What Would the Founding Fathers Say About the National Debt? Don’t Default

One of America’s favorite pastimes is to play the “what would the Founding Fathers say” game. Just pick an issue du jour, and ask the question. Given that today’s world (Google, Twitter, television) is probably way beyond even the imagination of the 18th-century designers of the Constitution, the game usually says more about today’s partisan fights than about the Founders.

Read more

How a Weak Dollar is Boosting Domestic Travel

This week, I’ve been treated to a visceral experience of the upside of a downside. Driving with my family through the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park, I have sat behind endless lines of RVs and assorted SUVs depositing masses of people who are swarming the parks, descending on Old Faithful concession stands, and snapping endless digital photos to be sent over Androids, iPhones and even Blackberries.

Read more

The Wishful Environmentalism of Cars 2

Cars 2 opened to lukewarm reviews and a smash box office, taking in $66 million domestically and another $42 million internationally during its opening weekend. The film’s ability to transcend unusually tepid reviews is clearly a testament to the power of the Pixar brand (another gift of Steve Jobs), which has generated a remarkable series of animated hits stemming from the Toy Story franchise that began in 1995 and continuing through gems like Wall-E and The Incredibles, as well as the first Cars. But this film also carries a loud and unmistakable message about alternative energy, automobiles and their shared future.

Read more

Banks Are Hurting? It’s All Relative

The latest out of Wall Street-land is a warning by analysts at Citibank that profits at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (and to a lesser degree at other banks as well) will show a sharp contraction for the second quarter of 2011. Leaving aside the inside baseball nature of one Wall Street firm issuing a negative report on other firms, the decline in profitability stands in contrast to the widespread perception that banks and investment houses are booming while the rest of the economy is suffering. Or does it?

Read more

Hard or Soft Landing for China? How About No Landing

The past few weeks in financial-land have been dominated by two combustible fears: 1.) that this time Greece really will default on its debts and plunge the Eurozone into chaos; and 2.) that this time China really will hit the brakes and bring much of global economic activity down with it. One of these fears alone would be enough to roil markets. Together they have been a potent and toxic mix.

Read more

Big Blue Turns 100: IBM’s Anniversary is One to Celebrate

Today, IBM officially marks its 100th anniversary. But the company today bears remarkably little resemblance either to the sleepy Computer Tabulating Recording Corporation that was formed on June 16, 1911, or to the more iconic International Business Machines (renamed to one-up then rival National Cash Register in the 1920s) that was one of the dominant companies during the brief but spectacular American century.

Read more

The White House and Jeff Immelt on Jobs: Compelling, Infuriating or Simply Irrelevant?

At the start of the week, Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE and the head of President Obama’s task force on job creation, released an interim report on plans to boost employment in the U.S. The reactions have been relatively predictable. Immelt himself has come in for criticism — fair or not — as a corporate titan who has overseen job creation abroad and job destruction at home, and there has been no shortage of voices pointing to GE’s global profits that have not been subject to American taxation.

Read more

Why Do We Cheer for NBA Stars But Not for Bankers?

There was something dramatic and striking about the Dallas Mavericks’ victory over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals on Sunday. No, it wasn’t the caliber of play – which was high – nor the sight of the vaunted Miami “Dream Team” falling just short of their pre-ordained championship season. Rather, it was the stark contrast of the multimillionaire players of a multi-billion dollar league arousing not the animosity but the passion of millions of fans who are almost certainly not faring as well.

Read more

What Can You Do To Help Greece? Go There

It now appears that Greece will once again be bailed out of its financial morass. A year ago at this time, the world was roiled by the prospect of Greece defaulting on its considerable debts, and only the reluctant decision of the leading members of the European Union – Germany most prominently among them – led to more than $100 billion in loans extended to the Greek government.

Read more

Markets Plunge Because of Greece, China, and the U.S. (Or so they say.)

Another day, another market plunge. Yesterday was notably sharp, with all major indices declining more than 2% and getting worse as the day wore on. The story du jour – and it is an axiom of market declines that there must be a story that goes with it – was that the sell-off was triggered be a toxic combination of weak U.S. economic data, more concerns about Greece and whether it would default on its debts and bring down the Eurozone

Read more

On Launching Moneyland in the Luce Tradition

More than two years after the near-meltdown of the global financial system, “the economy” remains the story of our day.Yes, with the United States involved in wars in Afghanistan and Libya, and continued enmeshment in Iraq, traditional foreign affairs matter greatly. And yes, with the presidential elections season starting its slow-burn, politics have a central seat at the tabl

Read more

In Bernanke We Trust?

Yesterday, Ben Bernanke departed from the silent, opaque tradition of the Federal Reserve and held a press conference. The event attracted considerable attention, for its novelty as much as for its substance. But those hoping that Bernanke would do his best imitation of Willy Wonka and reveal hidden facets of humor, complexity and charisma were, to say the least, disappointed.

Read more

Stock Plunge, Day Two: How the Dow is Dealing with Japan

For the second day in the row, the US stock market plunged, and then bounced back. Hurt, yes, but shares were not beaten, even as investors had to worry about the double whammy of concerns of nuclear contamination in Japan and a housing report that showed new home construction plunged more than it had in 27 months. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped nearly 300, before ending the day down 240 points. It wasn’t as big a bounce back on Tuesday, but we still didn’t end the day at the lows, which was a good sign.

Read more