Blog
August 10, 2011
Few people are brighter than Jared Berstein and his latest post, A Mountain of Unemployment, proves it yet again.
But not only are his words powerful and insightful, he's added a picture to his latest post that makes... Read More
August 10, 2011
Final rule
August 10, 2011
This graph, based on Barclays Capital data, was in the Wall Street Journal today and shows how many homes federal government agencies own due to foreclosures. The entire article can be read here.
August 10, 2011
No one says more in a cartoon than Toles, a genius! Don't miss the comment in the bottom margin! This is from today's Washington Post.
August 9, 2011
OK, there's no real debate that the Financial Times' banking editor is much smarter than I am, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have insane ideas and his column today (Banks Need A Holiday Away From Basel)... Read More
August 9, 2011
For how long do we have to endure banks threatening countries if they implement strong financial reforms? Barclays did it again yesterday as the Financial Times reports today.
Given that the unimaginable costs... Read More
August 9, 2011
Former Republican Senator Mark Hatfield from Oregon died yesterday. I didn't know him well, but I did work with him in the mid-1990s when I was Senator Kennedy's Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel for... Read More
August 9, 2011
"Having Standard & Poor's downgrade the creditworthiness of the U.S., and warn the country about further downgrades, is a little like having the Catholic Church lecture Scout leaders on the proper behavior... Read More
August 9, 2011
As everyone speculates whether the 634 point drop in the Dow yesterday (Monday, August 8) will continue, stop, usher in a double dip recession, be forgotten in a week, unleash a bear or a bull market, or whatever, someone... Read More
August 8, 2011
For those interested, here's the 193 page complaint filed by AIG against the Bank of America today.
August 8, 2011
In July 2008, the SEC Staff from the Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations, Division of Trading and Markets and Office of Economic Analysis released a "Summary Report of Issues Identified in the Commission... Read More
August 8, 2011
Ezra Klein has a terrific article in today's Washington Post discussing why thinking of our current economic circumstances as a recession is the wrong framework.
This chart is from his blog post on... Read More
August 8, 2011
A terrific graph from the The New York Times article on AIG suing Bank of America for more than $10 billion in losses from the mortgage crisis.
August 8, 2011
Breaking news: the media is reporting that AIG is going to sue Bank of America for more than $10 billion in damages over the alleged massive fraud by it and its subsidiaries Merrill Lynch and Countrywide in... Read More
August 8, 2011
The Wall Street Journal has a rich article about Wall Street's demand for serial bailouts from Washington, which really means from taxpayers. It's entitled "Wall Street Hopes Again for Bailout, But... Read More
August 8, 2011
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting and important article today on the credit rating agencies entitled "Ratings Firms Retain Power Over Markets."
This line caught my attention: "Standard &... Read More
August 8, 2011
This graph is from today's Wall Street Journal article "Obama and S&P Vie for Credibility."
August 8, 2011
Yes, the rioting began after the police shot and killed a 29 year old man under disputed circumstances, as is often the case in poor neighborhoods where rumors and police coverups have a long tradition worldwide. And,... Read More
August 5, 2011
Paper by Simon Johnson and Peter Boone for Peterson Institute for International Economics