What is Missing from the Bank Bailout
After the stimulus bill passes, President Obama and Tim Geithner will propose the next bank bailout. The concept of the bailout is the “bad bank”: Toxic assets are lifted [...] Continue Reading…
February 8, 2009 No Comments
TARP Update
The administration will issue new rules to clean TARP up this week.
After taking steps last week to become more transparent, questions arise on the timing of further TARP rules.
I [...] Continue Reading…
February 3, 2009 1 Comment
New Favorite Quote
February 1st: Congressman Barney Frank on ABC’s This Week:
“I never saw a tax cut fix a bridge”
February 1, 2009 No Comments
Why the Long Term Solution is More than the Bad Bank
Yesterday’s news was not encouraging. Home value declines will continue to make families and home owners second guess their net worth. In a recession, this prompts only one reaction: [...] Continue Reading…
January 29, 2009 No Comments
Why TARP Funding is Flawed
As Congress released the second round of TARP funding this past week, anxiety grew that its original purpose is failing: banks are not lending.
To discern why, we must think [...] Continue Reading…
January 18, 2009 1 Comment
What the Market Sees for the Economy in 2009
It is time to take stock of where the market sees the economy moving in 2009. Let’s examine
Overnight Index Swap (OIS) Futures - tracking the effective Federal Funds rate
Three-Month [...] Continue Reading…
January 11, 2009 No Comments
Why Infrastructure Spending is Preferential to Tax Cuts
Much concern exists over Obama’s proposal to make tax cuts a major portion of fiscal stimulus. Through a tax cut, we (the government) are increasing the income of those [...] Continue Reading…
January 8, 2009 2 Comments
What the Yield Curve says about the US Economy
The Yield Curve is increasing in discussion as a predictor of the US Economy.
First, in defense of the Yield Curve, it is a good predictor of future short term [...] Continue Reading…
January 4, 2009 No Comments
How to Tell if 2009 is the Year of Economic Recovery
What will 2009 look like? This blog offers key spreads to examine routinely for signs of economic recovery. In chronological order
The Fed Funds Effective vs. Target Spreads.
The TED Spread
LIBOR [...] Continue Reading…
December 28, 2008 No Comments
What is a Publicly Subsidized Credit Default Swap
This blog has focused on the FDIC insurance program guaranteeing newly issued bank debt.
Here is why:
Reviewing the facets of the right hand of the balance sheet, the taxpayer and [...] Continue Reading…
December 25, 2008 No Comments
