Thu 2009-10-22 14:25 EDT

Nieman Watchdog > Commentary > Where's the reporting on the fraud that led to the crash?

University of Texas economist and author James Galbraith believes the press has paid too little attention to investigating the ``criminal and felonious behavior'' involved in the economic crash of last year. ``The press as a whole used [Ponzi-schemer] Bernie Madoff as the emblem of wrongdoing, but compared to the wrongdoing in the housing sector, the Madoff scandal was small-bore,'' Galbraith told Nieman Watchdog in a recent interview. ``The press has tended a bit to treat this issue [mortgage related fraud] as a kind of boys-will-be-boys phenomenon. The press has not been aggressive in investigating this the way they should, to point out to readers the extent to which we're talking about fraud -- criminal, felonious behavior -- that will end up with people in the penitentiary.''

commentary; Crash; fraud; led; Nieman Watchdog; report; s.

Wed 2009-10-14 12:45 EDT

Who Needs Big Banks? >> The Baseline Scenario

James Kwak

...The American Dream is for people, not companies. And people dream of working hard, being successful, making money, and having an impact on the world...This whole argument, that global companies need massive banks, is one of those things that sound plausible until you actually start thinking about them.

Baseline Scenario; Needs Big Banks.

The Baseline Scenario Thu 2009-10-08 16:52 EDT

The Problem with Securitization

James Kwak

The New York Times has a story on ``Paralysis in the Debt Markets'' which says, basically, that credit has dried up because of lack of demand for asset-backed securities. In English, that means that since no one wants to invest in securities that are made out of home mortgages, the people who originate mortgages have no place to sell the mortgages to, so they don't have any money to lend. And this is also true of commercial real estate, student loans, and so on. For example, ``A once-thriving private market in securities backed by home mortgages has collapsed, from $744 billion in 2005, at the peak of the housing boom, to $8 billion during the first half of this year.''...the private market may never recover. The boom in securitization was based on investors' willingness to believe what investment banks and credit rating agencies said about these securities.

Baseline Scenario; problem; securitizations.

Tue 2009-09-22 08:32 EDT

From Bear to Bull: James Grant on Recession and Recovery - WSJ.com

James Grant

James Grant argues the latest gloomy forecasts ignore an important lesson of history: The deeper the slump, the zippier the recovery.

Bear; Bulls; com; James Grant; Recession; recovery; WSJ.

Minyanville Thu 2009-09-03 11:31 EDT

Tred Carefully When Trading UNG

James Kostohryz

The collapse of the natural gas market in the US has been breathtaking. And if you need anything else to worry about United States Natural Gas (UNG) -- which is in the midst of a massive liquidation -- is selling at a premium somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% relative to the spot price of the commodity. Thus the end to the carnage is not apparent.

Minyanville; Trading UNG; Tred Carefully.

Fri 2009-07-24 00:00 EDT

Jesse's Café Américain: The Cause of the Financial Crisis

Jesse's Café Américain: The Cause of the Financial Crisis -- James K. Galbraith; Jamie Galbraith leaves out political corruption and Alan Greenspan

caused; Financial Crisis; Jesse's Café Américain.

Thu 2009-07-23 00:00 EDT

Jesse's Café Américain: The Cause of the Financial Crisis

Jesse's Café Américain: The Cause of the Financial Crisis, James K. Galbraith on Causes of the Crisis

caused; Financial Crisis; Jesse's Café Américain.

Thu 2009-07-23 00:00 EDT

The Texas Observer > Commentary by James K. Galbraith -

The Texas Observer > Commentary by James K. Galbraith - Causes of the Crisis; ``The idea that capitalism...is inherently self-stabilizing'', former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, and ``abandonment of state responsibility for financial regulation''

commentary; James K. Galbraith; Texas Observer.

Mon 2009-02-16 00:00 EST

AlterNet: Yard Sale Nation: The Change Required to Salvage U.S Society Runs Much Deeper Than Most Imagine

by James Howard Kunstler

AlterNet; change require; deeper; imagine; Salvage U.S Society Runs; Yard Sale Nation.

Fri 2009-01-16 00:00 EST

Jesse's Café Américain: The Predator Class

Jesse's Café Américain: The Predator Class; James K. Galbraith, The Predator State; ``the system is badly out of balance, and will have to be restored by meaningful reform''

Jesse's Café Américain; Predator Class.

Fri 2009-01-16 00:00 EST

The Predator State

by James K. Galbraith (2006); ``the signature of modern American capitalism...predation...wherein the rich have come to feast on decaying systems built for the middle class''

Predator state.

Tue 2009-01-06 00:00 EST

Jesse's Café Américain: US Treasuries and our Horribly Distorted International Currency Exchange Mechanism

Jesse's Café Américain: US Treasuries and our Horribly Distorted International Currency Exchange Mechanism; ``The key to recovery is the median real hourly wage, not the further expansion of credit and the perpetuation of an economic system based on an inefficient drag on economic growth by percentage-taking banks and rent-seeking elites who add little or no productive value.''; James Grant: Insight: Return-free risk

Horribly Distorted International Currency Exchange Mechanism; Jesse's Café Américain; Treasury.

Wed 2008-12-10 00:00 EST

AlterNet: Zombie Economics: Don't Bail out the System that Gave Us SUVs and Strip Malls

by James Howard Kunstler

AlterNet; bailed; gave; Strip-Mall; SUV; Systems; Zombie Economics.

Tue 2008-10-07 00:00 EDT

Six Questions for James Galbraith on the Financial Crisis and the Bailout--By Ken Silverstein (Harper's Magazine)

Six Questions for James Galbraith on the Financial Crisis and the Bailout--By Ken Silverstein (Harper's Magazine)

Bailout; Financial Crisis; Harper's Magazine; James Galbraith; Ken Silverstein; questions.

Tue 2008-10-07 00:00 EDT

James K. Galbraith - A Bailout We Don't Need

(Washington Post)

Bailout; James K. Galbraith; needed.

Tue 2008-10-07 00:00 EDT

James Grant - Bad Medicine

(Washington Post); ``Low interest rates, easy money and malleable accounting rules are what plunged Wall Street into crisis. Yet it is low interest rates, easy money and malleable accounting rules that top the list of federal fixes''

Bad Medicine; James Grant.