Economy

In case you missed it, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was on Capitol Hill this morning making his caseregarding the Bank of America – Merrill Lynch deal.  The Chairman stated in unequivocal terms that he did not pressure…

Here’s a conspiracy theory for you.  As I am not much of a conspiracy theorist, I ill keep this one pretty simple. Here’s the chain of events. Back in late September when the world was falling apart, Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner and Hank…

Initial Jobless claims rose in the latest week to 627,000 from a revised 612,000.  Continuing claims also rose to 6,738,000, demonstrating that the job market in the U.S. remains weak. Now, back in April and May, I made a big to-do about…

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) claims to have evidence supporting Ken Lewis’ original contention that he as threatened by government officials for contemplating pulling out of the BofA-Merrill deal.  Let’s review.  Two weeks ago,…

Just last week, we saw a parade of banks exiting the dreaded TARP program set up last year by the U.S. government and used to temporarily recapitalize the U.S. banking system.  The banks were able to do so in no small measure because…

The real worry right now should be deflation, as we have not yet beaten back all of the ill deflationary effects of the financial crisis.  Nevertheless, a growing number of market participants see inflation as a longer term…

This is number 40 (earlier the headline read First National Bank of Kansas, but has since been corrected). First National Bank of Anthony, Anthony, Kansas was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which appointed…

Here are the press releases (emphasis added). This makes 39 institutions this year. First, Cooperative: Cooperative Bank, Wilmington, North Carolina was closed today by the North Carolina Office of Commissioner of Banks, which appointed…

Here’s a good segment from CNBC with an interview from two city mayors, the mayor of El Centro, CA that has 26.9% unemployment, the highest in the nation, and the mayor of Flint, MI, which is imploding due to the decline in the U.S. car…

Note from 15 Sep 2010: On the second anniversary of the Lehman bankruptcy, it bears noting that the sway government has over the banking sector has diminished. The Big Bank CEO Phil has done the prudent thing regarding lending standards.…