banks

“I don’t have any enthusiasm for ... trying to shrink the relative importance of the financial system in our economy" -Timothy F. Geithner According to the man running U.S. economic policy, American banks need to be even…

By Warren Mosler As previously discussed, the US should outlaw the use of libor by its banking system. It makes no sense to allow US dollar rate setting for our banks to be set overseas by the BBA. Setting our banking system’s dollar…

By Marc Chandler The market continues to digest the meaning and implications of Moody's decision to cut Spain's rating to Aa2 from Aa1. The two main considerations behind Moody's decision is that the cost to restructure the banks will be…

By Marc Chandler The newly created European Banking Authority will be overseeing the stress tests on almost 90 European banks. Recall that the stress tests last year met broad criticism for the lack of rigor. It was anticipated that the…

The Obama Administration is keen to get this $20 billion mortgage settlement done. The prevailing view in the Administration is that the U.S. is in a fragile but sustainable recovery. With emerging markets leading the economic recovery and…

From this morning's Breakfast with Dave missive: FIFTEEN REASONS TO LOVE THE LOONIE (WE COULDN’T STOP AT TEN!) Better growth than in the U.S.A. and without need for stimulus Responsible central bank, limiting growth in its…

The Absolute Return Letter, March 2011 By Niels Jensen “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes” Oscar Wilde A remarkable month Two remarkable events unfolded during the month of February. One cleared…

By William K. Black I write to contrast four recent stories about Countrywide. Here are their headlines and brief synopses provided in the initial paragraphs of the stories. U.S. drops criminal probe of former Countrywide chief Angelo…

This year's winner for Best Documentary is "Inside Job' by Charles Ferguson. In accepting his Oscar, Ferguson said: "Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after our horrific financial crisis caused by…

As part of the US policy response to the global crisis, the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act calls for regulators to identify systemically risky financial firms – the sort that took the US financial crisis global. But how to identify these…