Airline merger fever is flourishing right now, with Delta, Northwest, United and Continental all considering possible partners. Yet, economists of a certain age stand agape at the lack of concern about declining competition levels in aviation. Some people seem to…
Placing bets on commodities boom
The last few years have taught economists and commodity producers much about what people are willing to pay for grains and metals. For economists, this is useful additional data about the demand functions for soybeans or corn or copper or…
Subprime may be the least of it
Don’t be too overly optimistic that mortgage-backed securities are the only dodgy financial instruments out there. Consider this analogy: People with whom I have worked know my office usually is a mess. Can they safely assume that my home office…
Muni-bond insurers latest to feel sting of risk
Today’s financial problems have one benefit: They are helping people learn about financial markets. Just as the breakup of Yugoslavia taught people the difference between Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, the current market woes are teaching people the differences between “collateralized…