January 18
Monday, 01/18/2010 - 9:32 am by Justin Lutz | Post a Comment
“What you need to know to navigate today’s economic debate.”
We Are A Better Nation Than This (It Could Happen Here)
Are we closer or further from living the virtues that Martin Luther King, Jr. described? Roosevelt Braintruster Bruce Judson argues that the country has not yet lived up to MLK’s vision.
Bank Tax Is Centerpiece of Party’s New Populism (WSJ)
Democrats’ last-minute scramble to salvage the special U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts is offering the first test of a populist pitch that party strategists hope to take to other campaigns this year.
Law Meant to Curb Lobbying Sends It Underground (NYT)
Ellen Miller, co-founder of the Sunlight Foundation, has spent years arguing for rules to force more disclosure of how lobbyists and private interests shape public policy.
Obama Tax Prompts Put-Upon Bankers to Break Out the Violins (Business Week)
The industry is loudly protesting the proposed $90 billion levy. But the amount is a pittance, says Bloomberg BusinessWeek columnist Chris Farrell .
Company-Government Spread Widens as Banks Sell Debt (Bloomberg)
The cost to borrow in the corporate bond market is rising for the first time since November as Barclays Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and more than a dozen other European banks sell record amounts of fixed-income securities to refinance $2 trillion of debt due this year.
Looting Alert: Big Banks Threaten Constitutional Challenge to TARP Fee (Naked Capitalism)
The brazenness of the financial services industry knows no bounds.The latest sighting comes in the form of a leak (or a plant? of the fact that Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association which is considering mounting a constitutional challenge to the proposed TARP fee of 15 basis points of uninsured liabilities announced last week.
IMF Chief Cautions Against Early Stimulus Exit (WSJ)
The International Monetary Fund’s top official Monday acknowledged faster-than-expected global economic recovery, but cautioned governments against paring their anti-crisis measures too quickly, saying doing so could set off another downturn.
Euro Falls Against Dollar, Greek Bonds Drop on Budget Concern (Bloomberg)
The euro fell to near its lowest level in a week against the dollar and Greek stocks and bonds declined as European finance ministers scrutinized plans to curb the nation’s budget deficit.
For Ailing Health System, a Diagnosis but No Cure (NYT)
While Democrats and Republicans continue to fight over the remedy, there is one man who can claim to have rendered a specific diagnosis and - more than 40 years later - he wants lawmakers and President Obama to know that there probably is no cure.
