Credit Writedowns

If you thought jobless claims would fall off rapidly after a peak was made, you were mistaken because we seem to be in a holding pattern above 600,000.  The weekly report for unemployment insurance claims in the U.S. showed 623,000 filing a…

I was on the BBC yesterday talking autos and my commentary was almost entirely political.  So, as we await the likely General Motors bankruptcy, I think it bears discussing how political this process has been and will continue to be.…

Meredith Whitney Offers Measured Hope To Brown Youth, Professes To Hate Coed Bathrooms - Dealbreaker When is Dartmouth going to put me on its cover? You know, I was all set to go to Brown too but the whole co-ed bathroom thing freaked…

Basically, Faber believes a rising tide of quantitative easing is going to buoy stock markets globally and the global economy (at least for the medium-term). However, later in that same interview, Faber makes his most quotable statement…

GM Bondholders are not happy about the GM deal because the government seems to be running the same scheme where senior bondholders get a serious haircut while other constituents like the union and the federal government get more.  Chrysler…

In the wake of the huge consumer confidence number that caused U.S. markets to rally yesterday, Marc Faber is still singing from the same songbook that I am: delayed end to the recession and a weak recovery. See the video below. The…

On the face of it, Nationwide’s earnings report looks extremely good: 15% Tier 1 Capital, Pre-tax profit of nearly £400 million.  Given this financial institution’s leverage to the residential housing market, their results stand in…

Obama's Pick, From The Start - Marc Armbinder "The process ended where the President started. In November, a few days after he was elected President, Barack Obama convened some of his most trusted advisers in a private meeting for an…

Actually, I lied.  He really is not that bullish at all.  But he does sound relatively upbeat by comparison to 5 months ago. I have seen Whitney Tilson of T2 Partners a lot in the media of late.  The two most recent…

Earlier today I posted an article about how accounting was favourable to banks in that it could help them weather the storm and appear well-capitalized until a recovery is underway.  Afterwards, a buoyant economy would increase…