Bailout

Lincoln offers free access to the NYT

Posted on March 18, 2011
Here's a way of monetizing the NYT's paywall which I have to admit I hadn't thought of: get advertisers to foot the bill!

The case of the missing primary documents, Bloomberg edition

Posted on March 18, 2011
Caleb Newquist has a great post up at Going Concern showing how important it is for news organizations to publish primary documents, rather than just report what's in them.

Counterparties

Posted on March 17, 2011
Just catching up on this great post on interchange -- Rortybomb

The FDIC?s WaMu suit

Posted on March 17, 2011
The FDIC complaint against various WaMu officers makes for fascinating reading. I've embedded it below.

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Felix TV: The peculiar economics of event ticketing

Posted on March 17, 2011
Remember the weirdness surrounding LCD Soundsystem tickets? Well, it applies to sporting events too, as this video explains.

The NYT paywall arrives

Posted on March 17, 2011
The NYT paywall has arrived: it's going up in Canada today, and then worldwide on March 28.

Why the AGs are right to leave second liens alone

Posted on March 17, 2011
The mortgage settlement is designed to lay out basic minimum standards that mortgage servicers have to live up to. There have been a lot of sleazy practices to date, and the settlement is designed to put an end to such practices. But if you owe a bank a large amount of money on your home equity line, it's not sleazy for the bank to ask you to pay at least some of that money back.

Counterparties

Posted on March 16, 2011
"The great trick of the last few years has been convincing private and public-sector workers that their interests somehow diverge from one another" -- WaPo

FX markets deal Japan another blow

Posted on March 16, 2011
If FX moves were measured on the Richter scale, this one would be a monster -- the yen managed to strengthen by 4% against the dollar and almost 6% against the Australian dollar in a matter of minutes.

How blogs have changed journalism

Posted on March 16, 2011
Benzinga's Laura Hlebasko sent me some questions about blogs and online media for a feature she's writing. Here they are, along with my answers:

Give covered bonds a chance

Posted on March 16, 2011
It's good news that Tim Geithner is throwing his weight behind efforts to build a US market in covered bonds.

Donating to Japan, cont.

Posted on March 16, 2011
Stephanie Strom has a fantastic article in the NYT today, which actually reports out the whole issue of why it's silly to donate money to Japan.

Disrupting the banking system

Posted on March 16, 2011
I enjoyed moderating my SXSW panel yesterday on whether and how internet startups are disrupting the banking system.

The gastronomics of bad service

Posted on March 16, 2011
My first monthly Gastronomics column is up at NYMag, on the subject of the economics of bad service.

Counterparties

Posted on March 15, 2011
American Homeowner Preservation Buying Pools of Defaulted Mortgages & REO's: An intriguing and hopeful development -- Shame the Banks

Chart of the day, US taxes edition

Posted on March 15, 2011
Ask, and you'll receive an explanation of what this chart means.

A newspaper paywall done right

Posted on March 15, 2011
Alan Mutter has a great example of how to put up a paywall the right way.

Why market aftershocks will continue

Posted on March 15, 2011
Neil Hume asks whether the stock-market plunge in Japan is an "overreaction", as markets around the world are exhibiting enormous volatility and uncertainty for obvious reasons.

Counterparties

Posted on March 14, 2011
Transcript of Warren Buffett?s Interview With the FCIC -- Santangel's Review

Don?t donate money to Japan

Posted on March 14, 2011
Individuals are doing it, banks are doing it -- faced with the horrific news and pictures from Japan, everybody wants to do something, and the obvious thing to do is to donate money to some relief fund or other. Please don't.

Why the Fed needs to get its act together on payments

Posted on March 12, 2011
I've known Josh Reich, BankSimple's CEO, for a while now, but it's only today that I managed to sit down and have a serious conversation with CFO Shamir Karkal.

Counterparties

Posted on March 11, 2011
Fred Goodwin has obtained a super-injunction preventing him being identified as a banker -- Telegraph

Board compensation datapoints of the day

Posted on March 11, 2011
Should there be some kind of cap on director compensation? The question arises in Duff McDonald's October profile of Rajat Gupta:

Counterparties

Posted on March 10, 2011
An Egyptian song for all -- Reuters

John Cassidy Watch, externalities edition

Posted on March 10, 2011
I'm beginning to think that John Cassidy must have a serious masochistic streak: he's now back for a third round of smack-downs, after having drawn unanimous scorn for his first two attempts to demonize bike lanes.

Why debit fees should be low

Posted on March 10, 2011
Antony Currie has a handy little FAQ on debit interchange. I agree with most of it, especially his final conclusion that the US should move to a secure chip-and-pin system. But I take issue with his idea that for the time being, the Durbin amendment is flawed and "needs a do-over".

Should you borrow against your house to buy stocks?

Posted on March 10, 2011
In the wake of my back and forth with Linda Stern, I took the advice of commenter Kid Dynamite and moved the discussion to email.

The NYT?s meter starts ticking

Posted on March 10, 2011
The NYT's paywall isn't live yet, but the meter's already ticking. Go to the site's new recommendations page, and you'll see a sidebar which looks a bit like this:

How Foursquare improves on coupons

Posted on March 10, 2011
The thing I like most about the Foursquare partnership with Amex, as explained by Dan Frommer, is that it's completely invisible to your server and to your guests.

John Cassidy vs bipeds

Posted on March 09, 2011
Aaron Naparstek has a masterful demolition of John Cassidy's bizarre anti-bike-lane rant, but he somehow skips over the most wonderful bit of all:

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