Credit Writedowns

The Chinese are getting serious about addressing overcapacity that has developed in industry, according to statements released by the state press. This should be seen as a positive development given concerns about a bubble in property and…

Nationwide released data from its August 2009 house price index showing that house prices rose 1.6% from the previous month.  This is the fourth consecutive month in which house prices have risen in the UK, bringing the year-on-year…

July U.S. new home sales jump most in four years Sales increased 9.6%, the most since February 2005, to a 433,000 annual pace, figures from the Commerce Department showed Wednesday in Washington. The number of houses on the market…

Below is a video released by the Kauffman Foundation about bloggers in the econ and finance space.  The video shows that our space is really catching on and garnering ever more readership and credibility. This clip runs about 20…

With the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) about to release its latest figures for banks it regulates and its own financial condition, now is a good time to review its role in this crisis. This post is about the FDIC's role in…

Senator Ted Kennedy died last night after a year's battle with cancer. However one might feel about his politics, one must admit that Ted Kennedy had a remarkable life, one that is celebrated in the video clip below.

Toyota, now the world's largest automaker, has said it would halt production at a plant in Aichi prefecture in Japan, reducing total output by a massive 220,000 cars.  This should be seen as a recognition of the over-capacity tat…

Atlantic Wire: Pundit Survey: The Landscape of Bernanke Opinion Which Bernanke are we getting for the next four years--the financial hero, or the oblivious professor who will allow another crisis to bloom? And why were we told so far in…

While most economists have come out in favor of Barack Obama’s decision to re-appoint Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Stephen Roach has penned an Op-Ed in today’s Financial Times which highlights the case against…

You may have heard the reports that US auto dealers were swamped on Monday night as the car scrappage scheme dubbed “Cash for Clunkers” expired. American taxpayers were eligible for a tax rebate of up to $4500 for trading in an older gas…