naked capitalism Mon 2010-07-19 17:02 EDT

Elizabeth Warren in Treasury Crosshairs Again, Geithner Opposes Her as Head of Consumer Financial Services Protection Agency

To say there is no love lost between Treasury and Elizabeth Warren is probably putting it mildly. Treasury was gunning for her ouster in early 2009...During the period when the COP was openly and effectively critical of the TARP, there was also a full court press in the media against Warren. Warren is the obvious choice to head the otherwise-guaranteed-to-be-a-joke consumer financial services agency due to set up its shingle at the Fed. She has been a tireless consumer advocate, is trusted and well liked by the public at large, an effective communicator and a respected legal scholar, and is willing to stare down political opponents. All those qualities make her hugely threatening. Banksters and their lobbyist allies have been saying loudly and clearly that they are firmly opposed to having Warren head the new consumer agency. So, predictably, Geithner acts as their water-carrier...this Administration...may actually see loss of the Democrat majority in the House as a win (as in is finding creative ways to rationalize its fallen standing as a possible longer-term advantage). First, it allows Team Obama to blame whatever happens (or fails to happen) on the Republicans. Second, it gives the Administration plenty of air cover to become more openly corporatist (recall Clinton's famed move to the right after the 1994 mid term debacle).

Consumer Financial Services Protection Agency; Elizabeth Warren; Geithner opposes; Head; naked capitalism; Treasury Crosshairs.

Rajiv Sethi Tue 2010-06-15 14:25 EDT

Defenders and Demonizers of Credit Default Swaps

Rajiv Sethi

The recent difficulties faced by Greece (and some other eurozone states) in rolling over their national debt has let some to blame hedge fund involvement in the market for credit default swaps...Leaving aside the question of whether naked CDS trading has been good or bad for Greece, it is worth asking whether there exist mechanisms through which such contracts can ever have destabilizing effects. I believe that they can, for reasons that Salmon and Jones would do well to consider...such contracts allow pessimists to leverage (much more so than they could if they were to short bonds instead). The resulting increase in the cost of borrowing, which will rise in tandem with higher CDS spreads, can make the difference between solvency and insolvency. And recognition of this process can tempt those who are not otherwise pessimistic to bet on default, as long as they are confident that enough of their peers will also do so. This clearly creates an incentive for coordinated manipulation...

Credit Default Swap; defending; demonic; Rajiv Sethi.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis Sat 2010-05-22 13:55 EDT

Richard Koo On Why This Recession Is Different; Mish On What To Do About It

Michael Shedlock

The Business Insider has a very interesting presentation by Richard Koo on The Real Reason Why This Recession Is Completely Different...The reason the recession is different is this is credit bubble busting depression not a recession. The effects are masked because of food stamps, unemployment insurance, and because of foreclosure policy...Koo blames cutbacks in fiscal stimulus in 1999 and 2001 as the reason Japan remains mired in deflation. I do not buy it...The real lesson is no matter how much money you throw around, economies cannot recover until noncollectable debts are written off...The moment fiscal stimulus stops economies are virtually guaranteed to relapse until the core problem is resolved. The problem is Asset Bubbles, Malinvestments, and debts that cannot possibly be collected...

different; Mish; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis; Recession; Richard Koo.

Tue 2010-05-18 14:16 EDT

billy blog >> Blog Archive >> The enemies from within

...Unemployment is the major source of poverty whether it be in a advanced or developing country. It is alienating, soul destroying, extends its costs well beyond the individual and the income losses alone dwarf the costs arising from so-called microeconomic inefficiencies. The daily loss of GDP involved in not having all available workers doing something productive is mammoth. It is a no-brainer that it is the large economic problem that should be solved in any country...If the private sector cannot produce enough then there is only one sector left ladies and gentleman who can do the trick!...Given the private sector doesn't want to spend at present -- and you cannot blame them for that given the appalling state of their balance sheets and the very unsteady housing market -- there is a danger that demand will drop further unless the government adds to its stimulus packages...the US is an economy that desperately needs more aggregate demand. The only constraint on employment is the lack of spending and there is no financial constraint that exists in a fiat monetary system that prevents the government from eliminating that demand deficiency...

Billy Blog; blogs Archive; enemies.

naked capitalism Fri 2010-03-19 19:57 EDT

NY Fed Under Geithner Implicated in Lehman Accounting Fraud Allegation

Quite a few observers, including this blogger, have been stunned and frustrated at the refusal to investigate what was almost certain accounting fraud at Lehman. Despite the bankruptcy administrator's effort to blame the gaping hole in Lehman's balance sheet on its disorderly collapse, the idea that the firm, which was by its own accounts solvent, would suddenly spring a roughly $130+ billion hole in its $660 balance sheet, is simply implausible on its face. Indeed, it was such common knowledge in the Lehman flailing about period that Lehman's accounts were sus that Hank Paulson's recent book mentions repeatedly that Lehman's valuations were phony as if it were no big deal. Well, it is folks, as a newly-released examiner's report by Anton Valukas in connection with the Lehman bankruptcy makes clear. The unraveling isn't merely implicating Fuld and his recent succession of CFOs, or its accounting firm, Ernst & Young, as might be expected. It also emerges that the NY Fed, and thus Timothy Geithner, were at a minimum massively derelict in the performance of their duties, and may well be culpable in aiding and abetting Lehman in accounting fraud and Sarbox violations...

Geithner Implicated; Lehman Accounting Fraud Allegation; naked capitalism; NY Fed.

naked capitalism Mon 2010-01-11 20:12 EST

Guest Post: The Military-Industrial Compex is Ruining the Economy

George Washington

Everyone knows that the too big to fails and their dishonest and footsy-playing regulators and politicians are largely responsible for trashing the economy. But the military-industrial complex shares much of the blame.

economy; Guest Post; Military-Industrial Compex; naked capitalism; ruins.

naked capitalism Wed 2009-12-23 10:03 EST

Guest Post: The Real Reason Newspapers Are Losing Money, And Why Bailing Out Failing Newspapers Would Create Moral Hazard in the Media

Washington's Blog

Conventional wisdom is that the Internet is responsible for destroying the profits of traditional print media like newspapers. But Michael Moore and Sean Paul Kelley are blaming the demise of newspapers on simple greed.

bailed; creating moral hazard; Failing Newspaper; Guest Post; lose money; media; naked capitalism; real reason newspapers.

Fri 2009-09-04 19:05 EDT

Lehman downfall triggered by UK and US mix-up

*** Communication breakdown revealed in first-hand accounts of bank collapse *** Blame game goes on as G20 ministers prepare for crucial London talks A breakdown in communications at the highest level between the US and the UK led to the shock collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers in September last year, a Guardian/Observer investigation has revealed. The downfall of Lehman, which triggered the biggest banking crisis since the Great Depression, came after a rescue bid by the high street bank Barclays failed to materialise. In London, the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority all believed that the US government would step in with a financial guarantee for the troubled Wall Street bank.

Lehman downfall triggered; mixed; UK.

zero hedge Fri 2009-08-28 17:03 EDT

One Man's Critique Of A Loose Monetary Policy

It seems these days everyone is happy to blame Greenspan for creating the biggest housing/credit bubble in American history, yet few have the same problem when it comes to voicing their support of Ben Bernanke, who is repeating exactly the same monetary steps (mistakes) as performed by his predecessor. Proponents will say that this time the justification was to prevent a full financial systemic collapse, and the trillions of excess liquidity (an approach that even Greenspan did not embark on full bore) that drowned the capital markets were just what the doctor ordered. Whether that is true or not will be debated by historians who analyze the 2009 as the year when China, the US and the Eurozone let loose the most unprecedented monetary loosening in the history of...

loose monetary policy; Man's Critique; Zero Hedge.

Fri 2009-07-24 00:00 EDT

Economic Meltdown - Articles: The Roots of the Financial Crisis: Who Is to Blame?

-- John Dunbar, David Donald; top 25 subprime lenders; wall street backers; banks that financed subprime industry collecting bailout billions

article; blames; economic meltdown; Financial Crisis; rooted.

Fri 2009-07-24 00:00 EDT

Salon.com | Who caused the economic crisis?

Salon.com | Who caused the economic crisis? Economist Simon Johnson and "Obamanomics" author John Talbott say there's plenty of blame to go around

caused; com; Economic Crisis; Salon.

Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

Jesse's Café Américain: Mr. Pot Calling Mr. Kettle. Mr. Pot Calling Mr. Kettle.

Jesse's Café Américain: Mr. Pot Calling Mr. Kettle. Mr. Pot Calling Mr. Kettle.; Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman blames rating agencies; ``The destruction of the real wealth was in the bubble when the middle class was systematically destroyed. This is just the settling of accounts. What we are seeing now is the paint peeling off the rotten economy which the financiers created for their personal benefit.''

Jesse's Café Américain; Mr. Pot Calling Mr. Kettle.

Sun 2008-11-23 00:00 EST

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Citigroup Blames Short Sellers For Collapse

Citigroup Blames Short Sellers; Collapse; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis.

Fri 2008-11-07 00:00 EST

Matt Taibbi and Byron York Butt Heads Over Whether McCain Deserves Blame for the Wall Street Meltdown -- Daily Intel -- New York News Blog -- New York Magazine

Byron York Butt Heads; Daily Intel; Matt Taibbi; New York magazine; New York News Blog; Wall Street Meltdown; Whether McCain Deserves Blame.

Wed 2008-07-09 00:00 EDT

naked capitalism: Wolfgang Munchau: Maybe the Economists Are to Blame After All

"policies to avoid recessions do more damage in the long run than letting slumps run their course."

blames; Economist; Maybe; naked capitalism; Wolfgang Munchau.

Thu 2008-05-29 00:00 EDT

Jeff Matthews Is Not Making This Up: Congress Blames the Hedge Funds--Yeah, That's It!

Jeff Matthews Is Not Making This Up: Congress Blames the Hedge Funds--Yeah, That's It! commodity speculation trumped by oil price fundamentals

Congress blames; Hedge funds; Jeff Matthews; makes.

Thu 2008-05-22 00:00 EDT

Jesse's Café Américain: Moody's Stock Craters on Revelations it Marked Dodgy Debt Aaa for Sale to Europe - Blames a Computer

Jesse's Café Américain: Moody's Stock Craters on Revelations it Marked Dodgy Debt Aaa for Sale to Europe - Blames a Computer; "appearance of a collusion to defraud European investors"

blames; computers; Europe; Jesse's Café Américain; Marked Dodgy Debt Aaa; Moody's Stock Craters; revelations; sales.

Tue 2008-05-13 00:00 EDT

Blame the models | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists

Blame the models, by Jon Danielsson; model-driven mispricing enabled credit crisis

blames; commentary; leading economists; model; research-based policy analysis; Vox.

Mon 2008-05-12 00:00 EDT

naked capitalism: "Blame the Models"

fooling oneself with models; Susan Webber on corporate obsession with metrics; Jon Danielsson argues management primary, models secondary

blames; model; naked capitalism.

Mon 2008-03-31 00:00 EDT

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: The Fed And The Henhouse

recap of the credit implosion, blame laid on Congress, GSEs, SEC, and especially the Fed

Fed; Henhouse; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis.

Sun 2007-12-16 00:00 EST

naked capitalism: SIV Rescue Plan: R.I.P; Is Paulson's Process to Blame?

improve outcomes on tough issues by separating problem definition from problem solving

blames; naked capitalism; Paulson's Process; R.I.P; SIV Rescue Plan.

Sun 2007-11-25 00:00 EST

Money Matters: Oil, War and Inflation: Blaming The Wrong People Like China

by Elaine Meinel Supkis

blames; China; Inflation; money matters; Oil; war; wrong people.

Fri 2007-09-14 00:00 EDT

DealBreaker.com

DealBreaker: Northern Wreck, by John Carney; BOE bails out Northern Rock, blames US subprime market

com; Dealbreaker.

Wed 2007-08-29 00:00 EDT

Calls grow louder for international overview of U.S. markets - Print Version - International Herald Tribune

Calls grow louder for international overview of U.S. markets, by Heather Timmons and Katrin Bennhold (International Herald Tribune); Loan crisis blamed on lax regulators

calls grow louder; internal overview; International Herald Tribune; Print version; U.S. market.

Tue 2007-03-20 00:00 EDT

RGE - Who is to Blame for the Mortgage Carnage and Coming Financial Disaster? Unregulated Free Market Fundamentalism Zealotry

by Nouriel Roubini

blames; Coming Financial Disaster; Mortgage Carnage; RGE; Unregulated Free Market Fundamentalism Zealotry.

Mon 2007-03-19 00:00 EDT

RGE - Who is to Blame for the Mortgage Carnage and Coming Financial Disaster? Unregulated Free Market Fundamentalism Zealotry

blames; Coming Financial Disaster; Mortgage Carnage; RGE; Unregulated Free Market Fundamentalism Zealotry.

Fri 2003-04-18 00:00 EDT

The Register

-- IBM's DB2 blamed for Danish banking crisis

Register.