Among the various prescriptions to fix the financial markets, the calls for regime change in the management ranks of bailed-out institutions have been largely ignored. The Obama administration’s approach seems to be: the people who got us into this crisis are the ones best equipped to get us out of it. The numbers behind the sheer lack of management change on Wall Street are nonetheless shocking. According to a new report by Emma Coleman Jordan at the Center For American Progress, 92 percent of the top managers and directors at the top 17 companies that received TARP funds are still in their same positions (hat tip to Barry Ritholtz). Coleman Jordan argues that those firms which took the most bailout money should be forced to include publicly-appointed directors. These directors, it seems, would function as part civic servant, part profit-minded manager. For better or worse, she claims, the lines between public and private have been inexorably blurred by the bailouts. Rather than relying on behind-the-scenes pressure from politicians, the government should force bailed-out companies to accept sweeping management changes. The directors, the report suggests, should be installed in rough correlation with the amount of bailout money they’ve […]
The US public pension system faces a higher-than-expected shortfall of more than $2,000bn that will increase pressure on many states’ strained finances and crimp economic growth, according to the chairman of New Jersey’s pension fund. The estimate by Orin Kramer will fuel investors’ concerns over the deteriorating financial health of US states after the recession. ‘State and local governments are correctly perceived to be in serious difficulty, Mr Kramer told the Financial Times. ‘If you factor in the reality of these unfunded promises, their deficits will rise exponentially. Estimates of aggregate funding requirement of the US pension system have ranged between $400bn and $500bn, but Mr Kramer’s analysis concluded that public funds would need to find more than $2,000bn to meet future pension obligations. A shortfall of that size could force state governments to take unpalatable decisions such as pouring more public money into their funds or reducing pension benefits. State and local governments have already cut spending to close budget deficits. Mr Kramer, chairman of New Jersey’s investment council and also a senior partner at the hedge fund Boston Provident, warned that outdated accounting models and unrealistic expectations of future returns had led states […]
Almost nine in 10 people are not aware of the risks of carrying extra fat around their waistline. A survey of 12,000 Europeans found most had no idea that a thick waist was a sign of a build-up of a dangerous type of fat around the internal organs. The report from GlaxoSmithKline, who make weight loss drug Alli, said this ‘visceral fat’ is strongly linked with type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Most people would lose weight once they found out the risk, the survey found. Report author Dr Terry Maguire, honorary senior lecturer at Queen’s University in Belfast, said people did not know that visceral fat, which you cannot see or feel and which sits around the organs in the abdomen, is there or that it poses a problem. It is thought that the danger of visceral fat is related to the release of proteins and hormones that can cause inflammation, which in turn can damage arteries and enter the liver, and affect how the body breaks down sugars and fats. Only a quarter of those questioned in the Europe-wide study thought being overweight was a risk to long-term health at all. […]
The Obama administration called Monday for federal regulators to provide more spectrum for wireless high-speed Internet services, saying mobile broadband would bring competition to DSL, cable and fiber broadband providers. In comments and a letter filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the White House’s technology policy arm and the antitrust division of the Justice Department said that the current marketplace for broadband Internet services is not competitive enough and that wireless Internet access could serve as a more affordable way to bring service to areas that are not connected. ‘Given the potential of wireless services to reach underserved areas and to provide an alternative to wireline broadband providers in other areas, the [FCC] Commission’s primary tool for promoting broadband competition should be freeing up spectrum,’ Justice said in its comments. The comments by Justice and a similar letter from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration come as more and more people have begun using BlackBerrys, iPhones and other Web-enabled phones. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has warned of a looming cellphone crisis because current networks are not robust enough to handle what is expected to be an explosion of demand for mobile data services. Specifically, Justice said […]
If Google sells its own unlocked cell phone next month as widely rumored, it could finally bring unlocked phones to the attention of the American public. Commonplace in Europe, unlocked mobiles allow the owner to choose a cell phone provider based solely on service rather than on its phone selection. When you purchase a cell phone on a two-year contract in the United States, you get a substantial discount that ranges from half to all of the phone’s retail price. While this might seem like a good deal, the balance of the cost of the phone is built into the provider service payment over the life of the contract. Just like a home mortgage or a car loan, you will pay a hefty premium for the privilege of spreading the payments over a two-year period. Conversely, many Europeans are used to paying full price for their phones and subsequently enjoy lower service charges while paying month-to-month. Nokia recently introduced the N900 phone, billed as a mobile computer, and it is available only in the unlocked version. With holiday cash to burn, Dayton, OH resident Nathan Coffee tracked down the popular Nokia N900 online for well below retail and […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
