Buttonwood: Paper promises, golden hordes | The Economist

Buttonwood: Paper promises, golden hordes The Economist:

"Gold’s surge may indicate that investors fear the next stage of the crisis will occur in the foreign-exchange markets."

Carry trades | Buttonwood's notebook | Economist.com

Carry trades Buttonwood's notebook Economist.com:
"Lee argues that the carry trade has two prerequisites; interference in the markets by governments and weak domestic credit demand. The first is currently present; plenty of governments (including China's) are preventing their currencies from rising too far against the dollar.
Lee's second condition is less obvious but insightful. If a carry trade currency also had strong domestic credit demand, that would show up as rapid money supply growth; the central bank would take fright and raise interest rates, negating the basis for the carry trade. Both the US now, and Japan earlier this decade, have indeed seen weak credit demand."

IAA's ERM framework to solve financial crisis

http://www.actuaries.org/CTTEES_TFRISKCRISIS/Documents/IAA_Financial_Risk_Management_EN.pdf

Obama's budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2009/02/one_big_budget.cfm

Enabling Baby Boomers to work longer

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Economic_Studies/Country_Reports/Why_baby_boomers_will_need_to_work_longer_2234

Article about why Baby Boomers should work more.

The meat of the article is at the end when they suggest policy that would encourage longer working lives:

Reallocating health insurance costs:

"Unlike retirees, employees that age and older do not receive full Medicare benefits if they work for a company that has more than 20 people on staff and provides health benefits."

"Offering full Medicare coverage to all people age 65 and older, regardless of employment status, would eliminate this disincentive. "

Enabling business to office flexible work arrangement

"Many boomers say they are willing to continue working if they can do so part time, work from home, or make arrangements that would cut their hours and pay gradually. Government and educational institutions use such practices today; businesses have held back, partly out of concern that they might violate federal laws on taxes, pensions, and age discrimination. Policy makers should act to alleviate such concerns. Meanwhile, businesses must develop an integrated strategy to employ mature workers—a strategy centered on more flexible arrangements. Workers, in return, will have to be flexible about pay and benefits."

I actually don't agree with changing social security benefits.  I don't think that's a big disincentive for people working.

Battle of the Nobel

http://www.economist.com/debate/index.cfm?action=hall&debate_id=14&sa_campaign=debateseries/debate14/alert/round/open

Myron S. Scholes, famous for, his black-scholes model and (one time Nobel economist), is debating Joseph E. Stiglitz (two times Nobel economist).

Plus, Barry L. Ritholtz is a featured guest.  Should be interesting!

fastest growing industry

http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/26/fastest-growing-industries-lead-careers-cx_tw_0926jobgrowth.html?feed=rss_popstories

(1) Business Consulting
(2) Health Care
(3) leisure and hospitality sector
(4) Education