Obama Administration Trying to Throw Massive Secrecy Veil Over Past and Future Pilfering of Fannie and Freddie
Why is the government insisting that a huge stash of Fannie and Freddie records deserve state secret treatment?
Read more...Category Archives: Credit markets
Greece-Troika Train Wreck Shaping Up for July Despite IMF Leak
As hard as it seems to believe, the IMF is shaping up as a less bad actor in the continuing Greece austerity saga. Germany finance minister Wolfgang Schauble, by contrast, seems emboldened by Merkel’s fallen stature, which couldn’t come at a worse time for Greece.
Read more...Towards a Theory of Shadow Money
Struggles over shadow money today echo 19th century struggles over bank deposits.
Read more...Mathew D. Rose: The Remarkable World of Angela Merkel and Her Friends
With friends like Merkel’s, who needs enemies?
Read more...Martin Wolf Defends Central Banks’ Negative Interest Rate Policies
The Financial Times’ lead economics writer, Martin Wolf, makes an intellectually bogus case for negative interest policies.
Read more...Housing’s “Deadly Embrace” in Financial Cycles
The IMF argues that regulating mortgages is not sufficient to prevent housing booms and busts.
Read more...Fed Suddenly Having Emergency Meetings as European Banks Also Wobble
The Fed is suddenly looking very nervous, and by contrast, the Europeans don’t seem anywhere nervous enough on the banking front.
Read more...Caesars Bankruptcy Fight Over Alleged Fraudulent Transfers Opens Window on Private Equity Looting
Creditor suits against private equity kingpins Apollo and TPG for the failed Caesars’ deal have already revealed a lot of dirt, with more sure to follow.
Read more...Paul Krugman Crosses the Line
Krugman is increasingly discrediting himself as a commentator on economics.
Read more...Jamie Dimon Tells Us We Need to Leave Too Big to Fail Banks Alone
Jamie Dimon likes to write grandiose letters to shareholders. This year’s version is no exception.
Read more...Negative Interest Rates – Are There Any Positives?
The more you look at negative interest rates, the harder it is to find anything to like.
Read more...The US is Beginning to Dominate Global Investment Banking: Implications for Europe
Europe’s banks are in retreat from playing a global investment banking role.
Read more...Good Booms, Bad Booms: Why Only Some Credit Booms End in a Crisis
Credit booms are not rare and usually precede financial crises. However, some end in a crisis while others do not. This column argues that credit booms start with an increase in productivity, which subsequently falls much faster during ‘bad booms’. When this decline is severe enough, it changes the informational regime in credit markets, leading to a drying up of credit. A crisis may be the result of an exhausted credit boom and not necessarily of a negative productivity shock.
Read more...The Hidden Health Costs of the Global Financial Crisis
Why the hidden health cost of the financial crisis will span decades.
Read more...Bill Black Speaks to TaxCast About the Political Coalition Against Financial Regulation
This month’s TaxCast features Bill Black on the Whistleblowers United regulatory reform proposals plus why tax amnesties are a bad idea.
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