I had another comment I was going to make. You won’t be able to resolve it for me but I’ll raise it anyway. It strikes me that when one looks at the banking system, never before in our lifetime has the industry been under so much competitive pressure with declining market share in many areas and a feeling of intense strain, yet at the same time, the industry never has been so profitable with so much apparent strength. How do I reconcile those two observations? (Paul Volcker, 1997)

Lots of interesting follow-up to Tyler Cowen’s article on financial regulation and inequality. Kevin Drum, Arnold Kling, Falkenblog, Tyler Cowen, and others.

I’d recommending splitting the argument into three questions: (1) Why is the financial sector so big? (2) Why is the financial sector so profitable? and (3) Why is the financial sector so risky? By emphasizing being “short on volatility” Cowen is able to loop the three together, but I think it is also worthwhile to dissect them.

A few points.

• As far as I remember, The financialization of the American economy by Greta R. Krippner ar

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What will you be doing in 18 months? If you have a credit card with a $3,600 balance and you’re making aggressive $200 monthly payments, at 24.99% interest you’ll still have a balance. Not with the new Slate (SM) credit card from Chase. Chase credit card holders can enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers!

I’m not one to make very many recommendations about getting a credit card, but a zero percent balance transfer is something that anyone with a balance on another card shouldn’t overlook. Even if you owe more or less than the example I used, Slate with Blueprint allows you to design how you pay and view your progress each month on your statement. You can choose which categories you pay first, even if you carry a balance, effectively splitting your payment between those categories according to your personal financial goals.

Just a few of the details:

• 0% Intro APR for up to 18 months for those with a good credit score
• Have an average credit score? You cou

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Radiology technicians use X-ray equipment to take images and administer nonradioactive materials into patients’ bloodstream for defining the illness. According the radiology technician info technologists and radiographers produce x-ray films (radiographs) of human internal organs for use in diagnosing medical problems.

They prepare patients for radiology testing by explaining the procedure, removing the objects which can obstruct X-rays and positioning patients so that body parts can be adequately checked. To avoid exposure to radiation unnecessary, these workers restrict the exposed area with protective devices against radiation, such as lead shields, or limit the size of the X-ray beam with collimation.

Radiology technologists position the X-ray machinery at the correct angle and point on the tested part of the patient’s body. After checking the film quality, radiology technician send it to the radiologist for interpretation. Read all post…

With the Arctic snap in the UK resulting in many people being snowed in, businesses are under tremendous pressure. Not only are small businesses suffering from employees not being able to attend work, but shop owners are also being hit by shoppers not being able to brave the elements to visit the shops.

By only having a high-street presence, a shop is limiting its customers and in the current cold snap is limiting its selling potential. With roads impassable and snow mounting, people can’t shop as they normally would. And when stuck indoors unable to get out, an increasing number of people turn to the internet to browse, and shop, for goods.

By having an online shop you’re business is not giving customers the cold shoulder in the freezing temperatures, but instead is welcoming people to shop from the warmth and comfort of their own home!

Via the Guardian.  No commentary really necessary (via Q&O)

Cuba banned Michael Moore‘s 2007 documentary, Sicko, because it painted such a “mythically” favourable picture of Cuba’s healthcare system that the authorities feared it could lead to a “popular backlash”, according to US diplomats in Havana.

The revelation, contained in a confidential US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks , is surprising, given that the film attempted to discredit the US healthcare system by highlighting what it claimed was the excellence of the Cuban system.

But the memo reveals that when the film was shown to a group of Cuban doctors, some became so “disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room”.

Castro’s government apparently went on to ban the film because, the leaked cable claims, it “knows the film is a myth and does not want to risk a popular backlash by showing to Cubans facilities that are clearly not available to the vast majority of them.”

In continues:

The cable describes a visit made by the FSHP to the Hermanos Ameijeiras hospital in October 2007. Built in 1982, the new

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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — The new tax bill now on its way to President Obama for his signature will save every American from a number of tax hikes that would have begun Jan. 1 and will add more than a year of benefits for those who are long-term unemployed.

But there are plenty of other tax perks in the bill, most of which extend breaks already in place. Here’s a rundown:

Marginal tax rates

Federal income-tax rates, which were lowered under the Bush tax plans of 2001 and 2003 and scheduled to end Dec. 31, will remain in place through 2012. Had Congress and President Obama not reached a compromise on the tax bill, everyone’s taxes would have risen Jan. 1. That includes an extension of lowered capital-gains taxes for investors.

Unemployment benefits

Long-term unemployment benefits get extended for 13 months.

Estate tax

Among Obama’s concessions to Republicans is a 35% tax levied on an inheritance of $5 million or more. If no estate provision had been passed, wealthy families would have been hit with a 55% tax on an inheritance of $1 million or more beginning Jan.

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