Economics and finance links

16 Tycoons Agree to Give Away Fortunes:

Mark Zuckerberg has signed onto the "Giving Pledge," which asks its signatories to commit publicly to give away the majority of their wealth.

The 26-year-old is one of 16 billionaires new to the pledge, which now totals more than 50 donors. New names include AOL co-founder Steve Case, investor Carl Icahn and former junk-bond king Michael Milken.

They join existing pledges made by wealthy individuals and families including Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, film director George Lucas and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The Deluge Of 99ers Begins... Now:

Regardless of what happens with the tax deal, there's no more support for the so-called 99ers, people who have been on unemployment for the maximum length allowable: 99 weeks.

And their numbers are about to swell.

As this chart from Calculated Risk shows nicely, we're about 99 weeks since the very worst of the job losses from late-2008/early-2009. The extent to which their cutoff slams the consumer recovery (and thus everything else) is a huge issue to consider.

$9 trillion:

A new report from Zillow puts an absolutely jaw-dropping figure on the housing crash: $9 trillion. That's the total home value destroyed since June 2006.

It gets worse. $1.7 trillion of that damage occurred this year, primarily in the first half. More loss is coming next year, as Zillow economist Stan Humphries predicts a double dip in housing that won't hit bottom until summer -- or later by Case Shiller estimates.

7 Severe Headwinds Facing The Economy:

The deal between President Obama and the Republican congressional leadership is not likely to have a significant positive effect on an economy facing severe headwinds pulling in a negative direction.

The key fact to remember is that we are in an economic recovery that will remain restrained by the after-effects of a major credit crisis and the need to deleverage the enormous household debt built up during the boom.

As was true for the original stimulus package, any additional spending occurring as a result of the compromise will be temporary with no sustainable follow-through once the stimulus wears off. And while the possible blip in growth is temporary, the addition to the deficit created by the package will remain with us for a long time. In the following paragraphs we cite the severe headwinds creating a drag on economic growth.

On The Growing Disparity Between The Rich And The Super-Rich:

There's a lot of talk about the disparity between the rich and the middle class. Here's a nice way to visualize the disparity between the "super rich" and the rich (or merely the well off).

It compares, since last December, some high-end luxury names (Sotheby's and and Saks) and more aspirational names (Coach and Ralph Lauren). As you can see, the the real high end is doing fantastic. The less-so high end is doing good, but not nearly so hot.