July 2009

The bloggers at bloggers at UMKC’s economics blog have been making the case that California’s IOUs are a currency.  Randy Wray’s entry last Monday was particularly provocative because he suggests a movement to loosen national…

This comes via Brown Brothers Harriman. I have highlighted the parts of particular note. Macroeconomic Update: The economy has slowed along with the rest of the world, as China has become much more dependent on trade as it integrates…

This comes via David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff. The week that was After four weeks of decline with a total loss of 7.0%, the equity market turned in a like-sized gain this past week re-igniting the bulls. With tech leading the…

Back in April, I mentioned a story about BTA, a bank in Kazakhstan that had been nationalized by the state in February.  The interesting bit about the story was that interested parties from abroad (including Morgan Stanley) had…

Why is it that Jon Stewart, a comedian, has become the most able and trusted voice of investigative journalism into finance on television?  He spoke with the French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, something I find remarkable given…

The Best Bank You've Never Heard Of - Barrons.com "If you aren't familiar with Banco Santander yet, you soon will be. The Spanish giant is becoming one of the most profitable banks in the world." CIT near to sealing rescue…

Every country has a problem child or two in the financial services sector. America has Citigroup and Bank of America. Britain has RBS and HBOS/Lloyds.  And Germany has Hypo Real Estate.  I have been chronicling problems at the…

The Economist released its remarkably telling Big Mac Index this past weekend.  The index looks at the relative cost of Big Mac in various countries to gauge how over- or undervalued the currencies in those locales are.  Judging…

Ex-Lehman traders to get huge bonuses - Observer Barclays is paying a lot for ex-Lehman staff bonuses Swiss call for tax watchdog - Observer Sink or swim in modern China - BBC News "China's economic roller-coaster divides a…

For quite some time now I have been of the view that there are a number of striking similarities between the goings on in Ireland and those in California, none of them good.  Both locations have seen extraordinary rises in home prices turn…