Comments on: Counterparties http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/24/counterparties-327/ A slice of lime in the soda Thu, 23 May 2013 07:30:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: TFF http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/24/counterparties-327/comment-page-1/#comment-25382 TFF Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:27:48 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=7720#comment-25382 hsvkitty, it appears they have finally caught (and convicted!) the man responsible for the financial crisis! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/business/26nocera.html Now that he is behind bars, we are all safe. hsvkitty, it appears they have finally caught (and convicted!) the man responsible for the financial crisis!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/busine ss/26nocera.html

Now that he is behind bars, we are all safe.

]]> By: TFF http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/24/counterparties-327/comment-page-1/#comment-25381 TFF Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:57:29 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=7720#comment-25381 dWj, the real problem is how to describe a multi-dimensional situation with a single number. It is true that quality has improved. Your typical car today is more reliable and has better engineering than a Mercedes from the 1980s (especially the one Mercedes that my grandparents bought -- that was a lemon). Still, you can't eat quality. A household needs housing, transportation, food, communications... And if the "lower quality" items are no longer available, then they have no choice but to pay for the "improved" version. In many areas, we're past the point where technological improvement makes any real difference. The only time I'm happy for a faster broadband connection is when I'm forced to play annoying animated ads. And I've found that a 1.8 GHz processor from 10 years ago runs decade-old software just as well as a more modern machine runs the latest releases. Are the "improvements" really worth 50% more? dWj, the real problem is how to describe a multi-dimensional situation with a single number.

It is true that quality has improved. Your typical car today is more reliable and has better engineering than a Mercedes from the 1980s (especially the one Mercedes that my grandparents bought — that was a lemon).

Still, you can’t eat quality. A household needs housing, transportation, food, communications… And if the “lower quality” items are no longer available, then they have no choice but to pay for the “improved” version.

In many areas, we’re past the point where technological improvement makes any real difference. The only time I’m happy for a faster broadband connection is when I’m forced to play annoying animated ads. And I’ve found that a 1.8 GHz processor from 10 years ago runs decade-old software just as well as a more modern machine runs the latest releases. Are the “improvements” really worth 50% more?

]]> By: dWj http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/24/counterparties-327/comment-page-1/#comment-25380 dWj Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:16:46 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=7720#comment-25380 I rather imagine people would grasp that if a sandwich stays at $5 but declines in quality, that that is inflation. Dudley may have been a bit clumsy in making his point -- which in part was that the Fed can't target relative prices, and in part was that inflation isn't the Fed's only concern. "How many of you would like to lose your jobs so that prices would stay lower?" might have been a good question for him to ask. I rather imagine people would grasp that if a sandwich stays at $5 but declines in quality, that that is inflation. Dudley may have been a bit clumsy in making his point — which in part was that the Fed can’t target relative prices, and in part was that inflation isn’t the Fed’s only concern. “How many of you would like to lose your jobs so that prices would stay lower?” might have been a good question for him to ask.

]]> By: dWj http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/24/counterparties-327/comment-page-1/#comment-25354 dWj Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:39:42 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=7720#comment-25354 That's on some level where I was heading with http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/17/the-nyt-paywall-arrives/comment-page-1/#comment-25025 That’s on some level where I was heading with http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/20 11/03/17/the-nyt-paywall-arrives/comment -page-1/#comment-25025

]]> By: AASH http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/24/counterparties-327/comment-page-1/#comment-25353 AASH Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:35:03 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=7720#comment-25353 That NYPost article was even worse than I thought it was going to be. I can't believe people have bought the whole, "people in queens don't use Ipads" angle, and the guy in the audience was an idiot for not understanding the very simple concept of decreasing price per processing power. That NYPost article was even worse than I thought it was going to be.

I can’t believe people have bought the whole, “people in queens don’t use Ipads” angle, and the guy in the audience was an idiot for not understanding the very simple concept of decreasing price per processing power.

]]> By: SSV-78 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/24/counterparties-327/comment-page-1/#comment-25350 SSV-78 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:15:37 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=7720#comment-25350 Felix Thanks for letting us know about the Lincoln ad. The ad showed up while on a visit to nytimes.com and I signed up. I read about 300 articles a month on the website and was ready to pay the subscription fee (I don't get the paper) but I am glad to get free access for the rest of 2011. Felix

Thanks for letting us know about the Lincoln ad. The ad showed up while on a visit to nytimes.com and I signed up. I read about 300 articles a month on the website and was ready to pay the subscription fee (I don’t get the paper) but I am glad to get free access for the rest of 2011.

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