Credit Writedowns

Today's version is a mini-round up of the most interesting economic, financial and political stories on the web.Is debt your destiny? - MSN (good advice on how to avoid being sucked in by debt)What You Get for ... $900,000 - NY Times…

In Europe, there has been a lot of talk about Germany's second largest bank, Dresdner Bank, which is looking to get sold by its parent Allianz. Allianz, which also owns U.S. bond giant PIMCO, has had only trouble with Dresdner since it…

Given the number of foreign articles I have translated recently, I thought it would be useful to start a foreign press alert which pulls together common themes in order to present a holistic view. Today, I will post on Argentina, Spain,…

When it comes to residential property in the US, banks were overzealous on the way up and now they are overzealous on the way down. You have probably heard that banks are cutting HELOCs (home equity lines of credit) like mad. Borrowers,…

House prices are falling at an ever faster rate in the UK, according to Nationwide's latest survey for August 2008. The Nationwide Index was down to 329.5 from 335.9 in July, a fall of 1.9%. The index is down 10.5% compared to August 2007,…

Up until two days ago oil was crashing down toward $110 a barrel as demand growth estimates have been clipped. So what happened to peak oil? Nothing happened; peak oil should still be a concern. For a larger context on peak oil, see my…

I have a friend who is a very unusual and cosmopolitan blend. Satoshi is a Japanese guy who grew up in the deep south in New Orleans who I met when we worked together at a German bank in the high yield market in London ten years ago. He…

I am a contrarian by nature. That has its pluses and minuses. As a contrarian, I am constantly thinking to myself, "but, is that really true?" As a result, I often find myself recognizing a trend before it catches on or standing…

China and AsiaSo, the Olympics are over. What now for China? Despite the recent news of China's need for an enormous stimulus package, Asia is still doing relatively well - far better than either Europe or North America. Sovereign Wealth…

Here's an interesting statistic from the OCRegister in California. What are the twenty wealthiest cities in the United States? Pleasanton, CA tops the list with a median household income of $113,345. See the chart below for the other 19. I…