The Economist

Curious how the US, on a state by state basis, stacks up against the rest of the world, in terms of economic (and population) prowess? The following interactive graphic from the Economist should answer all questions about what state is equivalent to what country. With some surprises: as the Economist points out: "Who would have thought that, despite years of auto-industry hardship, the economy of Michigan is still the same size as Taiwan's?" On the other hand Montana Grungeville being equal to Greece in GDP - that we could live with...

"I hold a deeply held view of Ron Paul as an honorable, genuine and trustworthy American statesman. In fact, I cannot really think of anyone else in the tepid cesspool of American politics today whom I could even remotely categorize as a statesman as opposed to a run of the mill politician (or ideologue as Mr. Lucas puts it). Mr. Lucas moves on to explain that to an ideologue it is current ideas that matter, while to a statesman it is certain principles that matter. He states that an ideologue’s view of the world and its inhabitants is political, while to a statesman it is historical. These simple sentences are what I believe inherently separate Ron Paul at his very core from everyone else currently running for president. This is merely what separates the man’s character from the others. This is reason enough to consider him, but not reason enough to vote for him. His ideas about liberty, war and economics also separate him from the pack and it is his strongly held principles on these subjects that in my view make him the only one capable and with enough conviction to help heal this country’s wounds, get us back on the right and moral path and foster real change as opposed to a campaign slogan."

Is idiosyncracy the substitute for a fledgling Sovereign Bond Market?  Including our recommendations for 2012

The Economist has stolen InTrade's thunder on the matter of IMF head odds and has compiled a list of the most likely candidates to take over for DSK, whose entire world has come crashing down in the span of a few minutes. This particular selection process may be more complex than usual, as it will see non-European countries vying for representation, as well as the possibility of PR damage control of having a woman, Christine Lagarde, on top. What is certain is that no matter who ends up standing when the conclave is over and white smoke is released, Mohamed El-Erian will be again correct: the process will high on pomp, even higher on Feudal traditions, and lacking in any true significance. From the Economist: "The head of the IMF has traditionally been a European, but calls from emerging countries to break with this unwritten rule, which they consider unfair, have been growing louder in the aftermath of the Strauss-Kahn imbroglio. But Europe seems unwilling to give up the privilege of having one of its own at the top of the IMF, particularly at a time when the IMF’s main job is crafting bail-out packages for euro-area countries. Here are some of the people viewed to be plausible contenders to replace Mr Strauss-Kahn, and the odds on their getting the top job according to William Hill, a British bookmaker. A win for a non-European would be a first for the IMF, as would the appointment of Christine Lagarde, who would be the first woman to head the organisation."

Part 1 of the Economist FTW cover series came a week in advance of the first Greek bankruptcy (not to mention flash crash). Here comes Part 2...

The ISM Number of 56.3 came higher than the top of the range of what every single economist had been predicting, which topped at 56.0. But at least the administration works in mysterious, if not so subtle ways. Here is Goldman's explanation for what caused the unexpected surge.

All you need to know in two easy words.