Image via Wikipedia Okay, Mish and I are not politically aligned, but I like his approach and I think this Obama budget is going to be a powder keg in both parties. Full of democratic policy initiatives, much like the economic stimulus package, this budget is going to drive Americans and politicians crazy with images of overusing political capital. In classic Mish fashion he captures the key points: With all due respect Mr. President, Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke are offering the same policies … [Read more...]
The Quants Killed Wall Street
February 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Image via Wikipedia Great article by Felix Salmon in Wired--Recipe for Disaster: The Formula That Killed Wall Street I remember back in my DeepGreen Bank days structuring and pitching home equity portfolios for sale and securitization. It is amazing up in the ivory towers of Wall Street it got very abstract, while on the front-end of getting into the palaces (Wall Street firms, rating agencies, and mortgage insurers) it was good old fashion salesmanship. This article is a great walk-through of … [Read more...]
Unemployment Economic Edition
November 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I though since our economy is (almost sequentially) taking us through a course in classic economic theory I would make today a deep dive on employment and its role in the economy. Economic Reading If you are looking to brush up on all of your economic classics I have assembled a great economics reading list. Or, if you prefer to have all the quintessential classic economic writings in one place I recommend Michael Lewis's The Real Price of Everything: Rediscovering the Six Classics of Economics. Official … [Read more...]
AMEX Bank, ABA No New Regs, Big Bank Loan Modifications, Economist Turn Negative, 10 Benefits of Recession
November 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment
American Express Becomes a Bank American Express becomes a bank, getting unprecedented speedy approval to become a Federally chartered bank. This is likely a smart preemptive move by American Express to hedge mounting credit card troubles by gaining access to TARP bailout funds. The cautionary part of this tale--how bad might those mounting losses be for the Federal Reserve to waive even the cursory 30-day waiting period? Bad! American Express Co. won U.S. Federal Reserve approval to become a commercial … [Read more...]
Weekend Notes: The Loan Modification Edition
November 1, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Loan Modification Plans The US government and JP Morgan Chase race to massive loan modification plans. Naked Capitalism reviews the JP Morgan plan with skepticism: So despite the use of mortgage counsellors, borrowers are NOT being assessed on an individual basis. I hate to sound like a perennial skeptic, but I doubt that these programs will be terribly successful (although pushing foreclosures off even two or three quarters will probably make the bank's financials look better, and they presumably … [Read more...]
Weekend Notes
October 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Weekend Read File: Will economic collapse hurt contracts for baseball players? Time to Clean Up After the Party An Example of Economics at Work Bernanke is Fighting the Last War Churchill's Dictum and Henry Paulson PIMCO's Gross sees market confidence restored 'in weeks' on bank rescue (this guy is incredible-sarcasm in voice) Have we learned the right lessons from the Great Depression? Mark Cuban helping to watchdog our tax dollars Sequoia tells portfolio companies to hunker down (presentation … [Read more...]
Obama, All Markets Surge, Hedge Funds Retract, Recession
October 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Barack Obama on the Economy President hopeful Senator Barack Obama sought to capture some of the stock market rally euphoria and lock-up control of the economic issue. Presenting a much broader economic vision, Obama promised an additional $60 billion to help state and local governments, increase jobs, let individuals dip into their retirement savings tax-free, and issue a moratorium on foreclosures. Heading in to the third and final debate, it promises to be all about the "Economy, Stupid!" Foreign … [Read more...]