Why, for example, do we need a central bank at all? A typical if feeble answer is that we need a lender of last resort. To which the answer is: why? Why do we need a government-appointed entity to support banks that get in over their heads? A typical answer is [...]
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The Fed reports that it has fully recouped, with interest, the more than $70 billion in loans that it made to support the 2008 sale of Bear Stearns to J.P. Morgan and the bailout of AIG (shown on its balance sheet as “Maiden Lane” investments). This brings to a close a contentious chapter in the [...] Events in Europe are following the pattern seen in the U.S. several years ago. In Europe, financial crises in small countries are now giving way to crises in large ones. This parallels what happened here. In 2005, home-building stocks peaked, and the national housing market peaked around year-end. In 2006, mortgage lenders and brokers began [...] (Mexico, 1994; Spain, 2012: Find The Similarities in the Pictures) While the Spanish government feverishly attempts to wrap up the country’s euphemistic financial system reform, the ever-expanding black holes, multiple balance-sheets restructuring with infinite amounts of public funds and reiterated calls for the need to further consolidate financial institutions seem to be setting up the [...] UPDATE May 11, 2012 JPM’s long-term issuer default rating was cut by Fitch to A+ from AA-. ___________________________________ JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said it lost about $2 billion tied to synthetic credit securities after positions taken by its chief investment office were riskier than expected. “This portfolio has proven to be riskier, more volatile and less effective as [...] The Obama Administration and most liberals repeat over and over that TARP didn’t cost taxpayers a dime and that it made money. Yet it is a lie. SIGTARP (Special Investigator General of TARP) says in its latest report to Congress that so far we have lost $60 billion and another $118.5 billion is owed and [...] The liberal-progressive economic website Project Syndicate is running an op-ed from Simon Johnson, former chief economist of the IMF, providing evidence that libertarianism is in the arguing stage of Gandhi’s formulation that first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they argue with you, then you win. Dr. Johnson writes in The Libertarian [...] Perhaps in keeping with its good government traditions, the brokest state in the Union the governors of which do not routinely go to jail issues monthly statements recording its fiscal ineptitude. This week’s summary release from Controller Chiang’s office, covering December, is a doozy. First it presents a macro view that raises questions about the [...] In conjunction with a thorough post Zero Hedge put up recently about the Greece/Private Sector Initiative situation, which anyone interested in new information/speculation about what’s happening and what may happen in the months ahead may wish to read, I found two articles this morning in the Greek English language E-paper ekathimerini.com which taken together make [...] Yesterday’s announcement about the Fed supply as many dollars as is needed to its eurozone counterparts was preceded by rumors that the reason for the swap agreement was that some banks were short of cash as liquidity dried up à la 2008. One of the rumored banks was that Deutsche Bank was selling an asset to raise [...] Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon always reports negative news on this blog. He is the Joe Btfsplk of the blogosphere. But he is mostly right which is why I like his stuff. Several days ago he published this piece entitled, “Still Running” which is a tally of what the various federal bailouts have cost us. [...] |
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