This Christmas, I was delighted to get some very special gifts. Among them, the new book written by my sister-in-law, Nancy Lutkehaus. Nancy is a professor at USC and her book is a very interesting take on Margaret Mead. It analyzes the public perception of Ms. Mead in contradistinction with the view of [...]

In a photo essay simply entitled “What They got Away With”, Newsweek covers 12 CEO’s of failed or bailed out institutions and chronicles what they received as their respective company’s were going down.
Here is a link to this photo article:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/159439
Michael

Here is a first: I am so moved by Sunday’s Cowboy game that I discuss it on the firm blog!
Poor Jerry Jones. He does not know what he is doing wrong. To him, it must seem as if he is doing everything right and yet, still losing…and losing badly. Here are the two [...]

For consumers living paycheck to paycheck who have unexpected expenses arise, a payday lender might be an easy solution. These payday lenders, who did not exist in 1990, now account for 25,000 outlets today. Consumer groups advocate against these payday lenders due to the astronomical interest rates charged–up to 439% annually. These [...]

Here is a pretty cool site for those music fanatics. You just have to be sure you have the name of the song right, including punctuation. Just type in any song that was ever played, and see what happens. Then, following the end of the song, it will keep playing songs of the [...]

The economic crisis has drastically affected Wall Street law firms as well and those in the broader financial markets. One law firm, Thacher Proffitt & Wood, which has existed for 150 years will be winding down, having made a deal for 100 of its lawyers and many staff members. This number probably represents [...]

In another “not since the Great Depression” moment, recent reports state that the value of homes in the US have fallen 13 percent.
“The median resale price fell 13 percent from a year before, to $181,300, “probably the largest price decline since the Great Depression,” National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in Washington. [...]

Recall that when the bailout was announced at least one explanation of it related to “unfreezing the credit market” and getting money to banks so they could again feel comfortable lending money. Well, the money got to the banks but there was no provision to compel lending, so the banks have generally held on [...]

On November 14, 2008, Ms. Elizabeth Warren was appointed by United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to serve on the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel (COPES) created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Also, he has selected Elizabeth Warren to the oversight division of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). [...]

As noted yesterday, the Federal reserve has a limited number of tools and yesterday’s allowance of the rate to drop to zero a. was an acknowledgement of something that was already happening and b. made clear that this tool (the ability to adjust interest rates) has not worked to halt the economic slide nor does [...]