Couldn’t Help But Notice (101707)
For Newsweak staff, conservatives all look alike (HT Instapundit).
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Guess that fortune-telling gig didn’t work out too well — Look who’s at 17th position on this list (HT MarketWatch)
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How these two sentences show up in the same paragraph is beyond me:
“Based on our numbers, 95 percent of the folks didn’t know their rates would adjust up,” (East Side Organizing Project Director Mark) Seifert said. He said brokers told others, “Don’t worry. In two years you’ll have equity, and we’ll get you out of that ARM and into a fixed rate.”
Follow me closely here:
- The first sentence says that people didn’t know.
- The second, unless it’s only supposed to apply to the remaining 5% (doubtful, in context), shows that people were told that they were in an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage.
What, they thought their rate could only go down?
It would not surprise me to learn that the answer to the seeming contradiction is this: “Mr. Seifert has told his clients to tell him that they didn’t know their rates would adjust up, even though the vast majority of them know better. That way he could say ‘based on our numbers,’ and he would look like he’s telling the truth.”
Separately posted at Wide Open.
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Ford’s revival of the Taurus has flopped so far. Of course, it’s entirely a marketing failure. This couldn’t possibly have anything to do with it (/sarc).
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This letter-writer almost gets it right. Allow me to correct:
Turkey resolution
borders onis treason
One definition of treason: “a crime that undermines the offender’s government.” The resolution’s timing is designed to do just that with the war effort in Iraq.
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May the Fox Business Channel do to CNBC what Fox News did to CNN — relegate the competition to also-ran status. There’s a need for a serious breath of fair-and-balanced fresh air in the horribly biased Old Media coverage of business and the economy. Has anyone seen Maria Bartiromo smile since Bush took office?
I have no real opinion of Ms. Bartiromo or her show, but am an avid fan of Kudlow and Co., which is a far better show than the drivel Neil Cavuto puts out. Cavuto is a real nice guy, but it’s more a powder puff show than business news. I think we’d all like a better lineup of shows/commentary of the realities of the economy and political landscape on all networks and I DO hope the new Fox channel will do this without thinking it has to lean SO far the to Right to counteract CNN’s socialism. And when are we going to stop hearing that because Al Gore invented the internet and Bill Clinton raised taxes that the economy boomed? Anyone who worked in that economy should understand that it was a false economic boom created by venture capitalists who would shove a suitcase full of money to anything with a .com in its name regardless of what it did. Sure jobs and salaries went through the roof for a couple years as kids out of HS could become millionaires and stock options were flowing like water. The secondary economy of accountants, real estate, staffing firms, and marketing/advertising that had to service these new companies/divisions fueled that market and ultimately paid the price once the venture capital dollars washed up as many of the .com companies had little or no sustainable earnings. It lead to a recession and crash of the stock market as Clinton slinked out of office. Am I wrong here, or is this just rarely pointed out and blamed only on Sept. 11th?
Comment by Jeff — October 17, 2007 @ 8:58 am
Tom,
I saw her smiling at the Newark airport getting off the Citigroup private jet.:)
Kevin
Comment by Kevin — October 17, 2007 @ 10:11 am
#1, re your last 2/3, you are absolutely right.
Re Cavuto, with FNC he drifted to being a largely news, some business show (at least the last time I watched, which is quite a while ago). In an all-biz situation, he’ll have to shine. I thought his interview with Krugman late last year exposed Mr. K for the phony that he is. I maintain that FNC, which IMO is about as close to fair and balanced as you’ll ever see (dueling viewpoints always recognized and allowed into discussions), only looks right-wing to so many because the others are so left wing.
BTW, I moderate comments, and have tried to make that clear.
Comment by TBlumer — October 17, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
#2 Kevin, that is too funny.
Comment by TBlumer — October 17, 2007 @ 2:46 pm