Monthly Archives: November 2007

November 30, 2007

• $65 Billion of Citigroup SIV Debt Downgraded or Put on Review
  by Yves Smith 6:55 pm

• Florida Scrambling to Pay Teachers Due to Fund Freeze
  by Yves Smith 1:53 pm

• Latest Central Bank Actions Fail to Calm Money Markets
  by Yves Smith 10:14 am

• Counterparty Risk Problems With Credit Default Swaps?
  by Yves Smith 4:49 am

• Paulson Promoting Rescue Program for Subprimes
  by Yves Smith 1:43 am

• Credit Crunch Humor
  by Yves Smith 12:36 am

November 29, 2007

• On Fictitious Government Statistics (4.9% GDP Growth Edition)
  by Yves Smith 5:17 pm

• Florida Halts Withdrawals From Investment Pool
  by Yves Smith 4:11 pm

• Commercial Credit Dropping at Fastest Rate Since 1973
  by Yves Smith 3:42 am

• "Is the sky falling on both Wall Street and Main Street?"
  by Yves Smith 3:33 am

• Some Good News for White Collar Workers (Offshoring Edition)
  by Yves Smith 2:58 am

• Links!
  by Yves Smith 1:34 am

November 28, 2007

• Another Analysis of the Citi-Abu Dhabi Deal
  by Yves Smith 8:33 pm

• Florida Fund Suffers $8 Billion Withdrawals Due to Defaulted Debt
  by Yves Smith 7:59 pm

• "The Commercial Real Estate Market is Imploding"
  by Yves Smith 4:13 pm

• "Why banking is an accident waiting to happen"
  by Yves Smith 3:59 am

• Debt Market Problems Likely to Persist
  by Yves Smith 2:21 am

• How to Look Generous on the Cheap
  by Yves Smith 2:20 am

• Another Judge Gets Tough With Bank on Foreclosures
  by Yves Smith 1:04 am

• Foreign Exchange Controls Coming?
  by Yves Smith 12:32 am

November 27, 2007

• JP Morgan: Banks May Take $77 Billion in CDO Losses
  by Yves Smith 4:40 pm

• The Newly Hawkish Fed’s Communication Problem
  by Yves Smith 3:58 am

• Schumer Demands Investigation of FHLB Loans to Countrywide
  by Yves Smith 1:38 am

November 26, 2007

• Abu Dhabi to Invest $7.5 Billion in Citigroup
  by Yves Smith 10:54 pm

• Bernanke Acting as Shill for SIV Rescue Plan?
  by Yves Smith 6:50 pm

• Fed Plans Year-End Injection of Long-Term Funds
  by Yves Smith 3:23 pm

• HSBC to Take $45 Billion of Assets from Two SIVs on to Balance Sheet
  by Yves Smith 9:30 am

• Larry Summers Warns of "Deepening Crisis"
  by Yves Smith 3:20 am

• "Dollar’s last lap as the only anchor currency"
  by Yves Smith 2:24 am

• Dollar Increasingly Used to Fund Carry Trade
  by Yves Smith 1:43 am

• Subprime-Shorting Hedge Fund Up 1000%
  by Yves Smith 12:32 am

November 25, 2007

• Psychopharmacologist’s Song
  by Yves Smith 12:23 pm

• "Private demand for US financial assets has disappeared"
  by Yves Smith 2:55 am

• Robert Shiller Recommends "Bold" Remedies for Housing
  by Yves Smith 1:49 am

• Signs of Weakness in Commercial Real Estate
  by Yves Smith 12:49 am

November 24, 2007

• Still More Grim News from the Credit Markets
  by Yves Smith 3:49 am

• Are U.S. Investors Still in Denial?
  by Yves Smith 2:51 am

• A Few New Factiods from the Journal on Subprime Resets
  by Yves Smith 1:10 am

• Humans May Have Shortened the Life of the Universe
  by Yves Smith 12:02 am

November 23, 2007

• Some European Quants Down 15% in November
  by Yves Smith 4:48 pm

• Another CDO Liquidates
  by Yves Smith 2:17 pm

• Greenspan: "No Regrets"
  by Yves Smith 1:52 pm

• "Not (Yet) a ‘Minsky Moment’"
  by Yves Smith 2:54 am

• Low Participation in State Homeowner Rescue Programs
  by Yves Smith 12:02 am

November 22, 2007

• SIV Rescue Plan Reported to Choose BlackRock as Manager
  by Yves Smith 3:55 am

• Value of Bank of America’s Countrywide Stake Down "Nearly 50%
  by Yves Smith 2:57 am

• More Credit Guarantor Woes
  by Yves Smith 1:30 am

November 21, 2007

• Paulson Pleads for Bulk Mortgage Modifications
  by Yves Smith 4:33 am

• California to Keep Low Rates for Mortgage Borrowers
  by Yves Smith 2:43 am

• Consumer Spending Data Underplays Recession Risk
  by Yves Smith 1:36 am

• Joseph Stiglitz: "Financial Hypocrisy"
  by Yves Smith 12:19 am

• A Wee Notice to Readers
  by Yves Smith 12:17 am

November 20, 2007

• Federated Shores Up Enhanced Cash Fund to Prevent Investor Losses
  by Yves Smith 11:49 am

• On the Perils of Quick and Dirty Estimates (Ken Houghton Subprime Edition)
  by Yves Smith 4:24 am

• Another Sighting of a Sensible Markets Reform Proposal
  by Yves Smith 3:34 am

• A Riveting Disclosure in the $1 Billion Swiss Re Writedown
  by Yves Smith 2:27 am

• Internet Brown-Outs in Two Years?
  by Yves Smith 1:47 am

November 19, 2007

• Goldman’s Global Alpha Assets May Fall 60% by Year End
  by Yves Smith 4:32 pm

• Wall Street Calculus: $74 Billion in Losses, $38 Billion in Bonuses
  by Yves Smith 4:28 am

• Fed’s Gary Stern Makes Lame Arguments Against Increased Credit Market Regulation
  by Yves Smith 4:23 am

• Tim Duy on the Fed’s New Hawkishness
  by Yves Smith 3:43 am

• Chinese Increasingly Desperate to Contain Inflation
  by Yves Smith 3:39 am

• SIV Rescue Plan Reported to be Getting More Support
  by Yves Smith 12:46 am

• More Evidence of Hedge Funds Misreporting Results
  by Yves Smith 12:01 am

November 18, 2007

• Are Those Private Equity Guysas Smart as They Say They Are?
  by Yves Smith 3:36 am

• Saudis Nix Official OPEC Mention of Concern About the Dollar
  by Yves Smith 1:50 am

November 17, 2007

• Stop Eating Tuna
  by Yves Smith 5:02 pm

• On the Risk of "Genearalized Meltdown of the Financial System"
  by Yves Smith 5:35 am

• New York Times: What Didn’t Make It Into the Final IPCC Report
  by Yves Smith 4:41 am

• In Case You Ever Doubted Credit Cards Are Very Profitable…
  by Yves Smith 3:48 am

November 16, 2007

• Fed’s Krozner Talks Down Rate Cuts; Goldman Talks Up Recession
  by Yves Smith 11:36 am

• Rating Agencies Created Incentives to Issue Paper More Profitable for Them to Rate
  by Yves Smith 3:50 am

• More Criticism of China Over the Yuan
  by Yves Smith 3:32 am

• Surfer Comes Up With New Theory of Everything
  by Yves Smith 1:56 am

November 15, 2007

• Fitch-Rated SIV Net Asset Values Fall to 69.7%
  by Yves Smith 4:18 pm

• MBIA, Ambac Downgrade-Related Losses Estimated at $200 Billion
  by Yves Smith 2:34 pm

• It Isn’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings (Bear Hedge Fund Edition)
  by Yves Smith 1:43 am

• Fannie Mae Practices a Bit of Accounting Legerdemain
  by Yves Smith 12:01 am

November 14, 2007

• GE Cash Management Fund Breaks the Buck
  by Yves Smith 6:56 pm

• Roubini Sounds Alarm About Commercial Real Estate
  by Yves Smith 2:55 pm

• Payday Lending Video
  by Yves Smith 1:37 am

• Dallas Fed Chief Talks of Sustainable Growth, Rising Inflation Risks
  by Yves Smith 1:36 am

• "Welcome to a world of runaway energy demand"
  by Yves Smith 12:32 am

• "The establishment of the capital world, hesitant and uncertain"
  by Yves Smith 12:04 am

November 13, 2007

• BlackRock, Goldman See Credit Problems Continuing
  by Yves Smith 4:45 pm

• Man Marries Dog
  by Yves Smith 4:02 pm

• Ohio Judge Dismisses Foreclosures in Securitized Transaction
  by Yves Smith 9:12 am

• More CDO Jitters and Price Decay
  by Yves Smith 3:33 am

• "Capitalism Isn’t Perfect" (Federal Support to Mortgage Lenders Edition)
  by Yves Smith 2:20 am

• Two Money Funds Propped Up to Forestall SIV-Related Losses
  by Yves Smith 1:12 am

• "As Big a Shock as the Russians Launching Sputnik"
  by Yves Smith 12:25 am

November 12, 2007

• More Concern About Wall Street Bookkeeping
  by Yves Smith 10:56 pm

• Currency Controls Implemented to Combat Dollar Fall
  by Yves Smith 4:24 pm

• Goldman’s Proportion of Level 3 Assets Exceeds Merrill’s, Citi’s
  by Yves Smith 4:37 am

• Nouriel Roubini and Willem Buiter Both See Downside Economic Risk
  by Yves Smith 3:53 am

• Yet More Doubts About the SIV Rescue Plan
  by Yves Smith 3:03 am

• Wolfgang Munchau: Less Than 10% Through the Credit Crisis
  by Yves Smith 2:31 am

• Yen Rises Above 110 as Carry Trades Unwind
  by Yves Smith 1:10 am

November 11, 2007

• News Flash: Ben Stein Says Something Intelligent
  by Yves Smith 4:21 am

• Mirabile Dictu: SIV Rescue Sponsors Have Finalized Terms
  by Yves Smith 1:29 am

• Are We at Risk of Collapse?
  by Yves Smith 12:09 am

November 10, 2007

• Your Tax Dollars at Work: Iraq Music Video
  by Yves Smith 9:29 pm

• CDOs: The Ticking Time Bomb
  by Yves Smith 5:15 am

• Possible Endgames for the Dollar Slide
  by Yves Smith 4:32 am

• A Hopeful Sign on the Mortgage Workout Front
  by Yves Smith 1:28 am

• Coming to Wall Street: Slave Wages
  by Yves Smith 12:44 am

November 9, 2007

• The Markets Raise Bet Bernanke Will Cut
  by Yves Smith 8:37 am

• The Deteriorating Monoline Insurers and the Rating Agencies’ Dilemma
  by Yves Smith 4:55 am

• OFHEO’s James Lockhart Takes Cuomo to the Woodshed
  by Yves Smith 4:13 am

• Another Study Finds that Women Do Not Out-Talk Men
  by Yves Smith 2:00 am

• Disingenuous Wall Street Journal Story on Fidelity
  by Yves Smith 1:28 am

November 8, 2007

• New Bankruptcy Law Backfires by Increasing Foreclosures
  by Yves Smith 4:33 pm

• Quant Hedge Fund AQR Shows Losses YTD, Pulls IPO
  by Yves Smith 1:27 pm

• Commercial Paper Shows Biggest Weekly Drop in Two Months
  by Yves Smith 12:22 pm

• SIV Rescue Plan Appears to be Too Late
  by Yves Smith 2:40 am

• New York Times: House as ATM Coming to an End
  by Yves Smith 2:20 am

• Going Beyond the Savings Glut/Overconsumption Debate
  by Yves Smith 1:49 am

• The Not-So-Good Federal Budget Outlook
  by Yves Smith 12:08 am

• Trying to Talk Their Way Out of the Doghouse (Merrill, Morgan Stanley Edition)
  by Yves Smith 12:02 am

November 7, 2007

• Investment Banks May Face $100 Billion in Writedowns
  by Yves Smith 7:00 pm

• More SIV Debt Ratings Cut
  by Yves Smith 6:34 pm

• SIV Rescue Plan Delayed, May Be in Trouble
  by Yves Smith 2:48 am

• A Particularly Choice Citigroup Disclosure
  by Yves Smith 1:51 am

• Quelle Surprise! Experts Give Self-Serving Diagnoses
  by Yves Smith 1:06 am

November 6, 2007

• "Death by Transactions"
  by Yves Smith 1:54 am

• Warning: Tough Accounting and More Writedowns Coming
  by Yves Smith 12:51 am

• Thomas Pallley on Managed Exchange Rates
  by Yves Smith 12:24 am

• The $400 Million Dollar Man
  by Yves Smith 12:04 am

November 5, 2007

• Another Revealing Housing Chart
  by Yves Smith 8:17 pm

• BBC: People Willing to Sacrifice to Combat Global Warming
  by Yves Smith 4:53 pm

• Signs of Backlash Against Paulson
  by Yves Smith 4:13 pm

• How Messed Up is Citi?
  by Yves Smith 2:23 am

• When Do We Hit Bottom?
  by Yves Smith 1:32 am

• Perverse Outcomes: Housing Slump Contributes to Fall in 10-Year Treasuries
  by Yves Smith 12:15 am

• "There is no quick fix this time"
  by Yves Smith 12:03 am

November 4, 2007

• China’s Dependence on Coal
  by Yves Smith 8:34 pm

• Ten Seriously Misguided Experiments
  by Yves Smith 12:13 am

November 3, 2007

• New York Times on Merrill’s Risk Management
  by Yves Smith 9:55 pm

• Maybe Your Humble Blogger Needs a Break (Updates du Jour)
  by Yves Smith 4:59 am

• The Role of Emotion in Risk Assessment
  by Yves Smith 1:43 am

• 2005 Bankruptcy Reform: The Banks Got What They Wanted In More Ways Than One
  by Yves Smith 1:23 am

• Countries as Clubs
  by Yves Smith 12:50 am

November 2, 2007

• Day After the Rate Cut, Lobbying Begins for the Next One
  by Yves Smith 1:54 am

• Paul De Grauwe: "Central banks should prick asset bubbles"
  by Yves Smith 1:37 am

• New Credit Crunch Tactic: Barter in Lieu of Price Discovery
  by Yves Smith 12:59 am

November 1, 2007

• The Continuing Deterioration of the Collateralized Debt Obligation Market
  by Yves Smith 11:33 pm

• Asset Backed Commercial Paper Outstandings Still Falling
  by Yves Smith 11:04 pm

• Chemistry Sets a Casualty of War on Terror
  by Yves Smith 2:55 pm

• Maybe the Real Reason for the SIV Rescue Plan?
  by Yves Smith 1:24 am

• IRS Investigating Hedge Funds and Private Equity Firms
  by Yves Smith 12:22 am

• The Hatchet Job on Bear CEO James Cayne
  by Yves Smith 12:03 am