Credit Writedowns

Initial jobless claims came in at 639,000, down significantly from 670,000 the week before. This is one positive in a sea of bad news regarding the employment market. It does not mean that tomorrow's unemployment number will be good. Expect…

Beim was a Professor back when I was at Columbia, although I don't remember being in any of classes. Before he was a Professor, he worked as an Investment Banker at First Boston and Dillon Read, two white shoe firms that are now defunct,…

Everyone is using Twitter these days. Econbloggers are getting in the spirit too. I have started to use it. I know Paul Kedrosky uses it. Even Yves Smith is thinking of getting in on it, although her inner luddite holds her back. So…

After Europe emerged from the worst war in human history, its cities lay in ruins. Its economy was in tatters. It was in this environment that an Iron Curtain fell over Europe dividing it into east and west, separating Europeans from each…

Marshall Auerback here. I have a few words about the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility - otherwise known as the TALF. Economist Paul Kasriel of Northern Trust confirms my interpretation, namely that we get stuffed holding these…

The details on Obama' new mortgage relief plan are out. The key parts are the following:

Treasury Loan-Modification Guidelines - Real Time Economics The unfortunate uselessness of most 'state of the art' academic monetary economics - Willem Buiter New York Tenants Could Benefit From Foreclosure - NY Times Property:…

About a week ago I reported on an Austrian story that the EU was gearing up for a bailout of any eurozone members which found themselves in difficulty (see my post, "EU planning 200 billion euro package for Eastern Europe". This report is…

The widely followed ADP Employer Services jobs report shows that 697,000 jobs were lost last month, suggesting a very large unemployment number when the government data is released on Friday. I have indicated in the past that seasonal…

Below is an interview with an expert on the issue of mortgage cramdowns. Basically, this issue is all about debt forgiveness for borrowers and writedowns for lenders. Lenders do not like cramdowns for that reason. See below for a view on…