Credit Writedowns

It seems like the global economy is in a holding pattern right at the border of recession and slow growth. The writedowns continue to trickle in drip by drip, unemployment is rising ad retail sales are sluggish, but there has yet to be a…

The troubled French bank Natixis is asking its shareholders to pony up billions in additional funds -- but at a huge 61% discount. This is a bank that is in deep trouble. Every country has one bank on the brink from Bradford & Bingley…

I received this e-mail from a friend that was originally penned by a resident of Wasilla, Alaska where Sarah Palin was mayor before becoming Governor of Alaska. It gives a fairly intimate look at Palin and how she got to where she is.…

ECB governing council member and Dutch National Bank head Nout Wellink said two weeks ago that the ECB was going to stop lenders abusing ECB's credit crisis policy of accepting lower credit quality. The ECB is going to make good on…

Mark Thoma has a thoughtful post on the news swirling around the Sarah Palin pick as VP candidate for the GOP. His point is that the Dems risk looking condescending and elitist toward small town America in their attacks on Palin and had…

For the past several weeks, jobless claims have arguably been distorted by seasonality and the extension of unemployment benefits from six to nine months. However, the numbers have risen well above the critical 400,000 mark. Are these…

Today's round-up looks at the auto industry, financial services, politics, and the economy.North American sales were absolutely horrible for the Big Three automakers despite the fall in gas prices. Even Toyota saw a slump. But, the Big…

This comes from Larry Wright of the Detroit News via the Moderate Voice

Obama mentor Joe Lieberman is going all out for Obama's opponent in order to defeat Obama. Why, you ask, when he made quotes like this one in 2006 (via Political Wire):"The gifts that God has given to Barack Obama are as enormous as his…

A few weeks ago, I said I thought the volatility in commodity and currency markets smelled like panic. I found it very hard to believe that we could have such violent moves without a significant shakeout in the hedge fund world. We are…