Like it or not, the news that Bank of America raised $13.5 billion in equity has to make you pause. It says a lot about investor interest in the bank and the banking sector and probably even more about the stock market. This isn’t a case of people trying to jump on the train as […]
Archive for May 19th, 2009
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What Did We Buy With All The Debt We Accumulated?
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 19th, 2009
The graph below is from a study the San Francisco Fed did on household deleveraging and consumption growth. It doesn’t have any truly surprising insights but it is short, well-written and a nice compilation of facts. This graph, however, confounds me. At first glance, it seemed pretty straightforward. Household debt spiked up, followed by personal […]
A Detailed Analysis Of The Obama Auto Mileage Plan
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 19th, 2009
If you’re interested in a deep wonkish discussion about President Obama’s new mileage proposal then visit Keith Hennessey’s blog. He goes through it meticulously with lots of charts and graphs. It’s long but well worth the time.
Renminbi Not Ready For Prime Time
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 19th, 2009
The meme of the month seems to be the toppling of the almighty dollar in favor of China’s renminbi or possibly some yet to be invented world currency administered by Lord knows whom. No less a notable than Nouriel Roubini has predicted this turn of events. Recall that the Chinese started all of this several […]
Telltale Signs
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 19th, 2009
What news items are dominating CNBC this morning? Fuel mileage standards and credit card legislation. Does the fact that government manipulation of the economy constitutes the majority of the air time of an ostensibly business oriented cable network tell us anything?
Does The Shadow Banking Market Need A Government Guarantee In Order To Survive?
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 19th, 2009
Is TALF likely to be a permanent part of the financial system that emerges from the recession? The Economist suggests that it or something like it may have to be in place in order to resurrect the “shadow banking” sector. The Economist article is very well done. It discusses the effects that the disappearance of […]
New Home Sales Up Slightly
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 19th, 2009
Quickly, here is the scoop on new home construction. Housing starts were down 12.8% in April versus March. The annual pace of construction was 458,000. The decline in starts was concentrated in multi-family construction (more on this below). Single family starts actually increased by 2.8% to 368,000. That is, however, a very weak number. […]
