Yearly Archives: 2008

Baltic Dry Index Falls Nearly 20% in Two Days

The Baltic Dry Index, which some use as a proxy for the outlook for global manufacturing, has been falling since late June, not long before the commodities bubble burst in July, and has been in retreat since then. What is particularly worrisome is its steep dive in the last two days, despite Herculean efforts to […]

Little Sign of Relief in Interbank Markets Despite Massive Intervention

Although the stock market has taken considerable cheer from the monumental action by central banks to try to restore interbank lending to something resembling normalcy, the results to date have been meager. However, hope remains that improvement will continue, albeit at a slow pace. From the Financial Times: The costs for banks to borrow money […]

Only One in Five Americans Trust Banks

Advertising Age discussed a Gallup poll of consumer attitudes towards banks, which found distrust at the highest level in decades. Consumers are also on the whole more concerned about big banks than their local brethren. From Advertising Age (hat tip reader Michael); Only 21% of consumers polled are confident in U.S. banks, according to a […]

Money Markets Still Stressed; Analyst Forecasts Only Small Decline in Three Month Euro Rates

This Bloomberg story tries to take an oddly cheery tone, when in fact, it reports in effect, than an analyst forecasts that the heroic measures taken to unfreeze interbank lending will not lead to much in the way of a rate reduction. However, if any lending were to take place at the three month tenor, […]

Links 10/14/08

This stock collapse is petty when compared to the nature crunch George Monbiot, Guardian Iceland appoints women to clean up ‘male mess’ FT Alphaville (hat tip reader Richard) The Rich Support McCain, But The REALLY Rich Support Obama Clusterstock House of Lords deals fatal blow to 42-day terror detention plans Times Online The Short View: […]

Charlie Munger: Leash and Collar Wall Street

The backlash is starting to get serious. It is one thing for the man on the street to fulminate about the excesses of financiers. And even those who try to harness that anger find themselves checked. John McCain, who has said that he is going to fix the economy by (among other things) going after […]

George Magnus on the Economic Outlook

George Magnus, a strategist for UBS, was one of the early popularizers of Hyman Minsky and was similarly one of the lonely few to worry about the financial and economic fallout of dealing with unsustainable levels of debt. His comment in today’s Financial Times, “Is there time to avert a Minsky meltdown?” is cautiously optimistic […]

Commodities Continue to Tank

Now that deflation worries are upon us, even the mainstream media is taking note of the reversal of the commodities price surge of earlier this year. Below are some excerpts from a New York Times article, “Commodity Prices Tumble.” But first, this tidbit, courtesy reader Michael, from an Oppenheimer report, dated October 13, “Surviving Lower […]

Bloomberg: Treasury Forces Nine Banks to Sell Perpetual Preferred to TARP

Lordie, do we have any rule of law in this country? Presumably, the twisted logic of forcing money on to bank in return for taking perpetual preferred was that making the banks ask for it would create a taint. But even with the Treasury’s sweeping new powers under the $700 billion rescue package, one wonders […]

WSJ Provides Sneak Preview of Treasury Bank Salvage Operations

The Treasury Department is expected to announce its bank rescue program, which entails making use of its authority under the $700 billion Trouble Assets Repurchase Program to buy pretty much anything it wants to. The Wall Street Journal provides the latest reading on what the plan might entail:The initiatives will likely supersede many of the […]

Roubini: Not Out of the Woods, Significant Risks Remain

Despite the aggressive action by the Fed and EU leaders over the last few days, Nouriel Roubini thinks a severe recession is still in the cards and worries that the financial system is not out of the woods either. From his latest report (hat tip reader Dwight, boldface ours): At this stage central banks that […]

Mitsubishi Agrees Revised Terms on $9 Billion Investment in Morgan Stanley

The revised terms are similar to those discussed last night, with the Japanese bank investing the same amount but receiving an increased ownership stake (21%) and receiving more in preferred stock. Note confusion in the Journal article: the news alert, says, “MUFG Closes Morgan Stanley Investment With Revised Terms” when the story itself says both […]

"Fed Leads Unprecedented Push by Central Banks to Flood Market With Dollars"

The reader/investor who sent the link to this Bloomberg story provided the comments below. Not he does not resort to capital letters casually: THIS IS HARD TO BELIEVE. THOSE CB’S DON’T HAVE UNLIMITED $’S, SO IF TRUE, THEY WILL BE BORROWING THEM FROM THE FED VIA AN EXTENSION OF FED SWAP LINES, THE FOMC HAS […]

Paul Krugman Receives 2008 "Nobel Prize in Economics"

Note that technically, the famed economics prize is the “The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2008.” From the press release (hat tip reader Jørgen): Patterns of trade and location have always been key issues in the economic debate. What are the effects of free trade and globalization? What are […]

Links 10/13/08

Does Driving Slower Save Gas? Truck and Barter What the Troopergate Report Really Says Nathan Thornburgh, Time Will the votes be counted accurately? Guardian Iraqi government fuels ‘war for oil’ theories by putting reserves up for biggest ever sale Guardian Struggling Americans may get more food stamps Times Online China’s CIC May Have $5.4 Billion […]