Category Archives: Curiousities

Song of the Robber Baron

The latest Versus econoparody: And since this is a Friday night, let me give you a couple of personal faves. This one from O Lucky Man! is similar philosophically but very different stylistically. This Lindsay Anderson film (with Malcolm McDowell) has the interesting device of treating the band as a Greek chorus. During the picture, […]

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Meet GMAC’s Robo Signer Jeffrey Stephan

See this video ofthe deposition of GMAC’s famed robo signer, Jeffrey Stephan, who estimates that he signs 10,000 documents a month. If nothing else, you need to watch from 5:00 to the end of the first segment. Hat tip reader Barbara W, from 4closureFraud.org. I wish the sound quality were better; you can also read […]

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More on China’s Renminbi Headfake

It was hard to miss the Chinese central bank’s announcement last weekend that it was implementing a ore “flexible” policy toward managing its currency. Numerous Western officials and analysts declared the statement to be a major move, signaling China’s willingness to allow the renminbi to appreciate to a meaningful degree. We, by contrast, called it […]

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Has Much Changed on Wall Street Since the Roaring (and Ripoffsky) Twenties?

I must confess that I am only now reading John Brook’s classic Once in Golconda, which is a history of Wall Street from the 1920 to 1938. It’s a heady mix of lush and leisurely narrative with keen attention to financial tradecraft. Of course, any tale that involves market manipulation, no matter how far in […]

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Wray: The Great Depression and the Revolution of 2017

By L. Randall Wray, a Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City who writes at New Economic Perspectives WASHINGTON, 7 NOVEMBER 2017*. Yesterday Speaker of the House Dennis Kucinich was sworn in as President, replacing President Jeb Bush, who had fled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, aboard Air Force One seeking asylum in his […]

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“Treasury Harnesses the Power of Wind”

No joke, that is the headline of a bona fide e-mail from the Treasury. Whoever wrote this press release seems to have an insufficient appreciation of irony. The first paragraph: To mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced that beginning July 31, 2010 the main Treasury building […]

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JPMorgan gets paid to borrow $271 billion

We know that JPMorgan is not substantially increasing lending anytime soon. And we also know that banks are recapitalizing courtesy of a steep yield curve and near zero rates, what I would call free money.  What I didn’t know is how free these funds truly were. An investor friend pointed out something curious buried deep […]

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