Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed

Alien Invasions: Krugman vs The White House
Germany, Not China, Must Bail Europe
Twitter Digest: 2011-11-07
Best Buy: The Bulliish Case?

Alien Invasions: Krugman vs The White House

Posted: 07 Nov 2011 04:18 PM PST

Economist Paul Krugman isn’t always on the same side of things as the White House, but they’re usually in the same general star quadrant. Not, however, when it comes to alien invasions, it seems.

Here is Krugman over the weekend warning (alright, only sort of) of alien invasions:

And the White House responds (alright, to something else, but it’s close):

Searching for ET, But No Evidence Yet

By Phil Larson

Thank you for signing the petition asking the Obama Administration to acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence here on Earth.

Germany, Not China, Must Bail Europe

Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:07 PM PST

Good Michael Pettis post:

… the main issue is the sheer silliness of Europe's asking for foreign money. Any net increase in foreign capital inflows to Europe must be matched by a deterioration in Europe's trade balance. This will probably occur through a strengthening of the euro against the dollar. And given weak domestic European demand, this means that either Europeans will buy from foreign manufacturers what they would have bought from European manufacturers, or it means Europe will export less. Europe, in other words, is trading medium-term growth and employment for short-term financing for borrowers that should not be increasing their debt levels.

This is absurd. Europe needs growth, not capital, and importing capital means exporting demand, which is now the world's most valuable resource. Increasing unemployment cannot possibly be the solution for Europe – especially when Spain just announced yesterday that unemployment was up to 21.5%.

via China Financial Markets » Germany must do it, not China.

Twitter Digest: 2011-11-07

Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PST

Entertainingly digressive Geoff Dyer review of new Martin Amis biography – http://t.co/3kuFVTID #
"Does it mean anything he is wearing a hat?" "I think his ears are cold." #TodayinPenetratingNYCMarathonCommentary #
We're so screwed MT @Bill_Gross: When Justin Bieber says "Night Girls" 29,612 of them reply! That's 0.2% reply rate on 14,143,871 followers #
Edward Chancellor: Germany's eurozone trilemma – http://t.co/s5ae5RAd #
NYC Marathon runners abducted by aliens along Verrazano Bridge – http://t.co/rK7hjnZW /via kathrynschulz #
Evans-Pritchard: Europe's rescue fiasco leaves Italy defenceless – http://t.co/ZoAPDGWt #
Disqualifying behavior RT @emilychangtv: My bizarre encounter with Andrew Mason and other Groupon execs in Times Square http://t.co/6N1zmV1s #
Made ginger five-spice salmon tonight with spinach & garlic salad. I amaze me with my cooking skillz. #
Attempted commodity theft of bronze statue of Ronald Reagan thwarted. Insert joke here _________. http://t.co/y2QxEG02 #
Weeks after hard-drive makers' stocks crushed, NYT perks up and notices a problem – http://t.co/9LJ5w3Fp #
Long load time, but totally^2 worth it: Mining powder at Retallack BC – http://t.co/dBZaarTN /via @ski_pdx #
As much as I would life to continue to lay waste to nonsensical tweets tonight, I have offspring to bathe. You lovely kids are on your own. #

Best Buy: The Bulliish Case?

Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:58 AM PST

I’ll preface this comment by saying that I’ve been (unprofitably) short Best Buy for a few months now, so …. I’m interested to see the retailer’s moves today. I have a general thesis that downbound companies go through multiple phases, analogous to the stages of grief when dying. Late on this list is “Doing dubious acquisitions”, and it strikes me that Best Buy has reached that point with its purchase today.

I am, however, perfectly happy to be convinced I have this all wrong. What is the strongest case for continued Best Buy dominance going forward? Is there a role for a big box retailer in consumer electronics in a world of Amazon, Pricegrabber, NewEgg, et al? I’m genuinely curious.

I’ll start things off: I haven’t purchased anything in an bricks-and-mortar electronics retailer in at least three years, and maybe longer. I have popped my head in, mostly to a) use the restrooms, oe b) treat the store as a showroom for things I was planning to buy online.