Credit Writedowns

The last post by Win Thin demonstrates that Emerging market countries that are doing the best in this difficult economic environment are feeling serious currency pressure. Brazil is looking for a way to deal with the volatility associated…

from BBH's Win Thin on capital controls in Brazil Finance Minister Mantega said that Brazil is considering a tax on short-term fixed income investments but not on long-term. No further details were given, but he noted that the central bank…

In France, this video of the former French Justice Minister and current European parliamentarian Rachida Dati is making the rounds. If you speak French, you'll know why when you hear Dati's word choice 14 seconds into the video. She…

  Memo USCIS on Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform SUPERillu.de | Kanzlerin zieht persönliche Bilanz der Einheit - Merkels langer Abschied von der »Kaufhalle« Chancellor Recalls Communist…

The US House Ways and Means Committee approved the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act before the weekend. The full House of Representatives will vote on the measure, and likely approve it on Wed. It then goes to the Senate. The Senate…

This interview with Bloomberg is from last Friday (hat tip Scot). Bianco says that despite more benign trailing and coincident indicators, the decline in leading indicators supports his market-bearish view. The interview runs about 10…

by Michael Pettis On Wednesday I will be putting up my piece on the politics of China’s adjustment process, but before doing that I wanted to mention a few recent particles worthy of comment.  First, Jamil Anderlinin has a long and…

by Edward Hugh According to Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero speaking in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last Tuesday the European sovereign debt crisis is over. "I believe that the debt crisis affecting…

There has been a lot of speculation about what the Federal Reserve will or will not do regarding quantitative easing (QE) in order to boost the economy. With the Obama administration constrained regarding fiscal policy, attention has turned…

Recently I pointed to some comments by Andy Xie which indicated he was taking a less apocalyptic stance toward the Chinese property market. It was difficult to discern how much of a climb down this was for the China bear. But, judging from…