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Saturday, May 23, 2009

FRB: Speech--Bernanke, Commencement address--May 22, 2009

Key thought:
I do not even remember that he spoke at Harvard last year. All I remembered was J.K. Rowling and the gay wizard. Central bankers did not matter in the late spring of 2008.

Key paragraph

So, my advice to you is to stay optimistic. Things usually have a way of working out. My second piece of advice is to be flexible, even adventurous as you begin your careers. As I have tried to illustrate today, you are much less able than you think to foresee how your life, both professional and personal, will play out. The world changes too fast, and too many accidents and unpredictable events occur. It will pay, therefore, to be creative and open-minded as you search for and consider professional opportunities. Look most carefully at those options that will give you a chance to learn new things, explore new areas, and grow as a person. Think of every job as a potential investment in yourself. Will it prepare your mind for the opportunities that chance will provide?




FRB: Speech--Bernanke, Commencement address--May 22, 2009

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Why China Buys Treasuries

It is not as an investment.

Beat the Press Archive | The American Prospect

Job Loss

Great graphical display of information: job loss.

An interactive map of vanishing employment across the country. - By Chris Wilson - Slate Magazine

And Bridgewater says that unemployment is now a leading indicator:
Normally, labor markets lag the economy because incremental spending transactions are financed via debt, stimulated by interest rate cuts. But as long as credit remains frozen, spending will require income, and income comes from jobs. And debt service payments are made out of income. Therefore, in a deleveraging environment job growth becomes an important leading, causal indicator of demand and other economic conditions.
“… The bounce in the economy and the stabilization in markets reflect government actions that are big enough to impact near-term growth rates, but are not sufficiently directed at the root problem of excessive indebtedness to produce permanent healing. The deterioration in employment markets will continue because companies’ profit margins are so deeply damaged that a little bounce in growth won’t do much to alter their need to cut costs. This deterioration in labor markets will undermine demand and continue to pressure loan losses, which will keep the pressure on the banks and elevate the cost of capital for tentative borrowers, inhibiting credit expansion.”

Different conceptions of China’s future role in the global financial system

Brad Setser: Follow the Money » Blog Archive » Different conceptions of China’s future role in the global financial system

Story Time for the Economy

Is it the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end of the downturn.

Khaleej Times Online - Story Time for the Economy

Rapt

Rapt

This is a book about secular meditation. Focus on things that foster contentment and not the things that cause worry. As William James said wisdom and a satisfied life is about knowing what to overlook. Our only weapon against stress is to choose one thought over another. Experience depends on what you pay attention to. Remember Rashomon.

The difficulty arises about how to manage one's attention. "It is impossible to communicate with, much less bond with someone you cannot, or will not, focus your attention on."Slow down, focus on relationships, focus on people. Relationships take work.

Try to focus on the small pleasures of everyday life.

Amishi Jha

Posner and Rothbart
Omega Institute for Holistic Studies