Why is no one willing to call things by their proper names, and instead resort to euphemism and double-speak? A New York Times story today, “On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real,” makes its most important point in its headline, and managed to get some good data points on how rich investment bank compensation […]
Read more...We’ve taken an interest in shipping as an indicator of international trade. The problem, however, is that the most readily tracked measure, transport costs, is more volatile than the underlying volume of goods shipped. Nevertheless, the Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of bulk shipments of dry goods, has tanked since May, and a […]
Read more...There had been rumors that Treasury would unveil a rescue plan for the Big Three on Wednesday. The day came and went with no announcement. Tonight we learn, via the Wall Street Journal, that Cerberus has revived merger talks for Chrysler with GM. The possibility of a deal would seem to complicate vastly an attempt […]
Read more...From MarketWatch (weirdly, do not see referenced story on Wall Street Journal site, hat tip reader Scott): The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has decided to cut its oil output by 4.2 million barrels a day from September levels, or 2.2 million barrels a day from current output, the Wall Street Journal reported on its […]
Read more...Changes ‘amplify Arctic warming‘ BBC Facebook profile used to serve legal docs in Australian case ArsTechnica United States death map revealed PhysOrg Goldman Sachs, Income Taxes, and Transfer Pricing Econospeak Yale Endowment Down 25% Since June 30 Bespoke Investment Group A List a Landlord Doesn’t Want to Be On New York Times. Distressed commercial real […]
Read more...We have from time to time chronicled how various Treasury and Federal Reserve interventions have produced unintended, undesirable consequences. The latest example: the Fed’s efforts to push Treasury rates into ZIRP-land is reducing the incentives of traders to repo Treasuries to each other. That then reduces liquidity in the Treasury market. Consider the boldfaced statement […]
Read more...The Fed made official its move to quantitative easing today, and said it will take no prisoners until it has lowered rates and credit spreads further: The Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth and to preserve price stability… The focus of the Committee’s policy going forward […]
Read more...Last winter, we heard a story of a family in Vermont burning antique furniture to stay warm. Even before the economy turned decisively south, payment stress was high, and even if we have mild winter (this week is not an encouraging harbinger), more customers will fall behind. From the Wall Street Journal: One in five […]
Read more...The Madoff revelations continue apace. The latest tidbit is that the records are such a mess that it may take the Securities Investors’ Protection Corporation six months (!) to make meaningful headway in unravelling Madoff books and records. From the Financial Times: Bernard Madoff left behind a trail of “falsified” and “unreliable” records, hampering efforts […]
Read more...In the past, I have been an FT loyalist and promoter, and found myself reflexively singing its praises earlier this week. But then I started to wonder if that was still true. Yes, I still turn to the FT regularly, but it appears to be losing its preeminent position. The pink paper has taken to […]
Read more...Although commodities prices have rallied from recent lows based on hopes that trade and manufacturing will recover thanks to various government stimulus plans, reports still show continuing deterioration or at best stagnation in shipment volumes. The latest sighting, on container traffic, comes from the Financial Times. Note that containers carry higher value added goods than […]
Read more...Apologies for the thin posts tonight, but a lot of the news isn’t new (I actually spent quite a long time trolling and found not much that grabbed me). More tooth gnashing about Big Auto. How big a move will the Fed make tomorrow? More details dribbling out of the Madoff mess. More speculation about […]
Read more...Admittedly, China announced a raft of worst than expected economic data yesterday, even when analysts anticipated further weakening in November. So the comment by the head of China’s central bank, that further rate cuts may be coming sooner rather than later, would seem to be entirely predictable. But one has to wonder at the timing. […]
Read more...The advocates of having GM and/or Chrysler file for Chapter 11 make their case often implicitly or explicit resting on certain assumptions. The fundamental notion is that Chapter 11 will produce less, or at least no more, economic damage than some combination of rescue funding and auto industry downsizing. Now we are willing to grant […]
Read more...Why Climbers Die On Mount Everest Science Daily For feds to bail out Cerberus is the ‘epitome of ignorance’ TCPalm (hat tip reader Steve). I confess to being remiss in not addressing the “And why are we bailing out Cerberus, pray tell?” question. In part that is because I have not watched the Chrysler saga […]
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