Roubini: 'Sleeper cell' behind Boston attack

[damnedifIknow]

Nouriel Roubini, the rock-star economist who is credited with predicting the collapse of the U.S. housing market, believes he knows who is responsible for Monday's attack at the Boston Marathon.

"So it looks like 1 of the sleeper cells on the Eastern Seaboard woke up. & since the NYC Marathon was cancelled they went for the Boston one," he tweeted on Monday night, more than seven hours after the explosions. When asked by a follower how he knew, Roubini cited "informed sources."

POLITICO sent multiple emails to Roubini over the last 18 hours requesting comment or more information. We also spoke with Roubini's assistant, who said she would relay the inquiry to him. He has yet to respond.

Roubini, chairman of Roubini Global Economics and a professor at New York University, spends the majority of his time traveling to the world's financial capitals and meeting with other influential economists and finance ministers. (He is currently in Washington, D.C., for the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund.) But he's had his hits and misses in the prediction game. He correctly predicted in 2005 that reckless speculation on home prices would sink the U.S. economy (earning himself the moniker "Dr. Doom&quot , but also that Greece would leave the eurozone in 2012 and 2013 (though, arguably, that could still come to pass).

Of course, economic predictions and intelligence claims are two different things. But once again, history will prove Roubini right or wrong.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/?ml=bl_db

[rocktivity]

1. Consider the source. And the source's source.

Politico and a "rock star" economist? In the immortal words of Keith Olbermann, "Check, please..."


rocktivity

[Old and In the Way]

3. Does kinda read as a hit piece, doesn't it?

Course, his original Tweet could've been under the influence of a bottle or 2 of hi-grade Cabernet Sauvignon. Most likely a side-show play...

[Earth_First]

2. Soooo...there's a 50% chance Roubini is correct?

That's groundbreaking work, there...

[damnedifIknow]

4. Maybe he knows something

and if so it would be nice of him to share his info. Worth a shot.

[Earth_First]

7. Perhaps...

and you are correct, it would be worth knowing.

However, I am mostly poking fun at the way this is written...

It essentially closes with "he has a 50% chance of being correct"

[elleng]

14. Right, its written very badly.

[TwilightGardener]

5. That's...weird.

[elleng]

9. Right. Dylan Byers of Politico referred to him as a "Rock Star,"

not Roubini himself, of course.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

18. I know - that term applied to non-musicians drives me insane

I hear it said about Marco Rubio all the time.

[Journeyman]

8. I can't help but picture Roubini as the 'Jeanne Dixon' of the economics set . . .

By emphasizing a few coincidentally correct predictions and ignoring those that were wrong, (Jeanne Dixon) acquired both fame and notoriety (as a psychic). The ability to persuade the public in this matter is known as the 'Jeane Dixon effect'.

. . . the term "the Jeane Dixon effect" . . . refers to a tendency to promote a few correct predictions while ignoring a larger number of incorrect predictions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeane_Dixon

[damnedifIknow]

10. He does cite "informed sources"

so this may not qualify as a prediction. Interesting and probably should be checked out.

[elleng]

12. Right. Roubini should always be checked out, imo.

[elleng]

11. Maybe you should 'picture' again.

'As Roubini's descriptions of the current economic crisis have proven to be accurate, he is today a major figure in the U.S. and international debate about the economy, and spends much of his time shuttling between meetings with central bank governors and finance ministers in Europe and Asia.[2] Although he is ranked only 512th in terms of lifetime academic citations,[5] he was #4 on Foreign Policy magazine's list of the "top 100 global thinkers."[6] In 2011 and 2012, he was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.[7][8] He has appeared before Congress, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the World Economic Forum at Davos.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouriel_Roubini

[niyad]

13. foreign policy magazine has newsmax as one of its news sources. crf? really? let's see, 512th

in academic citations, listed as a top global thinker by reichwing pubs and organizations. got it.

[1StrongBlackMan]

15. Seem like ...

the short selling, rock-star economist will/should have a up-coming appointment with the FBI, DoJ, DHS, or some similiar agency.

Question ... anyone subscribe to Roubini's newsletter? What's he shorting?

[rustydog]

16. did it hurt much when he pulled that out of his butt?

[MattBaggins]

17. Damned if I know

[damnedifIknow]

19. I don't know

this guy has some darn good credentials so we'll see. Pretty impressive resume if you ask me so If I was trying to figure out who did this then he would be a man I would definitely have a chat with. May be nothing, may be everything.