Monthly Archives: March 2011

March 31, 2011

• Matt Stoller: Comptroller of the Currency Orders National Banks to Cover Up Foreclosure Scandal
  by Yves Smith 5:46 pm

• Town Hall Discussion of Energy Solutions: Live Stream of Dylan Ratigan Here at 8 PM EDT
  by Yves Smith 5:28 pm

• Links 3/31/11
  by Yves Smith 6:11 am

• Why Liberals Are Lame (Part 2)
  by Yves Smith 6:09 am

• Josh Rosner: Dodd Frank is a Farce on Too Big to Fail
  by Yves Smith 4:07 am

• Hooray! Jamie Dimon Says New Capital Rules Will Kill Zombie Banks!
  by Yves Smith 3:20 am

March 30, 2011

• Links 3/30/11
  by Yves Smith 7:01 am

• Lender Processing Services Behind More Record-Keeping Botches and Foreclosure Forgeries
  by Yves Smith 6:43 am

• OMG, Greenspan Claims Financial Rent Seeking Promotes Prosperity!
  by Yves Smith 3:17 am

• Zeitgeist Watch: Art Critic Questions Winner Take All Society
  by Yves Smith 12:39 am

March 29, 2011

• Guest Post: Government Responds to Nuclear Accident by Trying to Raise Acceptable Radiation Levels and Pretending that Radiation is Good For Us
  by George Washington 2:52 pm

• Are Banks Scheming to Gut the Role of the Courts in Foreclosures?
  by Yves Smith 8:15 am

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Bogus Mortgage Settlement Math
  by Yves Smith 7:27 am

• Links 3/29/11
  by Yves Smith 7:02 am

• William Hogeland: How John Adams and Thomas Paine Clashed Over Economic Equality
  by Yves Smith 5:08 am

• Illustrating How Infrastructure Deals Result in High Fees and Diminished Service
  by Yves Smith 3:37 am

March 28, 2011

• Exoskeletons: A Breakthrough for the Military and the Handicapped
  by Yves Smith 12:10 pm

• What’s the difference between government bonds and bank notes?
  by Edward Harrison 8:00 am

• Links 3/28/11
  by Yves Smith 7:14 am

• The Sandbagging of Elizabeth Warren (and 49 State Attorneys General)
  by Yves Smith 7:02 am

• Scott Fullwiler: Paul Krugman—The Conscience of a Neo-Liberal?
  by Yves Smith 3:10 am

• Complexity and War or How Financial Firms Wreck Economies for Fun and Profit
  by Yves Smith 2:22 am

March 27, 2011

• Conditions Worsen at Fukushima Nuclear Site
  by Yves Smith 8:23 pm

• Links 3/27/11
  by Yves Smith 3:53 am

• Guest Post: On the Government Cover-Up of Gulf Dolphin Deaths
  by Yves Smith 3:13 am

• Sleaze Watch: Florida Attorney General Cavils About “Moral Hazard” While Letting Foreclosure Mill Off the Hook
  by Yves Smith 2:40 am

March 26, 2011

• Links 3/26/11
  by Yves Smith 3:49 am

• Guest Post: Violence, democratisation and civil liberties – The new Arab awakening in light of the experiences from the “third wave” of democratisation
  by Yves Smith 2:29 am

March 25, 2011

• Paul Jackson’s “Follow the Money” Shows Housing Wire Deep Financial Ties to Mortgage Market Bad Actors
  by Yves Smith 9:58 pm

• Links 3/25/11
  by Yves Smith 6:57 am

• Slapping Team Obama: Several Democratic AGs to Withdraw from Proposed Mortgage Fraud Settlement; Federal Negotiations in Disarray
  by Yves Smith 6:25 am

• Buzz Potamkin: Still Getting Away With Murder Manslaughter
  by Yves Smith 6:20 am

• GE, Leader in Tax Evasion, Pays Virtually No Tax Yet Got Bailed Out in Crisis
  by Yves Smith 5:10 am

March 24, 2011

• Real vs Nominal Housing Prices: United States 1890-2010
  by Yves Smith 11:21 am

• Links 3/24/11
  by Yves Smith 6:54 am

• Richard Alford: Fed Policy, Market Failures and Irony
  by Yves Smith 6:00 am

• Are Fannie and Freddie Giving Banks Yet Another Bailout by Not Pursuing PMI Claims?
  by Yves Smith 5:54 am

• Matt Stoller: The Federal Reserve’s Wheezy Independence Takes Another Hit
  by Matt Stoller 1:07 am

• Marshall Auerback: The Economic Policy Behind Intervention in Libya Chases Its Own Tail
  by Yves Smith 1:00 am

March 23, 2011

• Links 3/23/11
  by Yves Smith 6:23 am

• Fannie and Freddie Hiding Over $100 Billion of Losses?
  by Yves Smith 5:34 am

• Beware the Predatory Pro Se Borrower!
  by Yves Smith 4:27 am

• How the US Got in the Torture Business
  by Yves Smith 2:16 am

March 22, 2011

• Links 3/22/11
  by Yves Smith 6:59 am

• Sleaze Watch: NY Fed Official Responsible for AIG Loans Joins AIG As AIG Pushes Sweetheart Repurchase to NY Fed
  by Yves Smith 6:16 am

• More on the Lack of Criminal Prosecutions: Was the SEC Deterred by a Widely Overlooked Ruling?
  by Yves Smith 4:14 am

• Satyajit Das: Controlling Sovereign CDS Trading – The Dysfunctional Debate
  by Yves Smith 12:10 am

• Guest Post: The 1785 Struggle Over Concentrated Banking Power
  by Yves Smith 12:05 am

March 21, 2011

• Why is a Powerful Faux Liberal UK Think Tank Using a Tarnished Pol and Recycled US Republican Talking Points to Fight Breaking Up Banks?
  by Yves Smith 6:47 am

• The Elizabeth Warren Rorschach Test
  by Yves Smith 6:25 am

• Links 3/21/11
  by Yves Smith 5:59 am

• Clearing Up Some Misperceptions on the Mortgage Modification/Second Lien Debate
  by Yves Smith 5:30 am

• Quelle Surprise! Geithner Gutting Dodd Frank via Intent to Exempt Foreign Exchange
  by Yves Smith 4:16 am

March 20, 2011

• Links Spring Equinox
  by Yves Smith 4:43 am

• The Stigmatization of the Unemployed
  by Yves Smith 3:59 am

• Implosion of Foreclosure Mill Leaves 100,000 Cases in Limbo
  by Yves Smith 3:18 am

March 19, 2011

• Links 3/19/11
  by Yves Smith 3:51 am

• Is Nuclear Power Worth the Risk?
  by Yves Smith 3:30 am

• On the Clouded Title Mess and the Difficulties of Cleaning It Up
  by Yves Smith 2:52 am

• Class, Social and Traditional Media, and the Mortgage Mess
  by Yves Smith 12:21 am

March 18, 2011

• Wisconsin Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against Anti-Union Law
  by Yves Smith 3:36 pm

• Link 3/18/11
  by Yves Smith 5:07 am

• Do We Need Big Banks?
  by Yves Smith 3:27 am

• We Speak on BNN About Housing Outlook, Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Discussions
  by Yves Smith 2:23 am

• Why American Officials Have Been Criticizing the Japanese Nuclear Containment Efforts
  by Yves Smith 1:47 am

March 17, 2011

• Mirabile Dictu! FDIC Suing Former WaMu CEO, Two Execs, for $900 Million
  by Yves Smith 2:24 pm

• Guest Post: Curbing the Credit Cycle
  by Richard Smith 4:56 am

• Links 3/17/11
  by Yves Smith 3:32 am

• Irish Perspective on Bank/Sovereign Default
  by Yves Smith 2:35 am

• Microsoft, General Electric on List of World’s Most Ethical Companies
  by Yves Smith 2:07 am

• Satyajit Das: The Economic Calculus of Japan’s Tragedy
  by Yves Smith 12:11 am

March 16, 2011

• Quelle Surprise! New Home Construction Plunges
  by Yves Smith 12:15 pm

• Links 3/16/11
  by Yves Smith 6:59 am

• Obama Pressing for a “Shock and Awe” Mortgage Mod Program, 3 Million in 6 Months
  by Yves Smith 6:58 am

• Japan Earthquake Shows Business Reengineering Relies on Bogus Thinking Similar to Financial Engineering
  by Yves Smith 6:57 am

• Remaining Staff at Fukushima Plant Told to Leave (Temporarily?); Intrade Predicts IAEA Will Upgrade Accident Level (Updated)
  by Yves Smith 1:27 am

March 15, 2011

• Links Ides of March
  by Yves Smith 5:56 am

• Will Ireland Threaten to Default?
  by Yves Smith 5:51 am

• John Hempton: “What the demise of China Media Express says about the demise of Hank Greenberg and AIG”
  by Yves Smith 2:01 am

• Japanese Stock Market in Free Fall on Nuclear Fears, Nikkei Down Nearly 13%
  by Yves Smith 12:44 am

• Guest Post: Explosion and Fire at Fourth Japanese Nuclear Reactor … Government Says High Levels of Radiation Being Released
  by George Washington 12:35 am

March 14, 2011

• Guest Post: Number 2 Reactor Explodes, Damaging Core Containment Structure
  by George Washington 8:28 pm

• Why Adulterous Failed Banker Sir Fred Goodwin’s Covered-Up Workplace Affair is a Matter of Public Interest
  by Richard Smith 6:02 am

• Links 3/14/11
  by Yves Smith 4:25 am

• EU Puts Periphery Countries on the Rack
  by Yves Smith 4:10 am

• “Anonymous” Whistleblower Charges BofA With Large Scale Force Placed Insurance Scheme With Cooperation of Servicers
  by Yves Smith 3:09 am

March 13, 2011

• Bill Maher Tells Poor People: Stop Thinking the Rich are On Your Side
  by Yves Smith 11:33 pm

• Links 3/13/11
  by Yves Smith 4:16 am

• Gretchen Morgenson Confirms Lack of Attorney General Investigations into Foreclosure Fraud
  by Yves Smith 3:44 am

• A Reason to Stop Banking with Wells Fargo
  by Yves Smith 1:45 am

• The Fed Beats Marie Antoinette With “Let Them Eat iPad2s”
  by Yves Smith 12:03 am

March 12, 2011

• Partial Meltdown Underway at Two Reactors in Japan; 200,000 Evacuated (Updated)
  by Yves Smith 10:43 pm

• Links 3/12/11
  by Yves Smith 4:02 am

• Administration Acts on Mortgage Fraud Against Military, Yet Denies It Exists Anywhere Else
  by Yves Smith 3:33 am

March 11, 2011

• Guest Post: Japanese, Russian and Indonesian Volcanoes Erupt … 5 Japanese Nuclear Reactors In Danger … 1 Is Leaking and May Melt Down Within 24 Hours
  by George Washington 7:51 pm

• This Is How QE Really Works
  by Edward Harrison 12:30 pm

• Links 3/11/11
  by Yves Smith 6:51 am

• Insider Trading Case Testimony Suggests McKinsey Types are Stupid Crooks
  by Yves Smith 5:40 am

• A New “Whocoulddanode” Defense, This Time of Coddling Banksters in the Crisis
  by Yves Smith 3:52 am

• Powerful Earthquake Hits Japan; Tsunamis Expected to Hit Indonesia, Australia, Hawaii, Mexico
  by Yves Smith 2:00 am

March 10, 2011

• Adulterous failed banker Sir Fred Goodwin obtains superinjunction
  by Richard Smith 1:57 pm

• 6 Reasons Markets Are Taking A Beating Today
  by Richard Smith 1:23 pm

• Spiralling into the Moussaka
  by Richard Smith 1:18 pm

• Quelle Surprise! Fed Issues “See No Evil” Report Using Bogus Methodology to Defend Servicers
  by Yves Smith 1:15 pm

• Drop in Foreclosure Filings Reveals Operational Mess at Servicers
  by Yves Smith 12:44 pm

• Links 3/10/11
  by Yves Smith 5:54 am

• Moody’s on MERS in 1999: “No Material Impact on the Ability to Foreclose and Sell Foreclosed Homes”
  by Yves Smith 4:27 am

March 9, 2011

• Wisconsin Senate Passes Bill Ending Public Bargaining Rights
  by Yves Smith 8:40 pm

• Richard Koo: How the West is Repeating Japan’s Mistakes
  by Yves Smith 11:04 am

• Links 3/9/11
  by Yves Smith 6:56 am

• BofA “Bad Bank” for Legacy Assets: Will This Eventually Be a First Use of Dodd Frank Resolution Powers?
  by Yves Smith 5:51 am

• Shades of 2007: Synthetic Junk Bonds
  by Yves Smith 5:50 am

• Tom Adams: Fraudclosure Settlement Largely Repeats 2003 FTC Servicing Settlement
  by Yves Smith 2:50 am

• Banks Beef About Fraudclosure Settlement As Stocks Rise on the News
  by Yves Smith 2:03 am

March 8, 2011

• Guest Post: Guantanamo Show Trials Re-Started
  by George Washington 5:05 pm

• Links 3/8/11
  by Yves Smith 7:00 am

• Mortgage Settlement Term Sheet: Bailout as Reward for Institutionalized Fraud
  by Yves Smith 6:57 am

• Paul Jackson Claims It’s All About the Money
  by Richard Smith 6:56 am

• Guest Post: Democratic Finance v. Banking Fraud in Early America
  by Yves Smith 4:43 am

March 7, 2011

• “The 25 Best Financial Blogs”
  by Yves Smith 4:09 pm

• More Public Infrastructure Sale Tales of Woe
  by Yves Smith 7:33 am

• Links 3/7/11
  by Yves Smith 7:01 am

• Adam Levitin: Alabama Mortgage Ruling “doesn’t have precedential value anywhere“
  by Yves Smith 6:57 am

• Many Foreclosures in Oregon Halted Due to Decisions Against MERS
  by Yves Smith 5:28 am

March 6, 2011

• Links 3/6/11
  by Yves Smith 6:59 am

• McKinsey, the Insider Trading Scandal, and the Problems With Consulting
  by Yves Smith 6:25 am

• Aljazeera: Empire – Hollywood and the war machine
  by Yves Smith 2:51 am

• Guest Post: Everything You Need to Know About Torture
  by George Washington 1:24 am

March 5, 2011

• Paul Jackson Declares “Mission Accomplished” on Securitization Woes Based on Alabama Foreclosure Decision
  by Yves Smith 6:13 am

• Links 3/5/11
  by Yves Smith 6:05 am

• We Explain the Mortgage Mess on Harry Shearer’s Le Show on Sunday
  by Yves Smith 3:28 am

March 4, 2011

• Wisconsin Humor Fest
  by Yves Smith 11:28 pm

• Guest Post: Head of World’s Largest Asset Manager Says “Markets Like Totalitarian Governments”
  by George Washington 7:44 pm

• Matt Stoller: Angelo Mozilo, Tea Partier?
  by Richard Smith 11:17 am

• Links 3/4/11
  by Yves Smith 6:59 am

• The Bizarre Mortgage “Settlement” Negotiations
  by Yves Smith 6:02 am

• GSE 2.0 Scare Tactics: False Claim That No Government Guarantee = No Thirty-Year Mortgage
  by Yves Smith 2:17 am

March 3, 2011

• Links 3/3/11
  by Yves Smith 5:22 am

• Another County Seeking to Collect Unpaid Recording Fees From MERS
  by Yves Smith 3:01 am

• Guest Post: Half a century of large currency appreciations – Did they reduce imbalances and output?
  by Yves Smith 2:07 am

March 2, 2011

• Even Tea Party Members Do Not Support Cutting Social Security
  by Yves Smith 8:49 pm

• More Project Merlin Infighting Back Story, and the Collision to Come
  by Richard Smith 8:15 am

• Links 3/2/11
  by Yves Smith 4:14 am

• A Straightforward Criminal Case Against Wall Street CEOs and Senior Executives
  by Yves Smith 4:02 am

• The £1bn-plus HBOS Fraud Investigation That Lloyds Keeps Trying to Brush Under the Carpet
  by Richard Smith 4:00 am

• Satyajit Das: Potemkin Villages – The Truth about Emerging Markets
  by Yves Smith 1:20 am

March 1, 2011

• Megan McArdle Uses Straw Men to Argue Against Principal Mods
  by Yves Smith 12:00 pm

• Ian Fraser: Lloyds – Enron Redux?
  by Yves Smith 8:30 am

• Links 3/1/11
  by Yves Smith 7:02 am

• Dylan Ratigan: Will Washington wake up to Wall Street greed?
  by Yves Smith 5:43 am

• Michael Lewis: Will Defamation Charges by His “Big Short” Villain Stick?
  by Yves Smith 4:36 am