Yearly Archives: 2008

I like this cartoon (h/t Kedrosky) for perspective on the past year, though I would perhaps swap a few of the roles around. To me, it’s the regulators that lacked the courage to prick this bubble, and the investors that lacked a brain. I never expected the lenders to have a heart. The Wizard of […]

Paul Davis here, with my first go at guest posting for Yves so you’ll have to excuse me if I’m rusty on the formatting. Another week gone by; a pile of charts for you to consider (a click will mostly give you a larger size). Krugman made the point with this chart that the Fed […]

This a submission by Jim Fitch ofSome Assembly Required. 2007 was the year of subprime.2008 seems to be the year of everything else One Size: Pundits worry that Freddie, Fanny, GM, Citibank, and such are teetering on the edge, but are relieved that they are too big to fail and that Uncle Sam will (somehow) […]

If anyone needs any any evidence that the Wall Street Journal is a mere prenteder in comparison to Pearson’s Financial Times, they need look no farther than Dancing The Freakout – Was Jim Cramer Right?. Of course one piece doesn’t make a newspaper, but attributing early call of The Arrival of The Big One to […]

For those who missed it, University of Illinois law prof Robert Lawless at Credit Slips posted a nice colourful update to YoY changes in US (personal – I presume) Bankruptcy Filings, state-by-state, along with a table rank-ordering the data. As one might expect, a year into crunchy credit coincidental to @$125 oil, vaulting coal prices, […]

The economic principles justifying free marketglobalization have the complexity and accuracyof an armillary sphere. Translation: “We expect the second half of 2008 will be more challenging than the first half as economic and credit conditions weaken,” said Ford marketing executive Jim Farley. The term ‘more challenging’ means ‘we’ll probably double our losses.’ Goldman Sachs agrees. […]

Submitted by Lune… As central banks become more important in dealing with our global financial crises, one important question is how transparent the central banks’ decision-making process should be to the public. Americans had grown used to the cryptic statements of Mr. Greenspan in his day, and the merest pause or grumble would be solemnly […]

Submitted by Lune… Yves had previously posted about Massachusetts suing Merrill Lynch over auction-rate securities. A new Financial Times post indicates that Citi is in hot water with New York over the same instruments: Citigroup was on Friday accused of destroying records subpoeaned by Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney-general, who intends to sue the […]

Following a whirlwind global tour, US media coverage would have one believe that Mr Obama had wowed Europe’s most important nation. However, a close look by Der Spielgel at German reactions to Obama suggests they are rather cautious and less then-than-enthusiastic across the German political spectrum, though for far different reasons than American skeptics. Why? […]

“Milton Friedman’s misfortune is that his economic policieshave been tried.” – John Kenneth Galbraith Oracle: Oppenheimer’s Meredith Whitney – whose credibility exceeds most Wall Street CEOs – has a litany fit for a Cathedral door: The crisis is less than half over, bank assets are still marked at unworldly levels, capital to rescue brokers is […]