Congressman Ryan’s Plan to Kill Medicare

Published by clickbroker.blogspot.com.

While the press is focused on the Democrats disarray and infighting over comprehensive healthcare reform, some subtle but enlightening nuances are emerging. In "Congressman Paul Ryan’s Republican Healthcare Alternative", I wrote about Ryan’s first attempt at healthcare reform. Now the Wisconsin Congressman is back with an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal “A GOP Road Map for America's Future” telling us salvation is replacing traditional Medicare entirely with private insurance.

On the other side of the isle, Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson asked the Senate Parliamentarian for clarification on the rules for budget reconciliation. Nelson’s public inquiry took place on the Senate floor immediately after Bernanke’s final confirmation vote Thursday. Could it be that the private health insurers and pharmaceutical companies have told Nelson they’re concerned that losing health reform entirely would impair their long-term business prospects?

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Simpler Banks Favor Shareholders

Published by clickbroker.blogspot.com.

The New York Times’ “Ailing Banks Favor Salaries Over Shareholders” reports that while Goldman Sachs (GS) is paying out only 45% of profits in compensation, less fortunate institutions are paying out close to or up to more than their profits to keep up. JP Morgan (JPM) is paying out 63%, Bank of America (BAC) 88%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 94% and Citigroup (C) a whopping 145%.

Do shareholders really benefit from hiring the smartest men in the room? Obviously, when Goldman mixes high compensation with political connectedness the results are indisputable. But the imitators have all fallen short. None of Goldman’s competitors have been as astute at managing risk. Greed and jealousy had succumbed caution. But even to this day, I don’t see any signs of banks paying heed to the black swans and long tails.

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Intel: Tuned for Fearless Paranoia

Published by clickbroker.blogspot.com.

Intel (INTC) founder Andy Grove said that “only the paranoid survive.” This kept the early Intel in the forefront of semiconductor design and manufacturing. While manufacturing has never fallen behind competitors, design innovation had given way to dirty tricks over the past decade. AMD (AMD) stunned Intel with innovation while Intel’s dirty tricks culminated in a billion dollar plus settlement. Intel went through an unhealthy period where paranoia turned to fear.

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Professor Bernanke Blinded by Economic Science

Published by clickbroker.blogspot.com.

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke revealed intriguing insight into the central bank’s modus operandi during Sunday’s professorial speech, “Monetary Policy and the Housing Bubble”, before the American Economic Association. In this piece I will argue that Professor Bernanke is too dependent on mathematical and statistical economics to the detriment of behavioral economics.

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