Economics/Geekonomics

New Regulations, Wall Street Bonuses, And The Economy

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Even if you're not the economic type, at least skim this article on how Wall Street is adjusting to new regulations and new realities.  It's an interesting overview of what's going on, and codifies a few trends I've been wondering about (roughly, I think Wall Street really is in a kind of existential crisis and people don't fully get the impact of new regulation).

My favorite money quote:

“If you’re a smart Ph.D. from MIT, you’d never go to Wall Street now,” says a hedge-fund executive. “You’d go to Silicon Valley. There’s at least a prospect for a huge gain. You’d have the potential to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. It looks like he has a lot more fun.”

Awesome.  Come on over guys, I know a great few restauraunts to take you to while you go and make a real, productive business.  Also, I could use another roommate.

– Steven Savage

Economic News Roundup 2/3/2011

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Oh what a lot of juicy economic news we have.

The latest NFP report on employment is surprisingly good.

A NY Lawsuit over MERS could get very complicated and may push some of the banking issues into/back into public conciousness.  Read the whole thing.  I'm still waiting for MERS issues to explode, and despite conflicting policies on the state and federal level, something's going to give.

Layoffs may be coming at Microsoft.  Rumor stage, but worth watching (and a thought – if it is coming this is a good time to do it and hope for not too much press).  Do I see it as a real deal?  I can't say either way, but the area of layoffs make sense.

MUST READ: A look at unemployment that answers the big questions people have.  Just go take a look and analyze (for instance, education affects your chance to be unemployed, but not the duration).

– Steven Savage

Economic Misery News!

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Well time for me to be bearer of bad economic tidings again.  So here's what's in the headlines today.

Kodak stock falls on rumors of bankrupcy.  It sounds like they don't need rumors – the company seems to be in trouble and is trying to stay afloat selling assets.

Takeaways:

  • They don't sound long for this world, frankly – so if you're there, consider getting out.
  • If they do go bankrupt/out of business, it'll have some impact psychologically, but frankly no one will be that surprised.
  • If they get bought out/broken up there may be some opportuities.

American Economic Mobility is kinda bad.  This is not news to anyone who's been paying attention, but the fact it's getting this much discussion is important – and this article takes a look at some fine details that take it out of the "oh, yeah" class of writing.  Lots to chew on here, and a few surprises (I wasn't aware of some of the family demographic details, for instance).

– Steven Savage