Author Archives: Yves Smith

Greeks Get Time but Not Money

Yves here. This post by Delusional Economics continues with his cataloguing of the slide of the Eurozone into an economic and political abyss. What is striking is the contrast between his matter of fact tone (which at this point is fully warranted, these self destructive actions have become depressingly routine) and the horror of what is happening, that millions of people are faced with desperation and are prepared to take desperate measures in retaliation.

Harry Shearer’s Grand Bargain Barn!

Bill Black will insist this needs to be rebranded as the Great Betrayal Barn….but I am sure you will enjoy it nevertheless! A must listen!

Shale Gas Will be the Next Bubble to Pop

By James Stafford, publisher of OilPrice. Cross posted from OilPrice.

To help us to look past the hype and take a critical look at whether shale really is the golden goose many believe it to be or just another over-hyped bubble that is about to pop, we were fortunate to speak with energy expert Arthur Berman.

In the interview Arthur talks about:

• Why shale gas will be the next bubble to pop
• Why Japan can’t afford to abandon nuclear power
• Why the United States shouldn’t turn its back on Canada’s tar sands
• Why renewables won’t make a meaningful impact for many years
• Why the shale boom will not have a big impact on foreign policy
• Why Romney and Obama know next to nothing about fossil fuel energy

Wow! Met Our Second Fundraising Target, On to the Third

Dear readers, if you are a weekday only reader and sensibly were off the grid yesterday, please visit our kickoff post where we tell you what we hope to accomplish with our fundraiser and how to contribute.

I really appreciate the speedy and generous responses. It has been distracting, in a good way, to see all the PayPal notifications, “Check is in the mail” messages (the kickoff post gives you the sordid details), and kind comments on Neil Barofsky’s endorsement.

Links 11/12/12

Another Lame Duck Session Horrorshow, the “First, Let’s Kill All The Regulators” Bill

No matter how bad things seem to be, there are always ways for them to become worse. While the campaign against Medicare and Social Security is being couched in the sort of faux inevitability that has become familiar via European austerity measures, other pernicious lame duck session measures are moving forward in the hope no one will notice.

Dave Dayen wrote up a remarkably ugly one last Friday.

Neil Barofsky: Why Naked Capitalism Matters

By Neil Barofsky, Adjunct Professor of Law and Senior Research Fellow at NYU Law School, former Special Inspector General of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, and author of Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street

I first became acquainted with Naked Capitalism while I was still at Treasury as the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

On the Decline and (Maybe) Fall of Venture Capital

Roughly eight years ago, I had lunch with an ex-McKinsey colleague who had started a venture capital firm. His partners were raising a second fund. He was leaving. I wish I had taken notes, but his message was that the industry did not work.

Michael Olenick: Schadenfreude Alert – Banks Paying Extortionate Fees for Foreclosure Reviews

By Michael Olenick, a regular contributor on Naked Capitalism. You can follow him on Twitter at @michael_olenick

Every time it appears that the OCC foreclosure reviews have hit bottom they sink further into the morass.

Links 11/11/12

The Lady Doth Protest Too Much: CBO Director Asks for a Chat Regarding Our Post on Their Questionable Health Cost Increase Model

As regular readers may recall, last Monday, we put up a post titled “Fed Budgetary Experts Demolish CBO Health Cost Model, the Lynchpin of Budget Hysteria.” We received a voicemail and a related e-mail Wednesday morning. This is the text of the e-mail:

Links 11/10/12

Bill Black: Jobs Now – Make Obama’s Priority Reality and Expose the Lie of Lazy Laborers

By Bill Black, the author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One and an associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City

President Obama gave a major speech today on his legislative agenda. He said that the overriding national priority had to be jobs. We agree.

The problem is that Republicans and Democrats are pushing a “Grand Bargain” that would reduce jobs.