August 2008

As we are now one year in to the credit crunch, it is obvious to anyone how widespread and deep this credit crisis really is. I have been doing a lot of thinking about the 'light at the end of the tunnel.' Quite frankly, there is none.…

After a week's holiday, I have a huge backlog of stories on offer. Below are the latest writedown stories from the web that I have seen. For the full timeline of news, visit my credit crisis timeline.Also see my list of Bankrupt Global…

A week ago, jobless claims rose to a multi-year high of 448,000 on the back of seasonal adjustments. This week is no different, but there are some telling changes that make this week's numbers more worrisome.First, jobless claims hit a…

New Zealand 'enters recession' - BBC News (Add New Zealand to Denmark which is already in recession)UK pensions are 'back in the red' - BBC News (I haven't focused nearly enough on this issue. It never really went away. The bear market…

I've been thinking a lot about unrealized gains and their effect on the global economy. if you remember, I wrote a few weeks ago about a new debit card that lets people tap the money from their 401(k) plan. I think these cards are a bad…

Riches to Rags - NY Times (article about Kevin Phillips' Bad Money -- great book)Credit crunch: The blame game - BBC News (Interesting compilation of pundits' take on who caused the crunch)Wary investors see banks as cheap - BBC News (I…

Clive Crook of the Financial Times rightly takes on the Bush Administration and its squandering of hundreds of billions of dollars of fiscal surplus on war in Iraq and ta cuts for the wealthy. In this time of economic crisis, the U.S. is…

In today's Financial Times, former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has taken the unusual step of playing market pundit even while his successor struggles to deal with the mighty financial turmoil he engendered. It is highly…

Looking more closely at the data on U.S. GDP, a number of things emerge. First, I should add that the GDP deflator does not include import prices. So, one good reason it was so low last quarter is because it didn't factor in the 28% rise…

You thought I was on vacation? Well, I am, but I want to make a few comments about the goings on today as a lot of data came out. Here is the lightning round in no particular order (sorry Cramer, I'm stealing your tag line)Thousands face…