Credit Writedowns

On why I can't get in to see my doctor - James Fallows Being in Canada, I am interested in these stories. FDIC: Failed Bank Information - Bank Closing Information for Community National Bank of Sarasota County, Venice, FL Failed…

The Employment Situation Summary for July was released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), showing a 9.4% unemployment rate and 247,000 jobs lost in July.  These numbers were better than anticipated, with the unemployment rate…

When the stimulus bill was being crafted, I wrote three posts lamenting the protectionist Buy American provision attached to the bill. ‘Buy American’ will translate into a 21st century Smoot-Hawley The U.S. is exporting unemployment…

Calculated Risk: Google Maps Shows Foreclosure Status You can get data on just about anything these days. Amazing maps. Almost scary. Fannie Mae seeks $US10.7b in aid after loss Here's a thought: if Citi were in government hands…

This comes from David Rosenberg: Perpetuating the spending and borrowing cycle We couldn't believe this when we saw this quote from the U.S. Transportation Secretary (Ray Lahood) in yesterday's NYT (page B3) on the "Cash for…

Fannie Mae has the luxury of marking its accounts more accurately because they have no fear of being nationalized or going bust since they already have hit the wall.  So, when we read the latest quarterly results from Fannie Mae, we are not…

As I mentioned earlier this week, I am actually on a two-week holiday in Simcoe County, Ontario, just 90 minutes north of Toronto.  We went to the Elmvale Jungle Zoo, an amazing place that has a huge variety of animals. It is really a…

The US Department of Labor released the employment last data point before tomorrow’s widely anticipated unemployment number comes out. The data showed jobless claims declining to 550,000 from 588,000 on a seasonally-adjusted basis. This…

Thank goodness someone has some sense. Manhattan Federal District Court Judge Jed Rakoff refused to approve Monday’s Bank of America’s deal with the SEC be cause it may be unfair to the public to accept the settlement. Bank of America was…

Apple's new low: censoring a dictionary The anti-Apple backlash is on. Ten mysteries of you - New Scientist Very good series on the science behind human eccentricities. Xabi Alonso completes move to Real Madrid If Madrid…