Monetary System

The Vancouver Sun is on a roll today. They have another post on ICBC that makes for interesting reading. Frankly, I don't know what to make of it. But it makes for a good read. Chinese bank has market cap twice that of JPMorgan First,…

I am firmly in the deflation camp. I worry about inflation over the short-term, but I still think the long-term threat to the global economy is deflation because asset price deflation will usher in deflationary forces. Nevertheless, there…

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes in today's Telegraph of the BIS annual report, which is unusually cautious about the global economy. His article makes for sobering reading.Bill White, the departing chief economist at the BIS, in writing his…

It looks like AIG is poised to join the ranks of UBS, Citigroup, and Merrill in leading the write-offs by financial institutions. Bloomberg is reporting that AIG is ready to write off another $5 billion. June 27 (Bloomberg) -- American…

This is the latest M&A rumour making the rounds in financial circles. I caught this in Today's Financial News. And that may be the moment when National Australia Bank (NAB:Australia) makes a formal offer for the Australian branch…

I caught a blog entry on naked capitalism that reminds me of the impending wave of lawsuits associated with the credit crunch. It seems that investment banks were peddling auction rate securities to retail investors while warning the…

UPDATE 26 SEP 2008: I have a new story on Fortis and its troubles. Please click here. The Times of London is reporting that Fortis, a Belgian-Dutch bank is issuing an 'urgent' cash call of €1.5 billion. Fortis has been hard hit by the…

Today, American Express said that consumers are increasingly falling behind on payments. This suggests that credit card charge-offs at banks are about to go much higher in the coming quarters.A story by Bloomberg News reads:American Express…

Troubled regional Financial Fifth Third is looking to sell assets along with cutting its dividend and raising capital in order to shore up its balance sheet. The company announced it was looking into asset sales when it announced its…

The suits are piling up. Angelo Mozilo is looking like the new Ken Lay for Washington.California's attorney general has filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Countrywide Financial Corp. engaged in deceptive advertising and unfair…