crisis

UPDATE: 9:30 AM ET: This post has been updated to reflect the events surrounding Fortis. On Friday, I warned that European government officials like Peer Steinbrück of Germany should refrain from chastising the U.S. and the U.K. over…

There are some great ideas out there about what the U.S. bailout is all about. Earlier, I mentioned my belief that it had everything to do with marking to market. Just a while ago, I caught a post that has a very intriguing angle on the…

Earlier today I highlighted a number of banks that were under severe selling pressure in their respective home markets. This list included Fortis, Macquarie, NCC, Wachovia and CIT. The UK's Bradford & Bingley is certainly on that list…

The Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis has come under pressure in the aftermath of the WaMu bankruptcy. With the credit markets seized up globally, weaker banks are being attacked regardless of nationality - Wachovia, NCC and CIT Group in the US,…

The NY Times has a story on how yesterday's bailout deal failed. This is an insider's tale with blow by blow detail. It is a fascinating view into how the U.S. conducts government policy. Below is a snippet from the post and a link to the…

Faber thinks that the U.S. needs a lot more money than the Paulson Economic Patriot Act suggests. I agree 100%. His figure is $5 trillion! That's a lot of dosh.Here is how he is quoted on Bloomberg:"The $700 billion is really nothing,''…

Judging from today's open on Wall Street, it looks like that's the question people are asking. Wachovia and NCC are the two companies under the heaviest selling pressure, both down about 20% already at 9:45.Remember that National City is…

I caught this quote via Political Wire. It reminds me of Paul Wolfowiz's quote for why the Bush Administration used WMDs as the rationale for war in Iraq.Some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use…

Marshall Auerback here. Ed has had a few posts on the Swedish bailout plan with which I agree. I think the main political argument (made by Bo Lundgren in yesterday's NY Times) is that you have ZERO political legitimacy unless everybody…

I just watched a great clip of an interview Jim Chanos, the famous head of hedge fund Kynikos Associates, did with the FT's Gillian Tett (Hat tip FT Alphaville). Chanos does a very good job of arguing hat short sellers are being unfairly…