What Does ‘Blame Emphasis’ Reveal?
I was reading this piece from Michael Hiltzik of the L.A. Times, and I was struck by something intriguing. The debate over the deficit is quite revealing about the speaker: What they choose to omit is every bit as important as what they emphasize. Consider these two short paragraphs: “As Henry Aaron of the Brookings...
Housing Roller Coaster
John Sherffius has this terrific depiction of the next leg down in housing. (Sherffius contributed cartoons and did the cover of Bailout Nation): > Source: John Sherffius
Why Not Prosecute Nonfeasant Regulators?
The “Datapoint of the Day” comes from the NYT column we referenced yesterday: The mind-boggling drop in Justice Department criminal referrals over the past decade. I find this specific factoid astounding: “Data supplied by the Justice Department and compiled by a group at Syracuse University show that over the last decade, regulators have referred substantially...
The Wall Street Leviathan
This morning’s must read MSM piece is over at NYRB: The Wall Street Leviathan. Jeff Madrick simultaneously reviews: • Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Final Report • Inside Job • Regulating Wall Street: The Dodd-Frank Act and the New Architecture of Global Finance • Reforming US Financial Markets: Reflections Before and Beyond Dodd-Frank This should give...
The Wall Street Leviathan
This morning’s must read MSM piece is over at NYRB: The Wall Street Leviathan. Jeff Madrick simultaneously reviews: • Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Final Report • Inside Job • Regulating Wall Street: The Dodd-Frank Act and the New Architecture of Global Finance • Reforming US Financial Markets: Reflections Before and Beyond Dodd-Frank This should give...
Corporate Logos Reflect Company Principles
John Sherffius, who did the cover (and the awesome cartoons) for Bailout Nation, takes his own satirical swipe at GE: > via John Sherfius
Have you seen the little PIIGs?
In their starched white shirts . . .
PIIGs: 5 Year CDS
chart via Bianco Research
Wall Street Pay Hits Record Highs (and . . . ?)
The Finance sector is back to record revenue, and of course, record bonuses and pay. I was surprised to see how much greater the Commercial Bank revenue and comp was versus Wall Street totals. When you think about it, they have many more assets, transactions and commercial activity than Wall Street does, so it makes...
No, Not Every Crisis Book Overlooked Citigroup
“The F.C.I.C. is the first to take a close look at the missteps at Citigroup, which virtually every book about the financial crisis has overlooked. It is a devastating portrait of negligence at the top — including the once sainted Robert Rubin.” -Joe Nocera, NYT, Inquiry Is Missing Bottom Line > Say it ain’t so,...
Blame the Accountants — and Deregulation
I never want to make excuses for the excesses of Wall Street or the horrific judgment exercised by iBank management — you cannot, its inexcusable — but it long past time we begin holding the Street’s grand enabler’s responsible for their actions. Which brings me to the accountants. The New York attorney general may be...
Dear Uncle Sucker . . .
For many years, I’ve been a fan of Warren Buffett’s long term approach to value investing. Understanding the value of a company, regardless of its momentary stock price, is a great long term investing strategy. But it pains me whenever I read commentary from Buffett that glosses over reality or is somehow self-serving. His OpEd...
Darwin’s Law of Maladaptive Corporate Behavior (or, why bailouts are nearly always a terrible idea)
What is more important than survival? On planet Earth, nothing. The most basic rule of life is SURVIVE. The Biological imperative of living things is to perpetuate their existence — survive, procreate, further the species. It is hardwired in the DNA of every living organism. Those that do not succeed in satisfying these imperatives are...
