global
Project Syndicate: The Failure of Inflation Targeting by Joseph Stiglitz, May 2008: "The World’s central bankers are a close-knit club, given to fads and fashions. In the early 1980’s, they fell under the spell of monetarism, a simplistic economic theory… more »
04:59:42 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 24 words
Categories: Economics United States, Economics Global
click to play video
Financial system has financed over-consumption;
These crisis clearly goes beyond the borders of the United States. International coordination is needed. more »
Voluntary Corporate Environmental Initiatives and Shareholder Wealth, Karn Fisher-Vanden, Dartmouth College, Karin S. Thorburn, Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Centre for Economic Policy Resear… more »
09:01:12 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 135 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Research
Dani Rodrik: Does the food price crisis enhance the case for self-sufficiency?
"I must say that I do not quite understand the argument of those who criticize the earlier liberalization. It seems to me odd to fault the World Bank for advice some 15 y… more »
CNBC: US early May Reuters/Michigan consumer sentiment falls to 59.5: "Consumer sentiment as measured by the Reuters/University of Michigan index fell more sharply than expected in early May, to its lowest point since 1980.
The early May index fell to… more »
05/16/08
Ifo Economic Climate for the Euro Area: Advance results of the Ifo World Economic Survey (WES) of the 2nd quarter 2008
"The Ifo Economic Climate in the euro area has worsened again in the second quarter of 2008 for the third time in succession, fallin… more »
05/15/08
Source: World Bank more »
click to get to video more »
IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, May 2008: "Again this year, the United States is first in the rankings of the 2008 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, a pioneer in ranking and analyzing how nations compete and manage their path to prosperity. But wil… more »
01:06:58 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 81 words
Categories: Market research, News, Market characteristics
Bloomberg: Foreclosures Climb 65% as Loan Workouts Fall Short, May 14, 2008: "U.S. foreclosure filings climbed 65 percent and bank seizures more than doubled in April from a year earlier as mortgage industry efforts to modify loans fell short.
More t… more »
05/14/08
06:53:58 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 89 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends
The New York Times: More on oil and speculation, Paul Krugman, May 13, 2008
They get all wrapped up in stuff about forward markets, hedge funds, etc., and lose sight of the fundamental fact that there are only two things you can do with the world’s oi… more »
WSJ: Interview with Gary Stern, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: Credit ‘Headwinds’ to Weigh on Economy Beyond 2008, May 13, 2008
WSJ:Do you think the Fed’s move to help investment banks opened up Pandora’s box?
I’m not sure I’… more »
05/13/08
click to go to presentation
Full Speech:
Janet Yellen: Speech to the Certified Financial Analysts Institute, Annual Conference Vancouver, British Columbia
By Janet L. Yellen, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, May 13, 2008 more »
03:18:55 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 164 words
Categories: Economics United States, Economics Global
Telegraph.co.uk: The global slump of 2008-09 has begun as poison spreads, May 13, 2008
"As the Fed's latest loan survey makes clear, lenders have dropped the guillotine. With the usual delay, the poison is spreading from banks to the real world.
ad… more »
Financial Times: Mounting signs of economic slowdown, May 13, 2008 "Poor economic figures on Monday revealed inflationary pressures are rising to levels not seen in nearly 20 years and new data due on Tuesday are expected to show important parts of the e… more »
06:54:46 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 134 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Research, Technologies
The Rise in the Price of Oil, The Becker Posner Blog, May 2008
"The run-up in the world price of oil during the past several years, and especially the rapid climb during the last few weeks to over $120 per barrel, has fueled predictions that the price… more »
05/12/08
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Thesis of Reto Kipfer: Unternehmertum in der Schweiz: eine interkantonale Analyse, Thesis of R. Kipfer, University of Berne, March 2008
Reto Kipfer, M.S., finds clear statistical evidence that levels of personal income taxes and corporate taxes have a… more »
06:20:46 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 83 words
Categories: Entrepreneurship/Leadership/Innovation
The Discipline of Innovation by Peter Drucker, 1985
"How much of innovation is inspiration, and how much is hard work? If it's mainly the former, then management's role is limited: Hire the right people, and get out of their way. It it's largely the l… more »
05/11/08
05:17:20 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 206 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Politics
The Becker Posner Blog: The Outlandish Farm Subsidies, May 2008
"...The gap between the incomes of rural and urban families is much smaller in developed countries that subsidize rather than tax farmers. Indeed, with the high prices for cereals and oth… more »
Aufgrund der Krisen in den Finanz- und Nahrungsmittelmärkten wird der Ruf nach Einflussnahme des Staates mittels regulatorischer Massnahmen vielerorts lauter. Das Funktionieren freier Märkte wird in Frage gestellt.
Mit Bezugnahme auf den Nahrungsmitt… more »
11:18:35 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 46 words
Categories: Market research, News, Market characteristics
Bloomberg: Double-Bubble Trouble in Commercial Real Estate, Gene Sperling, May 9, 2008: "Josef Ackermann, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank AG, summed up the debate over the global economy at a meeting I recently attended: It's either the beginnin… more »
Oil and the U.S. Macroeconomy: An Update and a Simple Forecasting Exercise, Kevin L. Kliesen, Working Paper 2008-009A, St. Louis Fed, April 2008
Abstract from paper:
"Recently, some analysts and economists had warned that the U.S. economy faces a m… more »
05/10/08
click to play video more »
12:44:52 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 481 words
Categories: Corporate Governance, Investment, Academic
Corporate Social Responsibility through an Economic Lens, Forest L. Reinhardt, Harvard Business School, Robert N. Stavins, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Resources for the Future, National Bureau of Economic Research, Richard H… more »
11:01:21 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 4 words
Categories: Humor, Central Banks/Government
Source: The New Yorker more »
The Economist: Map of misery, May 8, 2008: click to get to "misery map"
Source: Economist more »
05/09/08
VOX: Blame the Models, Jon Danielsson, May 8, 2008 "In response to financial turmoil, supervisors are demanding more risk calculations. But model-driven mispricing produced the crisis, and risk models don’t perform during crisis conditions. The belief th… more »
Brad de Long Blog: Martin Feldstein Calls for Large-Scale Public Intervention in the Housing Market..., May 8, 2008: "Macroeconomic Advisers... [estimates monthly GDP] using the same conceptual approach as the government uses for its quarterly estimates.… more »
05/08/08
EurozoneWatch: German Economy shows Signs of Slowing, May 7, 2008: "Over the past week, the German economy has shown first real signs of an economic slow-down. Data from the labour market has been much less upbeat than before. Yesterday, also manufacturi… more »
06:18:21 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 201 words
Categories: Economics United States, Economics Global
Inflation, Monetary Policy and Stock Market Conditions, Michael D. Bordo, Michael J. Dueker and David C. Wheelock, Working Paper 2008-012A, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, May 2008
"The evidence reported here provides support for the view that un… more »
05/07/08
09:10:28 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 83 words
Categories: Asia, Market Characteristics, News
Wharton Private Equity Review: Harnessing the Winds of Change, Spring 2008
Content:
Following the Era of Large Buyouts, Private Equity Funds: Find New Ways to Compete.
Private Equity Abroad: Despite the Credit Crunch, Opportunities in Devel… more »
EuroIntelligence: Fed governor warns of US monetary policy reversal to contain inflationary pressures, May 7, 2008: "Thomas Hoenig, Fed chief of Kansas city, was quoted by Bloombery (hat tip Calculated Risk) as saying that there is a big risk that inflat… more »
06:45:04 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 117 words
Categories: Market research, News, Market characteristics
Source: Federal Reserve Board
Speech of Chairman Ben S. Bernanke at the Columbia Business School's 32nd Annual Dinner, New York, New York, May 5, 2008
"...But some areas that had low rates in 2004 experienced high rates three years later. Figur… more »
05/06/08
07:42:12 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 78 words
Categories: News, Investment, Academic, Banks/Investment Banks
Financial Times: BlackRock to buy UBS debt, May 6, 2008: "BlackRock, the US asset manager, will pay UBS $15bn (£7.6bn) for a portfolio of subprime mortgage debt in a deal that the Swiss bank plans to announce on Tuesday with its first-quarter results, pe… more »
05/05/08
02:32:04 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 105 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Research
Knowledge Wharton: Gold may glitter, but it doesn't stack up as a long-term investment, May 2008
"In fact, gold has not been a good long-term investment. The previous peak was about $850 an ounce in 1980. Anyone who had squirreled some gold coins or j… more »
click to get on interactive chart in The New York Times more »
05/04/08
Steve Ballmer sweating
TechCrunch: Does Ballmer need to go?, May 4, 2008
"Microsoft’s dramatic decision this weekend to withdraw its offer for Yahoo and not pursue a hostile bid raises a whole host of questions. What happens to Yahoo now? What… more »
07:27:54 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 203 words
Categories: Investment Strategy, Asia, News
TechConfidential: Kleiner Perkins launches two new funds, May 1, 2008
"Following a trend in new fund formation that has seen the rich get richer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Thursday announced that it has hit up eager limited partners for $1.… more »
Microsoft withdraws Yahoo offer. Here is the letter of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Jerry Yang:
C/Net News.com: Steve Ballmer's letter to Jerry Yang, May 3, 2008
"...We will move forward and will continue to innovate and grow our business at Micr… more »
08:23:08 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 108 words
Categories: News, Analysts, Investment, Banks/Investment Banks
Reuters: JPMorgan says no near end to financial crisis, May 3, 2008: "JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) does not expect the U.S. financial crisis to end soon and will remain very cautious, its top executive said in comments publis… more »
05/03/08
09:15:41 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 112 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Politics, Technologies
Paul Colliers comment on Martin Wolf's FT forum
"...Our longstanding agricultural romanticism has been compounded by our new-found environmental romanticism. In the United States fears of climate change have been manipulated by shrewd interests to p… more »
01:34:21 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 173 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Research
Population growth is not a major cause of the current dramatic rise in food prices. Even though population is growing since a long time food prices have been drifting gradually downward sind the early seventies of the last century.
It is a combination… more »
08:23:59 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 241 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Politics, Initiatives, Research
Rainforest cleard for maize (Puerto Maldanado)
Das Magazin, Wie man in den Wald ruft, 3. Mai, 2008: ... so tönt es nicht immer zurück. Ein Gespräch mit dem grossen Forscher Josef H. Reichholf über die Natur und den Menschen in Zeiten der Klimahysterie… more »
05:55:45 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 97 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends
Financial Times: Food crisis is a chance to reform global agriculture, Martin Wolf, April 29, 2008
"...far greater resources need to be devoted to expanding long-run supply. Increased spending on research will be essential, especially into farming i… more »
05/02/08
07:54:16 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 361 words
Categories: Investment Strategy, Corporate Governance, Market Characteristics
DIW Berlin: Die Bedeutung von Buy-Outs/Ins für unternehmerische Effizienz, Effektivität und Corporate Governance,
Studie von Dorothea Schäfer und Alexander Fisher im Auftrag des Bundesverbands der deutschen Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaft(BVK), Berlin,… more »
06:43:33 pm, by editor of MarketObservation.com, 195 words
Categories: Corporate Governance, Academic
The Role and Effect of Compensation Consultants on CEO Pay, Brian D. Cadman, Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management, Mary Ellen Carter, University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, Stephen A. Hillegeist, INSEAD, March 2008
Abstract… more »
Financial Times: Saudis to launch $5.3bn sovereign fund: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is in the “final stages” of launching the kingdom’s first sovereign wealth fund. But its early financial commitment will disappoint those hoping for another me… more »
08:27:18 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 56 words
Categories: Corporate Governance, Investment, Central Banks/Government, Academic, Banks/Investment Banks
Project Syndicate: The inappropriateness of financial regulation, Avinash Persaud, May 1, 2008: "Financial regulation never works the way it should. Here one of the world’s most experienced analysts of the global financial system presents some remarkably… more »
Global Business Cycles: Convergence or Decoupling? M. Ayhan Kose, International Monetary Fund, Christopher Otrok, University of Virginia, Eswar Prasad, Cornell University and IZA, Discussion Paper No. 3442, April 2008
IZA
Key findings:
The stud… more »
05/01/08
click on
Dr. Nouriel Roubini explains in a CNBC interview that the lately reported 0.6% US GDP growth is mainly due to inventory build up and would be slightly negative without this effect. He repeatedly mentions that the US is in a recession. He expe… more »
07:48:14 am, by editor of MarketObservation.com , 247 words
Categories: Global natural Resources Trends, Politics, Initiatives, Research
Guardian: Growth factors by Robert Watson April 30, 2008
"Climate change is already impacting on, and is likely to increase, invasive species, pests and disease vectors that all adversely affect agricultural productivity. Advances in agricultural know… more »
Knowledge Wharton: Jeremy Siegel on the Fed's Latest Cut, $4 Gasoline and the Best Strategy for Investors, April 30, 2008: "The economy seems to be sinking toward recession, with new home sales at their lowest since the early 1990s. Many other indicators… more »
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