The deed is done. Freddie and Fannie are now officially in conservatorship. Uncharacteristically, I listened to the presentation by Paulson and Jim Lockhart, which was thin on details (particularly size of new facilities and investments). The bombshell was the aside that not only is there to be a new secured lending facility for the GSE […]
Read more...The reporting on the main elements of the Freddie and Fannie rescue plan is converging as the content of official briefings leaks out. The stunner, which contradicts preliminary reports, is that the preferred shareholders in the GSEs will take losses. The Wall Street Journal reports that dividends on common will be eliminated and those on […]
Read more...Shun meat, says UN climate chief BBC Measuring the acceleration of the universe Roland Piquepaille Hurricanes like Gustav and Hanna seem only to matter if they hit America Stephen Gibb Guardian Is Sarah Palin a Fiscal Conservative? PGL, Angry Bear What has been the real benefit of Fannie and Freddie? Richard Green (hat tip Mark […]
Read more...Now it’s semi-official. A respected financial figure, no less a central bank chief with his reputation still intact, has said in bureaucrat-speak that speculation may indeed have had something to do with recent oil price moves. That view was nearly heretical until the rapid fall in oil prices began in July. From the Financial Times: […]
Read more...We were willing to be proven wrong in our skepticism of Korea Development Bank’s pursuit acquiring a stake in Lehman. We had no doubts about the interest; the KDB CEO was the former Seoul branch manager for Lehman and full bore behind a deal. But the reception of the Korean government, which had to approve […]
Read more...The New York Times, in “Loan Giant Overstated Its Capital Base,” sets forth an interesting bill of particulars as to where Freddie deviated from what one might consider a full and fair statement of its financial condition. Indeed, the article says that the widely-expected Sunday intervention was triggered by the GSE’s regulator determining that the […]
Read more...Balls found inside ‘rattling’ dog BBC Solar energy can meet all the world’s energy demands PhysOrg Children aged eight enlisted as council snoopers Telegraph Is “Five Yeshiva Butchers” Good for the Jews? Ken Houghton, Angry Bear Times Plans to Combine Sections of the Paper New York Times. A recession indicator. Oil, Stock, and Housing Declines […]
Read more...Reader Steve A has been on the Friday night FDIC bank euthanasia watch, and in the last two weeks, he has discerned a disturbing trend. If this pattern persists, it seems a sign that things in bank-land may be much worse than is widely acknowledged. From last week’s post, “This Week’s Bank Failure Surprisingly Costly,” […]
Read more...Guess the powers that be were unwilling to risk playing chicken with the markets and losing. So much for the theory espoused by some that the government couldn’t put the GSEs into custodianship absent a breaching of statutory minimums (technically, by being insolvent under the “fair asset” valuation method, Freddie is already on plenty thin […]
Read more...More cheery news on the housing front. The rise in foreclosures wasn’t unexpected, since there are widespread, albeit anecdotal reports of banks being backlogged on foreclosures, either by virtue of design or understaffing. But notice how prime mortgages are a significant component of new foreclosures. From Bloomberg: New foreclosures increased to 1.19 percent, rising above […]
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Read more...Wow. And remember, the prior release’s ncrease, to 5.7%, was hoped to be due to anomalies. There was discussion at that time that it might fall back with the next month’s announcement. This may put a nail in the coffin as far as rate increase talk at the Fed is concerned. From the Wall Street […]
Read more...A little late, don’t’cha think? Yes, that is a one year price chart. One of the best buy indicators on a stock is when analysts are close to unanimity in designating it a sell. Like rating agencies, analysts are loath to downgrade a stock. By the time things are so indisputably dreadful that they can […]
Read more...Roman Empire ‘raised HIV threat’ BBC The failure of two empires Dmitry Shlapentok, Asia Times Car sales collapse by almost a fifth as loan drought and fuel rises bite The Independent Price to Rent Ratio Calculated Risk The Alternative Asset Management Industry: Inexorable Forces for Change Roger Ehrenberg The Perilous Price of Oil George Soros, […]
Read more...Either the Chinese do not understand banking and investing or the line being fed the Western press about the struggle over the Bank of China’s reserves is a cover story of some sort. Given the fact set, Dean Baker’s reaction ‘Is China’s Central Bank Run By Morons?” is not unreasonable. I have a different theory, […]
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