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 'Federal Reserve'
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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All That Glitters Is Gold
November 5th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Federal Reserve, Global Economy, Gold, Interest rates, inflation
I haven’t written about investments for some time, feeling that I have no better insights than anyone else about what is sensible to do in this environment. The equity markets seem overvalued, the bond markets face at some point a rise in interest rates that will be bad for bond prices, and commodities seem to [...]
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The Sad State of Our Country
October 12th, 2009 · No Comments · Bailout, Banks, Corporate Power, Credit Default Swaps, Federal Reserve, Mortgages, Obama, Policy, Politics, Restructuring, Stock Market, Taxpayers, Treasury, Video, Wall Street
Last night I watch Bill Moyers Journal via the internet. The first piece interviewed David Simom, creator of “The Wire.” His realistic view of the quagmire of drugs/ghettos/crime/corruption had such a ring of Knowing that I found myself nodding and shaking my head again and again. If you are a “Wire” fan, as I am, [...]
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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 Amazing World of High Frequency Trading – You Lose!
July 12th, 2009 · No Comments · Analysis, Banks, Corporate Power, Federal Reserve, Stock Market, Wall Street
I wrote last week about the high level of program trading, notably by Goldman Sachs. The details on this trading are emerging fast in the blogosphere, and it won’t be long until it hits the mainstream. There is a war going on among competing firms, using computers and inside order information, to capture the immense [...]
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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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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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Efficient Markets versus Irrational Exuberance
June 8th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Economics, Federal Reserve, Housing, Regulation, Stock Market, Wall Street
Today’s New York Times has an article entitled “Poking Holes in a Theory of Markets.” Joe Nocera, the author, interviews Jeremy Grantham and several academic economists. The article makes what is now an obvious challenge to the theory of “efficient markets,” the theory that markets accurately reflect at all times the best possible valuation of [...]
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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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Britain’s Debt Downgrade – A Lesson for the US
May 22nd, 2009 · 1 Comment · Bailout, Banks, Corporate Power, Economy, Federal Reserve, Financial
The unrestrained efforts of the Obama administration to rescue and reinflate the financial sector of the US (at the expense of taxpayers and savers) are the most discouraging aspect of his administration. These efforts are apparently based on the belief that what is good for investment banks is good for America. Martin Wolf, a columnist [...]
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