Archive for August, 2008
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
It is time to quit telling ourselves bedtime tales of a Lennonesque future of universal peace and brotherhood.
There was no end to the Cold War, as Gorbachev made clear in his most recent speech. No more rubber chicken and honoraria for him. Russia used the last 15 years to replace ...
Posted in Energy Policy | No Comments »
Saturday, August 16th, 2008
Evan Newmark points out (WSJ, Aug 15, 2008) the fundamental facts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (henceforth F&F) existence. None of them are news but his conclusion, that F&F should be closed, is news of a sort. I have not seen this conclusion before in the popular press, although ...
Posted in The Banking Crisis, Federal Housing Agencies, Polticial Decisions Affecting Banking, When Regulation Goes Wrong | No Comments »
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
It is not the intent of this article to explain exactly what banks are doing to mislead investors with regard to the sale of auction-rate municipal securities. That is the trap into which most articles on the subject fall, and since confusing the public is the purpose of every significant ...
Posted in Games Bankers Play, The Banking Crisis, Bank Management, Polticial Decisions Affecting Banking | No Comments »
Friday, August 8th, 2008
We need to take an honest look at our financial system and a more pragmatic assessment of the possibility of putting it “back on its feet.” It is clear that the time when that was possible is gone. Our latest attempt was last week’s “Housing and Economic Recovery Act.” This ...
Posted in Creative Accounting, Bank Management, Polticial Decisions Affecting Banking | No Comments »