Meta
Categories
- accounting
- Announcements
- architecture
- art
- auctions
- bailouts
- banking
- bankruptcy
- ben stein watch
- blogonomics
- bonds and loans
- charts
- china
- cities
- climate change
- commercial property
- commodities
- consumers
- consumption
- corporatespeak
- credit ratings
- crime
- Culture
- Davos 2008
- Davos 2009
- defenestrations
- demographics
- derivatives
- design
- development
- drugs
- Econoblog
- economics
- education
- emerging markets
- employment
- energy
- entitlements
- eschatology
- euro
- facial hair
- fashion
- Film
- Finance
- fiscal and monetary policy
- food
- foreign exchange
- fraud
- gambling
- geopolitics
- governance
- healthcare
- hedge funds
- holidays
- housing
- humor
- Humour
- iceland
- IMF
- immigration
- infrastructure
- insurance
- intellectual property
- investing
- journalism
- labor
- language
- law
- leadership
- leaks
- M&A
- Media
- milken 2008
- Not economics
- pay
- personal finance
- philanthropy
- pirates
- Politics
- Portfolio
- prediction markets
- private banking
- private equity
- privatization
- productivity
- publishing
- race
- rants
- regulation
- remainders
- research
- Restaurants
- Rhian in Antarctica
- risk
- satire
- science
- shareholder activism
- sovereign debt
- sports
- statistics
- stocks
- taxes
- technocrats
- technology
- trade
- travel
- Uncategorized
- water
- wealth
- world bank
Archives
- March 2023
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- December 2012
- August 2012
- June 2012
- March 2012
- April 2011
- August 2010
- June 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- September 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 2003
- November 2003
- October 2003
- September 2003
- August 2003
- July 2003
- June 2003
- May 2003
- April 2003
- March 2003
- February 2003
- January 2003
- December 2002
- November 2002
- October 2002
- September 2002
- August 2002
- July 2002
- June 2002
- May 2002
- March 2002
- February 2002
- January 2002
- December 2001
- November 2001
- October 2001
- September 2001
- August 2001
- July 2001
- June 2001
- May 2001
- April 2001
- March 2001
- February 2001
- January 2001
- December 2000
- September 2000
- July 2000
- March 2000
- July 1999
Monthly Archives: November 2008
Citi’s Presentation: No Mention of Profitability
Vikram Pandit’s 26-page presentation this morning "contains forward-looking statements", according to the disclaimer on the final page. But there aren’t actually very many of them: in fact, I can only find two. Citi’s expense target in 2009 is $50-52 billion, … Continue reading
Posted in banking
Comments Off on Citi’s Presentation: No Mention of Profitability
Bailout vs Bankruptcy, Obama Edition
Barack Obama addressed the GM situation on 60 Minutes last night: Mr. Obama: My hope is that over the course of the next week, between the White House and Congress, the discussions are shaped around providing assistance but making sure … Continue reading
Posted in bailouts, bankruptcy
Comments Off on Bailout vs Bankruptcy, Obama Edition
Extra Credit, Sunday Edition
Top Goldman Sachs Executives Will Not Receive Bonuses for 2008: A 99% pay cut for Lloyd Blankfein, but none of his $68.5 million 2007 bonus is being clawed back. A New Bailout Low: Buy a $10 million bank, get a … Continue reading
Posted in remainders
Comments Off on Extra Credit, Sunday Edition
GM: The Bailout vs Bankruptcy Meme
There’s a bailout vs bankruptcy meme going around with regard to GM — a choice which makes me want to tick "none of the above". I’ve seen it in dozens of places of late, but since it comes with the … Continue reading
Posted in bailouts, bankruptcy
Comments Off on GM: The Bailout vs Bankruptcy Meme
Broken link datapoint of the day
Four years ago, Apartment Therapy ran a Sleeper Sofa competition. (Evidently, four years ago the switch from “sofabeds” to “sleeper sofas” had already happened.) Apartment Therapy put together a shortlist with 15 sofas on it. I found it quite quickly, … Continue reading
Posted in Not economics
2 Comments
Auction Results and Hammer Prices, Redux
It turns out I’m not the only person who cares about the weird way in which auction house estimates are compared to hammer prices (ex commission) during an auction, but are compared to the total price paid (including commission) after … Continue reading
From Frying Pan to Fire, Stockbroker Edition
The WSJ today reprises the New York Post’s story from earlier this month about a culture clash between Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. For all the clashing, though, we’re told that 90% of the brokers who BofA wanted to … Continue reading
Posted in banking
Comments Off on From Frying Pan to Fire, Stockbroker Edition
When Stabilization Isn’t Stimulus
Quote of the day comes from Neel Kashkari: Treasury Assistant Secretary Neel Kashkari, who is heading up the government’s implementation of the rescue plan, defended the department’s actions, saying that no one should expect the plan to solve all of … Continue reading
Posted in bailouts, fiscal and monetary policy
Comments Off on When Stabilization Isn’t Stimulus
Citi’s Achilles Heel: Foreign Depositors
Dick Parsons, lead outside director of Citigroup, is sounding just a tiny bit defensive these days: We are confident that the direction our management team has set is the right direction — and the winning direction — for these extraordinary … Continue reading
Posted in banking
Comments Off on Citi’s Achilles Heel: Foreign Depositors
Why AIG was in the CDS Business
Gari has a question about AIG, in the comments: Why did a well-capitalised insurance company with plenty of long-dated liabilities decide that it was a better use of shareholders’ and policyholders’ cash to write protection against debt instruments rather than … Continue reading
Posted in derivatives, insurance
Comments Off on Why AIG was in the CDS Business
The Right Kind of Bailout
Today’s NYT has an article about the enormous obstacles facing any Detroit bailout bill between now and October, with Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama saying that "the financial situation facing the Big Three is not a national problem but their … Continue reading
Posted in bailouts, fiscal and monetary policy
Comments Off on The Right Kind of Bailout
Is Your Money Safe at Citibank?
The massive Wall Street rally this afternoon, and a statement in support of Citigroup’s chairman, didn’t help Citi, which closed down slightly on the day at $9.45 a share. Clearly the market is very worried about Citi’s future, and the … Continue reading
Blogonomics: The End of Micropublishing?
I don’t fully understand Nick Denton’s decision to fold Valleywag into Gawker. Gawker’s readers don’t care about Silicon Valley gossip, and Valleywag’s readers don’t care who was spotted having lunch at Michael’s yesterday. What’s more, Gawker’s clearly having difficulty selling … Continue reading
Posted in blogonomics
Comments Off on Blogonomics: The End of Micropublishing?
Bush’s Peculiar Wall Street Speech
Bush’s speech on Wall Street today is a most peculiar thing — a mixture of free-market platitudes, cryptic code, and outright weirdness. For instance, what does this mean? One vital principle of reform is that our nations must make our … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Comments Off on Bush’s Peculiar Wall Street Speech
Hedge Fund Datapoint of the Day
From John Paulson’s testimony to Congress (link fixed, sorry): Eighty percent of our assets under management come from foreign investors. Was this always the case? Or is it a relatively new thing, dating only to Paulson’s recent celebrity status?
Posted in hedge funds
Comments Off on Hedge Fund Datapoint of the Day
The US Firebreak
One thing I remember vividly from the economic crises of 1998 was the way that stock-market losses would chase each other around the globe, in a never-ending cycle. A fall in the US would precipitate a fall in Asia, which … Continue reading
Posted in stocks
Comments Off on The US Firebreak
Citi Valuation Question
A quick follow-up to the Citi post: Citigroup’s market capitalization, of $53 billion, is $73 billion below its book value, of $126 billion. Has any company ever traded more than $50 billion below book and survived?
Posted in banking
Comments Off on Citi Valuation Question
Citi’s Desperate Straits
America, we have a problem. Citigroup is the largest bank in America, with a balance sheet of over $2 trillion — and it’s also the most dysfunctional. Since Vikram Pandit took over, Citi has lost not only $20 billion but … Continue reading
Posted in banking
Comments Off on Citi’s Desperate Straits
Extra Credit, Wednesday Edition
Family Foresight Hall of Shame: Sheldon Adelson: "He put an empire of over $30 billion at the mercy of a single 12-month earnings covenant in a single credit agreement, with almost no margin of safety. His foundation, and those who … Continue reading
Posted in remainders
Comments Off on Extra Credit, Wednesday Edition
Stocks: Recession Bites
For some reason, I started paying more attention than usual to the stock market today. The closing prices are sobering: Sears Holdings and Goldman Sachs, down 10% to new lows. Google below $300. Citigroup below $10. Morgan Stanley down 15%. … Continue reading
Posted in stocks
Comments Off on Stocks: Recession Bites
Apple Loyalty Datapoint of the Day
As John Gapper notes, the new Taylor Swift album is only $3.99 at Amazon, for an unencrypted, iPod-friendly MP3. At iTunes, by contrast, it’s $11.99 for an encrypted AAC. Yet it’s still the top-selling album on iTunes. Is there anything … Continue reading
Posted in technology
Comments Off on Apple Loyalty Datapoint of the Day
Great Moments in Journalism, Amex Edition
The AP reports on today’s fall in Amex shares: American Express Co. shares plunged Wednesday after a report that the credit card issuer is seeking $3.5 billion in funds under the government’s plan to directly invest in financial firms… The … Continue reading
Reasons to Bail Out GM
Why bail out GM? I can think of quite a few reasons: As Andrew Leonard notes, it’s what Barack Obama was elected to do. "If evangelical supporters of George Bush had the right to expect conservative judge appointments and restrictions … Continue reading
Posted in bailouts
Comments Off on Reasons to Bail Out GM
Paulson Looks for a Private Sector Helping Hand
Hank Paulson wants the private sector to give him a helping hand with his bailouts: We are carefully evaluating programs which would further leverage the impact of a TARP investment by attracting private capital, potentially through matching investments. I think … Continue reading
Posted in bailouts
Comments Off on Paulson Looks for a Private Sector Helping Hand
How Banks Need to Mollify the Public Sector
I just got off the phone with ProPublica’s Dick Tofel; we talked quite a bit about the Goldman Sachs story they put out yesterday, but unfortunately they don’t seem inclined to say anything on the record. One thing which is … Continue reading