Paul Volcker clearly wasn’t kidding when he said the most important banking innovation in the last 30 years was the ATM. Although money market funds go back further than that, to the early 1970s, Tall Paul is not so keen about them either. This isn’t the first time he had gone after money funds, and […]
Read more...Fitch released an analysis that shows that mortgage cure rates, meaning the proportion of borrowers who manage to get current once they fall behind, have tanked. From the Wall Street Journal: The report from Fitch Ratings Ltd., a credit-rating firm, focuses on a plunge in the “cure rate” for mortgages that were packaged into securities. […]
Read more...Plastics break down fast in ocean BBC Gigantic jets blast electricity into upper atmosphere New Sceintist Humour is an act of aggression, claims German academic Telegraph Common Sense 2009 Larry Flynt, Huffington Post (hat tip John Carney). Larry Flynt calls for a national strike, one of the few things that might get the powers that […]
Read more...By Moses Kim of Expected Returns: Moving forward, the most critical indicator of the viability of our economy will be consumer spending. Simply put, without a buoyant consumer, there will be no recovery. Due no doubt to the negative characteristics of consumer data. the death of the consumer is receiving scant coverage. America is a […]
Read more...Nouriel Roubini verged on apocalyptic during the course of the crisis, and was proven largely right. Now that he has softened his stance, some have accused him of moderating his tone as a result of his much higher profile. While that’s possible, a couple of factors seem more likely. First and foremost, much of Roubini […]
Read more...Ooh, so there is gambling in Casablanca! I’m shocked, shocked! An excellent bit of sleuthing comes at the Wall Street Journal, on how Goldman has for the last two years has had “trading huddles” that lead to ideas being presented to clients before analysts changed their grades on a stock. Proprietary traders also attend the […]
Read more...This idea of China being ahead of the game in anything environment protection related probably strikes readers as ironic, given reports of extensive industrial pollution, such as air pollution on a scale that is changing weather patterns, large scale lead poisoning, and cadmium in the soil. As Forbes commented recently, “China: Where Poisoning People Is […]
Read more...By Robert P. Baird of digital emunction When, back in March, the Bank of England announced that it was adopting a program of quantitative easing, The Economist reported the news with some trepidation. While recognizing that the threat of deflation was real and imminent, the magazine gave voice to the fear that “that the border […]
Read more...Served by Jesse of Le Café Américain Someone asked why Bernanke seemed so positive about the US recovery, and what he would do if his prediction turned out to be incorrect. The first answer is rather straightforward. He is ‘jawboning’ or trying to increase confidence in the system to motivate businesses to spend and consumers […]
Read more...This blog is a card carrying hater of the stress test farce of earlier this year, The Treasury said from the start that the purpose of the stress tests was to restore confidence and show that the 19 banks tested, which hold 70% of the nation’s deposits, were well capitalized, and then said more or […]
Read more...Tasting the Light: Device Lets the Blind “See” with Their Tongues Scientific American ECB’s Trichet warns on complacency as economy heals Reuters The Flaw of Averages Felix Salmon FBI Protects Fortune 500 Independent Accountant Age, Marriage Equality, and Knowing Gay People Matthew Yglesias Fed’s Kohn Defends Pledge to Keep Rates Low WSJ Economics Blog Antidote […]
Read more...Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. David Leonhardt and Geraldine Fabrikant of the NYT report that the Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Sobering Wall: The rich, as a group, are no longer getting richer. Over the last two years, they have become poorer. And many may not return to their old levels […]
Read more...Scientists: New species of worms release ‘bombs‘ Associated Press EU considers bluefin tuna protection Financial Times Weekend Doom and Gloom Challenge Economic Populist Orwellian Madness “Bernanke Saved The World” Michael Shedlock. Even more extreme than the NY Times article we panned a couple of nights ago. The Folks Who Missed the Largest Financial Bubble in […]
Read more...I have set you up to misinterpret that headline, but that’s OK. I know that sophisticated modern finance people are not supposed to believe in technical trading. It’s sort of like believing in astrology. Yet pretty much every serious investor I know pays attention to it, even if it is not a major factor in […]
Read more...Reader Peter A pointed out this New York Post article on Tyler Durden today. The Post has broken some hedge fund stories, like losses at particular well known hedge funds during rough trading periods, so it does have good connections in Hedgistan. I would rather not get into this fray, but Tyler Durden has guest […]
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