Credit Writedowns

David Tice of the Prudent Bear has sold out to Federated Investors. I caught this via Paul Kedrosky's site Infectious Greed. Federated Investors Inc., the Pittsburgh-based investment management firm, said Tuesday it has reached a…

Remember the money center banks' ludicrous attempt to pretty up those off-balance sheet vehicles via the 'Super SIV?' Well, that was a clear bust. But, the toxic waste in those vehicles is still there. Some of these vehicles have been…

Apparently, the Bush administration isn't just waterboarding its detainees; it's doing much, much more. I can't hope this book will get enough press because the American people are completely apathetic, but this is a travesty. Does it…

Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) blasted Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who was giving the semiannual monetary policy report before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee today. His comments were the sharpest I heard throughout the…

This is just a step en route to nationalization. We are seeing a spiral down that will mean the U.S. Government will eventually step in. These organizations will fail without government support and they are too big to fail.Fannie Mae and…

The bear is growling and things are looking grim. Hold on for dear life. Today is going to be ugly. Let's just hope we don't start seeing folks lining up at their local ATM just in case.Where are my gun and kruggerands?

Back in June, I wrote about financial investors in bank shares having lost $10 billion. Then, I predicted that losses would mount and bank shares will fall. It seems that one part of that equation is true already as bank shares have…

As financial shares take a beating, it is a good opportunity to highlight the differential treatment of accounting for loans and for debentures and securities because this bodes ill for regional banks. FAS 157 The crux of the difference…

This comes from the LA Times: October 7, 2003, Simi Valley In Simi Valley, in 2003, people camped out for the chance to buy a yet-unbuilt condo for about $300,000. Photo Credit: Bob Carey, L.A.Times July 14, 2008, Pasadena…

Martinsa-Fadesa, a large real estate company in Spain has gone to the wall. As is usual, bankruptcy came in the form of a liquidity crisis, not as a technical bankruptcy. Below is a report from El País in Spain, followed by a report from…