Credit Writedowns

As the Fed Funds rate gets close to zero, pundits have been worrying about a pending liquidity trap. While I think these worries are well placed because the Fed is running out of bullets, I am more concerned about inflation right now.…

RBS, the second largest British bank behind HSBC, has finally come clean on the credit crisis. The price? An enormous $24 billion in new capital needed. This is a huge story because this does not even begin to discount the credit problems…

As the writedowns at global financial institutions near $300 billion in capital lost as a result of the sub-prime crisis, the question as to when we reach a bottom is ever more urgent. Market history tells us that the severity of the bust…

Today, as I write this blog entry, the U.S. Economy is in crisis. We have a massive consumer and mortgage debt problem. Gasoline and food prices are going through the roof. The U.S. dollar is plunging. People are losing their jobs and…

Steve Hanke, a libertarian economist who writes for Forbes, argues that the Fed is panicked about the economy in a piece that came out today. He believes they have lowered the Fed Funds interest rate to where inflation is now a problem.…

Forbes just published a piece today that finds ten markets that are the worst in which to sell a home. Take a look.Two weeks ago, they published a list of America's riskiest markets (here).

Barack Obama, speaking at a gathering in Gary, Indiana, made some very accurate comments about the dollar's weakness and its causes (see Reuters story)."We are spending all our money, spending overseas and spending dollars and nobody is…

We are months into the credit crisis that began last summer, triggered by the meltdown in U.S. sub-prime lending. The crisis has been much deeper, much wider and longer than most market participants have expected. Yet, until the failure…

I am now updating the information on my Credit Crisis Timeline here:https://www.creditwritedowns.com/credit-crisis-timelineThere have been a tremendous number of economic dislocations during the present financial crisis. Initially written…

The banking crisis in the U.S. is taking on a significant turn for the worse as banks tighten the screws on consumers. With banks facing record writedowns to their equity capital, they are looking to limit their exposure to the mortgage…