Monetary System

The US can run budget deficits that help to fuel current account deficits without worry about government or national insolvency precisely because the rest of the world wants Dollars. But surely that cannot be true of any other nation.…

The following is the text of today’s Moody’s press release on the Irish banking system. London, 21 November 2011 -- The outlook on Ireland's banking system remains negative, says Moody's Investors Service in a Banking System Outlook…

It’s been almost three years to the day since AIG was bailed out. And guess what? AIG still owes taxpayers $49.4 BILLION! That’s more than half the budget of the Department of Education. What was that about taxpayers getting their money…

The following is the text of the recent ratings action taken by Moody's on twelve German state-owned banks.

We have a good friend with money tied up in the MF Global debacle. As of November 1st, he had close to $100K in his “segregated” futures account with no open positions. He says the MF Global website is shut down and the phones don’t…

And just two days after I reported on the starve-the-beast strategy that’s forcing the SEC to pursue Mickey-Mouse settlements with the big banks, we learn of plans to handicap the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission in a similar…

Andrew Haldane, in my opinion, generally has the right idea about banks and their risks, which are risks not just “to themselves” but to all of society and the global economy. Yet here Haldane’s endorsing the sort of sleight of hand that…

There are a number of ways that European banks are moving to boost their Tier 1 capital and strengthen their balance sheets. Some are cutting dividends, diluting current share holders through new rights issues, laying off staff, and selling…

when government deficit spends, some of the claims on government will end up in the hands of foreigners. Does this matter?

The Finance Addict writes : "We need to put our cynic hats on and start questioning why it is that the SEC isn’t getting any. My guess–it’s no accident."