Author Archives: Felix

Extreme Measures III: Cambiz Alikhani at the Financial Times

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism submits: As concern about tightening conditions in the credit markets and the continued erosion of the US supbrime and broader housing market has grown, so too have calls for Extreme Measures to combat these snowballing … Continue reading →

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Steve Jobs Gives Me $100

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Felix

Steve Jobs is giving me $100! Thanks, Steve! I’m happy about this: my $499 iPhone has now essentially become a $399 iPhone, which is a very attractive price indeed. True, the real $399 iPhone has twice the capacity of mine. … Continue reading →

Posted in Not economics | 1 Comment

It’s Official: Most Hedge Fund Strategies Lost Money in August

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism submits: The UK’s Times Online, citing Hedge Fund Research (HFR), reports that hedge fund strategies of all sorts took a beating in August: Of the 20 daily hedge fund indices tracked by HFR, only one … Continue reading →

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Another Blow to Rating Agency Credibility

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism submits: A Bloomberg story today tells us that CreditSights found that AAA ratings for a new type of credit derivative may be as likely to default as junk. In a report titled “Distressed CPDOs: We’re … Continue reading →

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Commercial Real Estate Prices May Drop 15% in Next Year

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Experts warn that the boom in commercial real estate prices, fueled by cheap credit, is going sharply into reverse. Fitch had noted as early as April, and again in July that commercial real estate … Continue reading →

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Brad DeLong Argues That Central Banks Should Cut Interest Rates

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: It’s always dangerous for mere mortals to take issue with Serious Economists, but let’s start with Professor of Economics at U.C Berkeley Brad DeLong’s thesis (hat tip Mark Thoma): The fact that there is … Continue reading →

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The Wall Street Journal Touts Dubious Research (CEO Performance Edition)

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Will someone, please, teach the reporters at the Wall Street Journal the basics about scientific research? I know it’s hard finding stuff to write about day in, day out. But the story “Scholars Link … Continue reading →

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More Cheery Housing Charts

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Michael Shedlock, of Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis, provides some uplifting charts and commentary that should quash any doubts that this housing cycle is worse than its predecessors: ….this housing cycle looks different than … Continue reading →

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The Barriers to Bottom Fishing

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: John Dizard, in today’s Financial Times, tells us why, despite the fact that a lot of fixed income paper is on offer at very cheap prices, no one seems to be stepping to the … Continue reading →

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Will Asking Mortgage Servicers to Modify Mortgages Have Much Impact?

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Bloomberg tells us that the Fed and the Treasury made a joint statement today asking mortgage servicers to take a more proactive stance, identify borrowers in danger of gong into default, and offer loan … Continue reading →

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Cash-Out Refis: The Missing Actor in the Subprime Drama

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Ah, fall is upon us, and with it comes the spectacle of renewed discussion of what to do about the snowballing subprime/housing mess. Members of Congress will compete for air time to Bemoan the … Continue reading →

Posted in banking, bonds and loans, housing, Media | 6 Comments

Treasury Trading Down as Black Box Traders Withdraw

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Users of computer-driven strategies of all sorts have been taking it on the chin. Bloomberg tells us that the latest casualties are Treasury bond traders using quantitatively driven strategies hit by a sudden increase … Continue reading →

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Bundesbank President Weber vs. White House on Housing Crisis

Posted on September 3, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Apologies for the heavy reliance on the Financial Times today, but the pickings elsewhere are meager indeed. The FT has an interesting juxtaposition of stores on its website tonight. The lead story, from the … Continue reading →

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Fed Governor Mishkin Urges Swift Action to Combat Housing Price Decline

Posted on September 1, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: In a paper presented at the Fed’s Jackson Hole conference, Federal Reserve governor Frederic Mishkin urged central bankers to respond quickly and aggressively to large falls in housing prices, arguing that it was less … Continue reading →

Posted in banking, bonds and loans, fiscal and monetary policy, housing | 1 Comment

140 Million Facing “Arsenic Time Bomb”

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: The BBC, reporting on a meeting at the Royal Geographical Society, says that 140 million people in developing countries are drinking water with such high concentrations of arsenic as to constitute poisoning. Experts estimate … Continue reading →

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Bush’s Mainly Cosmetic Homeowner Rescue Proposals

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: The Wall Street Journal, in “Bush Moves to Aid Homeowners,” reports that today the President will set forth a program to help stressed borrowers at risk of losing their homes. Main elements: Allowing the … Continue reading →

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AAA to CCC and Other Rating Agency Horror Stories

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: The news from rating agency land goes from bad to worse. This Bloomberg article does much to explain why investors are avoiding subprime like the plague. AAA paper revealed to be CCC. Repeated incidents … Continue reading →

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Hedge Funds: Good Activists?

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Hedge funds, even at their peak of popularity, were regarded with considerable suspicion. They have taken a shellacking in the last few months as subprime tainted funds have folded or reported poor results, and … Continue reading →

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Commercial Paper Market Still in Distress

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Bloomberg tells us that the commercial paper market is shrinking rapidly. This is a more serious issue than might appear. Commercial paper is an important, if not the most important, source of short-term funding … Continue reading →

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The WSJ’s Greg Ip Defends Bernanke Against Martin Wolf

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Frankly, this is pathetic. If Bernanke and his minions can’t take the heat of some well-deserved criticism from the highly-regarded Martin Wolf of the Financial Times, they don’t belong in public service. To recap: … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Politics, regulation | 4 Comments

How Greenspan Diminished the Fed

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: It must be miserable to be a central banker these days. Not only are they confronted with the worst mess in at least a generation, but too many interested parties, from the financial services … Continue reading →

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S&P: Wall Street May Take Worse Hit Than in 1998

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Bloomberg reports that a Standard & Poors report points to a steeper fall in Wall Street earnings for the second half of 2007 than in the Russia default/LTCM crisis period, the second half of … Continue reading →

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Climate Change Flooding Risk Underestimated

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: The BBC, citing a study in Nature, informs us that climate change models have underestimated the risk of flooding. High atmospheric carbon dioxide levels mean plants suck less water out of the soil. Wetter … Continue reading →

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New Business Opportunity: SMS Loan Sharking

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Lucy Kellaway, a Financial Times columnist who writes about corporate fads, once said no new business technique is too ridiculous to be put into practice. The Springwise newsletter (“New business ideas for entrepreneurial minds”), … Continue reading →

Posted in banking, bonds and loans, personal finance, regulation | 1 Comment

Martin Wolf Takes Bernanke to the Woodshed

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Felix

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Oh, I do so enjoy it when the Financial Times’ chief economics editor, the normally measured and thoughtful Martin Wolf, works himself into a lather. Wolf blasts what he reads as the Fed’s vow … Continue reading →

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