Today's Econ Round-up

Pie in the Sky Edition

The Panic of ’07: Not 1907, but 2007 -- an interesting, albeit long, look at how we got here.

Income inequality is currently in overdrive:

The growth in total incomes was concentrated among those making more than $1 million. The number of such taxpayers grew by more than 26 percent, to 303,817 in 2005, from 239,685 in 2000.

These individuals, who constitute less than a quarter of 1 percent of all taxpayers, reaped almost 47 percent of the total income gains in 2005, compared with 2000.

Consumer confidence takes a nose dive...

Another lender turns off the spigot, slashes jobs…

Market corrections: take-overs help get the stock market back on pace. A good thing for stocks, (maybe) at the moment, but take-overs usually mean job cuts down the line…

And speaking of which: Realtors are beginning to look for new jobs...

In California, a consumer group calls for a 6 month moratorium on foreclosures. Basically, this would serve as a "Six Month Period for Everyone to get Their Shit Together" ...

...And this doesn't really have much to do with anything, but Goggle is launching a new feature called Google Sky, which I bet will turn a generation on to astronomy in a way previously unimaginable. I was a huge fan of Keyhole, and was thrilled when Google bought their satellite imaging services (and made said services free of charge). Google Earth is more than just nifty time killer: it's something that has subsequently made unwitting cartographers of all who use it.