The new Baffler. Back in the nineties, published out of Chicago and edited by Thomas Frank, The Baffler articulated an anti-cool sort of cool that appealed to young readers and writers on the margins of journalism and academia, subjecting the iconic brands of consumer capitalism to a quasi-Marxist critical scrutiny. During the Bush years it went out of business. Now it’s back, with a table of contents largely devoted to the economic crisis: a perfect moment for The Baffler’s kind of cultural criticism to be revived.
On August 29, 1619, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who served as Minister of Finances under the rule of Louis XIV., was born. Colbert's innovative financial politics was one of the basic pillars of French absolutism and was about to change the world into a modern economy.
‘Private equity’s undisclosed business model is value capture through financial engineering focused on the enrichment of a managerial elite, with mass investors mainly involved in providing the cheap debt which makes the whole thing possible.’ Julie Froud and Karel Williams, Private Equity and the Culture of Value Extraction, New Political Economy, 2007
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) could become the first mainstream higher education institute to become a private company.
UCLAN announced to staff last week that it is seeking to dissolve its corporate form to become a private company, raising fears among staff that the institution could become a for-profit enterprise
Europäische Banken im Stresstest: Können europäische Finanzinstitute ohne steuergeldliche Zuwendungen überhaupt weiter fortbestehen? Vieles spricht dagegen, doch sollte man auch hier keine voreiligen Schlüsse ziehen. Dass die Lage bei Weitem nicht so dramatisch ist, wie Uns von den Massenmedien suggeriert wird, stellen jüngste Angaben auf Rückzahlung der Kredite bei der EZB klar, wonach 278 Banken ihre Schuld bei der EZB bereits vor dem Ablauf der dreijährigen Zahlungsfrist in Höhe von 137,2 Milliarden Euro beglichen haben. Die teilweise in staatlicher Hand gehaltene Commerzbank befindet sich darunter.