Credit Writedowns

This is a guest post from our newest contributor, Charles D. Bull. Greetings Writedowners, Ed has gone to bed already. This is Charles D. Bull speaking. You know, my wife told me yesterday that the local shopping area already has the…

Robert Johnson, director of the Economic Policy Initiative of the Roosevelt Institute, has been extremely critical of the US Government’s handling of matters related to financial services. This past October 7, he gave testimony at the…

When it comes to the housing meltdowns in the richest economies, the US has been matched only by Spain, Ireland and the UK. All four countries have seen spectacular losses of wealth in the housing sector over the last two years. The…

Finance and politics New Name Floated In Geithner Replacement Talks - Dealbreaker What up, bankster? Sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t be using that word but it’s in context and I had to say it. This will be the new Treasury lyrical…

I am listening to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner answer questions before the House Financial Services Committee and he seems to be talking the talk, but his Administration is not walking the walk.  The bill he is aggressively…

This comes via the FT: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday decided to drop the widely used West Texas Intermediate oil contract as the benchmark for pricing its oil, dealing a serious blow to the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decision by…

China has sent yet another public signal that it is unhappy with the U.S. and its trade policy by prepping an investigation into alleged illegal auto subsidies by the U.S. government.  The timing of this announcement puts a spotlight…

That’s what we seem to be expecting based on the huge uptick in equities since March. While stock markets have long since moved it up a gear, the employment market is stuck in neutral. The latest seasonally-adjusted jobless claims numbers…

While a positive number was expected, let’s wait to crunch the numbers before we pop the cork on the Moet – the price index was only 0.8% versus an expected 1.4%. So I will want to see what is happening with nominal GDP.  I also want…

And you thought the bailouts were over and market discipline might be restored.  Not a chance – the bailouts will continue, come hell or high water. The latest demonstration of this is GMAC, where the government will now be majority…