Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Ireland Set to Go Bust
June 1st, 2009Via: Independent: A dire warning that the Republic is a prime candidate to go bust has come from one of the world’s leading economic historians. “The idea that countries don’t go bust is a joke,” said Niall Ferguson, Harvard professor and author of The Ascent of Money. “The debt trap may be about to spring” […]
Federal Reserve Puzzled by Yield Curve Steepening
June 1st, 2009Well .gov just went into the automobile manufacturing business. What could possible go wrong? Via: Reuters: The Federal Reserve is studying significant moves in the U.S. government bond market last week that could have big implications for the central bank’s strategy to combat the country’s recession. But the Fed is not really sure what is […]
“Black Swan” Author to Start Hedge Fund Betting on Hyperinflation
June 1st, 2009Ahyep. Via: Bloomberg: Universa Investments LP, which has links to “Black Swan” author and New York University professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb, is starting a hedge fund to bet that efforts by governments and central banks to end the global recession will lead to hyperinflation, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Taleb. The fund will invest […]
Dollar Under Pressure Again in Asia; Oil and Gold Up; Geithner Tells China Its Dollar Assets Are Safe, Room Erupts in Laughter
June 1st, 2009WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instruments. Disclosure: I own gold. I am a BullionVault client and affiliate. Gold longs with a short term outlook: Lock stops in here on the strength or take profit now. Resistance is just over head and the dollar is right around support. […]
GM to Seek Bankruptcy
June 1st, 2009UPDATE: GM Files for Bankruptcy Protection Via: Washington Post: General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection this morning, marking the end of financial independence for the 100-year-old industrial leviathan that once conflated its interests with the country’s and — counting jobs at the company and its suppliers — employed well over 1 million people. —End Update— […]
Government Motors: Majority of GM Bondholders Back Debt-for-Equity Deal
May 31st, 2009Via: Wall Street Journal: General Motors Corp. moved a step closer to what it hopes will be a smooth bankruptcy process after a majority of investors holding $27 billion in the company’s bonds agreed to forgive the debt for equity in the new company, people familiar with the situation said. A battle with the group […]
Loan Modifications: Redefault Rates May Reach 75%
May 31st, 2009Via: Wall Street Journal: A central tenet of Washington economic policy for the past three years has been that the key to ending the recession is stopping mortgage foreclosures, whatever the cost. Well, another new study shows that mortgage-servicing companies are having a terrible time of it, not least because the mortgages are continuing to […]
Rising U.S. Bond Yields May Spark Credit Crisis II
May 30th, 2009Via: Reuters: The global financial crisis may morph into a second, equally virulent phase where borrowing costs rise again, hobbling an embryonic economic recovery, debilitating cash-strapped banks, and punishing investors all over again. Early warnings signs of this scenario include surging government bond yields, a slumping U.S. dollar, and the fading of the bear market […]
Troubled Bank Loans Hit a Record High
May 30th, 2009Via: New York Times: OVERALL loan quality at American banks is the worst in at least a quarter century, and the quality of loans is deteriorating at the fastest pace ever, according to statistics released this week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The report highlighted that even as the government and major banks have […]
The Bond Vigilantes
May 29th, 2009Via: Bloomberg: Bonds usually rally when the economy is in recession and inflation is subdued. Gross domestic product dropped at a 5.7 percent annual pace in the first quarter, after contracting at a 6.3 percent rate in the last three months of 2008, according to the Commerce Department. This time it’s different because the Congressional […]
