Ambitious Soviet architecture plans are a real favorite of mine.  Right up there next to the planned-but-never-built Palace of the Soviets is the work of Vladimir Tatlin, an architect whose tremendous Monument to the Third International also never made it past the modeling stage.  The sheer, Stakhanovite scope of imagination is something to reckon with though.  A new book has been published about Tatlin's work, reviewed over here by Catherine Merridale.  Interesting stuff.

Tatlin's tower, more accurately known as the Monument to the Third International, remains his most famous creation. It was commissioned in 1919 as a monument to the Bolshevik Revolution, which had taken place just two years before. As Lynton observes only in passing, the entire project was undertaken

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Mikhail Khodorkovsky has granted an extensive written interview to the Moscow Times in which he criticized the social responsibility practices and anti-crisis efforts of Russia's business elite.  Keep your eyes peeled on the official MBK site for more on this story."No matter what the propaganda says today, our generation, including me, managed to do a lot to recreate Russian industry on a new economic foundation despite the deterioration of management systems and the utter degradation of industrial capacities," he said. "If Russia seriously decides to develop an innovative economy, we will see the same situation in many sectors of the industry. There is a huge field to work on." Khodorkovsky said he wasn't sure what Russia would look like after the crisis. "It depends on the business elite," he said. ...

We highlight Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS), E-Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) and The Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW).The Federal Deficit will be almost $2 Trillion this year, or over 12% of GDP. If we exclude the WWII years, the previous peak in the deficit as a percent of GDP was 6.3% under Reagan. Next year, the deficit is projected to decline to about $1.2 Trillion, a projection that strikes me as optimistic, but even if achieved will still be a greater share of GDP than during the worst fiscal excesses of the Reagan years.Much of the deficit this year is unavoidable, as it comes from shrinking revenues as much as from higher spending. With profits down, corporate income taxes are down; with people unemployed, or having their salaries or hours cut, they pay less individual income taxes. And you can just guess what the ...

According to the statistics provided by China's Ministry of Commerce, during the three-day May Day holiday retail sales of 1,000 major retailers in China reached CNY12 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%. Mofcom said robust sales were reported for gold, jewelry, home appliances, and automobiles because of the various promotions launched by retailers during the period. [...]

Well, the gold chart looked pretty bleak very early Friday morning…with gold touching the $880 level in London as I turned my computer off from writing Friday’s rant. I must admit that I turned the computer back on about lunch time yesterday with some fear and trepidation, but was pleasantly surprised that the price I’d seen last night [just before the London a.m. fix] was the low tick of the day. From there it worked its way a few dollars higher…right into Comex floor trading in New York.

But a tiny attempt to run to the upside into positive price territory, that started just before noon Eastern, ran into another not-for-profit seller about an hour later. From there, gold sold off quietly into the close of electronic trading on the Globex. According to the usual New York commentator, estimated volume was 50,990 lots with a switch effect of 7,874 contracts.

Although it

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TODAY: Troops begin controversial Georgia border control; EU fears Russia not a 'reliable partner'; Medvedev's first year analyzed; Russians unimpressed by income anti-corruption drive; democracy dwindling but economy bolstered in Sochi?; balletSurveillance on the borders between Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Geogia has begun with hundreds of troops deployed; Russia apparently plans to construct a naval base in Abkhazia.  Russian Ambassador to Abkhazia Semyon Grigoryev has set up the country's new Russian embassy.  Reuters has a list of 'tipping points' in relations between Georgia and Russia here.  The Chairman of the Duma's International Affairs Committee has apparently reiterated that Russia was forced to intervene in Georgia due to actions undertaken by President Mikheil Saakashvili.  'Any hope for trust, which is ...

“Goodbye safe havens, hello risky assets.” This was the refrain of investors’ theme song during the past week. Safe-haven assets were out of favor as better-than-feared corporate earnings and signs of a budding economic recovery emboldened investors’ appetite for reflation trades such as equities and commodities.

Investors’ sentiment improved notwithstanding a number of influences that could potentially disturb financial markets. These included a three-day delay in the release of the stress test results of the 19 biggest US banks until May 7, the plight of the beleaguered US automakers with General Motors (GM) proposing a sweeping debt-for-equity restructuring and Chrysler filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and fears of an escalation in the number of swine flu (H1N1) cases.

Source: Vita

As to be expected given the countless catalysts, the past week’s trading was bumpy, but the major

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This post is a guest contribution by Bennet Sedacca*, President of Atlantic Advisors Asset Management

The question I get asked the most lately is, “How on Earth did we get into this mess in the first place?” The answer, plain and simple, is greed.

I have stated numerous times that markets world-wide and throughout the centuries are dominated by individuals that cannot seem to shake the two simplest of emotions – fear and greed. Markets tend to overshoot in both directions as investors experience these emotions, which is why I live by the mantra, “buy from the fearful and sell to the greedy.”

I can trace the evolution of this greed, during my lifetime,

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