Credit Writedowns

Initial jobless claims for the U.S. came out today for the week ended March 7th and the number was 654,000, up from an upwardly revised 645,000. This puts the widely quoted 4-week average at 650,000, a business cycle high. All numbers…

Glencore buys back debt - FT Alphaville The fix is in! MTM Accounting Deal On The Way. - Option Armageddon Greenspan Forgets Where He Put His Asset Bubble: Caroline Baum (My take on a re-post is here: The Blame Asia Meme) Climate…

I give Obama high marks for much of what he has accomplished in such a short span and the tone he has set. However, on the economic policy front, there have been lapses. This video suggests there have been many. Related article…

Charlie Rose sat down with Barton Biggs, the former Morgan Stanley strategist, a few days back to talk markets and finance. The video is below as is a link to a recent article by Biggs in Newsweek. Biggs is not a fan of propping up…

While everyone seems to be shedding assets, Citigroup included, BBVA seems to be doing relatively well. If they are as strong financially as they indicate despite Spain's crashing economy, antitrust concerns aside, Banamex would be a good…

Hear the U.S. Treasury Secretary describe his thinking about all of the issues facing the United States and its banking system during this financial crisis in this interview with Charlie Rose.

Most ordinary Americans feel a certain sense of rightoues indignation about the helping hand the U.S. banking industry is receiving from government. This sense of aggrievement is only made worse by suggestions that governemnt is not only…

The following is a post from the site Euro Intelligence, published just 5 days ago regarding the Swedish solution to the banking crisis. I am providing this version with the author's permission, who should be credited with much of the…

This account bears remembering because we can see the 1929-1933 descent as a two-part episode, with the second part starting here. It should be noted that there were a lot of positive economic signs before the Creditanstalt ruined this.…

Guest post: A few thoughts about the banking crisis response in the United States - naked capitalism (This is a submission I did over at Yves Smith's blog. I forgot to add it to the links originally.) Don't Fall for Citigroup's Fantasy…