Credit Writedowns

OK, well this is just an actor in a comedy skit from Saturday Night Live getting angry.  But, it is pretty funny.

James Montier has a very good piece out via John Mauldin ([email protected]) on the need for real economy stimulus over financial sector stimulus. The quote I find most memorable goes to the heart of our debate about the…

This comes via Angus Robertson at Research Recap. Just as the RMBS post yesterday confirmed, moe writedowns are coming in other credit classes: In a trend likely to accelerate in 2009, the default rate on bank loans to speculative-grade…

Here are the main links. A ton more can be found in the news feed (also available via RSS). Enjoy. Dear A.I.G., I Quit - Paul Kedrosky The devalued Prime Minister of a devalued Government - Alice Cook This video is good. U.S.…

I have the same misgivings about the Public Private Partnership Investment Program that Paul Krugman does. However, I still think it could work in conjunction with all of the other stimulus being applied (at least in inducing a cyclical…

I believe we may be seeing the bottom here. Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman does as well. Here is what he has to say: Our baseline expectation is that the pace of contraction of the US economy probably peaked in the horrific…

This is yet another semi-positive post about the Geithner plan. To reiterate, I think the plan is inadequate because it assumes illiquidity instead of insolvency and is a huge gift to the financial sector. But, that does not mean it will…

Yesterday, I posted an item on Naked Capitalism about the bankruptcy of Yamaichi Securities in 1996 as testament to lingering weakness in a country's financial sector if sick financial institutions are not dealt with swiftly. In essence,…

I saw this film at the weekend and thought it was brilliant.  I highly recommend seeing it.  And if you are in an especially ornery frame of mind because of AIG and the bailouts, the film does have a nice villanous corporate angle as well.…

If you haven't noticed, I think the Geithner Plan, while far from perfect, has a reasonable chance of success. Marshall, too, believes the plan could work as he has suggested in his last post. The optics of it are another matter.…