naked capitalism Mon 2009-12-21 15:58 EST

Obama's demand that fat cats lend is no ode to Samuelson

Edward Harrison

...to-do about President Obama's fat cat remarks and his meeting with bankers exhorting them to lend...we are getting a bunch of populist rhetoric which is pure politics to induce banks to lend recklessly and save the economy when basic economics would tell you that there is a deficit of lending capacity and demand for credit. It is the absurd kabuki theater of depression economics...David Rosenberg...sees something altogether more cynical -- an orchestrated campaign to shame and bully banks into going against their fiduciary responsibility and lending irresponsibly again!...Easy money is not the solution, it is the problem. Jobs are the solution...fiscal policy is more effective than monetary policy in a depressionary environment. Quantitative easing is overrated.

fat cats lend; naked capitalism; Obama s demands; Ode; Samuelson.

naked capitalism Sun 2009-12-13 09:07 EST

Alan Grayson Asks Bernanke for Answers in Latest Retrade of AIG Deal

The ongoing tempest in a teapot about executive compensation at AIG appears to be a bit of Kabuki theater designed to divert attention from the real drama, which is the continuing sweetening of the deal to the troubled insurer...this deal could be considered a faked sale to generate a capital loss for the purposes of injecting Treasury funds into AIG without the consent of Congress.

AIG Deal; Alan Grayson Asks Bernanke; answers; Latest Retrade; naked capitalism.

The IRA Analyst Thu 2009-07-30 00:00 EDT

The Institutional Risk Analyst: Kabuki on the Potomac: Reforming Credit Default Swaps and OTC Derivatives

-- he Masters of the Universe who run the largest Wall Street firms of have learned not a thing when it comes to credit default swaps ("CDS") and other types of high-risk financial engineering. Indeed, not only are the largest derivative dealers fighting efforts to reform the CDS and other derivative instruments that caused the AIG fiasco, but regulators like the Federal Reserve Board and US Treasury are working with the banks to ensure that a small group of dealers increase their monopoly over the business of over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives.''

Institutional Risk Analyst; IRA Analyst; Kabuki; OTC derivative; Potomac; Reforming Credit Default Swaps.