Obama had Paul Volcker at his side when he announced his new plan to regulate the big banks. This is a big deal. It may signal the beginning of the end for the of reign of Larry Summers and Treasury Secretary Geithner over Obama’s economic and financial policies.
By giving the big banks every possible [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Economy'
Paul Volcker’s Influence Rises
January 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Bailout, Banks, Corporate Power, Economy, Federal Reserve, Financial, Obama, Stock Market, Treasury, Wall Street
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“Home Builders (You Heard That Right) Get a Gift”
November 16th, 2009 · No Comments · Bailout, Corporate Power, Economy, Policy, Taxpayers, Wall Street
The latest outrage is revealed in this New York Times article. Next to the Wall Street banks is their any group less deserving of taxpayer largess than the big homebuilders that reaped the benefits of Wall Street’s mortgage financing bonanza? I can’t think of one. Well, read it and weep. The latest handout – to [...]
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Where is the Market Headed?
August 16th, 2009 · No Comments · Economy, Federal Reserve, Policy, Stock Market
In answer to the question posed by the title, “Anyone’s guess is as good as mine.”
Faithful readers will have noted that I have posted nothing about the market or economy for quite some time. The reason is that I’ve concluded that the sources that I’ve been reproducing here have not been helpful for those [...]
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The “Correction” Has Arrived
July 7th, 2009 · No Comments · Bonds, Commodities, Economy, Global Economy, Stock Market, Technical Analysis
It is no news that the market has ceased to follow its apparently unrelenting advance. For the last month, it couldn’t get above 950 on the S&P. It bounced around between 950 and 930. Commentators that I follow became increasingly cautious about the market, warning that a downturn seemed likely. When the S&P broke below [...]
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Why I’m Discouraged
July 1st, 2009 · 1 Comment · Bailout, Banks, Commodities, Corporate Power, Debt, Economy, Federal Reserve, Financial, Global Economy, Obama, Policy, Politics, Stock Market, Treasury, Wall Street
I’ve been discouraged for some time by Obama’s apparent reliance for advice on two of the architects of the transfer of wealth and power to the mega investment banks. Larry Summers, who is the economic adviser on whom Obama relies most heavily, led the push for repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in the Clinton Administration. [...]
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Comparing the Current Downturn with Previous Ones
June 12th, 2009 · No Comments · Economy, Financial, Global Economy
A very interesting set of charts comparing the present recession to the Great Depression and the average of other recessions, prepared by Paul Schwartz of the Council on Foreign Relations. Here is one sample chart of the extensive collection, together with the introduction. The full report is an Acrobat file.
It shows that this is a [...]
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A Tale of Two Depressions
June 8th, 2009 · No Comments · Analysis, Bonds, Debt, Economics, Economy, Federal Reserve, Global Economy, Interest rates, Stimulus, Stock Market, Treasury
The “Tale of Two Depressions” updates an earlier column (“up to April 2009) that graphically compared many aspects of global economic activity in the Great Depression and the recent past. The key findings of this comparison are: 1) many aspects of real economic activity are closely following the downward path of the Great Depression; 2) [...]
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The “Other” Markets Are the Big News – Bill Gross of PIMCO
June 7th, 2009 · No Comments · Bonds, Deficit, Economy, Interest rates, Stock Market
While most attention focuses on the stock market in the popular media, the big news of late has been in the bond and foreign exchange markets. Interest rates on government treasuries have been rising rapidly and the dollar has been plummeting equally rapidly. What is this about and what does it mean for the future? [...]
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Will the Rally Ever End?
June 4th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Economy, Federal Reserve, Financial, Stock Market
I’ve not been posting for the last week because I was on vacation in New York City. Everything moves so fast there, I had no time to ponder and post. I can say that the financial recession definitely is being felt in NY. We went out for breakfast to a popular spot in Tribecca. We [...]
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Earnings Analysis Provides No Comfort for Bulls
May 25th, 2009 · No Comments · Economy, Stock Market
A detailed review of past history and an analysis of likely future corporate earnings in the US do not yield a bullish picture. The following is from Gluskin Sheff, a Canadian economist. He concludes:
Slap 12x multiple on to a $70 mid-cycle earnings estimate, which I think is the best we can [...]
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