Piracy Business Down Sharply

They asked for $25 million.  They got $3 million.  It's hard to ransom an oil tanker fully loaded with 2 million barrels. The Pirates were basically paid a storage fee.  Questions:  (1) dollars or yen?, (2) management fee dispute?  

Bio-Energy Explained.

This is a very useful primer on why biology is the future of energy.  It's well worth your time and it doesn't have anything to do with today's unemployment news, which is something the old Ellisblog! would have obsessed about, but the new Ellisblog! flicks aside like dandruff.

Wingsuits.

No bad news today!  Just incredible video of men in wingsuits, jumping off cliffs in Norway and flying around.  (From the Seven Sunny Days DVD, via Ali, via Kedrosky)

Reader Complaints!

Too grim.  That seems to be the rough consensus of a small sample of Ellisblog! readers.  Too dark. Accentuate the positive!  

Okay.  Here's a really amazing technology called Photosynth. 

Plunging Skylines.

Take a reasonably stable market for commercial real estate, like Boston.  Gather data from 2007. Gather data from 2008. Compare and contrast.

Your Own Money

Villagers in Thailand have had enough of the whipsaw of global finance; they're printing their own money.  They need, they say, something they can believe in. How long before people in Scotland or on the outskirts of Madrid start doing the same thing?  Lest you think it can't happen here: "Banc Shares" are already a form of local currency in Berkshire, Massachusetts.

2009 Decisions.

Martin Wolf, whose commentary throughout the financial crisis has been uniformly excellent, weighs in today with another strong column on the importance of making the right decisions in 2009 to prevent the global economy from entering a death spiral.  The stakes really are that high.

His Second Big Mistake

President-elect Obama has apparently chosen Leon Panetta, former White House chief of staff under President Clinton, to become Director of Central Intelligence.   The current DCI, Mike Hayden, is arguably the best director since Richard Helms.  Mr. Panetta is a political pro, not an intelligence pro.  Langley will reject him.  It's a big mistake.

Chrysler's Collapse and the "New Normal."

Down 53% in December, Chrysler, the weakest of the weak sisters, continues its dismal demise. It will not get better for Chrysler, ever.  It has reached the end of the make believe.  In 2009, the money runs out and companies like Chrysler finally die.  

Chrysler's demise is not a good thing.  And the consequences of it and others like it will be much more disruptive than people imagine. But the escape from reality (which is what the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2008 were all about) is over.  

The facts are these:  The consumer is broke.  The government is broke.  The financial system is bankrupt.  2009 is when the consequences of those three facts create what Paul Kedrosky calls "the new normal."

Krugman on GD2

This column rings in the New Year with a grim but realistic assessment of where things stand. Read the whole thing.