Links 11/30/09

The man who smuggled himself into Auschwitz BBC (hat tip reader Jack)

Susan Boyle tops charts with fastest selling debut album Telegraph

DARPA Funds Nano-UAV Hummingbird h+ (hat tip reader Sugar Hush)

An Empire at Risk Niall Ferguson, Newsweek

As Sales Vanish, Alligator Skins Stay on Gators New York Times

Unemployed Line Up To Reenact Job Loss Scenarios In Clooney Film IMB (hat tip reader John D)

History Lesson John Jansen. Congrats to Jansen on his joining TD Bank, but I am pretty certain this means the loss of his blog (big and even small financial institutions are not too comfortable with the concept).

Japanese Industrial Production Up, but Disappoints EconomPic Data

Harvard ignored warnings about investments Boston Globe (hat tip reader John D). The title is wrong. It should be “Summers ignored warnings about investments.” And it is not critical enough. For instance, one party rationalizes the losses by saying Harvard still earned 8.9% on its cash account. But Harvard committed to a long-term building program and ramped up other operating costs, yet kept putting the money at risk. If the university had invested more conservatively, it is less likely that it would have gone on a big spending campaign. I am hearing the budget cuts are large and wide-ranging, including no more hot breakfast for undergrads.

Holiday shoppers shunned credit cards: survey Reuters

Buyers Take a Pass on Some Failed Banks Wall Street Journal

Professor advises underwater homeowners to walk away from mortgages Los Angeles Times (hat tip reader LeeAnn)

The Jobs Imperative Paul Krugman

Best Buy, Krugman and the Carry Trade Bruce Krasting

Antidote du jour (hat tip reader Jack):