Economy

The following Bloomberg article points out why I have repeatedly argued that banks will be earning a lot of money, Meredith Whitney’s counter-arguments notwithstanding. It also points out why the likes of John Hempton believe that the FDIC…

Kyle, a long-time reader, recently asked why I think mark-to-market accounting actually matters.  After alI, savvy investors know that accounting does not necessarily change cash flows.  I think his question has a lot to do with not just…

Strategic Capital and Morton Community Bank were seized by the FDIC tonight.  Below are the FDIC announcements on the matter. The FDIC estimates a cost to taxpayers of $173 million (nearly 30% of assets) for Strategic Capital and $106…

This e-mail came to my inbox from the FDIC last night: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced today the approval of GMAC Financial Services to participate in the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP) allowing…

I was heading to dinner with Marshall Auerback when the news of the BankUnited bust came into my inbox. I see this as fairly big new for what it represents. We are witnessing a sea change in how FDIC seizures are done here with private…

Back on the 16th, I posted a link to a Wall Street Journal article by James Hagerty which detailed how the Federal Home Loan Banks were able to prevent asset writedowns because of guideline changes to mark-to-market accounting.  I…

If you were operating under the illusion that the financial services industry was going to receive less in political favors from the Obama Administration, then you should take a look at this Tech Ticker video. Yesterday, the insurance…

The Bear here is Meredith Whitney, who says that bank stocks will return to negative earnings in the second quarter.  That’s a big and very specific call that is very much out of line with the consensus.  In an interview with…

Initial jobless claims rose 32,000 to 637,000 last week in the United States. This helped push continuing claims to another record of 6.56 million, suggesting the unemployment rate will continue to rise at a worrying pace going forward. …

You can see this coming.  It is looming and has been for some  time.  Remember that California is the biggest loser in the housing crash and it has one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States.  I have been warning that this…