Monthly Archives: July 2008

July 31, 2008

• Links 8/1/08
  by Yves Smith 11:08 pm

• Massachusetts Sues Merrill Over Auction-Rate Securities
  by Yves Smith 11:49 am

• Quelle Surprise! Growth Revised to Negative in 4Q, Jobless Claims Rise
  by Yves Smith 11:42 am

• Jonathan Weil: Lehman Needs to Come Clean About R3
  by Yves Smith 9:07 am

• Recession Sightings Picking Up Steam
  by Yves Smith 8:56 am

• Housing Bailout Bill Also Eased Having Fed Rescue Banks
  by Yves Smith 4:05 am

• Links 7/31/08
  by Yves Smith 3:03 am

• Disses du Jour
  by Yves Smith 1:53 am

• Underemployment Hits Record as Companies Cut Hours
  by Yves Smith 1:18 am

• Welcome Guest Bloggers!
  by Yves Smith 12:51 am

July 30, 2008

• Connecticut Sues Rating Agencies Over Muni Ratings
  by Yves Smith 1:05 pm

• Kenneth Rogoff: We Need a Recession (Well, at Least a Slowdown)
  by Yves Smith 3:20 am

• Links 7/30/08
  by Yves Smith 2:14 am

• Restaurant Chains Closing
  by Yves Smith 12:53 am

July 29, 2008

• What Hath Merrill Wrought? Tally of Likely Fallout from CDO Writedown Rises (Updated)
  by Yves Smith 11:46 pm

• "UK mortgage slump set to continue until 2011"
  by Yves Smith 5:54 pm

• Deutsche Bank’s Michael Mayo: Citi May Write Off Another $8 Billion
  by Yves Smith 7:52 am

• And You Thought You Could Quit Worrying About Fannie and Freddie For Now
  by Yves Smith 2:34 am

• Merrill and National Australia Bank CDO Writedowns Linked, and Not the Way You’d Expect, Either
  by Yves Smith 2:25 am

• Is a Financial Crisis in Sweden and the Baltics in the Cards?
  by Yves Smith 2:01 am

• Links 7/29/08
  by Yves Smith 12:56 am

July 28, 2008

• Money Market Spreads Signal Continued Stress
  by Yves Smith 11:29 pm

• Covered Bond Misrepresentations Have Already Begun!
  by Yves Smith 11:10 pm

• Merrill: $5.7 Billion in 3Q Writedowns, to Sell $8.5 Billion in Shares (Uglier Updated Version)
  by Yves Smith 9:06 pm

• Has Deleveraging Even Begun? (Not For the Fainthearted)
  by Yves Smith 2:36 am

• Links and Quick Takes 7/28/08
  by Yves Smith 12:24 am

July 27, 2008

• Banks Cutting Back on Business Lending
  by Yves Smith 11:41 pm

• Diss du Jour
  by Yves Smith 11:33 pm

• Servicers to Ask for Access to Discount Window?
  by Yves Smith 11:08 pm

• William Poole Wants Nasty Fannie and Freddie to Go Away
  by Yves Smith 2:32 am

• Links 7/27/08
  by Yves Smith 2:14 am

• Roger Ehrenberg And Readers Steve, BondInvestor, on Banking Industry Woes
  by Yves Smith 1:49 am

July 26, 2008

• Alan Blinder: "Cash for Clunkers"
  by Yves Smith 11:42 pm

• Links 7/26/08
  by Yves Smith 1:00 am

July 25, 2008

• Wall Street Compensation to Fall $18 Billion in 2008
  by Yves Smith 11:26 pm

• Regulators Takes Over Two Banks
  by Yves Smith 11:16 pm

• UK Economy Contracted in May and June
  by Yves Smith 11:08 pm

• IMF Paper: US Housing Overvalued by 14%, Likely to Overshoot on Downside
  by Yves Smith 7:56 pm

• S&P May Lower Rating on Fannie, Freddie Subordinated Debt
  by Yves Smith 2:56 pm

• Stiglitz; "Fannie’s and Freddie’s free lunch"
  by Yves Smith 2:46 am

• China’s Role in Food Inflation Exaggerated
  by Yves Smith 2:16 am

• Links 7/25/08
  by Yves Smith 1:21 am

• JP Morgan, the Grim Reaper? (HBOS Edition)
  by Yves Smith 12:27 am

July 24, 2008

• Pimco’s Bill Gross: Financial Firms Will Write Down $1 Trillion
  by Yves Smith 11:58 am

• Existing Home Sales Fall More Than Expected to 4.86 Million Rate
  by Yves Smith 9:28 am

• Links 7/24/08
  by Yves Smith 2:30 am

• "’We interrupt regular programming to announce that the United States of America has defaulted …’ Part 2"
  by Yves Smith 2:27 am

• Goldman Raising $10 Billion Fund to Invest in LBOs
  by Yves Smith 1:59 am

July 23, 2008

• Is Your State Going Broke?
  by Yves Smith 9:33 pm

• James Bianco on Possible Role of SemGroup Bankruptcy in Oil Price Drop
  by Yves Smith 2:39 pm

• Bank of America Approves $3.75 Billion Share Repurchase
  by Yves Smith 1:41 pm

• CBO Comes Close to Saying It Made Up That $25 Billion Freddie, Fannie Rescue Cost Estimate
  by Yves Smith 1:51 am

• "Cherished myths fall victim to economic reality"
  by Yves Smith 1:49 am

• Links 7/23/08
  by Yves Smith 1:33 am

• China to Slow Yuan Appreciation?
  by Yves Smith 12:55 am

• New York to Launch Auction Rate Securities Suit Against UBS
  by Yves Smith 12:34 am

July 22, 2008

• Dubious Assumptions in CBO’s Fannie, Freddie $25 Billion Rescue Cost Estimate
  by Yves Smith 10:19 am

• A New and Improved "Rescue the Economy" Plan
  by Yves Smith 12:30 am

July 21, 2008

• Links 7/22/08
  by Yves Smith 11:37 pm

• Fed, Comptroller of the Currency Due Diligence Sham for Fannie, Freddie
  by Yves Smith 11:09 pm

• Reader Notices
  by Yves Smith 11:05 pm

• Is it Hard to Borrow Shares on the Firms on the "No Naked Shorts" List?
  by Yves Smith 8:24 pm

• EU Pondering Restricting Sales of Securitized Debt (Updated)
  by Yves Smith 5:24 pm

• Robert Mabro Disagrees With Matt Simmons on Saudi Oil
  by Yves Smith 1:44 am

• On the Larry Summers vs. Willem Buiter Bailout Debate
  by Yves Smith 1:23 am

• Global Economy at "Point of Maximum Danger"?
  by Yves Smith 12:37 am

• Links 7/21/08
  by Yves Smith 12:14 am

July 20, 2008

• "Is America too big to fail?"
  by Yves Smith 6:39 pm

• HBOS: £3.6 billion Turkey for Morgan, Dresdner?
  by Yves Smith 3:10 pm

• Links 7/20/08
  by Yves Smith 1:26 am

July 19, 2008

• Own to Rent Program in New Jersey
  by Yves Smith 11:54 pm

• Citigroup: House Prices to Fall for Two More Years
  by Yves Smith 11:15 pm

• Banks Ask to Join SEC Protection Racket
  by Yves Smith 9:03 pm

• Jim Grant: "Why No Outrage?"
  by Yves Smith 5:32 am

• Tim Duy Versus Hedge Fund Manager Scott on the Economy
  by Yves Smith 4:39 am

• Links 7/19/08
  by Yves Smith 3:40 am

July 18, 2008

• Slump Starting to Hit Luxury Goods
  by Yves Smith 7:21 pm

• Your Blogger Says Hello to Paul Volcker
  by Yves Smith 6:30 pm

• FOMC Member Gary Stern Calls For Interest Rate Increase
  by Yves Smith 4:10 pm

• Blackstone Uses Own Hedge Fund As Stuffee for Its LBO Debt
  by Yves Smith 3:58 am

• 44 Cents on the Dollar for Cheyne SIV Auction
  by Yves Smith 3:11 am

• Links 7/18/08
  by Yves Smith 12:50 am

July 17, 2008

• Freddie Considers Hail Mary Pass: $10 Billion Stock Sale
  by Yves Smith 11:57 pm

• First Home Grown English Bacon, Now Delta Catfish
  by Yves Smith 11:01 pm

• Merrill Quarterly Loss More Than Double Expectations
  by Yves Smith 9:13 pm

• "The End of the World as We Know It?"
  by Yves Smith 3:09 pm

• Traders Forecast Banking Stress to Last To End of 2010
  by Yves Smith 1:38 am

• Links 7/17/08
  by Yves Smith 1:00 am

• An Illustration of Mortgage Servicing Run-Around
  by Yves Smith 12:27 am

July 16, 2008

• Phony Accounting on Fannie, Freddie Rescue Legislation
  by Yves Smith 11:55 pm

• Mirable Dictu! Global Investors Overweight US Stocks
  by Yves Smith 11:11 pm

• Merrill: US May Face "Financing Crisis"
  by Yves Smith 2:55 am

• Links 7/16/08
  by Yves Smith 1:49 am

• Did Goldman Traders Manipulate Bear, Lehman Stock?
  by Yves Smith 12:50 am

July 15, 2008

• US Homeowners Considering Taking in Boarders
  by Yves Smith 11:05 pm

• On the Ackman GSE Restructuring Plan
  by Yves Smith 5:30 pm

• Treasuries Starting to Look Like Senior Debt of GSEs
  by Yves Smith 4:17 pm

• Former Lehman CFO, Erin Callan, Jumps Ship
  by Yves Smith 3:10 pm

• Vote of No Confidence: Dollar Tanks (And More on Fannie and Freddie)
  by Yves Smith 5:13 am

• Welcome Willem Buiter and Mohamed El-Erian to the Banana Republic Club!
  by Yves Smith 3:50 am

• Jet Fuel Premium Set to Fall
  by Yves Smith 3:21 am

July 14, 2008

• Links 7/15/08
  by Yves Smith 11:54 pm

• Diss du Jour
  by Yves Smith 11:06 pm

• Bair to Attempt Mods in IndyMac’s Servicing Portfolio
  by Yves Smith 11:02 pm

• "Estate agents have lowest sales in 30 years"
  by Yves Smith 8:52 pm

• Fannie, Freddie: Note Sale Off Well, Rogers Deems Plan "Unmitigated Disaster"
  by Yves Smith 10:31 am

• Whither Citigroup’s $1.1 Trillion of Off Balance Sheet Assets?
  by Yves Smith 6:30 am

• "Hot money poses risks to China’s stability"
  by Yves Smith 12:55 am

• The Real Test of the Not-Yet-A-Plan Fannie & Freddie Operation
  by Yves Smith 12:43 am

July 13, 2008

• Links 7/14/08
  by Yves Smith 11:16 pm

• Oil Collateral Damage: $100 Billion of Aircraft Orders at Risk
  by Yves Smith 10:24 pm

• Letter to Freddie Employees: "Treasury Department Reaffirms Support for GSE Model, Mission"
  by Yves Smith 8:58 pm

• Thin Gruel in Paulson Statement re Fannie, Freddie; Fed Opens Discount Window
  by Yves Smith 7:13 pm

• Bloomberg: Paulson Seeks Congressional Authority to Bail Out Fannie, Freddie
  by Yves Smith 5:13 pm

• Announcement for Fannie, Freddie in the Works (Updated)
  by Yves Smith 4:03 pm

• Guest Post: How a Systems Perspective Can Help Financial Reform
  by Yves Smith 3:01 am

• Dani Rodrik: "Death of globalisation consensus"
  by Yves Smith 2:53 am

• "What Would a Fannie/Freddie Conservatorship Look Like?"
  by Yves Smith 1:40 am

• Links 7/13/08
  by Yves Smith 1:17 am

July 12, 2008

• Branson: "Spectacular Casualties" Coming to Airlines Soon
  by Yves Smith 9:30 pm

• UK Times: Freddie, Fannie to Get $15 Billion Cash Injection
  by Yves Smith 7:48 pm

• US: The Most Deceitful Form of Socialism?
  by Yves Smith 3:11 am

• Roubini: Restructure Fannie, Freddie Debt, Skip "Mother of All Bailouts"
  by Yves Smith 3:05 am

• Links 7/12/08
  by Yves Smith 1:38 am

July 11, 2008

• Does M1 and M2 Contraction Signal Debt Deflation?
  by Yves Smith 9:17 pm

• IndyMac Seized By Federal Regulators (And Creates Headache for FDIC)
  by Yves Smith 5:37 pm

• Henry Kaufman: Treasury Needs to Stand Behind Freddie, Fannie
  by Yves Smith 4:32 pm

• "The Flaws in the FHA Housing Bill"
  by Yves Smith 4:56 am

• Will Japan’s Lost Decade Become the Norm?
  by Yves Smith 3:20 am

• Links 7/11/08
  by Yves Smith 2:11 am

July 10, 2008

• Fannie and Freddie: Conservatorship as Endgame?
  by Yves Smith 11:04 pm

• Joke of the Day
  by Yves Smith 2:26 pm

• Cost of Japan’s Competitiveness: Increasing Poverty
  by Yves Smith 2:10 pm

• Prepaid Card Allows Consumers to Speculate on Gas Prices
  by Yves Smith 3:36 am

• Links 7/10/08
  by Yves Smith 2:01 am

July 9, 2008

• Former St. Louis President Poole Calls Freddie, Fannie "Insolvent"
  by Yves Smith 11:46 pm

• "Hedge Fund Manager Describes Rock Bottom"
  by Yves Smith 11:22 pm

• Disaster Planning for Freddie and Fannie Intensifies
  by Yves Smith 11:03 pm

• "[Fed] agreement is very bad news for taxpayers"
  by Yves Smith 4:38 pm

• Cheer Up! Hedge Funds Had a Lousy First Half Too
  by Yves Smith 3:10 am

• "When the going gets tough, economists go very quiet"
  by Yves Smith 2:22 am

• "Iran test fires long and medium range missiles"
  by Yves Smith 1:23 am

• Credit Default Swaps Traders Downgrade Fannie and Freddie
  by Yves Smith 12:26 am

• Links 7/9/08
  by Yves Smith 12:12 am

July 8, 2008

• Hussman "The Likelihood of $60 Oil"
  by Yves Smith 2:10 pm

• Dizard: Don’t Worry About Iran, Worry About Central Bankers
  by Yves Smith 10:28 am

• Stiglitz: "The End of Neo-Liberalism?"
  by Yves Smith 3:12 am

• Mohamed El-Erian Hoists Hurricane Flag on Risk
  by Yves Smith 2:24 am

• Indymac Death Watch: Comment from Reader Steve on Regulatory Intervention
  by Yves Smith 2:07 am

• Links 7/8/08
  by Yves Smith 1:36 am

• Gerhson Kekst, M&A PR Luminary, Says Credit Crunch Worst in 40 Years
  by Yves Smith 12:13 am

July 7, 2008

• Lehman, Deutsche Bank Strategists Predict Best 6 Months for S&P Since 1982
  by Yves Smith 10:33 am

• Wolfgang Munchau: Maybe the Economists Are to Blame After All
  by Yves Smith 4:12 am

• Roubini’s on the Endgame for Bretton Woods 2
  by Yves Smith 3:29 am

• Links 7/7/08
  by Yves Smith 2:50 am

• Quelle Surprise! Commodities Regulators Lack Adequate Information About Their Markets
  by Yves Smith 1:39 am

July 6, 2008

• "Oil price shock means China is at risk of blowing up"
  by Yves Smith 11:57 pm

• Banking System Losses to Hit $1.6 Trillion?
  by Yves Smith 7:52 pm

• Trade Deficit Forecast to Have Widened (And Ruminations on a Possible Tipping Point)
  by Yves Smith 4:22 am

• Unintended Consequences of New Reporting on Credit Default Swaps?
  by Yves Smith 2:23 am

• Links 7/6/08
  by Yves Smith 12:50 am

July 5, 2008

• Hoisted From Comments: Has Neo-Liberalism Failed to Deliver the Goods?
  by Yves Smith 3:31 am

• On Banks Ignoring Risk Warnings From the Troops
  by Yves Smith 3:11 am

• Links 7/5/08
  by Yves Smith 2:36 am

• Quelle Surprise! Credit Card Companies Opposed to Proposed Regulation
  by Yves Smith 1:18 am

July 4, 2008

• World Bank: Biofuels Increased Food Prices 75%
  by Yves Smith 12:05 am

July 3, 2008

• Links Fourth of July
  by Yves Smith 11:51 pm

• "Futures Prices Determine Physical Oil Prices"
  by Yves Smith 11:08 pm

• $1.2 Billion Reduction in Bear Collateral for $30 Billion Fed Loan
  by Yves Smith 11:01 pm

• Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil Probes Lehman-R3 Hedge Fund Relationship
  by Yves Smith 4:04 am

• Are Trichet’s Rate Hikes 1930 All Over Again?
  by Yves Smith 2:38 am

• On FAS 157 and Measurement Fallacy
  by Yves Smith 1:54 am

• Calling for Guest Bloggers
  by Yves Smith 1:35 am

• Links 7/3/08
  by Yves Smith 1:20 am

July 2, 2008

• Guaranteed Investment Contracts: Another Headache for Bond Insurers?
  by Yves Smith 11:05 pm

• Will China’s Growth Falter Post Olympics?
  by Yves Smith 11:09 am

• Past Due Home Equity Lines of Credit Increase Most Since 1987
  by Yves Smith 10:18 am

• Oil: Goldman Versus Faber, Data on Improving Supply/Demand Conditions
  by Yves Smith 2:34 am

• Fools and Their Money: Value-Destroying CDO Managers Raising Distressed Mortgage Funds
  by Yves Smith 12:45 am

• Links 7/2/08
  by Yves Smith 12:07 am

July 1, 2008

• Economics PhD: Key to Success in Central Banking?
  by Yves Smith 11:28 pm

• Job Market Now Forecast to Worsen Into 2009
  by Yves Smith 11:04 pm

• UK: Housing Crash in Progress?
  by Yves Smith 9:56 pm

• Moody’s Sacks Structured Finance Head Over CPDOs
  by Yves Smith 3:17 pm

• On the Prospects for Securitization
  by Yves Smith 3:20 am

• On Moral Hypocrisy
  by Yves Smith 2:11 am

• KPMG Survey: Investors Leery of Derivatives, Yet Fund Managers Increasing Commitment to Them
  by Yves Smith 1:47 am

• Billionaire Eli Broad Downbeat, Says Slump Worst Since World War II (And A Dissenting View)
  by Yves Smith 12:28 am