The Bank of America stock offering, which will be used to repay the TARP, went off well, so surely this means the Charlotte bank is on the mend and its finances are sound, right? Chris Whalen, who is an expert on the banking industry and has a proprietary database that measures the risk of individual […]
Read more...It’s one thing for Bernie Sanders, who is an independent in more ways than one, to put a hold on Bernanke’s confirmation (a threat to filibuster, which if executed, will at a minimum will mess up the Senate’s calendar for a few days) and quite another from someone across the aisle, and a member of […]
Read more...Dear patient readers, Thin/no posts from me for next 24 hours plus. Meetings, packing, and flying on the agenda. Big Freeze: Earth Could Plunge into Sudden Ice Age Live Science (hat tip reader John D) The dark side of Dubai Johann Hari, Independent (hat tip reader Swedish Lex) Men’s genes ‘may limit lifespan’ BBC Millions […]
Read more...By Augustus Melmotte, who lives and works in Hedgistan. The administration is examining strategies for encouraging the ownership of fluffy kittens. “I think we can all agree,” the president said, “that in troubled times stroking a fluffy kitten can really help a struggling family to stay on course.” The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has calculated […]
Read more...The efforts to block Bernanke’s confirmation are getting some traction. First, Bernie Sanders of Vermont said he is putting a hold on Bernanke’s confirmation. A hold (in lay terms) is a threat to filibuster. This is actually pretty serious and seldom done. It takes 60 votes to beat one back, and there are enough procedural […]
Read more...By Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns AmTrust Financial, a privately held regional bank holding company based in Cleveland, has just filed for bankruptcy. With well over $10 billion in assets, AmTrust Bank is fairly large. The circumstances surrounding its failure are unusual in that the Bank Holding Company (BHC) has filed for bankruptcy but the […]
Read more...This came via e-mail from a legitimate source: As a former staffer for one of these Senators [on the Banking Committee], I’ll just point out the obvious: most of them have their fingers in the wind right now. they’re leaning to confirm BB, because they don’t want to be out on a limb, and there’s […]
Read more...‘Global surge’ in rhino poaching BBC Live Whiskey-Blogging the President’s Latest Most Importantest Speech of the Millennium The Rude Pundit Equities Lost Decade EconomPic Data Moderation in War is Imbecility Streetwise Professor Sprint’s 50 Million Customers Have Been Geo-Tracked 8 Million Times-in the Last Year FireDogLake (hat tip reader John D) Goldman Gets All The […]
Read more...Normally I relegate items that I deem important, but to which I have comparatively little to add, to Links and label as “Today’s Must Read.” Even thought this offering falls into that general category, it is far and away the most important “Must Read” I can recall coming across, and so I am highlighting it […]
Read more...There is a curious disparity in the reports on Bernanke’s odds of reconfirmation as Fed chairman. Now on the one hand, incumbents generally have an upper hand. But incumbents seldom preside over massive disasters that started on their watch and remain sufficiently unobservant as to be unable to connect the dots that they might have […]
Read more...There is a great and troubling little post up at Annaly (hat tip reader Scott) which confirms that all is far from well in bank-land. This story is consistent with the negative readings coming from bank maven Chris Whalen, whose latest proprietary stress ratings based on FDIC call reports found that : the far worse […]
Read more...The Senate Banking Committee will be chatting with Ben Bernanke this Thursday to vote on his reappointment. Demand that the Committee ask the following questions for our esteemed Esteemed Chairman (and contact your own Senators also and demand that they find out the answers to the following questions). If you are a Senate aide, please […]
Read more...By Richard Alford, a former economist at the New York Fed. Since then, he has worked in the financial industry as a trading floor economist and strategist on both the sell side and the buy side. The Fed has recently come under heavy criticism, largely for its role in the AIG bailout. The Fed deserves […]
Read more...Dubai Crisis Tests Laws of Islamic Financing New York Times. Some alert readers mentioned this issue early on. Senator wants to use gambling laws on Wall Street Economic Populist Good Bye! The reappointment of Bernanke is too much to bear Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Huffington Post Bankruptcy, mortgage default, and foreclosure Wenli Li and Michelle J. […]
Read more...As Jim Chanos, who pointed out this Bloomberg piece “Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public,” remarked, “Well, it appears that Goldman’s Best and Brightest may be hedging their goodwill built up by doing ‘God’s work’.” I’ve heard the expression, “Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel,” but I can’t recall an exhortation that links […]
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