I can't even turn my back on the one I've got without him flinging something at me.

OK, briefly on topic...

“There has been more damage to real estate values in the last four months than in any other four-month period."

I wish people would stop confusing values with prices.

There's a undercurrent that has yet to pull the tide out further. Some of the oldsters here will remember far far greater floor space density in offices. The opulent foyer and sweeping reception area and customer lounge with a view are not going to survive. I can see many successful survivors keeping head count but slashing floorspace.

FT.com / US & Canada - US lacked the tools to tackle crisis

Mr Paulson said any future regulatory overhaul should emphasise “better and more effective” regulation. It also needed to make sure that infrastructures and powers were robust enough to allow large institutions to fail.

“The organisations [financial firms] cannot be too big or too interconnected to fail,” he said.

OT, but... Rob Dawg, you're on fire today! - Comrade Bear (tj & the bear)
[blushes]

This is going to be a headache...

By Anne-Sylvaine Chassany

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The last “Made in Europe” paracetamol, the painkiller sold as Panadol and Tylenol, will roll off a conveyer belt in France tomorrow.

Rhodia SA, the world’s second-largest paracetamol producer, will close the 43-employee factory in Roussillon, southern France, because of competition from China and India, leaving Europe reliant entirely on imports of the drug. For Lelia Foata, a 32-year-old mother of two who lives near Paris, that’s a worry.

Bond Girl writes:
PIMCO's Paul McCulley's latest commentary

~~~~~

Yep, the Fed and the Treasury are trying to keep the $50 trillion debt balloon floating ... ain't gonna happen.

All that tax payer money floatation will get us further into the crisis as they chase bad money with good.

The REIT market is now poised to end 2008 with big losses. This year through Thursday, the index of equity REITs, which own commercial property and constitute the bulk of the market, was down 49.16 percent according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
Consider this fair warning for anybody exposed to the the remaining 50.84% that's left.

To Wall St Crooks and NYC change is in order and you lose

2009 may be the point where we begin to understand what kinds of places will be more hospitable to human society further ahead. I maintain that our giant urban metroplexes have way overshot their sustainable scale and will contract severely. With all the economic hardship, we ought to expect a lot of demographic churning, people leaving hopeless places and moving on to something more promising. I believe we will see them move to smaller towns and smaller cities.

A fun read....
Clusterfuck Nation by Jim Kunstler

Manhattan Island would be a real fine national park after its cleared. Deer, squirrels, hawks, wildflowers, hiking trails, tall trees, raccoons, bears, wolves, and naked financiers as the prey.

Oh, Rob Dawg's on fire? That explains it, I thought I smelled fur burning...

It used to be that trial and divorce lawyers were the most hated folks.

How would you like to have Goldman Sachs painted on your backs?

"I believe we will see them move to smaller towns and smaller cities." - james howard kunstler

Ahhh. The Cotean Dystopic Nodaltopia gains another convert from the ranks of its former and discredited skeptics.

If Goldman Sachs goes down, what will become of Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway shares? Oh wait, he only buys what he knows...

NY REITS are national REITS

Look at the amount of apts they have coming online. P/E is 17. Stock is down about 50%...

My guess is might go down more.

For his part, Ashwin Deshmukh, fund manager of AD Capital, LP, has been shorting none other than Avalon Bay Communities. He’s particularly skeptical of Avalon’s ability to rent out two expensive luxury developments now under construction in Harlem and downtown Brooklyn.

“They really have these notions that rent will always rise,” Mr. Deshmukh said. “That’s just the way they’ve been buying their land, the way they’ve been financing their purchases. I think their assumptions are a little too forward-looking and they’ve been really unwilling to scale those back in the

And then...

AvalonBay Communities, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, redevelopment, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities in the United States. At January 31, 2008, the company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 163 operating apartment communities containing 45,932 apartment homes in 10 states and District of Columbia, of which 12 communities containing 4,006 apartment homes were redevelopment communities. It also held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 20 communities containing 4,229 apartment homes. In addition, the company has 21 communities under construction that would contain an aggregate of 6,816 apartment

"I can see many successful survivors keeping head count but slashing floorspace."
--Rob Dawg

Will the new standard cube size be 4' x 4'? That would make the cube wall brokers happy. The cube dwellers, not so much.

Maybe companies can convert the palatial lobbies for hydroponic farming. Or install baskets and call it the company exercise facility. Maybe executive parking and car wash? Hard to figure what to do with that space unless you gut the building and re-fit for better use of space.

I visited a law firm in Thousand Oaks today, and got lost in the neighboring office complex parking lot. The buildings seemed strangely empty, but the parking lot was full: Of new cars from the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall. Probably well over a hundred of them, just sitting there collecting sap from the decorative trees.

ova writes:
"Look at the amount of apts they have coming online. P/E is 17"

Isn't that an awfully high P/E for a REIT?

crispy&cole | Homepage | 12.30.08 - 7:54 pm

My guess is Amazon is going to have some numbers that will make people unhappy. Using my secret sauce finacial indicator for them I believe sales - post Christmas are going to be worse.

"Will the new standard cube size be 4' x 4'? That would make the cube wall brokers happy. The cube dwellers, not so much."

I have seen four people in an 8x8 cube. More than once. Elbow to elbow.

"My guess is Amazon is going to have some numbers that will make people unhappy. Using my secret sauce finacial indicator for them I believe sales - post Christmas are going to be worse."
--nova

Well, I just bought another six books at Amazon today. I guess we'll see how many people gave Amazon credit for Christmas this year. We did so last year, but not this year, because we did the Secret Santa thing.

(And, I am a proud five year Navy veteran).

Aviator?

You always knew what everyone had for lunch and who had gas.
nova

TMI!

ewwwwww

You want high PEs? How about SPG, the largest mall owner in the country?

\t \tP/E:\t 28.54\t \t
\t \tF P/E:\t46.71\t \t

It is impressive how Goldman and Boston Properties managed to almost perfectly time the peak in NYC real estate by paying the most ever for a building there this year. They had some optimistic rent projects as well.

OPEN LETTER TO CR

CR, your site is absolutely terrific, but its comment section has deteriorated into the equivalent of a Yahoo message board used for bullshit and entertainment.

Conjure and I would gladly pay $200 to $300 per year, maybe more, for a service--which you could host--where serious-minded people could exchange views and information, or test ideas.

Please think about it, because the signal-to-noise ratio here is becoming too high to make it worthwhile.

Anyone care to comment on this? :

http://www.research.stlouisfed.o...XCRESNS? cid=123

~~~~

Clearly Bernanke is adding to the string he is already pushing on ... Now he tell the American people to go fly a kite ...

“The organisations [financial firms] cannot be too big or too interconnected to fail,”

I'm not accepting Hank's implied assumption that anything ever was too big to fail. He means, everything his friends owned was to big to fail.

When too big to fail no longer includes the Fed, Treasury, FDIC, and the thieving weasels in charge, then he'll be on to something. Name me one federal organization that hasn't failed us utterly and completely lately?

"Name me one federal organization that hasn't failed us utterly and completely lately?"

USMC

sm_landlord writes:
"I have seen four people in an 8x8 cube. More than once. Elbow to elbow."
--reptillian

Call center or Boiler room?

Neither. Engineers. Here in America.

All in all, a pretty good bidness model and a heaping helping of irony, I'd say for fraud, er, I mean banksters!
OCDan

~~~~

The FED is doing its duty. The FED is a private corporation whose shares are held by the Member Banks. Bernanke is responsible to his shareholders first and foremost, Not The Public.

Something to keep in mind:

In 1923 seven men met at the Edgewater Hotel in Chicago. Collectively they controlled more wealth than the US Treasury...

Charles Schwab
Alfred Cutten
Richard Whitney
ALbert Fall
Jesse Livermore
Leon Fraser
Ivan Kruegger

What happened to them?

Prison - Whitney, Fall
Died Broke - Schwab, Cutten
Suicide - The rest

"Neither. Engineers. Here in America."
--reptillian

Yikes! Hard to believe any engineering got done. My experience is that more than two engineers to a cube leads to no product and fewer engineers over time. And that's under favorable circumstances.

Easier said than done. But I'll bet a lot of people are thinking along those lines right about now.
sm_landlord | Homepage | 12.30.08 - 8:30 pm | #

Anybody with two dubloons to rub together in California is thinking Nevade Post Office Box. 

And in other news the neutron CRE along the 101 corridor is getting scary.  Longtime owners with low cost basises were content to leave buildings empty and bask in the appreciation.  Actual cash flow was secondary.  Now that cash flow is everything they can't find tenants. 

I checked into it. If you renounce the law gives them claims for taxes owed for the next 10 years
Anonymous | 12.30.08 - 8:41 pm | #

guess we should have read the social contract before we signed it... oh, wait...

It would sadden me to not be able to occassionally participate in conversation here; I understand if CR decides to do away with free posting. I hope I haven't bothered mp or Conjure with my postings. I try to give anecdotal observations when topical. I've learned a great deal here and would still read.

"....is thinking Nevada Post Office Box."

Many part-timers (snow-birds) utilize a private or public PO box for most things here. You can even use it for your official address on your driver's license......things are a little more "kick-back" here....

Admittedly, I'm not very good at figuring this out, but when thinking about places like NYC (such as with CRE in NYC) and what looks like a future with a "revised" value-generation profile, I wonder what areas like NYC are really worth, in comparison with the rest of the country. (RoC? or NNY? (Not New York)).

In a possible future, what people to do produce value probably doesn't well support the density of "knowledge workers" that urban cores provide. It comes down to what you can do to generate value-add with that square foot of leased space and hour of purchased labor.

The space is cheaper everywhere else (NNY) so now it's a matter of the value of the labor outstripping the cost of the space and the premium they might command per hour.

Upshot: The economy could be brutal to lower Manhattan.

Second upshot: Success lies in identifying and positioning one's self and one's business appropriately in the value-added space. If you look at the economic uplift of your business space and employees and find it lacking, get out now.

Crazy talk?

"It would sadden me to not be able to occasionally participate in conversation here"

.....ditto.......
Black Star Ranch | 12.30.08 - 9:00 pm | #

Much ado about nothing. Last time I checked, this was CR and not mp's blog.

Somehow CR does not strike me as an elitist.

Wonder what Apple stock will do on this rumor:

Steve Jobs' Health Declining Rapidly, Reason for Macworld Cancellation - Steve Jobs' health - Gizmodo

I mean, it's not as if (if true) it's a shock no one was expecting. No one lives forever.

(Comments thread reveals how generally emotionally underdeveloped Mac Fanboyz are...)

CR
When Roubini went to registrqation a year ago it was plagued with bugs. The posting community at the time was disrupted. Ultimately, I lurk here instead, only posting occaisonally.Be carefull when implimenting changes!!

Thanks citizen energycon, that's very gracious of you. I enjoy your posting very much.

Well, skip Jas, please.

and Werner, now that I think about it.

mp will pay for me, Werner, and Jas.
nova
Oh my, funniest stuff I've seen all day, and I spent the day serving drunken rednecks cheap vodka...

ova, just checked out your and ce's homepages, nice work. I haven't had much computer time lately with work and the holidays but I'm catching up now.

ova, it's just infatuation

"I live on the UES in NYC and believe me, CRE and residential RE here is taking a serious dirtnap."

Vega,
I'm on the West Side, and I echo your thoughts, and add to them the retail implosion, especially of smaller shops, and under-capitalized restaurants.

citizen energyecon - U watching the Russian crash? NatGas will plumet

sm_landlord writes:
This probably won't surprise anyone:

Isn't that why the market rallied today?

And in other news the neutron CRE along the 101 corridor is getting scary.  Longtime owners with low cost basises were content to leave buildings empty and bask in the appreciation.  Actual cash flow was secondary.  Now that cash flow is everything they can't find tenants. 
Rob Dawg | Homepage | 12.30.08 - 8:37 pm | #
We renewed our SF office lease for 5 years in early 2008.  Asked about renewal options, moving to a higher floor, etc. No give from the landlord.  He renewed the lease because he had to, but really he wanted us out so he could lease it to someone else.

Yesterday, we got a call from our broker.  Landlord wants to know if we are interested in a full floor 12 stories higher in building for a slightly lower rent. 

Wonder want changed in the last year?

Yesterday, we got a call from our broker. Landlord wants to know if we are interested in a full floor 12 stories higher in building for a slightly lower rent.

Wonder want changed in the last year?
NorkaWest

You aren't in the lipstick Building by any chance?

lipstick Building
Rob Dawg | Homepage | 12.30.08 - 10:04 pm | #

Need more info, but I don't think so.

Sleep Dirt
YouTube - sleep dirt

because the signal-to-noise ratio here is becoming too high to make it worthwhile

Just trying to prove conjure's point by posting on this. The thing I do not understand is why Madoff was free and this guy was not.

Martin Armstrong and the Stocks Bear Market :: The Market Oracle :: Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting Free Website

GATA-PEI-Martin Armstrong-Republic-Edmund Safra

This from Roubini

So 2009 will be a painful year of global recession and further financial stresses, losses, and bankruptcies. Only aggressive, coordinated, and effective policy actions by advanced and emerging-market countries can ensure that the global economy recovers in 2010, rather than entering a more protracted period of economic stagnation

Is he leaving the door open for depression now?

Some Madoff related stuff:

The Madoff Tax Advantage - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com

turnkey.
NorkaWest | 12.30.08 - 10:28 pm | #

should be "turkey", but "turnkey" is close enough for govmint work.

Good lord, "it's could work"...Perhaps another drink is in order. Should be "it could work"...

NorkaWest, "cold turnkey"... You are on to something there as is. Hmmm, not sure what just yet...
Doc at the Radar Station | 12.30.08 - 10:39 pm | #

Local community college is offering intro typing classes next quarter.  Do you think I should sign up?

Austin Tex - much as I'm attracted to the anarchy, there was a certain weekend where handle theft, misrepresentation and hate speech flourished. I'd like to see the end of that. Whether the instrument proposed is up to the task is an open question. Has to be.

But I like the diversity.

And the fact that some of my more outre comments have not only been posted but have been rated. It's a diverse menu on the CR board.

C

Thread music, Lightnin' Hopkins speaks of the end of Wall St as we know it.....

YouTube - LIGHTNIN HOPKINS " GOIN DOWN SLOW"

C

Is Social Security a Ponzi Sceme?
Only thought this was relevant because BusinessWeek is running it.

Regarding the push to a paid site, when you go to subscription you get cut off to new ideas. New readership would probably fall off.

Aristophon - try some real economy commentary:

YouTube - Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Cotton

One for the guitarists around here.

C

I'm more interested in finding out what sorts of policy suggestions are "in the air" so to speak. What sorts of ideas are out in the public discourse that could be picked up on by or brought to the attention of power holders. What new -- or forgotten, but now remembered -- ideas are gathering momentum.

Aristophon

At some point soon, it is going to be "put up or shut up". Time to offer up solutions to fix the mess we are in rather than just offer up critiques.

You aren't in the lipstick Building by any chance?
Rob Dawg

LOL!

(PS GMAC paper bought the week before last gave me a 27 kicker today...woho!)

"Change the Tax code"

Darn rights! A flat % no matter what. No fancy credits, postponements...

Wonder if Wikipedia will manage to stay free, they keep highlighting that donation page lately...
Mozo Maz

Was party to a dicussion that if Wiki went public and moved to a Google ad model MV would be north of 36B

Build smaller houses

Now that IS interesting. When residential investment bottoms out and starts to come back... what kind of houses will we be building and where?

"Was party to a dicussion that if Wiki went public and moved to a Google ad model MV would be north of 36B"
--Barley

But would people continue to provide content for free, and let Wikipedia rake off the profits?

Aristophon

Try this, the govt has fkd up mightly before, and before Katrina:

YouTube - Tupelo by John Lee Hooker

C

crispy&cole(Unrated) writes:
\tE-Commerce spending crumbles...lol...someone bring back the stories from black Friday...for that matter bring back the graphs from years ago that showed e-commerece growing for the next 20 years..hahahhahaha

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008...e-than- expected
crispy&cole | Homepage | 12.30.08 - 7:54 pm | #

That was ugly...

Counterpointer(Good) writes:
\t
Try this, the govt has fkd up mightly before, and before Katrina:
 
Government in 1927. Ugh! ... "The business of America is business" and all that. plus benighted rascism in the South. An evil stew or a George Bush dream.

I'm more partial to the "All the way with LBJ " school of government ...

Earlier in this thread, someone said I was "elitist" for proposing a pay comment system. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm merely proposing that, if people paid, they might weigh their words more.

I'm willing to listen to anyone, anywhere, just so long as they have something worthwhile to say. I don't care whether the thing they have to say is "on topic" or not. Having said that, I do not suffer fools gladly. My time is too important to me to read someone's cheap shot, trick shot, ideological bullshit, or just plain stupid remark.

There are a lot of good commenters here, too many to enumerate. They're being crowded out.

mp - what's wrong with price signals in capitalism?

Nothing.

Nil.

Nada.

Nihil.

Am quite prepared to pay for community participation.

C

Campbeln- "...where else can I frequent for your omnipresent insight?"

Conjure says, "Omnipresent insight?"

"BWAHAHA!"

"What you see is what you get. The rest is proprietary."

As a long time lurker here, I would agree with the need to filter out the crap. But there are good points made upthread about a pay to play site reducing new blood.

We've lost a few good posters already from the early days, and I second MP's comment that there just isn't enough time to cruise through all the BS back and forth. (I don't come here to read I/P debates.)

In reflecting on the change over, I must admit a concern that some of the voices i have truly appreciated reading over the years might drift off. So, MP, Dryfly, Mock, Misean, Rich, Citizen E, AllenM, Katrina, Lawyer Liz, Dawg (and MIA CSC) better be making the move over or I'll be hunting you down personally and forcing you to watch CNBC 24/7 until you submit.

This has been a unique community that sprouted up in the shadow of the MSM during this most historic of times. It'd be interesting to compress the archive of this blog into a book of sorts that would chronicle some of the discussions and parallel them with the market realities that had been discussed but didn't surface for 6-18 months after.

If CR goes pay to play however, count me in. (not that i ever post).

Thanks again CR, et al.

Enjoyed the thread earlier on marriage. I want to add my controversial thoughts that marriage isn't a human institution, rather it is an institution by God (yes my belief, you could call him a fairy in the sky). I really dislike how the government has kind've co-opted it as far as benefits for taxes, social security, and would rather it be an institution given back to God.

I think the true commitment given for this institution has been lost. Can I say when this happened? I don't know. But it's become a secular, watered down bastard of what it's intentions.

Even with myself and my wife's deep conviction in this matter we struggled in our first 3 years. I'll freely admit to being the small man who cared about the computer, football, and videos, and even as my wife was morning-sick during pregnancy not being there in the capacity she needed. The truth is she didn't change me, but I'm convinced God did... only after I let him do some work.

[Barak becomes a lame duck president in his first year]

I think so too. His only hope is some international conflict in which we get involved and he appears in control and inspiring... unCarter-like.

@Dryfly, if you're out there.

Don't know if you work with any of the motorcycle people, but did you hear Kawasaki's announcement about pulling out of Moto GP?

I've heard that Honda is not far behind them. Evidently, the pucker factor in Japan is going way up.

"but did you hear Kawasaki's announcement about pulling out of Moto GP"

I've got a green one that would rather be off road. All toy makers will get slaughtered.

I've enjoyed most of the posts and many of the comments for the past year. i rarely post... maybe one post per week. i'd consider paying to read CR though i hate making credit card transactions on the net.

Having said that, my vote is against making this a paid site.

Campbeln, the only "blogs" I read religiously are this one, Brad Setser, Krugman and nakedcapitalism.

Everything else I read is news feeds and stuff that's handed to me.

This is only blog on which I comment, and probably too much. I respect CR a great deal; he has taught me a lot.

I'm sure there are a lot of good blogs out there.

I think the true commitment given for this institution has been lost. Can I say when this happened? I don't know. But it's become a secular, watered down bastard of what it's intentions.

YLSP | 12.31.08 - 12:06 am | #

the divorce rate (50-60% depending on your source material) alone should be telling us that something has gone horribly wrong.

we could discuss reasons and factors for a very long time. I have similar delusions but am single - glad that you stand for your convictions. my compressed take on the matter is that here again we have sanitized out religion's moral and ethical compass and cannot put anything but pure self-interest in its place. I don't wish to sail too far OT but wanted to address your comment even if I've not really said much.

Yeah, I'd pay for the site.

Call me a Hamiltonian Populist.

the internet is a great tool for the average person, but the mass of people can thoroughly trash a good thing.

Jackson had his inauguration open the White House to the public and they tore the place apart.

I can live with the money spent.

A UBB or vBulletin bulletin board would be great. I'd love to be able to find a users comments instead of having to hunt through threads to see if some of the interesting posters had something to say.

You could have an on topic forum with one thread related to to each post and an off topic forum which threads could be created at will.

Campbeln, the only "blogs" I read religiously are this one, Brad Setser, Krugman and nakedcapitalism.

mp | 12.31.08 - 12:26 am | #

Me too - exact same bunch.

mp, yes only a fanatic reads RRW. Does he read the foreign mags too? Bike out of Britain gets my vote for the best english language, er... bike mag.

OT: Austrailian motorcycle cartoon.
http://members.tripod.com/fredgassit/

Sorry, spent the last month nursing some lumps from a recent highside with cognac. Don't bounce as well as I used too...

The moves they're making right now interest me a great deal. Kind of a harbinger of what's to come. Maybe.
mp | 12.31.08 - 1:00 am | #

I'm not so sure it is reflective of what is going on in Japan - not yet anyway - it appears they were losing races and what the hell point is it to go on a publicity tour and get your head handed to you.

That isn't to say Japan doesn't have mucho problems including at KMM. Just not necessarily related to dropping out of the race circuit.

I can tell you this - I quoted a number of jobs and lost them ALL to Japanese suppliers using a FAR more expensive process. Can't say more. I was told we weren't 'competitive'. This was a couple months ago... Hmmmm look at the yen:usd... more expensive process IN JAPAN... makes me think they are covering or protecting their domestic [Japanese] supply chain. THAT to me indicates their pucker strings are getting tight - they need to feed their suppliers - Japanese don't like to have Cadence Innovation happen to them.

Is he leaving the door open for depression now?
Comrade Kristina | 12.30.08 - 10:26 pm

I think at this point he's just hedging his bets and leaving the door open for a recession that lasts beyond 2009. He hasn't been using the "d" word lately. Not sure why. I am.

I never understood the draw of Setser. What do people get out of him? I've tried following him for some lengths of time sporadically, and each time I've fallen away from it. Maybe I'm looking for the wrong things? I wish Yves would write more though; she writes well, has great insight and instincts, interesting OT links, but not enough volume!

I can tell you this - I quoted a number of jobs and lost them ALL to Japanese suppliers using a FAR more expensive process. Can't say more. I was told we weren't 'competitive'. This was a couple months ago...

They do know how to run a company, don't they?

Trust markets more, and central bankers less...

And if ye do, I'll share a warm bit of haggish wit ye.

Dr. Walker sounds like an old Jardine Matheson Austrian.

Video - CNBC.com

I was told--privately--by the Japanese honcho that we lost the job because home office had been ordered to suspend all $US jobs to conserve foreign currency.
mp | 12.31.08 - 1:18 am | #

Could be. Our process required tooling in USD - the Japanese alternative though way more costly per part when converted into USD required little upfront tooling money. So maybe they go with their domestic source even though the payback to tool up in US was only six months. I don't know. But if that was the case - they are in way more of a world of hurt than we know because Japanese used to tool up programs with FIVE year paybacks... considering ZIRP and all.

There's something of a backlash in Japan against the major exporters (Toyota, Honda, Sony, etc.) because they've cut a big portion of their temp/seasonal workforce and thrown them out of their corporate dorms with no job. Also, was kind of interesting hearing the CEO of Honda threatening to move operations out of Japan if no intervention in the currency market. There really is no Japan, Inc. left. It seems to me all of these corporations have outgrown their national boundaries and exist solely for their own benefit. To see national governments rushing to bail them out is misguided and sad.

Yep, it's hard to spend time wading thru the nonsense. But, I didn't load Ken's code because I have often found a viewpoint that made me think more critically about my perspective.

I'm just as susceptible as everyone else to wanting my info tightly packaged and efficiently delivered in exactly the form I require so that I may pull the data I need quickly.

That is to say, I'm fairly lazy. I'm constantly reminded that if one wants to gather wisdom, they must do some heavy lifting and this includes wading thru crap comments in addition to the mentally labor-intensive analytical reasoning that is justified by the astute posters.

I wish it weren't so, but sometimes ya gotta eat yer broccoli. For me, that's trudging thru the crap.

My non-voting share casts it's ballot for the current regime.

PS- I still appreciate Ken's efforts and want to encourage him even though I haven't signed on.

There really is no Japan, Inc.

I also wouldn't underestimate the drive towards self-interest of multinationals of whatever origin, but I think culturally Japan still has a huge leg up on Western companies that want to compete on the world stage.

I don't think that's just racism on my part. In fact, I admire the teamwork.

"Also, was kind of interesting hearing the CEO of Honda threatening to move operations out of Japan if no intervention in the currency market."

Really? Do you recall where you saw that?

After having one lost decade, they may not be too anxious to have another and are clamping down. They do have a tendency, at least in my experience, of becoming very cautious when things don't go exactly as they expect them to.
mp | 12.31.08 - 1:32 am | #

Yup.

Another clue - they completely reforecast their build & pushed production out two months. They refuse to build excess inventory. As bad as that is it is still better than what happened w/ the domestics we supply - they keep ordering & building but push out their PAYMENTS to us... already way over 120 days. Maybe if the TARP flows freely enough we'll get paid too [not holding my breath]. Give me the Japanese & tight inventory but ten day terms ANY DAY.

Apart from Setser, et al, I've come to enjoy Londonbanker. He posts infrequently, but it's usually well-written and has some good insights.

As to Japan, I'd like to see us take some more of their stance re trade protectionism. Fair trade isn't the goal, it's one means to the goal of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

yeah the comments on Mish blog have kind of sucked as of late.

My only concern if this site moves away from Haloscan is how I'd be able to download the site anymore for my personal use.

I suppose I shouldn't expect JSKit to be different, but it appears the comments there go on multiple pages; so it wouldn't be as easy.

Not sure how I feel about registration; I'd probably do it... but I like the open feeling of free comments.

"What are the so-called troll topics or Off-Topics that would aggravate the regular bloggers and the blog host to such a degree that an open forum is eliminated or curtailed?"

Polemics are a good place to start, particularly polemics such as:

"You are a born a bred dope." Here, let me repeat that so you understand it. "You're a born a bred dope."

"You and everyone you know are born and bred dopes."

I think all of here are reasonably bright and respect the right of anyone to call us "born and bred dopes" as long as they're willing to present some kind of reasoned argument.

However, I don't appreciate having it said to me every god-damned day.