small business

Initial Jobless claims rose in the latest week to 627,000 from a revised 612,000.  Continuing claims also rose to 6,738,000, demonstrating that the job market in the U.S. remains weak. Now, back in April and May, I made a big to-do about…

Moody’s Joins S.& P. in Warning on California Debt - Deal Book Always late to the party. The Plaza Stirs - NY Times "Few developments rode the wave of high prices in the Manhattan residential real estate the way…

The video below comes via FORA.tv (FORA stands for Feed Your Inner Genius).  It is of Christina Romer making the case for Obama’s health care plan at the Commonwealth Club.  This video runs over one hour, and so, should give you a fairly…

Yesterday, I argued that the United States faced a policy dilemma in avoiding debt deflationary forces while maintaining fiscal prudence. The reality is that President Obama faces political constraints in Washington right now regarding…

This came to me in my inbox seconds ago: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Sheila C. Bair today commented on the release of the results of the Capital Assessment Program. Chairman Bair said: "I want to…

Below are the just-released details on the U.S. Treasury Public Private Partnership Investment Program. I will have commentary shortly in a separate post. However, before I do, I am posting the details here for your reference.

As I mentioned in my post, "TALF: A bailout if one reads the fine print" the TALF is not a program ONLY for U.S. institutions. It is a vehicle for re-starting the U.S. asset-backed securities credit markets. In fact, the first recipient…

With the shadow banking system of hedge funds and non-bank financial institutions in shambles and the banking system's credit shrinking, U.S. government officials are desperate to get credit into the system any way they can. A key part of…

The TALF is a way for any and all comers, domestic and foreign, with toxic asset-backed securities, to dump those assets on to the U.S. government at taxpayers expense. This is happening right now right under your noses. At least the Fed…

Below is a very good video called "Inside The Meltdown" about the credit crisis which appeared on PBS FRONTLINE last night. This is must viewing for everyone. The clip runs just under one hour.