Monetary System

Yves had a very good post yesterday called “Why Big Capital Markets Players Are Unmanageable” on banks: the former i-banks and commercial banks.  The biggest takeaway for me came from her statements regarding the level of responsibility…

The Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes alchemy as “a power or process of transforming something common into something special” or “aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold.”  Well, it seems Morgan…

The U.S. has been using the weakness of the UBS banking franchise to shake down the organization for the names of American clients suspected of using the bank to dodge taxes in the United States. As far as the Swiss government is concerned,…

This comes from Reuters: Fallout from a still deteriorating housing market caused the rate of consumer loan payments at least 30 days late to rise to 3.23 percent in the January-to-March period from 3.22 percent in the 2008 fourth…

I saw this post with cool pictures on popping bubbles and I thought about Alan Greenspan.  Sir Alan says you cannot recognize bubbles until after they have burst.  I think that’s nonsense – certainly in the case of the “Great…

Wow.  The Feds sure know how to celebrate Independence Day.  I went out for a couple of hours and four more banks were seized bringing the grand total to seven for the day and 52 on the year. Here are all the FDIC seizures for…

This is the press release from the FDIC.  Deposits of only $75 million.  Small banks are seized, big banks get bailed out, of course. Rock River Bank, Oregon, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial…

Another tiny little bank. Deposits of $34 million. The First State Bank of Winchester, Winchester, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, which appointed the…

This is number 46 this year. Very small.  Why not wait?  Holiday weekend? The John Warner Bank, Clinton, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking,…

Credit in Spain is contracting at an unprecedented rate, down 33% in the first quarter as Spain faces a housing bust and near 20% unemployment. Below is my translation of part of a Spanish-language article explaining the situation.…