Classic Adam Smith quote on banking…

“Though the principles of the banking trade may appear somewhat abstruse, the practice is capable of being reduced to strict rules. To depart upon any occasion from those rules, in consequence of some flattering speculation of extraordinary gain, is almost always extremely dangerous, and frequently fatal to the banking company which attempts it.”

— Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations”, 1776

Assorted Links (5/29/2010)

Here’s a list of articles that I have been reading lately: 
 
Charles Krauthammer – A disaster with many fathers
“Obama is as responsible for the Gulf as Bush was for New Orleans.”
 
Academics on What Caused the Financial Crisis – Real Time Economics – WSJ
“The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on Friday and Saturday heard several academic economists’ take on what led to a near-meltdown of the global economy.”
 
Static In Search for Cellphone-Tumor Link – The Numbers Guy – WSJ
“Why a long-term study couldn’t reach conclusive results.”
 
Mark Helprin: On Memorial Day – WSJ.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Mark Helprin writes about what we owe to the fallen, and to those now serving.”

 
Calling a State Sponsor a State Sponsor

“A growing body of evidence points to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez’s singular role in supporting terrorism and related criminality.”

 
“Waves & Beyond and The Gift by Jan Florence Garven: Jan Florence Garven is an artist who specializes in mixed media. She combines paper, metal, wax, textiles and found objects to convey conceptual images.”
 
Lighter than air – The Big Picture – Boston.com
“Fill a lightweight material with hot air, helium or hydrogen, and you have a vessel that floats in the air. People around the world use balloons, blimps and airships for transportation, to conduct research, to deliver messages, to protest, and – mostly – for having fun.”
 
Peggy Noonan: He Was Supposed to Be Competent – WSJ.com
“The spill is a disaster for the president and his political philosophy, Peggy Noonan argues in The Wall Street Journal.”
 
Obama’s Blowout Preventer – WSJ.com
“The Wall Street Journal that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar had a reform plan to prevent blowouts like the one at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.”
 
“Governments were the solution to the economic crisis. Now they are the problem.”
 
“After a yearlong effort to get it right, the U.S. Senate passed a financial overhaul bill last week that actually weakens the government’s ability to manage the next financial crisis. The House version passed last December is better, but not much.”

Assorted Links (5/29/2010)

Here’s a list of articles that I have been reading lately: 
 
Charles Krauthammer – A disaster with many fathers
“Obama is as responsible for the Gulf as Bush was for New Orleans.”
 
Academics on What Caused the Financial Crisis – Real Time Economics – WSJ
“The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on Friday and Saturday heard several academic economists’ take on what led to a near-meltdown of the global economy.”
 
Static In Search for Cellphone-Tumor Link – The Numbers Guy – WSJ
“Why a long-term study couldn’t reach conclusive results.”
 
Mark Helprin: On Memorial Day – WSJ.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Mark Helprin writes about what we owe to the fallen, and to those now serving.”

 
Calling a State Sponsor a State Sponsor

“A growing body of evidence points to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez’s singular role in supporting terrorism and related criminality.”

 
“Waves & Beyond and The Gift by Jan Florence Garven: Jan Florence Garven is an artist who specializes in mixed media. She combines paper, metal, wax, textiles and found objects to convey conceptual images.”
 
Lighter than air – The Big Picture – Boston.com
“Fill a lightweight material with hot air, helium or hydrogen, and you have a vessel that floats in the air. People around the world use balloons, blimps and airships for transportation, to conduct research, to deliver messages, to protest, and – mostly – for having fun.”
 
Peggy Noonan: He Was Supposed to Be Competent – WSJ.com
“The spill is a disaster for the president and his political philosophy, Peggy Noonan argues in The Wall Street Journal.”
 
Obama’s Blowout Preventer – WSJ.com
“The Wall Street Journal that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar had a reform plan to prevent blowouts like the one at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.”
 
“Governments were the solution to the economic crisis. Now they are the problem.”
 
“After a yearlong effort to get it right, the U.S. Senate passed a financial overhaul bill last week that actually weakens the government’s ability to manage the next financial crisis. The House version passed last December is better, but not much.”