Credit Writedowns

Rio Tinto was one of those companies which levered up just as the economy was turning down, rushing its bottom line ad forcing it into the hands of Chinalco, a large Chinese commodities company.  However, as commodity prices have…

Dr. Doom: Where we're going we don't need roads - Dealbreaker Marc Faber's July Newsletter. On Robert S. McNamara - James Fallows Very good obit on McNamara. Regulation And Oversight Of Gun Sales Reduces…

David Rosenberg is out with a bearish piece on equities today (I hop that doesn’t surprise you).  He sees the market as still overvalued at these levels. The key, he say is that most of the rally has been built on multiple expansion and not…

In talking to the FT’s Gillian Tett, Hugh Hendry of The Eclectica Fund makes the hilarious metaphor of China as Santa Claus bringing gifts to a world constrained by excessive Western government debt issuance.  But, Hendry thinks the…

Laura Tyson, an advisor to President Barack Obama, said in a speech to day in the lead up to the –8 conference that the ground work for a potential second stimulus bill must be laid now. To be sure, the G-8 leaders are expected to recommend…

This comes from Reuters: Fallout from a still deteriorating housing market caused the rate of consumer loan payments at least 30 days late to rise to 3.23 percent in the January-to-March period from 3.22 percent in the 2008 fourth…

This can't be good. A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap. The development is the latest twist in…

I saw this post with cool pictures on popping bubbles and I thought about Alan Greenspan.  Sir Alan says you cannot recognize bubbles until after they have burst.  I think that’s nonsense – certainly in the case of the “Great…

U.S. office market continues to spiral down - Reuters Vacancy rate is now 15.9% Surprise drop in UK output hits recovery hopes - Guardian Data in UK missing expectations now too. Close Relationship Between Past…

Here is a Marc Faber interview from March. It is well worth watching because he calls things perfectly through June: economic news, equity markets, and commodity markets. This is billed as a Czech TV interview.  But the audio is…