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SOCIETY & THE ARTS
Riding Out The Crisis With A Few Good Books
Andrew Bast 11/22/2008 12:00:00 AM
Nobody asks a doctor for a diagnosis in the middle of surgery. Likewise, it seems unreasonable to expect that the current global economic crisis can be understood or explained now, as we struggle to grasp its full magnitude. Back in March, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed his own early overhaul with a qualification: "This blueprint addresses complex, long-term issues that should not be decided in the midst of stressful situations." Now comes a spate of timely new books offering their own creative blueprints for understanding—and fixing—the mess.
ECONOMICS
The View From Israel
Kevin Peraino 10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM
Stanley Fischer may be thousands of miles from the epicenter of Wall Street's meltdown, but few people are better positioned to understand it. The 65-year-old former MIT economics professor supervised Ben Bernanke's doctoral thesis on the Great Depression. Later Fischer worked as a senior IMF official during the Asian financial crisis. Three years ago he moved to Israel after finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu persuaded him to leave his job at Citigroup and take over as the Jewish state's central banker. He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Kevin Peraino at his office in Jerusalem. Excerpts:
Good Times Breed Bad Times
Robert J. Samuelson 10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM
A dozen years ago, James Grant—one of the wisest commentators on Wall Street—wrote a book called "The Trouble With Prosperity." Grant's survey of financial history captured his crusty theory of economic predestination. If things seem splendid, they will get worse. Success inspires overconfidence and excess. If things seem dismal, they will get better. Crisis spawns opportunity and progress. Our triumphs and follies follow a rhythm that, though it can be influenced, cannot be repealed.
BUSINESS
The Anatomy of Fear
Daniel Gross 10/11/2008 12:00:00 AM
The technology that transmits odors and fragrances digitally is still in the very early stages of development. But on Monday, Oct. 6, the whiff of fear emanating from the television was overwhelming. James Cramer, CNBC star, ex-hedge-fund manager, mascot of the 1990s tech boom and the recent bull market, was throwing up his hands. "There's always a bull market somewhere" has long been one of his signature lines. But Cramer admitted to the "Today" show's Ann Curry that "somewhere" was now nowhere to be found. "Whatever money you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market right now, this week," he pleaded. "I do not believe that you should risk those assets in the stock markets."
ECONOMICS
Up, Up and Away ...
Rana Foroohar 8/2/2008 12:00:00 AM
Globalization used to be all about making things cheaper. It's hard to think of much that didn't go down in price over the past few decades—cars, electronics, consumer goods of all kinds, services like banking and telecommunications—as the global movement of goods, labor and capital played out around the world, enriching developed countries and emerging markets alike. In fact, between 2003 and 2007, world GDP grew 5 percent per year—faster than it ever has—even as inflation remained under 4 percent. Freer trade, cheaper emerging-market labor, better technology and more plentiful capital all collided to make this early part of the century the most prosperous in the history of our planet.
INSIDE BUSINESS
How a Lack of Faith Pounded the Markets
Daniel Gross
Last Monday morning, $2 bills could be seen taped to the inside of entrance doors at the octagonal headquarters of Bear Stearns in midtown Manhattan. It's hard to decide what was more remarkable: the fact that $2 was the price per share JPMorgan Chase had just agreed to pay to take over the company, whose stock had traded above $60 the previous week, or the fact that at a place where so many employees had suddenly become impoverished, the $2 bills lasted for more than a few minutes.