News Cut: January 22, 2008 Archive

Economic tsunami

Posted at 7:06 AM on January 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

This isn't pretty. Financial markets all over the country, battered yesterday on a U.S. holiday, got another chance to weigh in on President Bush's economic stimulus plan overnight. And, again, all the markets tanked bigtime.

Around 7:30 this morning, the Fed saw the writing on the wall and cut a key interest rate by 3/4 of a point.

Lehmann Brothers said earlier this morning the U.S. is just "one shock away" from a recession. Is this it? The Hong Kong market has lost 15% of its value in two days. Japan's market had its biggest drop in 17 years. And Wall Street, of course, was bracing for a slap in the face.

First, a few handy sites for the overnight carnage.

Financial Times
The Street.com
Bloomberg

Updates
5:10 p.m. - MPR's Tom Weber samples the local investor community and finds them relatively calm.

3:39 p.m. - The day that dawned looking like the beginning of the end, now looks like the end of the beginning. The Dow closed off about 128 points. The sun is just coming up in Japan, and now the big players will watch the Tokyo Stock Exchange all night. How does anyone sleep in that business?

2:58 p.m. - Democrats announce they intend to move quickly on an economic stimulus plan. They say they're confident they can work with President Bush. It only took 7 years and a global stock market meltdown to reach this point. Robert Samuelson of Newsweek discussed this a couple of days ago. Dow off 128.

1:35 p.m. - The London Stock Exchange closed higher. The Toronto Stock Exchange is en fuego (up 3%). Dow is down 122.

11:42 a.m. - Dow is down only 143. Alan Sloan at the Wall Street Journal levels criticism at "The Big Four" -- Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS -- for frittering away billions by ignoring simple rules of investing.
11:20 a.m. - A discouraging word -- or so it seems to me -- on the very fine Twin Cities blog, Behind the Mortgage where Alex Stenback says about the fed cut: "There is a credible view that a cut like this may add to inflationary pressures, thereby forcing mortgage rates upward."

11:12 a.m. - An important post by The Atlantic's James Fallows on his blog. He's living in China now and just returned to the U.S. "I know that America is on the verge of disastrous recession and that China is dynamic power of tomorrow, etc etc. But, my lord, life can be good here," he writes..

10:38 a.m. - CNN posts video: what does the fed rate cut mean to you.

9:45 a.m. - Change in plans for MPR's Midmorning. They shift to an analysis of the economic situation today. Chris Farrell and the Fed's Art Rolnick weigh in. Rolnick says the probability of recession has increased, but he doesn't think there'll be one. "It doesn't mean the economy is broke," he said. Audio here.

9:36 a.m. - Silver Lining Department checks in. Oil prices are now below $90 a barrel. Grey Cloud Department counters: Twin Cities gas prices are up 3 cents today. The Other Side of the Coin Department chimes in: Statewide, gas prices are falling.

9:22 a.m. President Bush has signaled that he might go higher on his economic stimulus plan. The Dow is down 231 points; not great, but it puts today in the category of "just another January 2008 day on Wall St." How do you like us now, Asia? The Toronto Stock Exchange is up at this hour. At least Canada still loves us.

8:47 a.m. Jim Jubak at MSN Money has posted "5 rules for surviving a bear market."

8:30 a.m. - New York Stock Exchange opens. First number on the screen: Down 233. Ugh. Two minutes later: Down 450.

8:20 a.m. - A cheer goes up on Wall Street. A couple of New York Giants come out to ring the opening bell. As a Patriots fan, I hope this is somehow indicative of their ability to sway the course of events.

(Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

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Time wasters: A blast from the past

Posted at 10:51 AM on January 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)

The Library of Congress has begun uploading digital images to Flickr.

A search of "Minnesota" revealed only two results, one of which was a picture of a battleship named Minnesota. The other was a picture identified as a guide at Little Norway in Blue Mounds, Wisc. It apparently made the Minnesota collection because "Minnesota farmer" was written on the transparency jacket.

One picture from Minnesota and it's not even actually from Minnesota? This on a day when we're obviously bending way over backwards to plant the state flag on the national stage.

Many of the color images document the late '30s and early '40s, a time when our parents and grandparents were changing American with their bare hands.

Unfortunately, we don't know who many of these people were, like this truck driver who helped building the TVA's Douglas dam.

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Abortion and a new generation

Posted at 1:49 PM on January 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

There isn't as much coverage as there used to be of the annual anti-abortion protest/rally at the Minnesota Capitol, this year marking the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Part of that is because there isn't much new to say about the issue that hasn't been said before. Nonetheless, thousands of people came to St. Paul in wind chills not fit for humans today.

About 2,000 people (my estimate) showed up this year.

The speeches were cut short, but many of them focused on the national, rather than the state debate, possibly due to a revamped Supreme Court on the issue.

One thing that's hard to miss about this year's crowd. It was young.

Part of that is because a lot of schools bussed their kids to the rally.

Still, is abortion becoming a generational issue?

The L.A. Times looked at that question today, determined that young people are more likely to be anti-abortion in greater numbers than older people, and that it didn't happen by accident.

Pew Research Center polls dating back a decade show that 18- to 29-year-olds are consistently more likely than the general adult population to favor strict limits on abortion. A Pew survey over the summer found 22% of young adults support a total ban on abortion, compared with 15% of their parents' generation.

Looking specifically at teens, a Gallup survey in 2003 found that 72% called abortion morally wrong, and 32% believed it should be illegal in all circumstances. Among adults surveyed that year, only 17% backed a total ban.

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Tales from the Badger State

Posted at 3:38 PM on January 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Wisconsin, sometimes you make it too easy.

Lt. Shawn Haney, a 21-year veteran of the Dane County Sheriff's Office, has been fired for releasing the particulars on a September underage drinking party attended by Waunakee High School football players.

Two weeks before the state quarterfinals, Haney gave the documents to the school district, expecting some disciplinary action to be taken before the football game.

Guess what football team Haney's son played on? The team that was to play -- and would defeat -- Waunakee.

"Honest to God, everybody has to step back and take a deep breath," said Haney's lawyer, Lester Pines. "We're talking about high school football here. I mean, really, come on. This seems so small-town to me."

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A part of the problem, or a part of the cure?

Posted at 10:26 PM on January 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

There are few silver linings to getting cancer in Minnesota. Here's one: You've got a better shot at getting treatment for it -- and fast -- than if you were diagnosed with a mental illness Several speakers at a public hearing on a proposal for a new mental health facility in Woodbury Tuesday night repeatedly made the comparison between the two illnesses.

"If teenagers with cancer were sent home from emergency rooms without treatment because there were no oncology beds available, we would be outraged," Dr. Stephen Setterberg of Prairie St. John's told a Department of Public Health hearing on his for-profit firm's proposal to build a 144-bed mental health facility in Woodbury. The proposal needs the approval of the Legislature because of a statewide moratorium on new hospitals.

Not a heck of a lot has changed since MPR produced its 2004 series, Bad State of Mind, chronicling the difficulty in obtaining mental health treatment in Minnesota. The chief complaint then -- a lack of beds for people needing immediate help -- is the chief complaint now. And Minnesotans need help.

(More below the fold)

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