We had doubted the earlier Bloomberg report claiming a deal had been cinched, since an hour later, there was no corroborating report. So now a rescue falls to Paulson. From the Washington Post: An eleventh-hour effort to salvage a proposed $14 billion rescue plan for the auto industry collapsed tonight as Republicans and Democrats failed […]
Read more...Contrary to usual form, I’m putting the latest update first, but Bloomberg claims that the Senate Republicans and Democrats have reached a compromise on the auto bailout bill. However, the Detroit Free Press, in a story posted at almost the same time, say the Democrats say there is a deal, while the Republicans beg to […]
Read more...The Wall Street Journal story on GM engaging a team of bankruptcy advisors stresses that this move is in part political, to underscore that the top US automaker really is at the end of its rope. Most observers assume that if Congress failed to authorize a rescue bill, that the Treasury would uses it TARP […]
Read more...We appear to be at an impasse, Senate Republicans are unhappy with the provisions of the auto industry rescue bill that passed the House last night. While they are signalling that they would back legislation with a stronger role for the “car czar” and some also want a bondholder and UAW pension cram-down, the House […]
Read more...Although the spot oil prices and oil stocks have rallied on word of a pending 1.5-2 million barrel a day cut by OPEC in pil production, oil maven Philip Verleger says it won’t be anywhere near enough. From Platts (hat tip reader Michael): In his widely-read weekly analysis, “Notes at the Margin,” energy economist [Philip] […]
Read more...Black hole confirmed in Milky Way BBC Sarah Palin tops 2008 Google search Telegraph The Best and the Brightest Have Led America Off a Cliff Chris Hedges, TruthDig. Not a rant, actually explains some of the conditioning processes (note: I am an old fart, and these patterns were operative, but at a considerably weaker level, […]
Read more...Banks are, if nothing else, entirely predictable. If there is a way to game the system, they will avail themselves of it. Readers may recall that the Financial Standards Accounting Board implemented Statement 157, which required financial firms to identify how they arrived at the “fair value” for their assets. Level 1 are ones where […]
Read more...Given how dreadful September and October were for the vast majority of hedge funds, it isn’t surprising that shell-shocked investors continue to pull money out. And the withdrawals may not be entirely performance related either. Investors are shedding risk, and are likely to have lost money in other strategies, and may need to tap into […]
Read more...A comment in the Financial Times, “Prudent Asia is unlikely to bail out the west,” by David Piling, provides a badly needed reminder: societies watch out for themselves first. And the way they define their best interest may not correspond with what we think is good for them. Forgive us for repeating ourselves, but we […]
Read more...This blog, over the last couple of months, has intermittently pointed to the difficulties of obtaining trade finance (particularly letters of credit) as playing a role in the fall in international trade. Because L/Cs are a profitable backwater at most banks, serving smaller/midsized customers (big ones are more likely to deal with existing supply chains […]
Read more...A story on Bloomberg, “Q Ratio Signals ‘Horrific’ Market Bottom, CLSA Says,” argues that the global equity market bottom will be well below the recent lows, but also thinks we may not see it until 2014 as the current pump priming measures hold off deflationary pressures for a while. Note that Gary Shilling, who was […]
Read more...Smiling, glasses and hats taboo for driver’s license photos NWI The Road to Zell Daniel Gross, Slate Worst Spending Slump Since 1942 Extends ‘Scary’ U.S. Recession Bloomberg House Prices Must Return to Trend Levels to Stabilize Market RISMedia. I somehow missed this when it came out, but worth reading. Key section: ….prices are still hugely […]
Read more...The Wall Street Journal, in a typically anodyne bit of reporting, tells us that the Fed is considering selling its own debt to finance its balance sheet, Its good old buddy, the Treasury Department, which heretofore has been selling bills in part on behalf of the Fed, now has a big enough financing calendar in […]
Read more...After months of negotiations, Congress appears close to a deal on the bailout of the Big Three. While the final bill has not yet been formally introduced and made available for public inspection, major elements are emerging. Roll Call (subscription required), the New York Times, and Bloomberg are reporting the following details: 1. Size of […]
Read more...The Wall Street Journal reports in a story frustratingly sketchy on key details that AIG has sprung another leak, or more accurately, had an ongoing leak that has just now come to light. The amount at issue, $10 billion, seems small compared to the $150 billion the insurer has already managed to extortsecure from the […]
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