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Monthly Archives: October 2008

Trying to understand what is going on

01-Oct-08

Total economic meltdown sure is confusing, isn’t it?
So where to turn for helpful information? Well, the sense I’m getting is: while many experts know and agree on what’s happening (collapse of mortgages and mortgage-backed derivatives, collapse of other lines of credit, credit crunch across the board), we are in uncharted territory as far as what [...]

Poll of new/lapsed voters confirm, reject stereotypes

01-Oct-08

New survey out from the Wall Street Journal / NBC / MySpace. Full report. The WSJ’s read on this was that new voters were less likely than the poll of all voters to vote this November (”very interested” = 49% vs. 70%). However, what I find interesting is that this question is on a 10-pt [...]

The risks of high-pressure negotiation tactics

01-Oct-08

A few days ago I discussed how Treasury Secretary Paulson came to the negotiation with an extreme, highly “anchored” opening move, and how negotiations research shows that anchoring works. Why, then, don’t we always use absurd opening moves when engaging in a negotiation over used cars or other purchases? The answer is that the party [...]