Economy

In the US, the question has to be centered around consumer inflation expectations and what impact this will have on core inflation going forward. In Asia, the question is what impact will rising inflation have on interest rates and goods…

As I write this, crude oil is well off its high of $147.50 on July 11. We are all eager for some sustained relief in the oil price. However, the right question at this point is: has the damage already been done?First, consumer inflation…

You've probably heard the adage that the American consumer just won't quit. And this last month's retail sales numbers seems to follow that saying. However, if you look beneath the surface, American consumers are cutting back indeed.…

Now that Friday has come to an end in the UK, we can give a post-mortem to the UK capital raising campaigns from Bradford & Bingley, HBOS and Barclays.Bradford & Bingley shareholders have approved the bank's £400m rights issue at…

With the earnings season only halfway done, it is clear who the big losers are: Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. They have reported over $15 billion in additional writedowns for the quarter. What is increasingly clear is that those who had…

Merrill Lynch reported abysmal financial results yesterday, in marked contrast to JP Morgan Chase. The company was forced to take $9.5 billion in writedowns, leading to a loss in excess of $4.5 billion. The writedowns also forced Merrill…

Below are the latest writedown stories from the web. For the full timeline of news, visit my credit crisis timeline.Also see my list of Bankrupt Global Financial Institutions.2008 07 08 IndyMac Falls After Regulators Say It Isn't `Well…

As you know, the CPI registered a whopping 5% yesterday. Year-on-year inflation hasn't been this high since the Gulf War. So much for the 'Great Moderation.' But the increase in inflation begs another question: why are interest rates so…

The LA Times got a front row seat with one of the Bureau of Labor Statistics staffers as she drove some of her 850 miles per month to record all of the prices that eventually make their way into the CPI. This is a nuts and bolts look into…

Now that we are practically guaranteed to add the Fannie and Freddie debt to the already robust debt levels of the US Government, its a good time to look at what the Government's accountant (GAO) says about its fiscal position going…