All Things in Moderation

I saw this over at Hot Air and thought it might be an interesting topic for lawyers and laypeople alike.  In a nutshell, the article claims that the individual mandate’s penalty constitutes duress and therefore negates the validity of the insurance contract. Further, since insurance companies will have to accept all comers, they are under duress as well.

The questions asked are, to me, really interesting. Whataya think?

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Prepared Testimony

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It will be interesting to see how the press covers Romney’s win in Michigan last night.

An article on Yahoo Calls it an important win.

Meanwhile, Dan Balz has a more measured take on the win. He questions whether a frontrunner should really have such a hard time winning a state where a grew up, where his dad was governor and where he won 4 years ago. A fair question in my opinion.

On a slightly more wonkish note, Romney’s Michigan win netted him only 14 delegates while Santorum got 12. This is because Michigan broke GOP rules by moving their primary up a week and lost a few delegates and also because the race was very close.

It will be interesting to see if Romney can turn the two wins into some real momentum heading into Super Tuesday and whether Santorum can successfully counter the perception that Romney had two big wins on Tuesday. Then again momentum may be red herring if the real reason for Romney’s wins were that he has more money and is better organized. Scott, care to opine?

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We sometimes call ATiM a grand experiment.

I’ve been given a chance at another grand experiment.  Fifteen grand of an experiment, give or take.

The theme is “Yay Me!  Yay Us!”  Interpret that as you will.  The budget is $15,000.

How would you spend it and what’s the result?

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Vital Statistics:

World markets are slightly firmer this morning on the back of in increased commitment from the ECB to lend to European banks. The ECB said it will lend 529.5 billion euros, much higher than previous commitments and higher than economists were predicting. Most sovereign yields are lower this morning with the exception of Portugal, which is blowing out again.

4Q GDP (this is the 2nd of 3 reports) came in at 3% vs the initial 2.8% reports. Personal consumption improved to 2.1%. The GDP price index and core PCE came in higher than expected. Bonds and mortgage backed securities are slightly stronger on the data.

The banking system is on the mend. The FDIC released its quarterly report on the state of the banking system yesterday, noting that lending has increased and problem loans have decreased. Profits have increased, but decreases in loan-loss provisions have been the main driver in that increase. Return on Assets is a paltry .76%, as financial repression (Bill Gross’s term for ZIRP) continues to weigh on bank profitability.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs yesterday. The questioning focused on the health of the FHA and Administration initiatives to help prevent foreclosures. The second panel included acting FHFA Director DeMarco, and the questioning focused on allowing principal modifications for Fannie and Freddie loans. This issue has been a bone of contention between the liberal wing of the Democratic Party who want mass principal forgiveness and DeMarco who is charged with maximizing value for taxpayers.

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