Assorted Topics

Trying to catch up some:

1. FreeMoneyFinance is doing an amazing thing. Matching donations upto $5000 for aid to Hurricane victims! GO and give now! I hate to make cyclists pay extra, but in this case, I want him to pay the full amount ;)
2. Speaking of the Hurricane, a few more financial points to note. The IRS has relaxed some rules and deadlines for those affected and even has advice for those who give to charities.
3. Bloomberg reports on New Orleans' Muni debt:

   "The reconstruction of New Orleans and the other ports on the Gulf Coast that were devastated by the hurricane is going to be a municipal market story. The bankers who design and sell municipal bonds, ordinarily a much-maligned group, are going to figure as superheroes in this modern Battle of New Orleans. Rated Baa2 by Moody's Investors Service and BBB+ by Standard & Poor's -- in other words, almost junk -- New Orleans already carried what the rating companies call a ``high debt burden'' and low financial reserves. So it would probably be a good idea for the state to set up a special authority to sell several billion dollars in bonds designed to help rebuild the city."

In related news, Bllomberg also reports that the economy may not be hurt by as much as some fear from Katrina.

"This paradoxical economic benefit can be seen on a large scale as well. Woodward found that South Carolina's rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Hugo in 1989 delayed the start of the early 1990s recession for the state. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis doesn't estimate the effects of a disaster on the national economy, but my own analysis of gross domestic product data from 1947 to 2005 shows that, with a two-quarter lag, a hurricane will boost growth by 0.3 percentage points.

Similarly, when a hurricane-force storm struck Denmark in December 1999, causing extensive and serious damage, the Danish Ministry of Finance calculated that the effect of the storm was to lift GDP by 0.8 percent in 2000 compared with what it would have been, and by a further 0.3 percent in 2001."

And one more hurricance related story: The SBU Finance Club is in the planning stages of a trip (or trips) down to the Gulf Coast. I will keep you posted, but if you know what 20-25 people will be able to help in early October, let me know! Also if you want to organize a similar trip down to help, contact me.

In non hurricane news:

1. Call for papers:

March 15-17, 2006: The Academy of Finance is accepting submissions of both abstracts and completed papers for the forthcoming 20^th Annual Meeting, March 15-17, 2006. We are also accepting proposals for special panels.... This information and more may also be found at their website, www.hcob.wmich.edu/aof/.

2. The NASD has a pretty useful site with advice for saving for college. Definitely worth checking out!

And don't forget to make FreeMoneyFinance pay the entire amount! (i.e. don't forget to donate!)