Blogroll

I've added a blogroll to the sidebar. In writing up a little summary for each one, I'm struck by how many of them there are, and it should give you, dear reader, and idea of how much time I spend keeping my brain synced to the economy. It's also what it takes to be able to see turns in the market coming and invest accordingly.

Recommended General Reading

• The Big Picture — Barry Ritholtz has gathered a great team of writers and thinkers who cover the economy broadly. This is a must-read for capturing general market sentiment to time trades and market moves. He is a reality-based non-ideologue that has a good feel for the investment community.
  


• The Oil Drum — While not about economics, per se, The Oil Drum is nonetheless essential background reading for understanding the flow of future events; it covers oil supply in particular, energy supply in general, and often has great discussions about what it all means for society, governance, politics, trade, etc. The commenting community is one of the best of any blog I follow.
  


• Calculated Risk — An anonymous blog that has become the place to go to for news on real estate.
  


• Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis — Michael Shedlock aka "Mish" demonstrates that black-humored color-commentary is a necessary condiment when reading the establishment financial press. I have some mild disagreements with his apparent structural framework, but he makes good calls on the macro level, and is usually a couple quarters ahead of the herd.
  


• Clusterfuck Nation — Jim Kunstler writes one of the best rants out there, published every Monday. He's not an economist, but he thinks broadly about society and its future.
  

Hardcore Macro:

• Credit Bubble Bulletin — Doug Noland writes a weekly summary of finance, trade, and the global economy. If I had only one economics blog to read each week, it would be this one, although it is information-dense and takes a while get enough background to absorb its flow. He's been consistently right for years, and evidently understands the broad structure of the global economy. While The Big Picture provides short-term tactical information, The Credit Bubble Bulletin every week refreshes the long-term strategic map.
  


• Follow The Money — Brad Setser provides essential original insight into US/foreign trade and capital flows. If you want to know what's up with China and the dollar, read this one.
  


• Economist's View — Mark Thoma teaches economics at the University of Oregon. Although he specializes in monetary policy and macroeconomics, he writes cogently about a variety of topics.
  


• Econobrowser — James Hamilton and Menzie Chinn provide essential perspective on money and trade flows. Hamilton's recent piece on last year's oil price spike as a trigger factor for the recession was excellent and widely quoted.
  


• William Buiter's Maverecon — William Buiter is a smart, lefty Brit who writes insightful, literate posts on macroeconomics and banking.
  


• Forex Blog — Adam Kritzer covers foreign exchange. It's a relatively recent permanent addition to my reading; it's sharply focussed and useful.
  


• macroblog — David Altig and other members of the Atlanta Fed write about central banking and the economy. It's important to get the establishment perspective undiluted and unspun by the media.
  

General Economics:

• Naked Capitalism — Yves Smith comments at length and thoughtfully on issues about the banking system and finance in particular, and the economy in general. She regularly posts very interesting links on diverse topics accompanied by pictures of cute animals.
  


• Marginal Revolution — Tyler Cowen provides great examples of how economic principles manifest in culture and society. If you liked Freakonomics, then you might find this interesting.
  


• Infectious Greed — Paul Kedrosky posts scatter more widely than most, and although non-essential, he remains a favorite read. How can you not read about rising magma below Saudi Arabia?
  


• Angry Bear — Written by a collection of PhDs, this necessarily uneven but intellectually provocative blog covers a lot of ground. If you want the dirt on Social Security, this is the place.
  


• Felix Salmon writes a blog for Reuters. Topics range widely over the economy. He occasionally posts about economics and the art world.
  


• The Bonddad Blog — Hale "Bonddad" Stewart posts mostly about short-term technical aspects of interest rates, markets, and currencies. I find him useful for timing trades and helping to keep my perspective objective.
  


• Financial Crisis and Recession — Susan Woodward and Robert Hall share an aptly named blog. After reading this post on the right way to restructure a bad bank, I made them a permanent addition to my reading.
  


• Zero Hedge — Tyler Durden is the nom de plume of a recent and prolific entrant into the financial blogosphere. He writes acidly and pointedly with obvious inside perspective on the machinations of Wall St. I suspect he's one of the multitude of recently unemployed investment bank traders. Merrill?
  


• Accrued Interest — Written anonymously, this blog provides accessible insight into the bond market.
  

Newcomers about which I'm undecided:

• Real Property Alpha — John Reeder's blog is a new addition to my list, and as such I don't have a settled opinion yet. It may end up as one of the many temporary members of my reading list, or maybe not.
  


• Financial Armageddon — Michael Panzer is another new addition, but one I suspect will be permanent.
  


• The Market Ticker — Karl Denninger writes with a certain vigor. He's new to my reading.
  

Energy Supply:

• GetREALList — Chris Nelder is an old friend of mine. He writes about energy supply and its effect on economics and the environment. I highly recommend his recent piece The Great Divide on Energy Policy.
  


• ClubOrlov — Dmitry Orlov first hit my radar a few years ago when he posted a very droll must-read three part series on collapse in the Former Soviet Union. He posts infrequently.
  


• The Oil Drum — While not about economics, per se, The Oil Drum is nonetheless essential background reading for understanding the flow of future events; it covers oil supply in particular, energy supply in general, and often has great discussions about what it all means for society, governance, politics, trade, etc. The commenting community is one of the best of any blog I follow.