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10396 [lbo-talk] operating system showdown -- rank: 1000

<http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do? command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9045689&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1> There's really no contest. Tiger is a better OS than Vista, and there are no long-term downsides to Leopard. Vista doesn't measure up.

Document Size:	4811
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 18:46:06 PST 2007

10397 [lbo-talk] Idea -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 7:24 PM, Jim Straub wrote: > But- Freedom Road has struck me > as having a good and reasonable take on a mostly old-school m-l-m > program. Really? It isn't a weird secretive cult, like I've heard? Doug

Document Size:	4584
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 18:41:48 PST 2007

10398 [lbo-talk] The bloodbath in credit and financial markets will continue and sharply worsen -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 7:54 PM, ira wrote: > http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/224871/ > > Nouriel Roubini | Nov 05, 2007 Consumer warning: this guy is serious and smart, but he is at the permabear end of the spectrum. So read what he says with that in mind. Doug

Document Size:	5406
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 18:30:54 PST 2007

10399 [lbo-talk] counting to 200 -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 7:29 PM, Jordan Hayes wrote: >> the standard estimate is that there are about $200 billion in >> mortgage losses, mostly subprime, out there ... > > Numbers I have seen: > > - Total size of the mortgage market in the US: about $10T > - Percentage of that which is ARM, presumably subject to reset > now or soon: about 25% ($2.5T) > - Percentage of ARM loans that are "subprime": about 50% > > So we're talking about $1.25T of subp ...

Document Size:	6086
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 18:29:33 PST 2007

10400 [lbo-talk] counting to 200 -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 6:56 PM, joanna wrote: > Doug Henwood wrote: > >> So, the standard estimate is that there are about $200 billion in >> mortgage losses, mostly subprime, out there, but banks have only >> written off $20-25 billion of it. Well now we're getting almost $4 >> billion closer to $200b. >> > My understanding is that it's not the 200 billion that's the problem, > but the mountain of leverage on top of that. > > Correct? Not correct? Wha ...

Document Size:	5260
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 16:01:10 PST 2007

10401 [lbo-talk] Zizek on WITBD -- rank: 1000

London Review of Books - November 15, 2007 <http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n22/zize01_.html> "Resistance Is Surrender" by Slavoj Zizek One of the clearest lessons of the last few decades is that capitalism is indestructible. Marx compared it to a vampire, and one of the salient points of comparison now appears to be that vampires always rise up again after being stabbed to death. Even Mao's attempt, in the Cultural Revolution, to wipe out the traces of capitalism, ended up in its ...

Document Size:	15470
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 15:18:19 PST 2007

10402 [lbo-talk] counting to 200 -- rank: 1000

So, the standard estimate is that there are about $200 billion in mortgage losses, mostly subprime, out there, but banks have only written off $20-25 billion of it. Well now we're getting almost $4 billion closer to $200b. Breaking News Bulletin: Morgan Stanley writing down $3.7 billion due to subprime exposure, says could get worse http://marketwatch.com/ r.asp?g=E0C3A289F4714F218AC208C691552F9D&d=bnb

Document Size:	4966
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 15:10:01 PST 2007

10403 [lbo-talk] Chinese have been buying lots of stuff, about to throttle back -- rank: 1000

<http://www.gallup.com/poll/102598/Chinas-Buying-Frenzy-Cooling.aspx> Is China s Buying Frenzy Cooling? After a rush on household goods, a look at what s next by William J. McEwen, PhD Global Practice Leader, Brand Management IRVINE, Calif. -- Gallup Polls in China over the last decade reveal impressive growth not only in China s per-capita income, but also in the array of products finding their way into the kitchens and living rooms of the average Chinese household. Gallup data show th ...

Document Size:	6886
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 15:04:09 PST 2007

10404 [lbo-talk] Alas, poor Citibank! -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 4:40 PM, Jordan Hayes wrote: > - You can't depreciate a house Ah, but the NIPA accountants do! See line 140 in <http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/TableView.asp? SelectedTable=299&FirstYear=2005&LastYear=2006&Freq=Year>.

Document Size:	4793
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 14:53:57 PST 2007

10405 [lbo-talk] Yet another colored revolution bites it -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 4:00 PM, Chris Doss wrote: > So predictable and so sad. *sigh* So what do you make of this? What's the Russian interest in Georgia? Is there some proxy fight with the U.S. going on? Doug

Document Size:	4877
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 13:22:23 PST 2007

10406 [lbo-talk] Idea -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 3:56 PM, Lenin's Tomb wrote: > Surely it's a bit strange for Doug to 'ban' the topic and then post > on the > theme? And who loses from discussing Iran? Does it hurt anyone? There were 3,914 posts containing the word "Iran" between July 1 and November 1, or 32 a day. It was just too much. (There have been 52 so far this month, or a more tolerable 7 a day.) The problem wasn't a discussion of U.S. designs on Iran, but a debate on the structure of Iranian ...

Document Size:	5114
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 13:21:29 PST 2007

10407 [lbo-talk] Idea -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 3:41 PM, Michael Smith wrote: > On Wednesday 07 November 2007 15:34:59 Chris Doss wrote: >> --- Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote: >>> Alas, Imam >>> Furuhashi just unsub'd, >> >> Bummer. > > Second the motion. At the risk of raising immoderate moderatorial > ire, I must say it seems odd to rule out of order a topic of such > intense and immediate importance. We needed a rest from that topic. People were saying ...

Document Size:	5502
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 12:59:01 PST 2007

10408 [lbo-talk] Alas, poor Citibank! -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 3:17 PM, Dennis Claxton wrote: >> Building a house, or adding onto or >> remodeling an existing one, is residential investment. It's an >> investment because it lasts for a very long time. > > > So this is the classical "fixed capital"? Yes. Though in the capitalist mind, capital yields a stream of profits, and a house doesn't. (It can yield a capital gain when you sell it, but not always, and that's only a one-shot thing.) So instead, a ...

Document Size:	5446
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 12:33:38 PST 2007

10409 [lbo-talk] Idea -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 3:12 PM, Lenin's Tomb wrote: > How about a nice chat about Iran? I feel we need a little levity > round > here, and Iran is precisely the topic to get us all in high spirits. You're funny! You've injected some levity already!! Alas, Imam Furuhashi just unsub'd, so she won't be around to participate, thereby greatly reducing the prospect for yuks. Or, how about a nice chat about the role of vanguard parties on the Bolshevik model in 2007? That could raise the levit ...

Document Size:	5112
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 12:25:46 PST 2007

10410 [lbo-talk] monetizing Web 2.0 -- rank: 1000

On Nov 7, 2007, at 1:44 PM, Blackmail wrote: > Henry Blodget has basically taken a devil may care attitude with > respect to > the bubble. Does that make any sense? Seems like the people who are at risk of losing money on this go- round are the likes of News Corp. and Google, for buying MySpace and YouTube. And maybe the people who loaded up on Google at 650. Google's feeling more & more like a bubble. (That doesn't, by any means, mean it's doomed. Amazon.com was a bubble once, a ...

Document Size:	5096
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 7 10:57:44 PST 2007