Credit Writedowns

Nearly a month ago, back on May 5th, I highlighted some testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke before congress in a post labelled, “Bernanke expects recovery later this year". In his testimony, Bernanke used the phrase…

So we can put a check by Paul Kasriel’s name for inflationistas because he has come out today with a report saying he believes it is inflation over the medium term which is the greatest risk to the economy. I will not keep you in…

The Institute for Supply Management released its monthly manufacturing index.  The data shows that the manufacturing sector is still contracting with the headline number rising to 42.8 in May, up from 40.1 in April. This number was ahead of…

Dollar bears are getting their way in the currency markets right now.  While most eyes are peeled on Sterling (up 3 big figures since Friday) and the Euro, all currencies are rising against the Dollar (including the Commodity Dollar Complex…

There has been a lot of chatter in the markets about why U.S. equities continue to rally.  Three distinct viewpoints have surfaced, two of which are bearish and one which is bullish.  Let me share those theories with you. 1. Market…

David Rosenberg is out today with a bullish Asia commentary.  In today’s “Breakfast with Dave” comments, he says: Asia Revival May Be For Real: Unless the data are lying, we are seeing spreading strength across the continent. This…

As I write this, the U.S. dollar has fallen to new 8-month lows against the British Pound and oil.  Sterling is up over 2 big figures to 1.6371 while oil (WTI crude front month contract) has marched up near $68 a barrel.  Clearly the sell…

Welcome to June. Here are today's links. Susan Boyle, U.K. Talent Show Loser, Rushed to Clinic, Sun Says A break from the finance news for a little celebrity culture trivia: "Susan Boyle, who was runner-up in a U.K. television talent…

Charlie Rose's site says of this video clip: A conversation about Bear Sterns and the economic crisis with Kate Kelly, author of "Street Fighters: The Last 72 Hours of Bear Stearns, the Toughest Firm on Wall Street" and William D. Cohan,…

This is the new Winston Churchill biopic hitting theatres. By the way, Churchill was of American descent by way of his mother (Wikipedia says he was the first foreigner made an honorary citizen of the U.S. as well).