We have a juicy tidbit on the wires tonight. The Department of Justice is conducting an investigation into whether Markit’s clients traded on its research prior to its being made public, As much as I would love to see the credit default swaps market reined in, or better yet, shut down, this move is puzzling. […]
Read more...I am provisionally opening comments back up. Regulars may recall that I went to restricting them to people who had registered. Unfortunately, Blogger limits that to Open ID or people with Blogger accounts. I had hoped to be switched over to WordPress an eternity ago, which allows for much more user friendly ways of registering, […]
Read more...Submitted by Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns. Just when I was wondering where Meredith Whitney had gone, she’s back. But she has a whole new tone to her. In this interview on CNBC, she says she is expecting a monster number from Goldman (GS) tomorrow morning, in 2010 and in 2011. She is well above […]
Read more...Submitted by Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns. Last week, I followed up Yves Smith’s excellent post on “Why Big Capital Markets Players Are Unmanageable” with “More on why big capital markets players are unmanageable.” I would like to extend the discussion beyond the U.S. border into a look at how the universal banking model abroad […]
Read more...Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. A former colleaugue of mine, Keith Porter, posted an excellent entry on Luc Vallée’s blog on bonuses and benchmarks: I would like to pick up some of the themes Leo Kolivakis has been pursuing on Pension Pulse about bonuses in the industry. Let me start with a […]
Read more...‘Sit! Stay! Snuggle!’: An Iraq Vet Finds His Dog Tuesday Wall Street Journal. Puppies Behind Bars, a not-for-profit that trains these dogs, is a very good organization. Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief Scientific American €400bn energy plan to harness African sun Independent (hat tip reader John D) Swine Flu Packs Bigger […]
Read more...Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, who has been consistently alarmed about Europe (and often charged in comments of going overboard in general, and on this topic in particular) sounds a particularly loud alarm on Europe, based on the view that the ECB has not eased enough. I have limited insight here. I have been told that German banks […]
Read more...Submitted by Jesse of Le Café Américain “The banks must be restrained, and the financial system reformed, and balancerestored to the economy, before there can be any sustained recovery.” Often a closing comment from our blog, essentially this is what Robert Reich is saying in his recent essay on the economy. The median wage must […]
Read more...Elephant carwash raises zoo cash BBC Searchers shovel Northwest dirt seeking giant worm Associated Press (hat tip reader John D) Geithner: Too soon to decide on more stimulus Reuters. Obama is too chicken to go to Congress, so we’ll leave this operation to Helicopter Ben. To Control Bubbles, the Fed Must First Control Itself David […]
Read more...Submitted by Richard Smith, a somewhat jaded capital markets IT professional, aviator and amateur mathematician who lives in London. He has been watching the capital markets from the sidelines for over twenty years. He frets over his ducklings, and should probably get out more. The indefatigable Barry Ritholtz is a fund manager and TV talking […]
Read more...The summary of this video (hat tip reader Barbara): The Federal Reserve is one of the most powerful and secretive institutions in Washington, long considered beyond the reach of lawmakers. But now, as details emerge of how the Fed secretly doled out more than a trillion dollars during the financial crisis, a rare bipartisan movement […]
Read more...Speedy cheetahs put through paces BBC Government honours veterans of Bletchley Park at last V3. Cryptonomicon fans take note. Sarah Palin is resigning over money, says Levi Johnston Telegraph. Makes more sense than any reason I have heard thus far. NYT Totally Flubs Story on Mortgage Market Dean Baker Surprise fall in factory prices puts […]
Read more...Lordie, the theater is beginning to look like a Punch and Judy show, where everything is staged and no one gets hurt. Joe Nocera has a not-too bad piece on the latest comedy of errors, except he takes the Adminstration’s PR way too seriously: Remember that infamous meeting last October at the Treasury Department, the […]
Read more...The Washington Post has a pretty bizarre story up tonight. The Administration is thinking about releasing TARP funds as loans to small businesses. Stress the thinking part. As in big-time thinking. As in long way from action. Which begs the question as to why this is a news story. Since I am of the view […]
Read more...This from an attentive (and well known) investor. I’d provide a link except the press release is not yet posted on Dodd’s website United States Congress For Immediate Release July 10, 2009 Contact: Kirstin Brost/Justine Sessions, Dodd, 202-224-7391 Steve Adamske, Frank, 202-225-7141 Dodd, Frank Ask Regulators to Address 2nd Mortgages Valuation Problems that Discourage Loan […]
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