Stuff

The Roku Digital Video Player ($99.99) will let you play those free Watch Instantly videos from Netflix on your TV. You can also watch Amazon’s Video on Demand rentals for $2-4 apiece. I’ve heard it works really well (wireless or ethernet).

Why is this recession so different from the one in 1982? Unemployment was worse then than it is now (so far). The very important difference — interest rates. They were historically high in 1982 (3-month T-bills 12.49%). They are historically low today (3-month T-bills 0.28%). Then the Fed could lower interest rates to prime the economy (and did). Today the Fed has nowhere to go.

Bank number 17 for 2009 was gobbled up by FDIC this evening. That’s about 2 a week so far. It was 25 in all of last year. There were none that failed in 2005 and 2006 and only three in 2007.