Rocketman Crosses Colorado Gorge InfoPackets Can the US Do An IMF On Itself? Sudden Debt (hat tip reader Scott) Rescue Plan Strained by Lack of Staff Wall Street Journal GM asks government to block public tracking of jet Reuters Fall in house prices may be slowing, say analysts Independent. However, the source is the Nationwide […]
Read more...Survival of the firmest Vancouver Sun Why dogs have have wet noses Telegraph Atlas Shrugged Updated for the Current Financial Crisis (hat tip reader Scott) Jeremiah Tucker The Obama Letdown Michael Hudson (hat tip Crocodile Chuck). Note Obama also got questioned in his press conference about having so many Clinton operatives on his team when […]
Read more...How can you give cash compensation to an executive, yet claim it is not a salary or bonus? You call it a “retention bonus,” No, I am not making this up. Note that AIG chose to make this disclosure the day before Thanksgiving, clearly choosing a time when it would attract the least notice. Not […]
Read more...Even though the markets took cheer from China’s rate cut today, the move appears to be in response to an intensification of its economic woes. From Bloomberg: Some economic indicators in China showed a “faster decline” in November, the nation’s top economic planner said, underlining the urgency of government measures to support growth and employment. […]
Read more...Shortly after President-elect Barack Obama is sworn-in to the Chief Executive’s office, plans will be announced for the swift closing of Gitmo’s sordid chapter in the so-called war on terror. But in a shocking about-face of opinion (to those and readers who think they know me), I will beg to differ with Obama about the […]
Read more...Mystery of dolphins’ speed solved BBC Income Elasticity of Mistress Demand Greg Mankiw Americans’ Food Stamp Use Nears All-Time High Washington Post Familiar Trio at Heart of Citi Bailout Washington Post Woolies on brink despite BBC offer Telegraph Larry Summers as Fearless Truth Teller? Dean Baker Synchronized Recession, Synchronized Stimulus? Menzie Chinn Taxes and Christina […]
Read more...The New York Times reports that the General Accounting Office is readying to issue a report that will criticize how Treasury has handled its spending under the $700 billion TARP program. The main shortcomings are failure to track how the money is actually being used and inadequate controls to prevent conflicts of interest. Gee, I […]
Read more...Some have argued that stocks are cheap because S&P dividend yields are higher than Treasury yields. That presupposes dividend stay at present levels or increase. They are being cut, and with lousy to no profits in the offing, it’s reasonable to assume that in aggregate, dividend payments will continue to shrink. Right now, the cuts […]
Read more...Although the press has started paying attention to the slowdown in growth in China, the focus has mainly been on Pearl River area, which is light manufacturing, primarily textiles, low capital intensity. But as the New York Times reports, the contraction is also hitting sectors where China has made substantial capital investment. The reason this […]
Read more...Willem Buiter is never one to mince words, and today his message is that the financial system is not operating: In a decentralised market economy, financial intermediation between economic agents with financial surpluses and those with financial deficits (or, more accurately, between economic agents who would like to run financial surpluses and those who would […]
Read more...The situation described in this Financial Times story is not earth shaking in dollar terms, but illustrates that corporate bankruptcies leave a trail of destruction in their wake. A number of funds were caught when Lehman failed, and the UK bankruptcy process may take a decade to resolve, leaving assets frozen in the meantime: Several […]
Read more...Gee,if you took it at face value, the FDIC’s report, which says that problem banks increased by 46%, reaching a level not seen since the mid-1990s, says things are not as bad as in the savings and loan crisis. But of course, we are seeing this deterioration despite the Fed and Treasury throwing money at […]
Read more...Let’s see, Bloomberg said yesterday that the Federal government had committed $7.4 trillion to lending facilities and guarantees. The total is now $8.2 trillion thanks to new programs announced today to aid borrowing by consumers, small businesses, and homeowners. Stocks have rallied, and the 30 year bond is also up three points, due to a […]
Read more...Marine life faces ‘acid threat’ BBC. We first wrote about this more than a year ago. Bald Eagles in Catskills Show Increasing Mercury New York Times Trading Down: Wine and Recession Wine Economics Is Britain Going Bankrupt? Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph Goldman to Sell Bonds in First FDIC-Backed Offering Bloomberg All US Financials Will be Nationalized […]
Read more...