The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occassion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so must we think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves. Abraham Lincoln
Archive for March 17th, 2009
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The Political Ramifications Of AIG
Posted by Tom Lindmark on March 17th, 2009
I don’t know about you but I get the feeling that the AIG forest fire (it’s not a bonfire anymore) is consuming a lot more people than just the managers of the company. As the news leaks out of government knowledge of what the bailout money was being used for all along, of government complicity […]
Fannie Goes Back To Old Condo Underwriting Standards
Posted by Tom Lindmark on March 17th, 2009
Possibly driving a stake through the heart of an already moribund condo industry, Fannie Mae today severely tightened its lending criteria. From the WSJ: The government-backed mortgage-finance company stopped guaranteeing mortgages in condo buildings where fewer than 70% of the units have been sold, up from 51%. In addition, the company won’t back loans for […]
Bank Of England Talks Of A Glass-Steagall Solution
Posted by Tom Lindmark on March 17th, 2009
I’m pleased that all of my whining about bringing back Glass-Steagall or some variant thereof has had an impact on the Bank of England. No less a light than Mervyn King, the governor of the bank, has takes up the cause. The Guardian.co.uk reports that at a dinner last night he offered these opinions: Serving […]
A Different Perspective On Renewables
Posted by Tom Lindmark on March 17th, 2009
Though the U.S. appears to be marching towards its green future without much debate so far, that doesn’t mean that a few other parts of the world aren’t having a bit of reconsideration. A couple interesting stories have emerged from Europe — arguably far ahead of us in terms of implementation and perhaps wisdom born […]
AIG Boss To Face Accusers Tomorrow
Posted by Tom Lindmark on March 17th, 2009
This may be a must see just only for the entertainment value. Edward Liddy, the head of AIG, is scheduled for a 10 AM (EDT) inquisition from a House Financial Services subcommittee. I suspect that grilling will be intense. Given that a) Liddy doesn’t need this job and b) he wasn’t the architect of any of […]
Is There More To Learn About AIG’s Counterparties?
Posted by Tom Lindmark on March 17th, 2009
Are the AIG revelations about its counterparty risk the beginning of the end for the financial crisis or the end of the beginning. An article in the Financial Times by Gillian Tet makes some interesting points. Speaking to the recently divulged list of counterparties which received payments from AIG she says: After all, during the […]
