The SEC has never really audited the firms they oversee. This is the reason SEC Chief Cox put $54 M into XBRL trying to get information so they could at least start. And so CFO reports that XBRL will be required by second quarter of 2009. XBRL stands for Extensible Business Reporting Language. It brings…

The "Economic Stimulus Package" Explained We don't know who came up with the following analogy (we can't take credit for it), but it does an excellent job of illustrating how Keynesian-style economic stimulus programs work, or, to put it more aptly, don't work. Shortly after class, an economics student approaches his professor and says, "I…

What’s Your Currency? Imagine that the world is a series of disconnected islands.  Each island produces a different product. And so it is necessary for the islanders to trade with one another to get products not produced on their island. And so the outrigger dugouts start plying their way from island to island. By mutual…

Natasha Richrdson, wife of actor Liam Neeson and an accomplished actress, has died of an apparent head injury while snow skiing. Oddly she seemed okay so the paramedics did not examine her. It was only later that she began feeling ill.  You will recall that Sony Bono and one of the Kennedys skied into fixed…

Well OK he says it was just a rhetorical flourish. But again, a socionomic analysis told us to expect that people would be getting more and more mad, now it is here.  Meanwhile the FED announced it would, now take this in slowly, borrow money to buy Treasury securities that are sold using of course…

Michelle Malkin notes that this indignation over AIG is rather hypocritical. Seems bothe the Dems and Republicans have been wanting this both ways. One day we, the recipients of campaign cash, vote for the bailout. The next we are aghast at the bonsues paid, to the execs who no doubt provided the campaign cash. Gee the…

Our socionomic perspective here on the blog is that ANGER would be increasingly evident. Several of the students months ago expressed surprise noting that they were not angry. Well check out the reaction of Senators, on both sides of the aisle, over the AIG bonuses. No doubt the tar and feathers would be ruled  unconstitutional,…

On CNBC Art Cashin, Floor Manager for UBS, points out that FASB 157 requiring mark to market, passed November 15, 2007 a week after the all time high in the Dow at 14,000. The market has been going south every since. Well none of us are saying FASB 157 alone caused that, decades of overspending…

Here is a closer examination of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway. I would say theses stock investments are still way early, and probably purchased a bit high.

Only a couple of auto makers are doing better this year.  Hyundai is one of the few.  We study Total Quality Management in Cost Accounting. After a huge mis step on entering this market, Hyundai and Kia re thought and came back with a TQM strategy. The result is a product rivaling those costing thousands more. …