2011

by Marc Chandler A number of Indian banks have begun issuing Swiss franc denominated bonds, ostensibly to raise cheap funds and meet the demand in Europe for emerging market debt. Reports suggest that this is the first of such issues in…

In the video below, David Wessel argues forcefully that we are seeing four big issues. State and local revenue i.e. their tax base has been decimated by the downturn at the same time as many turn to government to keep their heads above…

The gist of the conversation we had on Business News Network on Tuesday was that the data coming out of the U.S. ahead of the President's State of the Union address was conflicting. Housing was dreadful, but consumer confidence was up;…

By Claus Vistesen Despite the efforts of yours truly to create as strong a profile as possible in the world of econ-blogging, I regret to inform my readers that the organizers of the World Economic Forum in Davos have not found it within…

By William K. Black (cross-posted from Benzinga.com) Greetings from the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) annual enforcement conference in Charleston, S.C.  I’m giving the keynote address Monday.  I’ll…

By Win Thin Reserve Bank of India hiked interest rates by 25 bp yesterday, as expected. Reverse repo rate is now 5.5% and the repo rate 6.5%. The RBI said it will hold its mid-quarterly policy review on March 17 under the recent switch…

By Annaly Capital Management Lost in the headlines over the state of the expense side of municipal finances is the fact that tax revenues are rising at the state and local level. The U.S. Census Bureau tracks the various line items of…

The Case-Shiller numbers this morning were lower than expected and confirm a housing double dip which began in July when both the Composite-10 and Composite-20 numbers peaked.  The Composite-10 is down 0.5% y-o-y and the Composite-20…

By William K. Black (cross-posted with Benzinga.com) Honest accounting is essential for effective regulation – and for integrity. It is also very helpful to prosecuting accounting fraud. The banking industry lobbyists, including the…

By William K. Black (cross-posted from Benzinga.com) When Reputation becomes Ineffective or even Perverse Control fraud also makes reputation perverse. Theoclassical economists predict that reputation trumps everything, even auditors'…