Economy

Yesterday I wrote how bank bankruptcies are crushing small business and households in Georgia. Today we got three more to bring the total to 23 this year, 29 since the subprime crisis began. The Buckhead Community Bank, Atlanta, Georgia…

The Census Bureau came out this morning with a report on “Manufacturer’s Shipments, Inventories and Orders” for October. The report was bullish as it showed new orders for manufactured goods rising for the sixth time in seven months. But,…

In the past few weeks I have been alarmed about the growing debate about deficits and taxes, so much so that I have moved to a double dip baseline from one of a multi-year recovery.  I find it in total disregard of past economic…

When I read Yves Smith's recent comments on Bank of America's repayment of its TARP funds, I couldn't help but think of a post I wrote six months ago called "Asymmetric information and corporate governance in bank bailouts." The…

Hat tip Tim Iacono. Source Editorial Cartoon by Karl Wimer, Denver Business Journal

Recently, I have been writing a lot about regional banks and the capital problems they have been having. This is having a direct impact on lending capacity available to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and households. As a result, a…

From the U.S. Department of Labor: In the week ending Nov. 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 462,000. The 4-week moving average was…

Gallup’s monthly economic  survey breaks down the employment situation by region in the U.S.. No region is doing great, but the West is doing the worst and the situation is getting worse.  Here is what they say: During a week…

AmTrust Financial, a privately held regional bank holding company based in Cleveland, has just filed for bankruptcy. With well over $10 billion in assets, AmTrust Bank is fairly large. The circumstances surrounding its failure are unusual…

After going bullish on bank stocks in April, two months ago I said most of the upside in bank shares was priced in. Since that time, shares have traded sideways to down.  I expect this trend to continue as headwinds like another wave…