Posted March 21st, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
My friend Terry sends me the transcript of his latest doctor appointment:
His practice has no room for new patients! Now, he’s a medical wizard!
I love this Doctor
Q: Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that it… Don’t waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually.. Speed up heart not make live longer; that like say you can extend life of car by driving faster. Want live longer? Take nap.
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Posted March 20th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
Stocks That Get a ‘China’ Bounce Dozens of tiny companies have gotten big stock-market boosts simply by adding the word "China" to their names. (WSJ)
Reserve Bank of India Raises Rates The Reserve Bank of India raised its key lending and borrowing rates by 0.25 percentage points each to anchor inflationary expectations, making it one of the first major central banks to raise rates. (WSJ)
Drop the Double Dip
The good news is that the U.S. economy is unlikely to slip back into recession. But the unemployment rate will probably remain as high as 8.5% even into the end of 2011.
Some See a Real Estate Bubble Forming in Canada — Instead of worrying about the recovery of the real estate market, some Canadians are concerned about the prospect of a price bubble. (NYT)
Posted March 19th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
Germany Is Open to IMF Aid for Greece Germany signaled it is open to supporting a joint bailout of Greece by European governments and the IMF should the country need assistance, as Greece pressed Europe for concrete help by next week. (WSJ)
The Yuan Scapegoat (WSJ)
Stronger yuan not tonic for US economy A stronger yuan would not be a tonic for the US economy or manufacturing and it would be a huge mistake to raise tariffs on imports from China to force a change in the yuan, says a US trade expert on Tuesday. (China Daily)

Martin Wolf
‘Chermany’ unites to weaken the economy (FT)

John Authers looks at why some believe there’s no threat of a China bubble (FT)
To Fill Budget Gaps, ‘Stealth’ Taxes Are Creeping Up For tax officials, indirect levies — or stealth taxes — are stable, less prone to be avoided and easy to collect. (NYT)
March Madness Scenes from a devolution as Democrats writhe toward 216 votes. (WSJ)
Posted March 17th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
Posted March 15th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
India Inflation Surges Inflation in India accelerated to a whisker away from a double-digit rate in February on rising food prices, increasing the likelihood that the central bank will hike interest rates at its next monetary policy meeting in April. (WSJ)
OPEC’s Challenge: Production Targets
As OPEC prepares to meet for the first time in three months, a debate is brewing within the 12-nation oil cartel over what its post-recession production might look like. (WSJ)
Clive Crook: US healthcare reform descends into farce (FT)
Krugman: Taking on China (NYT)
Wen stands firm on yuan Premier Wen Jiabao brushed aside external calls for the yuan’s appreciation on Sunday, saying they are "unhelpful", and stressed that the Chinese currency is not undervalued. (China Daily)
China Uses Rules on Global Trade to Its Advantage Evidence is mounting that Beijing uses inconsistencies in international trade rules to spur its own economy at the expense of others. (NYT)
Posted March 13th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
THE LEHMAN BROTHERS COLLAPSE Oh, brother: A court-commissioned postmortem shines a harsh light on Lehman’s bankruptcy (The Economist)
The Fudge Factory By ALAN ABELSON A hard look at how Lehman masked the horrors of its balance sheet. Words of wisdom from Seth Klarman. (Barron’s)
BARRON’S COVER
Promised pensions benefits for public-sector employees represent a massive overhang that threatens the financial future of many cities and states.
Where to Find the Money Despite the drought in lending, some banks are rolling out the dough. Here’s where to turn. (WSJ)
Posted March 12th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
Noonan: Road to the Nut House You have to be crazy to run for president. Seriously, you do. (WSJ)
Alberta cuts royalties to lure investors Stelmach reverses course on royalty hike in bid to boost oil and gas investment in province (G&M)
Posted March 11th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet
Via FT Alphaville
Vice-premier Wang Qishan and that flunky Geithner. H/T John Kemp
“Bye now Tim!”

Posted March 11th, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

All for one: Eurocrats offer up half-baked ideas to prevent a future sovereign-debt scare (Economist)