default

A sovereign nation that issues debt in its own fiat currency cannot default involuntarily. Again, this is the Ecuador risk factor, defaulting for purely political reasons, not because of the inability to pay. It is not clear whether there…

In the wake of a sovereign debt ratings downgrade by the rating agency Moody's, Portuguese five-year bonds are trading with a yield of 10%. As a result, Portugal has leapt over Ireland into fourth place on the credit default swaps list of…

"60 Minutes" aired a segment last night on the foreclosure fraud that we in the blogosphere have been discussing for sometime. See "Videos: Depositions of Alleged Robo-Signers From Nationwide Title Clearing" from…

There are four ways to reduce real debt burdens: by paying down debts via accumulated savings. by inflating away the value of money. by reneging in part or full on the promise to repay by defaulting by…

Reuters has reported that the parliament in Portugal will likely reject the socialist government's austerity budget, a move which will precipitate the collapse of that government, new elections and a likely bailout by the European Union.…

Frederick J. Sheehan is the author of Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession  (McGraw-Hill, 2009) and "The Coming Collapse of the Municipal Bond…

CoreLogic released its data analysis for the fourth quarter of 2010 showing that mortgage distress is still very widespread and that negative equity is the norm in many states in the U.S. (Hat tip Yves Smith). The data showed that the…

With yields on Portugal now above 7.4%, many are predicting Portugal will soon need a bailout because it cannot reduce its debt load with yields that high. Portugal simply cannot grow its economy fast enough to pare debt with yields that…

Frederick J. Sheehan is the author of Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession  (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Meredith Whitney has kicked up a storm with her 600-page,…

Here's more from the CNBC session with Kyle Bass, Managing Partner of Hayman Capital Management. David Faber introduced the topic as a discussion about tail risk and the "end of the world" trade. Bass took exception to that…