Credit Writedowns

Voters in America are concrete, specific, and focused on the here and now by a margin of 3 to 1. To me, this has a real impact on the outcome of primary and Presidential races as candidates must speak in a way that resonates with those…

The complete and utter failure of owners' equivalent rent - Tim IaconoInflation Versus Deflation: The Debate Continues - naked capitalismDark Star - Bank Implode-O-MeterJuly Jump in CPI Suggests Third Quarter Growth Could be Negative -…

Hi everyone. Just a little admin here. Graphs and charts You probably noticed in my posts on U.S. jobless claims and inflation that my graphs were looking MUCH improved. Well, I have been reading Tim Iacono's site and have always…

As you may recall, Roskilde Bank in Denmark was recently rescued by the Danish central bank as it fell prey to the recession in Denmark. However, shareholders there are still fighting to save the bank, pitting interested parties against…

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Telegraph in London is one of the more interesting reporters on the business scene. In today's Telegraph, he chronicles the depth and breadth of the global slowdown now taking form.However, the crux of his…

In psychology, cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a fundamental cognitive drive to reduce this…

The U.S. has decided brinkmanship is the way to deal with the Russians. Having seen Georgia overrun by the Russian military, Poland jumped at the chance to have a stronger U.S. defense behind them and so they now have it. Less than two…

US Jobless claims came out again today as they do every Thursday at 8.30AM. The numbers were not good, and give a clear indication of why the Fed will not cut rates in the face of 5.6% inflation. Initial claims came in at 450,000, moving…

The U.S. inflation figures came out and they were worse than expected, pushing the annual inflation rate up to 5.6%. This is the highest inflation rate since 1991. Nevertheless, most economists greeted the rise, fueled by a 30% increase…

This from BloombergThe French economy, the euro- region's second largest, contracted in the second quarter for the first time in five years as exports declined and companies cut investments. Gross domestic product fell 0.3…