Archive for January 13th, 2009

Does Geithner Deserve A Pass?

There always seems to be one incoming President’s cabinet nominee that turns into a fiasco. For awhile it looked like President-elect Obama’s oops would be Bill Richardson. Now Timothy Geithner, the nominee for Treasury Secretary looks to be the one to take the prize. It seems Mr. Geithner, who as Treasury Secretary will have the IRS reporting to […]

Cargo Containers Being Shipped For Free

The Telegraph.co.uk has a good post on just how extreme the collapse in world trade has become. Freight rates for containers shipped from Asia to Europe have fallen to zero for the first time since records began, underscoring the dramatic collapse in trade since the world economy buckled in October. “They have already hit zero,” said […]

Should Citi Be Put Out Of Its Misery?

So Ben Bernanke goes to the London School of Economics, gives a long, boring economist type speech and just happens to drop in the middle of it that yes, indeed, the plan to buy toxic assets from banks which formed the basis of the TARP may indeed have to be exhumed. Then Citi announces it’s going to […]

How To Set Up A Blog

I owe an apology and some free publicity to the guys who helped get this blog up and running. An apology because I should have said something sooner and free publicity because it never hurts to stroke IT guys egos. At any rate, the name of their company is Dude, Blog Your Business. They got […]

How Bad Off Is The FHLB System?

Bloomberg reports that the Seattle Federal Home Loan Bank is suspending dividends and “excess stock” repurchases due to regulatory capital requirement issues. It joins the San Francisco FHLB in this predicament. Moody’s says big problems are possible and conservatorship or other action might be required. If all of this sounds a bit both arcane and […]