National Public RadioIn a previous post I mentioned, without much explanation, that credit default swaps (CDS) were instrumental in creating the 2008 credit crisis. As it happens, Alex Blumberg has done some of the clearest reporting on CDS for a National Public Radio (NPR) program, "This American Life." (A timeline with active links to recent NPR stories on the credit crisis appears below.)Credit default swaps, which have become featured players in the troubled asset drama, are over-the-counter contracts that have been widely used to hedge investors against the risk of mortgage-backed securities. Unlike insurance policies, however, they do not require that either party actually own the
Business and MarketingA Management Consultant @ LargeHBR Editors' BlogWoman At WorkMarketing & Strategy Innovation BlogGrowing Professional ServicesNYU Stern School on FinancewRatings - Consumer PreferencesReal Lawyers Have BlogsEconomics and Public FinanceCalculated RiskClub Troppo » Economics and PolicyHarvard Law School Corporate Governance BlogGreg Mankiw on EconomicsPBS NewsHour: Business & EconomyPBS NewsHour: Vote 2008Resources for EconomistsThe Economist: Democracy in AmericaThe Economist: Free exchangeThe Economist Intelligence UnitThe Financial Times Economists' ForumTIME.com: SwamplandUniversity of Michigan - Economics Dept.Hal Varian on EconomicsIowa Electronic
Paul Volcker, former Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve BankPaul Volcker speaks in a voice not quite up to the challenge of transiting his imposing frame. It is the voice of a man with nothing to prove: a leader chosen by acclamation when the Vandals have stood at the Gate.Schooled at Princeton, Harvard and the London School of Economics in liberal arts, political economy and government, Mr. Volcker began his career as a summer research assistant at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1949 and 1950. He returned twice, first as a research economist, then as President in 1975. By then he had already served two stints at Chase Manhattan (first as a research economist, later as vice president
I find this talk of genetically modified food being necessary to feed the world's population incredible ('As the world begins to starve it's time to take GM seriously', Comment, last week). Yes, it would get us out of a scrape in the short term, but we have to realise that we cannot carry on expanding the population and consuming resources without consequences. If the population continues to grow, we will reach a situation where even GM cannot feed everyone, never mind competing for space, water, a clean environment and the chance for other species to exist. Overpopulation is the biggest single cause of our environmental woes and we cannot make significant improvements without addressing
El director general de la Asociación de Industrias Nucleares Europeas (FORATOM), Santiago San Antonio, señaló hoy que para que España solucione su problema energético, la clave se encuentra en la construcción de nuevas centrales, ya que ahora tiene que importar grandes cantidades de energía de otros países.Así, San Antonio indicó que España se encuentra 'retrasada energéticamente', mientras que en Europa se están apoyando en ello, y apostó por alcanzar una producción de energía nuclear equivalente a la media europea, que actualmente supone un 30 por ciento del mix energético.Por otro lado, señaló que en España se ha dado un giro 'satisfactorio' en las políticas
El Observatorio Nacional (ON) de Brasil es uno de los participantes de la iniciativa astronómica internacional Dark Energy Survey, destinada a recoger informaciones sobre la energía oscura,como es llamada la fuerza desconocida que supuestamente domina el Universo y que es responsable por la aceleración de su expansión. En el proyecto participan centros de astronomía de EEUU, Inglaterra, España y Brasil, dijo el astrofísico Luiz Nicolaci da Costa, investigador del ON, en declaraciones publicadas hoy por la agencia de noticias de la Fundación de Amparo a la Pesquisa en el Estado de Sao Paulo."Tras años de investigación concluimos que casi el 95 por ciento del Universo es
Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, or FCC, one of the largest Spanish builders, agreed to pay €190 million for Babcock & Brown Wind Partners' wind energy assets in Spain.FCC will assume €590 million, or about $880 million, in debt as part of the deal, the company, which is based in Barcelona, said in a filing to regulators. The assets include 14 wind parks with capacity of 421 megawatts.The purchase marks FCC's first investment in energy as it embarks on a €4 billion drive announced in May to diversify its business as the Spanish building market slumps. The sale of the assets will yield a profit of about 266 million Australian dollars, or $234 million, for Babcock & Brown
The image of Russia as a dark northern country that lives off its fossil fuels might be well-founded. But companies that rely on global demand for solar energy and Russia's scientific base have investors convinced.The next step: convincing their own government.Nitol Solar, a private company in the east Siberian town of Usolye-Sibirskoye, has raised $600 million in investment since opening five years ago, including $190 million from Alfa Bank on Aug. 12 and $75 million from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation in late July.The latest investment agreements were signed after Nitol Solar produced its first batch of polysilicon, an energy-intensive raw material that is the main