The Deal.com has a story about the Nature of Financial Reform in view of the World Credit Crisis which basically argues that reform in the US is hopeless because a)the regulators become captured by the very financial markets they are supposed to control and b) competitiveness of US financial firms will be jeopardized by regulations […]
Deal or No Deal: The Arguments Against Any Meaningful Financial Reforms Read More »
I have said it before but it bears repeating – the best feed on who, what and why on the ongoing Financial Fiasco is Felix Salmon at Reuters. Here is a delicious post on what has been happening at Harvard University and who had his finger in the pie. More Triple AAA reading.
Reuter’s Felix Salmon – The best Financial Fiasco Feed Read More »
It is hard to understand, let alone cope with, the kid glove treatment that the Financial community is getting from the Obama Financial team. Consider now that the population not just of the United State but the Whole World is suffering one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. Also an even worse Depression
Obama’s Failing Financial Reform Grades Read More »
Judge Denny Chin certainly got the sentencing right – Madoff’s crimes and motives were certainly heinous – almost like a serial financial murderer of no remorse. But there are still notable problems. In the past 3 years, there have been other monumental Financial misdeeds – and most of the perpertrators have gotten away scott free
After the Madoff Slam Dunk Read More »
The question confronting the Obama administration, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and its financial regulators is whether too much of the Financial Community has gone over to the Dark Side. This notion has two possible interpretations. Information Dark Side – The first idea posits that financial institutions have now become dependent on having corners on the
Has Too Much of the Financial Community Gone Over to the Dark Side ? Read More »
There is a consensus that Financial Reforms in the US are necessary and various Obama administration officials including SEC Chairman Shapiro, Treasury Secretary Geithner and the President himself have acknowledged the need. Certainly the US and the rest of the world can ill-afford another “financial bubble” exploding in the next 5-10 years. Simply the ability
US Financial Reform Options Read More »
In the previous posting, the notion that the Obama Admin is seriously caving in on Financial Reforms has been advanced. An RTP – Required To Prove series of references is needed. Here they are: DealScape – Says WSJ is fleshing out a story that shows real financial structural reform is out NYTimes+Deal.com – discussion of
RTP: Financial Kid Glove Treatment by Obama Admin Read More »
President Obama is being touted for a)eliciting opinions from all players in the policy room and b)allowing (if not encouraging) contrarian opinions in policy debates. This is what the Obama Contrarian series of postings will be about. This first posting is about the kid glove treatment the Financial Community appears to be getting from the
Obama Contrarian: Financial Kid Glove Treatment Read More »
Business Week has four excellent articles about the current economic trends that indicate the US Economy and Recovery could take a big fall in June: Oil Prices Resist the Worlds Recession – why oil prices will lead stagflation June 1st update:oil prices are up 6% from when this was written Why a GM Bankruptcy Would
Why Markets May Take a Big Fall in June Read More »
You gotta read this story about PennyMac from the people who brought you the Mortgage meltdown – the graduates of CountryWide Financial. The business model is quite simple – “goes to a demolished bank or the FDIC and buys up delinquent mortgages at, say, 20 cents on the dollar. Kurland’s people then call the delinquent
Only in America: Mortgage Machinations Read More »
“Recently we were uplifted when the president informed Chrysler’s secured creditors that they had agreed to donate their ownership stake in the company to the United Auto Workers. Just last week, we were enthralled to see a group of auto executives beaming with pride as the president announced that in order to reduce gas consumption,
Who Wrote These Words ? Read More »
One my greatest fears is that the North American Innovation Machine may be badly broken. In a previous post, Chevrolet Volt and LED Lights, I raised the issue of premature adoption of new technologies that are going to be needed in the green and “less is more” revolutions that will be adopted or, later, imposed
Innovation Markets Failing Read More »
We need Wall Street greed control. Why greed control ? Time after time reporters of the financial scene are telling us that unbridled greed spurred otherwise rational bankers and other financial executives to make the stupid bets that has caused the mortgage meltdown and spread a recession throughout the world while many people in developed country’s around the world
Six Sigma Compensation Read More »
It is curious how two article on the Credit Crunch raise more clearly the issue of financial oligarchs controling more of the political economic scene in the US. Here are the two article. One is by David Brooks at the NYTimes – Greed and Stupidity and other, cited also by Brooks, is Simon Johnson’s the
Cause of the Credit Crunch:Oligarchs or Stupid Fools? Read More »
Chrysler has gone into bankruptcy – but not quietly. Every party took “shared sacrifices” – the major banks, the unionized employees, the company’s management, dealers and shareholders and …. oops the smallest group of debtholders – a group of hedge funds and other risk-taking investment firms calling themselves The Committee of Non-TARP Lenders of Chrysler,”
The Chrysler Brinksmen Read More »
One of the reasons that the current Financial Implosion was not bigger and more horrific than it could have been, can be credited to the much maligned SOX. No, not the Baseball’s Red Sox or White Sox but rather the Sarbanes Oxley law. This fairly simple legislation cuts off plausible deniability and other financial accounting
There are two books that I am “reading” and they have an intriguing confluence. One is the Tale of Two Cities in audiobook format. This is Charles Dickens’ alternately brutal and romantic tale of the French Revolutionary Times – it might be thought of as one of the first thriller novels. This audiobook reading of
A Tale of Two Books Read More »
What did PC Financial Insurance do ? Not really much in the general financial sweep of things these days. It discontinued its Auto Insurance business. However, PC Financial did not inform its customers of the fact. No calls, no emails, no contact whatsoever. The only way I discovered the fact was because I wrote a
Presidents Choice Financial – Endemic Financial Disservice Read More »
During the past 5 days in Toronto I have been working in the big beautiful Metro library on a special web study. And I have seen a whole slew of people pounding the EliteBooks for the upcoming CFA 2009 exams in June. CFA is the Certified Financial Analyst designation that is vital to getting a
A Financial Parable Read More »
The comment here is that recent presidents are crying wolf over “Emergency situations” in order to accrue power and support for near unilateral policy making. The two debaters are saying that both Barack Obama and George Bush have been engaging in a Ponzi scheme for power instead of money based on National Emergency Cry Wolf.
Emergency, Emergency Read More »
George Will is chief political columnist at Newsweek, ABC TV’s This Week commentator, and a deeply convinced and convicted conservative. It was at George Will’s place in Washington, that newly inagurated President Barack Obama came for dinner and a frank conversation among the elite conservative thinkers in the US. I share George Will’s love of
George Will: The Markets Aint Misbehavin’ Read More »
Barack Obama is miles ahead of his previous two predecessors, George W Bush and Bill Clinton in being frank and candid with the American people about the nature of the problems they face. For example, Barack Obama has been bluntly honest about the nature and depth of the economic problems caused by the Credit Crisis
Barack Obama: the Unspoken Truths Read More »
The Financial Times has some great video interviews on the Financial Credit Crunch. The Future of Capitalism UK Lending – Draconian View The European view is more prescient and challenging of the mechanisms of the banks. The recommendations of George Soros on derivatives are echoed in the second video.
The Financial Times Interviews Read More »
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner speaks to Wall Street about the fact that financial reforms are needed because countries like China, Russia and the European Union are demanding changes. He outlines their nature and timing in a series of talks here at the Wall Street Journal.
Geithner Speaks to Wall Street via WSJ on Financial Reform Read More »
Last week there was the Brawl Street confrontation between Daily Show’s John Stewart and CNBC’s Jim Cramer. It was interesting to see a review of the Brawl on the NYTimes Web Front Page. But even more distressive was the fact that the big Sunday Morning news shows like NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC’s This Week,
Firefly Financial Parable Read More »
In mathematics QED Quod Est Demonstrandum is used at the end of a proof. It means that which was required to be proved has now been provided for all to see. I have been arguing for the past two years that the US Financial System has gone off the rails because unmitigated greed (I have
This last weekend, SNL-Saturday Night Live had a great skit lampooning US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his largely futile efforts to get the US Banking crisis stabilized let alone under control. The skit started with one of those press conference settings, “Geithner” at the podium under the seal of the US Treasury Department. First,
Some Modest Financial Proposals Read More »
One of the arguments on how society got itself into the Boom-bust Business of blowing highly disruptive Financial and Economic Bubbles every 10-15 years is because our collective societal view is far too short. “Next quarters financial results” driven stock markets. Or advertising fashion changing every ratings blitz. Or political stature being poll driven. This
The New York Times is sponsoring on its website a very interesting, challenging and hoefully helpful blog, Room for Debate.The idea is to have 4 experts in the field address a serious contemporary issue/question and use that base to constitute the forum for debate by readers and commentators. Yes it is risky business because online
Future Job Markets in the Good Old USA Read More »
Portfolio Magazine has been following the financial swanfall with some salient reporting. One of the best is the blog of Felix Salmon. He has at least 3-4 very interesting posts per day. Take this one on how the Hedge Fund Model has broken down: It’s becoming increasingly clear that the standard hedge fund incentive model
Felix Salmon : Prolific at Portfolio Read More »
No time is a good time for incompetence but it appears even under Obama incompetence in the position of US Treasury Secretary has won out again. For Tim Geithner appears to be Henry Paulson II. Now I should immediately qualify the word “incompetence” and replace it with deliberate deviance. This deliberate deviance is sort of like Mr.Geithner’s
As a “foreign” observer I was struck by two things in the inaugural address: First, the direct repudiation of the former President and VicePresident to their faces on the shortfall of “ends justifies the means” arguments regarding dispensing with rule of law in wartime(read “torture” in Iraq, Quantanamo Bay, Iraq’a Abu Ghraib, Rendition flights, etc)
Observations on Obama’s Inaugural Address Read More »
