Category Archives: Credit markets

Matt Stoller: Big Oil Hooked Americans on Credit Cards

The credit card industry gets short shrift when it comes to history.

Chinese Bond Default Rattles Markets; Harbinger of More Credit Woes?

A corporate bond default should hardly be a headline dominating-event unless the default in question is of a particularly large concern, or is tightly coupled (as in could, Lehman-style, trigger more distress) or is a precursor of things to come.

Quelle Surprise! Banks Are Opposed to More Liquid Markets When They Don’t Make Enough From Them

Bloomberg has an intriguing story about a bit of lobbying the big dealer banks are engaged in via a group called the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, which represents 15 out of the total of 22 primary dealers (a primary dealer, among other things, gets to bid for its own account at Treasury bond auctions). Of course, the object of their efforts is to improve their profitability, here by putting parties they regard as competitors at more of a disadvantage.

Rental Income Falls 7.6% in Three Months in Blackstone’s First Home Lease Securitization

A Blackstone deal in the runup to the financial crisis, its acquisition of Equity Office Properties Trust from Sam Zell in early 2007 was recognized at the time as a sign of a market peak. Is history about to repeat itself with Blackstone’s rental securitization?

Versailles Watch: John Mack Whines About How Badly Wall Street CEOs are Treated

You cannot make this stuff up.

Pimco, Blackrock Mulling Suing Ocwen Over Abusive Servicing

Funny what a difference a few days makes.

The Debt Crisis in Puerto Rico: Why Is It Not More Newsworthy?

The escalating debt crisis in Puerto Rico, where default or bankruptcy look to be likely outcomes, has gotten only cursory notice from the media. That’s quite an oversight when you look at the size and potential impact.

Better Markets Sues Department of Justice and Eric Holder Over JP Morgan Settlement

The public interest group Better Markets today filed suit against the Department of Justice and Eric Holder, alleging that the so-called $13 billion settlement that the Federal government entered into with the nation’s biggest bank was improper due to its secrecy and lack of third-party review.

Whatever You Do, Don’t Pay Attention to the Rising Eurozone Stresses

One of the noteworthy elements of Davos, at least according to media accounts, was the cheery, self-congratulatory tone among the Davos Men, at least until the final day, when the emerging markets rout began. But one of the front they thought they’d gotten under control, Europe, may be about to enter a new phase of political stress.

The Supreme Position of the U.S. Dollar in New Financial Innovations and Instruments

New financial innovations and instruments contributed to halting the declining trend of the dollar as a debt-financing currency and reversed the falling role of the dollar in the 2000s.

Market Rout Continues, Proving Abject Failure of Fed’s Forecasts and Policies (Updated)

In case you missed it, it’s ugly out there. US markets swooned as an unexpectedly weak manufacturing report, the ISM, was so bad it couldn’t be attributed solely to bad weather and deepened investor funk.

Former IMF Chief Economist, Now India’s Central Bank Governor Rajan Takes Shot at Bernanke’s Destabilizing Policies

As Bernanke is about to take leave of office, attacks on his policies are becoming louder, thanks to financial markets turmoil resulting from the Bernanke/Geithner approach to the crisis: do whatever it takes to restore as much of status quo ante as possible. The problem, of course, is that status quo ante is what got us in this mess in the first place.

George Mangus Warns of Broad Impact of Emerging Markets Turbulence

In the runup to the global financial crisis, George Magnus, who was then chief economist at UBS, was one of the most insightful commentators and was early to call how bad things might get. He’s back to sound alarms about the emerging markets turmoil.

Mr. Market is Getting Frazzled Over the Fed’s Neglect of Its Pet Wishes

A brief surge of optimism, in the form of a short-lived rally in the belegured Turkish Lira and South African rand after their central banks raised interest rates to try to halt the plunge in currency values, has fizzled. And the Fed reducing its dosage of market tonic, in the form of QE, only soured investors’ already bad mood.

Mirabile Dictu! Post Office Bank Concept Gets Big Boost

Naked Capitalism readers have frequently called for the Post Office to offer basic banking services, as post offices long have in many countries, notably Japan. That idea has gotten an important official endorsement in the form of a detailed, extensively researched concept paper prepared by the Postal Service’s Inspector General.