Cowboy Economics News - October 2009 Archives

Third sector still innovating despite hard times (10/28/2009)

Despite the recession, charities, social enterprises and voluntary organizations (the third sector) are still innovating, according to a publication out today from the Economic and Social Research Council. ...> Full Article

Roth IRA conversion not a good fit for all, tax expert says (10/27/2009)

Starting next year, anyone can convert retirement savings into tax-advantaged Roth individual retirement accounts, but the much-touted switch isn't for everyone, a University of Illinois expert on tax and elder law warns. ...> Full Article

Irrational exuberance behind recent stock gains, says finance expert (10/26/2009)

A second straight week of stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings from a broad cross section of US industries has held the nation's Dow Jones Industrial Average above the psychological benchmark of 10,000 points for the week of Oct. 19, but the climb isn't likely to last, says a finance expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. ...> Full Article

Installed cost of solar photovoltaic systems in the US fell in 2008 (10/22/2009)

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) released a new study on the installed costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the US, showing that the average cost of these systems declined by more than 30 percent from 1998 to 2008. Within the last year of this period, costs fell by more than 4 percent. ...> Full Article

The 12-step path to white-collar crime (10/14/2009)

Adelphia Communications, Barings Bank, Enron, HealthSouth, HIH Insurance, Hollinger International, Tyco International, WorldCom/MCI, Xerox ... the white collar crime list goes on. But, did the executives at these companies start out as criminals or did they head down the slippery slope to criminality one misplaced step at a time? According to research to be published in the International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, there are 12 steps to white-collar crime. ...> Full Article

Buying green can be license for bad behavior, study finds (10/11/2009)

Just being around green products can make us behave more altruistically, a new study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science has found.But buying those same products can have the opposite effect. Researchers found that buying green can lead people into less altruistic behavior, and even make them more likely to steal and lie than after buying conventional products. ...> Full Article

Third quarter engineering unemployment data show mixed trends (10/10/2009)

The unemployment rate for US electrical and electronics engineers (EEs), which had jumped to a record high in the second quarter, has eased, according to third quarter data just released by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the engineering profession as a whole, the rate continued to climb, but more slowly. ...> Full Article

Study: Some stock repurchase plans just empty promises (10/9/2009)

A new study backs longtime speculation on Wall Street that companies sometimes ballyhoo stock repurchase programs they never plan to pursue, hoping to stir a buzz that will mislead investors and pump up sagging share prices. ...> Full Article

Banking on outlier detection (10/8/2009)

Recent bank failures point to the continuing need for vigilance by regulators and investors. Now, a report in the International Journal of Operational Research, discusses the possibility of an early-warning system that spots the outliers before they fail. ...> Full Article