Monthly Archives: January 2008

Should I hire a financial adviser?

Posted on January 28, 2008 by NC

A question from Askville: I met with an “Ameriprise” financial adviser and am thinking of hiring him. It’s not that expensive and I defiantly am not great managing my finances but I’m wondering if it’s overkill for me. I make … Continue reading →

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SPACs to become mainstream?

Posted on January 26, 2008 by NC

From Institutional Investor: DONE DEALS A Book Full of Blank Checks 17 Jan 2008 Dan Freed Inspired by the backdoor IPO of hedge fund firm GLG Partners, advisory boutiques are flocking to a type of transaction once reserved for boiler-room … Continue reading →

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The lunar economy?

Posted on January 25, 2008 by NC

A question from Yahoo! Answers: When man finally colonized the moon, and find water, oil and natural minerals there, do you think this can created an economy there and many other people will go there to establish themselves, just like … Continue reading →

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What is a hedge fund?

Posted on January 24, 2008 by NC

A question from Askville: Can anyone explain to me, in layperson’s terms, what a hedge fund is? “Hedge fund” is more of a legal term than anything else. The first hedge fund was created by A.W. Jones in 1949 and … Continue reading →

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Paul Krugman on employment and confidence

Posted on January 21, 2008 by NC

Paul Krugman writes: I’ve been using the employment-population ratio rather than the unemployment rate as an indicator of labor market conditions; the unemployment rate has been fairly low, roughly late-90s levels, but employment-population has never regained its late-90s peak. But … Continue reading →

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Mortgages, car loans, and write-offs

Posted on January 16, 2008 by NC

A question from Askville: With all the repos in the housing area, why aren’t car loans and leases showing up as writeoffs? Because cars were not financed at inflated values… Let’s say lender financed a house appraised at $300,000 with … Continue reading →

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Paul Krugman on legislative acronyms

Posted on January 15, 2008 by NC

Paul Krugman writes: There were two main Bush tax cuts — EGTRRA, enacted in mid-2001, and JGTRRA, enacted in 2003. (What do the letters stand for? All sorts of good stuff. If we ever have legislation decreeing death of the … Continue reading →

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Daimler in Alabama: the financials

Posted on January 15, 2008 by NC

A question from Askville: what tax incentives did Daimler Benz get from AL A very complicated package… Alabama committed to paying Daimler a one-time $42 million subsidy toward constructing the plant.  The state allowed Daimler to pay no corporate income … Continue reading →

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Dani Rodrik on measuring globalization

Posted on January 11, 2008 by NC

Dani Rodrik writes: Measuring globalization I am not a fan such indices, but here is an index that is innovative in that it tries to measure not just economic globalization, but also “social” and “political” globalization. You can use the … Continue reading →

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Measuring the health of nations

Posted on January 11, 2008 by NC

A recent article in Health Affairs: Measuring The Health Of Nations: Updating An Earlier Analysis Ellen Nolte and C. Martin McKee We compared trends in deaths considered amenable to health care before age seventy-five between 1997–98 and 2002–03 in the … Continue reading →

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