The latest conspiracy theory making its way around the Internet is that the Obama administration is punishing Republican leaning car dealerships. Specifically, those identified to be closed as the result of the reorganizations of Chrysler and GM tend to be aligned with the Republican party. Clusterstock has done a good job of covering the story […]
Archive for May 28th, 2009
Shocker: Politicians Playing Politics With Their New Car Companies
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 28th, 2009
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Another PE Firm Sniffing Around Troubled Banks
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 28th, 2009
A couple of days ago, the FDIC approved the acquisition of Bank United by a private equity consortium. At that time I wrote a post noting that the agency was making policy without debate. It now appears that the signals were plain enough. Another group is circling around an ailing Florida bank. From the WSJ: […]
One Green Shoot And Lots Of Weeds In Japan’s Economic Data
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 28th, 2009
Japan had a green shoot amidst recent economic data. Industrial production was up 5.2% in April over March. Unfortunately this shoot was found in a field of weeds. Reuters reports the bad news: The unemployment rate climbed to a seasonally adjusted 5.0% in April from 4.8% in March, according to data from the Ministry of […]
The Banks Aren’t Ready To Give In On Derivatives Yet
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 28th, 2009
A week or so ago it looked like everyone was on board with the plan to put most derivatives into a central clearinghouse and allow certain bespoke contracts to be traded outside of it but with disclosure. Well, guess what? The big banks are working behind the scenes to alter things. You didn’t think it […]
Oil Movin’ On Up
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 28th, 2009
Keep an eye on oil. The price is more than creeping up. It closed above $65 today, demand is up and inventories are down. From Reuters: U.S. crude oil for July delivery settled up $1.63 to $65.08 a barrel, the highest settlement since November 5, after hitting an intraday high of $65.44. London Brent crude […]
The Shrinking Private Sector Employment Picture
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 28th, 2009
Catching up on some reading this afternoon, I came across these graphs from Jake at EconomPic Data.com. Jake provides some background for interpreting these charts: This result is even more shocking when you take into account that the “working population” is about 20% larger than it was in 1999. Before we dive further into the […]
PIMCO’s Gross Sees A Bleak Future
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 28th, 2009
This isn’t really news but Bill Gross set forth his expectations for the economy over the medium term. It’s pretty much the same pitch we’ve heard from PIMCO over the last month or so but still worth revisiting. From Fox Business: Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of bond mutual-fund giant Pimco, on Thursday offered investors […]
