Links: 2009-10-01

funny. Could be GM or Citi or anybody really.

"According to Koo, American consumers are suffering from a balance sheet problem and will not increase consumption until their personal finances are back in order. The banks are not lending mainly because nobody wants to borrow and, furthermore, the banks want to build their own balance sheets (raise cash) and get rid of toxic garbage. Koo says it’s up to the government to make up for the private sector’s problems by spending and continuing to run deficits. Thus we would be “buying time” through government spending while the private sector has time to repair its balance sheets. He claims it is absolutely necessary for the government to spend and run deficits. If the government cuts back on its spending and stimulus, the US economy will swoon and more money will be lost than was lost during 2008-2009."

"a few people are now pushing the idea that the failure of Lehman wasn’t a primary contributor to the problems that financial markets and the economy experienced. According to the revisionist view, government intervention would not have made any difference, the problems would have been just as bad either way. The notion that government intervention would not have helped is, of course, the main point that this group wishes to emphasize. However, the revisionist view does not hold up to closer examination"

Hat tip Barry Ritholtz. "WaMu suffered through not one but two bank runs in its final months. The first run was many times larger than the run that felled California lender IndyMac in July 2008, though neither shareholders nor the public knew about it. WaMu survived that run, and the second run was tapering off when regulators moved in and shut the bank, citing the run as the reason."

"Whether or not the Fed’s effort will inhibit similar results remains to be seen. So far, however, equity markets have acted similarly."

"Jindal acknowledged that the Republican Party for years had been too slow to stake out positions on the health care debate “to our peril and the nation’s peril.” “I think that in some circles, it was viewed as a Democratic issue,” said Jindal"

Hat tip Michael. "Record £1.75bn online spend makes UK first major economy to spend more on web ads than TV, says IAB"

"Georgia started last year’s war with Russia but Moscow helped to provoke the fighting, found a long-awaited official report into the conflict, which cost about 850 lives and created political turmoil in Europe"

A long and worthy opus to Zero Hedge and the financial blogosphere.

Did this person think this wouldn’t get out there? Pretty dumb

New Labour is done.