Category Archives: Banking industry

Towards a Theory of Shadow Money

Struggles over shadow money today echo 19th century struggles over bank deposits.

Michael Hudson: Pamama – Laundering Haven for War Budgets

Michael Hudson explains the history of Panama as a center to launder earnings for the oil and the gas industries, and the mining industry.

Five Big Banks Get Bad Grades on Living Wills, No One Gets Clean Pass; Admission That “Too Big to Fail” is Alive and Well

The practical and political consequences of no big banks getting a pass on their living wills.

Bill Black: “Liberal” Economists Cheered the New Democrats’ Deregulation of Finance

A case study illustrating how soi-disant liberal economists pushed the US to the right during the Clinton Administration.

Martin Wolf Defends Central Banks’ Negative Interest Rate Policies

The Financial Times’ lead economics writer, Martin Wolf, makes an intellectually bogus case for negative interest policies.

Krugman Kinda, Sorta Retracts a Key Part of Last Friday’s ‘Sanders Over the Edge’ Op-ed

Being Paul Krugman means never having to say you’re sorry.

Housing’s “Deadly Embrace” in Financial Cycles

The IMF argues that regulating mortgages is not sufficient to prevent housing booms and busts.

John Helmer: Brookings Launches Unguided Missile – The Panama Papers as Putin Plot

Brookings issued an astonishing report, and not in a good way, about the Panama Papers.

Fed Suddenly Having Emergency Meetings as European Banks Also Wobble

The Fed is suddenly looking very nervous, and by contrast, the Europeans don’t seem anywhere nervous enough on the banking front.

Caesars Bankruptcy Fight Over Alleged Fraudulent Transfers Opens Window on Private Equity Looting

Creditor suits against private equity kingpins Apollo and TPG for the failed Caesars’ deal have already revealed a lot of dirt, with more sure to follow.

#panamapapers Offshore Funds: On the Run With (Almost) Nowhere to Go?

The owners of offshore funds really might be seeing their comeuppance.

Paul Krugman Crosses the Line

Krugman is increasingly discrediting himself as a commentator on economics.

#panamapapers: Questioning the Picture Painted in the WSJ’s Interview With Jürgen Mossack

A sceptical look at Jürgen Mossack’s WSJ interview

Ireland: a Recovery Built on Sand

How official statistics exaggerate Ireland’s performance, largely due to its status as a tax haven/offshore financial center.