Valuations from "Prediction markets" reveal expectations about the likelihood of events. "Conditional prediction markets" reveal expectations conditional on other events occurring. For example, in 1996, the Iowa Electronic Markets IEM ran markets to predict the chances that different candidates would become the Republican Presidential nominee. Other concurrent IEM markets predicted...
The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act finally became law Nov. 26 after more than a year of pitched congressional wrangling. Many insurers are finding themselves with remarkably little time in which to comply with the new law namely, to resume offering coverage for acts of terrorism now that their exclusions have...
Driving into work today I felt sympathy for Sarah Palin, who faces undoubtedly the biggest moment of her political career. With her debate performance against Joe Biden tonight she can: Deeply hurt Republican chances of continuing in the White House OR again inject new...
Imagine Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson down on bended knee before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He's begging for his $700 billion bailout. Pelosi, a Democrat stalwart, blames the Republicans in the House of Representatives. Paulson replies meekly: "I know, I know." At least there was a little comic...
After years of funneling campaign money to Republican politicians, the drug business has suddenly decided that the Democrats -- who took control of Congress in the 2006 elections -- will win the White House in the fall. From 1990 until just last year, pharma political campaign contribution...
Don't shed any tears for Franklin Raines, former chief executive of Fannie Mae and villain of the moment for Republicans. While Raines was being demonized by the McCain campaign for his stewardship of the mortgage finance giant, he was buying a $4.9 million bachelor pad in...
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. It's not obvious why a side agreement to increase the amount of money insured in individual bank accounts would restart the drive toward a financial bailout, but it has. The Senate plans to vote on a bill...
By Kevin Drawbaugh and Richard CowanWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional leaders locked themselves behind closed doors on Saturday and worked into the night with the aim of nailing down a deal on a $700 billion bank bailout and halting a downward spiral in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.Leading...
By Jason SzepNEW YORK (Reuters UK) - Pressure mounted on lawmakers Friday to agree on a $700 billion (380 billion pounds) financial rescue plan after talks at the White House broke down in acrimony and the biggest bank closure in U.S. history roiled global markets.President George W. Bush said that...
By Richard Cowan and Patrick RuckerWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers pushed to finalize a deal to create a $700 billion government fund to buy bad debt and halt the financial crisis as European regulators scrambled to prevent two banks from collapsing.However, questions abound as to whether the U.S. financial rescue...
Yesterday I posted an item reporting that a Chief Executive magazine survey found that CEOs preferred Republican presidential candidate John McCain by a 4 to 1 margin. Neither McCain nor Democrat Barack Obama got high marks for their positions on the economy, energy, the environment or education,...
Officials from the University of California-Davis sent letters to California State Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill and Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) on the re-release of a university study on firearms microstamping (now peer-reviewed). University Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and Vice Provost Joyce Justus informed the elected leaders the findings of...
Rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are teaming up for their first joint concert to benefit Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Obama plans to attend the concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Oct. 16, the day after Obama's final debate with Republican...
WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats and Republicans have agreed to hold a vote today on a $700 billion financial-rescue plan amid evidence voters and lawmakers regretted Monday's U.S. House vote to kill the bailout. Supporters of the multibillion-dollar economic rescue plan fought to bring it back to life...
DES MOINES, Iowa AP -- John McCain's second visit to Iowa in less than a month is heartening Republicans who say it is proof their presidential candidate intends to compete for the state, despite polls showing him behind Democrat Barack Obama. Democrats counter that McCain's event Tuesday...
WASHINGTON AP -- Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama proposed that the government insure consumers' bank deposits up to $250,000 by raising the $100,000 federal limit as each sought to navigate the unpredictable politics of the financial crisis. Both sides also rolled out fresh advertisements tying the other to...
Gov. Sarah Palin cites vigilance against Russian warplanes coming into U.S. airspace over Alaska as one of her foreign policy credentials. But the U.S. military command in charge says that hasn't happened in her 21 months in office. "When you consider even national security issues with Russia,...
Failure of President's rescue plan has turned voters against Republicans A chastened John McCain tried to put his damaged bid for the White House back on track yesterday while ducking blame for the economic mayhem that has intensified an already bitter presidential race. Falling in...
[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] For many years, Oliver Stone tried to make a movie of The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand's epic novel about the arrogant ur-capitalist and architect Howard Roark. Stone's version would have reinvented Roark as a visionary designer of public buildings--maybe a guy like Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez,...
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