Newspapers vs. Google.

Google accounts for a daily avalanche of their on-line traffic, but never mind about that! Newspaper publishers and editors are mad at Google and they're not going to take it any more. The entirely appropriate response to this ludicrous posturing can be found here.  (via SAI)

Bail-Out For Dummies, Part One.

Zero Hedge provides a useful primer on the "issues" that bedevil the financial system and the government's efforts to save it. This is worth reading in full.

Send Them A Message They'll Never Forget.

In California and New York, one can almost feel the tax revolt movement being re-energized. New York doesn't have a policy-setting initiative process.  But California does. And here comes Proposition 13 Redux. 

Best Quote of the Week.

Michelle Obama on her husband:

"He's always asking 'Is that new? I haven't seen that before.' It is like, 'Why don't you mind your own business? Solve world hunger. Get out of my closet!'"   -- from the Star magazine.

Financial Products Gone Wild.

From The Times of London:

Toxic debts racked up by banks and insurers could spiral to $4 trillion (£2.7 trillion), new forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are set to suggest.

The IMF said in January that it expected the deterioration in US-originated assets to reach $2.2 trillion by the end of next year, but it is understood to be looking at raising that to $3.1 trillion in its next assessment of the global economy, due to be published on April 21. In addition, it is likely to boost that total by $900 billion for toxic assets originated in Europe and Asia.

Banks and insurers, which so far have owned up to $1.29 trillion in toxic assets, are facing increasing losses as the deepening recession takes a toll, adding to the debts racked up from sub-prime mortgages. The IMF's new forecast, which could be revised again before the end of the month, will come as a blow to governments that have already pumped billions into the banking system.

Welcome to Connecticut.

When does the great exodus begin?  That's the question.

Incredible Photographs.

These are worth looking at from beginning to end.

Play Ball.

The season opener turned out to be a gem from Derek Lowe.  

The Future of The Boston Globe.



The problem with the Boston Globe is this: (1) it has very large unfunded ($100mm-plus) liabilities, (2) it has union contracts that are unsustainable, (3) it's advertising revenue is down more than 60% from just two years ago, (4) it loses (it says) about $7 million a month, and (5) its parent company is in acute financial distress.

I happen to know this because I recently worked with an investor group that was interested in acquiring the Globe from the New York Times. We did as much open source research as we could (the Globe is not officially for sale) before deciding that the situation was hopeless. No one will buy it unless the unfunded liabilities are made to go away and the union contracts are voided. That isn't an opinion, it's a fact. So the only option is some kind of pre-packaged bankruptcy.

The Globe's situation is made more perilous by the fact that The International Herald Tribune is likewise losing money hand over fist. For some reason, NYT's management believes that it would cost more to shut the IHT down than it does to keep it going (and losing money). I am at a loss as to how this could be true, but perhaps someone can explain it to me.

Anyway, both the Globe losses and the IHT losses are dragging down the New York Times Company. The company needs to get one of them (at least) off its balance sheet. Quickly. If they don't, Carlos Slim will be the new owner of the New York Times in 2010.

Coming Soon, Paeans Radio.

The AP reports on the news of North Korea's "satellite launch:"

Four hours after the launch, North Korea declared it a success. An experimental communications satellite reached outer space in just over nine minutes and is orbiting Earth, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said from Pyongyang.

"The satellite is transmitting the melodies of the immortal revolutionary paeans 'Song of Gen. Kim Il Sung' and 'Song of Gen. Kim Jong Il' as well as measurement data back to Earth," it said, referring to the country's late founder and his son, its current leader.