IS-LM links of the day 11-30-09

How to increase employment (Becker-Posner Blog)

The 25 smartest people of the decade (The Daily Beast)

Cramer vs furor (NYP)

Friedman Important Fact of the Day

And it is on cosmetic surgery:

...cosmetic surgery is now primarily consumed not by the rich, but by the working and lower-middle classes, sometimes even by the poor. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), about 1/3 of cosmetic surgery is consumed by people who make less than $30,000 a year. About 70% of it is consumed by people who make less than $60,000 a year. It is mostly women (90%) and mostly white, middle-aged women (80% and between 35-55 years old).

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. And now, the last links of the week, for me anyway:

Yield matters (WSJ)

Why did Warren Buffett take out a one year, $8 billion loan (Clusterstock) -and you might notice yours truly has (currently) the highest rated response

The role of the database in the crisis (Felix Salmon)

IS-LM links of the day 11-24-09

1 in 4 borrowers is under water (WSJ)

What happened to the link b/w the yield curve and equities (MarketSci Blog)

Climategate is heating up (Telegraph)

Op-eds: Government in the private sector (WSJ)

David Brooks pens an outstanding opine on healthcare (NYT)

4.5% of the world's population, 26.7% of its output

Be proud, America, you are definitely pulling your weight.

IS-LM links of the day 11-23-09

As Tyler Cowen says, the best economics post in a while, and it's by Krugman (NYT)

Why you're never gonna get a Sharpe ratio above one for commodity trading (World Beta)

The Fed is in a corner (FedWatch)

The relationship between obesity and eating quickly (Atlantic Business)

Companies with the most buy ratings by their analysts (Bespoke Investment)

John Bates Clark Scary Chart of the Day

The numbers are out, and they sure don't look good. Unemployment numbers are awful, but they aren't entirely pervasive. Some states are making out better than others: notably the northern Midwest states (ND, SD, and NE). Only conclusion I can draw is that these economies that are largely agriculture-based (notably corn) must be very insulated from the macro-level problems. Just check this out in a chart from Calculated Risk:

IS-LM links of the day 11-20-09

What is "enough"? (Project Syndicate)

How Saddam thought-from an economist's perspective (Cheap Talk)

Why no one expects a strong recovery (WSJ)

If people start living to 100, what are the investment plays (Humble Student of the Markets)

John Bates Clark Chart of the Day

Investing fads since 1996, courtesy of the Reformed Broker:

IS-LM links of the day 11-18-09

Michael Boskin: Stimulus through payroll tax cuts (WSJ)

Lowenstein: Banking fix in 6 steps (Bloomberg)

Commercial real estate is an accident waiting to happen (Michael Panzer)