I came across a presentation of Google’s new product, well its not quite out yet, and its not quite a product in the traditional sense of having to be bought. Regardless, this made me excited about the possibilities of the internet, which I think we as a society are only beginning to appreciate. I am spending time lately thinking about using wikis as collaboration tools for companies as well as microblogging. Check out the first 20 minutes and/or skip around for screen shots of Google Wave (minute …

I came across this NY Times article a few weeks ago describing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner statement that banks are now able to raise capital.
The country’s biggest banks have made moves to bolster their balance sheets by about $56 billion since the government disclosed the results of its financial “stress tests” two weeks ago, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Wednesday.
So the question that came to my mind after reading the article is, “Where is all this money coming from?’

That’s right. The Federal Reserve has been expanding …

I recently read The Making of an Economist, which provides insight into the world of PhD economist. The authors, Arjo Klamer and David Colander, surveyed a few hundred students from teh top economics PhD programs in the country. Their findings were disappointing, and I hope to post some more on the current state of the economics profession, as Colander has supplemented the 1987 book with an updated analysis and an updated book.
This post will focus on some of the methodological problems of economics, which I felt Colander clearly …

I was just watching an interview with Milton Friedman and he stated that,

There is a smoke stack on the back of every government program. That is to say that every government programs impose a cost on third parties where the third parties are not receiving compensation.

This came out of the context of discussing when government may need to intervene in the market. Milton Friedman and some other classical liberals (libertarians) think that the only case for government is when it is not feasible for market arrangements to make …

I came across this via an email chain and thought it worth sharing. I had to travel over the last few days and was surprised at how many places now have a huge bottle of hand sanitizer on their counter. In fact I visited a perspective client and the security guard rubbed Purrell all over our badges before handing them to me. I understand precaution, but the badge attaches to my suit, and I tend not to chew on it, at least when it is a perspective …