Rob Parenteau, CFA, sole proprietor of MacroStrategy Edge, editor of the Richebacher Letter, and a research associate with the Levy Economics Institute, responds to DoctoRx’s post, “Debate on Deficits.” DoctoRx raises a wide swath of excellent questions regarding the correct approach to financial crises, the economic contractions they can induce, and the best way forward. […]
Read more...This tidbit, from a report on impressions of conditions in China, via a steel buyer who has been making the rounds in Asia (hat tip reader Michael) is more significant than it appears. High inflation levels in China (and the powers that be seem to get worried when it goes over 11%-12%) is consistent with […]
Read more...Darwin’s Robots h+ Report: Cyberterror Not a Credible Threat ThreatPost Democrats seek power over failing companies Financial Times and U.S. Considers Reining In ‘Too Big to Fail’ Institutions New York Times . Sanity check, dear readers: if Congress can’t pass a meaningful bill on credit default swaps after AIG, do you think anything other than […]
Read more...By Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns I just came across a post on Zero Hedge called “An Overview Of The Fed’s Intervention In Equity Markets Via The Primary Dealer Credit Facility.” Now, that’s a mouthful. As far as I can discern, the post’s purpose is to expose alleged equities market manipulation by the Federal Reserve. […]
Read more...We are going to feature a series of posts this week on the merits of the idea of using Federal deficits to stimulate an economy in severe recession or depression. The first offering is from DoctoRx, who writes at EconBlog Review: Part I. INTRODUCTION Robert Rubin’s home town of Miami Beach contains any number of […]
Read more...By Richard Alford, a former economist at the New York Fed. Since them, he has worked in the financial industry as a trading floor economist and strategist on both the sell side and the buy side. The need to address and prevent future large global economic and financial imbalances is back on center stage, but […]
Read more...By George Washington of Washington’s Blog. What is the current American economy: capitalism, socialism or fascism? Socialism Initially, it is important to note that it is not just people on the streets who are calling the Bush and Obama administration’s approach to the economic crisis “socialism”. Economists and financial experts say the same thing. For […]
Read more...Hoisted from comments: I am a lawyer who has been involved in corporate finance for over 25 years. First, if you beleive that securitization offers benefits (cost reductions) to consumers then MERS is not per se a bad thing in that it reduces overall transation costs which should in part be passed on to the […]
Read more...Submitted by Edward harrison of Credit Writedowns Yves covered this in an earlier post overnight. Here’s my take. This is probably my fourth post on the tangled web woven by securitization, which puts a considerable distance between home owners and mortgagees which own a mortgage. The issue is causing huge problems in bankruptcy and foreclosure […]
Read more...Midway (hat tip reader Scott via Andrew Sullivan). The photos are very disturbing. You must see them. Gene therapy transforms eyesight of 12 born with rare defect Los Angeles Times (hat tip DoctoRx) Citigroup’s “Hail Mary Pass”: How To Know Citigroup Is In Serious Trouble Michael Shedlock UK households ‘lost 13pc of wealth in one […]
Read more...Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times reports on the latest instance of judges taking issue with the rather haphazard procedures of lenders and servicers in handling mortgage assignments. As most people know (and many by first hand experience) mortgages often pass through a lot of hands, and the securitization industry has played plenty fast […]
Read more...Enjoy (hat tip Michael Panzner):
Read more...Tiger skin trade in China exposed BBC Robotic Craft Mimics Falling Maple Seeds LiveScience (hat tip reader John D) Long-term use of mobile phones ‘may be linked to cancer’ Telegraph Pet dogs as bad for planet as driving 4x4s, book claims Telegraph. Thin Liberalism and the Folly of Burning Bridges Timothy B. Lee (hat tip […]
Read more...A lot of investors I know lamented the loss of Gillian Tett. As the Financial Times’ capital markets editor in the runup to the crisis, she had provided very insightful commentary on some of the more arcane goings-on in the financial markets. I’ve had reason to look at her older commentary (circa 2004-2005) and some […]
Read more...Some readers like to demonize those who get in over there heads with debt as people who lived high on the hog and had their day of reckoning come upon them. This story, forwarded from a reader, shows the picture is more complicated. When I was young, savings of six months of living expenses was […]
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