Category Archives: Credit markets

The SEC Finally Takes an Interest in Collateralized Loan Obligations

The old saying is “better late than never,” but as we hope to demonstrate, the SEC is awfully late to take an interest in collateralized loan obligations. The problems it has gotten curious about now were discernible years ago. And the failure to take interest until now means that misbehavior that was discussed in the press during the crisis is almost certain to go unpunished, since the statute of limitations for securities law violations has passed.

Philip Pilkington: Bank of England Endorses Post-Keynesian Endogenous Money Theory

Yves here. Not only is the Bank of England siding with Post-Keynesian ideas about money, but it has even taken to creating layperson-friendly videos about the nature of money.

Is UCC Article 9 Going to Kill the Use of Bitcoin by US Businesses?

Warning to Bitcoin enthusiasts: if you airily try dismissing UCC Article 9 as a nothigburger, you’ve just established you are unqualified to comment on commercial transactions in the US. Read what follows and be warned.

Bill Black at TED Explains How Insiders Rob Banks and Cause Crises

A presentation by Bill Black disproves that TED only features elite-flattering conventional wisdom.

New In-Depth Study Shows How Debt Collectors Abuse Legal System and Borrowers

The Loyola Consumer Law Review has just released an important paper by Peter Holland of the University of Maryland Francis School of Law. It’s a large scale statistical study, the first of its kind. Its conclusions are not pretty.

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.