NUTHIN' BUT 'NET: THE PAUL PRINCIPLE; BAD NEWS BANKS
Posted: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:46 PM by Chris Colvin
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Nuthin' but 'Net
Hi. Starting out today with the most interesting political story of the day, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's monster one-day haul of $4.2 million, all from a viral fund-raising campaign on the internet. Also, some bad news from some big banks, and the new must-have accessory for lazy geeks everywhere.
The Ron Paul haul took everyone by surprise, and Glenn Greenwald has a trenchant post about why so many people would flock to a long-time Congressman with highly unconventional views on a lot of issues-- Greenwald points out that his candidacy allows those who are deeply dissatisfied with the Washington Beltway establishment "to read into (his candidacy) whatever they want to see -- even if it isn't really there -- and to use the candidate as a proxy for their otherwise ignored and stigmatized causes." And outsidethebeltway rounds up a lot of the coverage from today and says the haul won't catapault Paul into actual contention for the nomination, but I'd argue that's not really the point.
Now it's on to the perils of Citigroup, beginning with a nice overview of the whole mortgage/credit meltdown situation from the Financial Times. Mike Mish Shedlock blogs at Minyanville about Citi's regulatory filing yesterday. And Dean Baker at the American Prospect points out that Citi's interim Chairman Robert Rubin made an eyebrow-raising request to his former colleagues at the Treasury Department just before Enron blew up.
What else to we have to be concerned about? Business Week's Matthew Goldstein on bond insurers. And Mish again, writing on his own blog Global Economics on how commercial real estate could be the next domino to fall.
One of the posters at MarketTicker pointed out a blog called Bits of News last night-- love it. Here's a droll essay on dinner roll economics. And a cogent argument on the latest batch of government numbers (GDP and job creation) titled: "How to Hide a Recession."
And if you're persuaded by Ian Welsh at the Agonist, the presidential candidates of both parties might want to be careful what they wish for, because according to his analysis, the next president will be the next Herbert Hoover.
And on that cheerful note, my longtime friend and colleague Brett Holey calls to our attention an item that's a must have for the 40 year old virgin in your life. Talk about the ultimate pop up!
