1
Automobiles
A Few Auto Industry April Fools’ Day Pranks
Every April 1, automakers and automotive publications crank out a few silly jokes and pranks in celebration of the world’s strangest celebration.
2
N.Y. / Region
Holder, in New York City, Calls Terror Trials Safe
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said that last week’s conviction of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith had “proven beyond any doubt” that terrorism trials can “safely occur” in New York City.
3
Business Day
In New Tack, I.M.F. Aims at Income Inequality
The International Monetary Fund has been moving away from its single-minded focus on spending cuts, and broadening its scope.
Income Inequality; Economics (Theory and Philosophy); Inflation (Economics); Poverty
Mr. Porter may be wondering if he is allowed to favor the I.M.F. policy.
Krugman:
Mr. Porter may be wondering if he is allowed to favor the I.M.F. policy.
Krugman:
Timid Analysis (Wonkish)
I referred to this briefly in today’s column, but here’s more.
I just left the Brookings Panel meeting (yes, I’m finally back in the US), which included a paper on Abenomics;
the two discussants were me and some guy named Ben Bernank
e. Part of my discussion involved an issue I’ve worried about for a long time, which I think I’ve been able to formulate a bit better. Here goes:
e. Part of my discussion involved an issue I’ve worried about for a long time, which I think I’ve been able to formulate a bit better. Here goes:
If you look at the extensive theoretical literature on the zero lower bound since my 1998 paper,
you find that just about all of it treats liquidity-trap conditions as
the result of a temporary shock. Something – most obviously, a burst
bubble and/or deleveraging after a credit boom – leads to a period of
very low demand, so low that even zero interest rates aren’t enough to
restore full employment. Eventually, however, the shock will end. So the
way out is to convince the public that there has been a regime change,
that the central bank will maintain expansionary monetary policy even
after the economy recovers, so as to generate high demand and some
inflation.
But if we’re talking about Japan, when
exactly do we imagine that this period of high demand, when
the ZLB is no longer binding, is going to happen? Even in the US, we’re talking seriously about secular stagnation, which means that it could be a very long time before “normal” monetary policy resumes.
the ZLB is no longer binding, is going to happen? Even in the US, we’re talking seriously about secular stagnation, which means that it could be a very long time before “normal” monetary policy resumes.
Now, even in this case you can get traction
if you can credibly promise higher inflation, which reduces real
interest rates. But what does it take to credibly promise inflation?
Well, it has to involve a strong element of self-fulfilling prophecy:
people have to believe in higher inflation, which produces an economic
boom, which yields the promised inflation.
But a necessary (not sufficient) condition
for this to work is that the promised inflation be high enough that it
will indeed produce an economic boom if people believe the promise will
be kept. If it isn’t, then the actual rate of inflation will fall short
of the promise even if people believe in the promise – which means that
they will stop believing after a while, and the whole effort will fail.
Here’s the picture I put up this morning:
On one side we have a hypothetical but I
think realistic Phillips curve, in which the rate of inflation depends
on output and the relationship gets steep at high levels of utilization.
On the other we have an aggregate demand curve that depends positively
on expected inflation, because this reduces real interest rates at the
zero lower bound. I’ve drawn the picture so that if the central bank
announces a 2 percent inflation target, the actual rate of inflation
will fall short of 2 percent, even if everyone believes the bank’s
promise – which they won’t do for very long.
So you see my problem. Suppose that the
economy really needs a 4 percent inflation target, but the central bank
says, “That seems kind of radical, so let’s be more cautious and only do
2 percent.” This sounds prudent – but may actually guarantee failure."
4
Magazine
How to Think Like the Dutch in a Post-Sandy World
Can Henk Ovink sell Americans on a new approach to flooding: to let the water in?
5
U.S.
School Funding Deal in Kansas Complicates Governor’s Campaign for Re-election
Late additions to the bill included diminishing job protections for teachers, which would almost certainly become a thorny campaign issue for Gov. Sam Brownback should he sign the measure.
6
Opinion
Ebola Virus: A Grim, African Reality
This is not the Next Big One, a pandemic destined to circle the world, as some anxious observers might think.
7
U.S.
Indiana: F.B.I. Sifts Through Collector’s Trove
F.B.I. agents were removing thousands of artifacts on Thursday from a house in rural central Indiana, ranging from arrowheads to shrunken heads and Ming Dynasty jade.
Collectors and Collections
Donald Miller, 91, should hire a lawyer.
I expect the collection was legally acquired.
This looks like a taking from here.
Indiana was not always bankrupt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Miller
Nothing useful.
Drawing an overload on google
Donald Miller, collector| found him.
Donald Miller, 91, should hire a lawyer.
I expect the collection was legally acquired.
This looks like a taking from here.
Indiana was not always bankrupt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Miller
Nothing useful.
Drawing an overload on google
Donald Miller, collector| found him.
Artifact collector is Indiana man of mystery - Indianapolis Star
www.indystar.com/story/.../7257473/
6 days ago - In 1998, Don Miller
sits amid some of his collectibles in the basement of his rural
Waldron, Ind., property and demonstrates how to use a paddle ...
The Indianapolis Star
A complicated life.
8
Fashion & Style
Banking on My Future as a Father
A spate of reports on potential fertility problems among older men sends the author on a mission to the sperm bank.
9
Automobiles
We had better fix the climate.We had better fix the climate.
We can't fix the continent. Perhaps we can fix the climate.
Wheelies: The Car Tipping Edition
Hooligans tip Smart cars around San Francisco; some Toyota factories replace robots with people.
10
U.S.
For Center, 20 Years of Creating Vegetables
At the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&M University, the goal is to breed produce that tastes better, has more nutrients and better tolerates weather.
11
U.S.
Pacific Gas and Electric Charged With 12 Felonies in Explosion
Charges against Pacific Gas and Electric were linked to a 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in the San Francisco Bay Area.
12
World
Kim Further Consolidates Power as North Korea’s Leader
Personnel decisions being made at meetings this week should determine who is rising and who is falling in the dictator’s circle of power.
13
U.S.
Illinois Moves to Ease Chicago Pension Woes
The state legislature approved a plan put forth by Mayor Rahm Emanuel that would presumably include a property tax increase for Chicago residents.
14
Science
Before the Silk Road, the Grain Road
More than 5,000 years ago, nomadic shepherds in Central Asia used imported grain from China and elsewhere, perhaps in funeral rituals, a new study has found.
15
World
Turkey Lifts Twitter Ban After Court Calls It Illegal
The social media site was unblocked after a two-week ban, following a ruling from the country’s highest court that the ban violated freedom of expression.
16
U.S.
Lawmakers Deserve More Pay, Congressman Says
Representative James P. Moran says members of Congress cannot “live decently” in Washington on their $174,000 salary and deserve more money.
17
N.Y. / Region
Last Bohemian Turns Out the Lights
Clayton Patterson, an avant-garde artist, has been disillusioned by gentrification on the Lower East Side and is moving to Austria.
18
N.Y. / Region
N.Y. / Region
N.Y. / Region
Grand Jury Questions Christie Aide in an Inquiry
Michael Drewniak, who previously served as Mr. Christie’s chief spokesman, appeared before a grand jury in Newark on Friday to answer questions about the George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal.
19
Opinion
Yes He Can, on Immigration
It has been frustrating to watch President Obama’s promises on immigration reform fade to protestations of impotence and the blaming of others.
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