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A euphoric response to Ben Bernananackie?s (sic) testimony:

15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 20:33

Lessons for Today: Bank Panics and the Great Depression

The Great Depression may be ancient history but interest in the subject is enjoying a revival, including at the Federal Reserve, now chaired by self-described ?Great Depression buff? Ben Bernanke.
A new research paper by staff economist Mark Carlson tackles a seemingly esoteric topic that could have useful lessons for the current crisis. In his working paper, recently posted on the Fed?s Web site, he investigates whether some of the thousands of banks that failed in the Great Depression could have survived if only they hadn?t been sucked down in a panic.
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 20:27

Will Other Integrated Oils Hike Dividends Too? (COP, XOM, CVX, BP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) hiked its dividend today, and not just by a penny. Its quarterly dividend was raised from $0.41 per quarter up to $0.47 per quarter. ConocoPhillips hiked its dividend a year or so from $0.36 to $0.41. At current prices around $78.50, the prior annualized dividend of $1.64 would yield of 2.08%. But the new annualized dividend of $1.88 is now running almost 2.4%. Frankly, for companies involved in perhaps the best business around right now, the oil giants in the sector are paying quite lower dividends than one might imagine. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has a…
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 20:21

‘Spectacular Plunge’ Into Recession?

The latest ugly sign of an economic downturn: A sharp drop in consumer confidence. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index tumbled to 69.6 in its preliminary February reading from 78.4 last month, marking its lowest point since February 1992 when the economy was emerging from a recession. The component of the index that gauges consumers’ expectations — a possible sign of their willingness to spend — dropped to to 59.4 from 68.1.
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 20:21

Job of The Week: Make The Debt Markets More Transparent

We like to end every week with a special gift for our readers: we’re finding you a new job. So we spent part of the afternoon combing through our Career Center in search of the most interesting jobs. There are dozens to choose from, all categorized according to specialization. But one special one has been selected as our Job of The Week. Not surprisingly, with market attention focused on a new part of the fixed-income world each week, we’ve decided to choose a fixed-income data engineer position this week. …
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 20:19

Best Buy, Looking Mortal After All

(Wikipedia)

Marcelo Prince reports:
The folks at Circuit City HQ likely cracked a smile this morning. And, really, who could blame them for taking some satisfaction in …
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 20:10

Diary Of A Fake Goldman Trader: Doing Charity Work on Valentine’s Day

Who remembers that Craiglist ad from the 28 year old Goldman banker looking for someone to lavish with his (pretax) $722k bonus? I’m going to go with all of you because, frankly, it/he was unforgettable. The Viking stove, the custom-made oak dresser, the amazing dinners, the shopping, the great wine, the getting each other off fabulously and, of course, the baby’s arm aren’t things one lets recede from his/her consciousness so easily. Sure, the whole thing turned out to be fake and from the mind of someone named the C…
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 20:08

Anti-fascism

(February 15, 2008 11:35 AM, by Arnold Kling) Thomas Sowell writes, What is called "planning" in political rhetoric is the government’s suppression of other people’s plans by superimposing……
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 19:35

Auction Failures Continue

A small a number of ARS auctions were successfully completed today but most are still failing, according to a person familiar with the matter. All of the major financial institutions have decided to stop “stabilizing” the auctions by taking the securities onto their own books, and there is little sign that this policy decision will halt. Citigroup stopped supporting the auctions on Friday. UBS later this week. Many others had already called an end to their auction support policies.
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 19:29

Implode-o-Franchise

Aaron Krowne (Source: Aaron Krowne)

Annelena Lobb reports:
The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter has new clones. Two new Web sites, the …
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 19:21

NAR: Yo, It’s Time to Buy a Home!

You have to give the National Association of Realtors credit: They’re relentless about trying to convince people that now is the time to buy a home. Yet another example follows from CNBC earlier this week, with the president of the NAR calling this, yet again, the "perfect time" to buy a house. You go, guys. Admittedly they’ll eventually be right, and housing skeptics will almost certainly overplay their hands, but his NAR call is a bit overmuch. …
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 19:14

linkfest — 02/15/08: Google, Mistakes, XBRL, etc.

Catching up and emptying my burgeoning browser tabs: Why Google wasn’t added to the Dow index (Globe & Mail) Investors occasionally learn from past mistakes (Bespoke) SEC launches new f…
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) admin @ 19:06

Going to BAT for Simplified Business Activity Taxes

The House Committee on Small Business yesterday explored the toll that business-activity taxes ? known as “BAT” ? take on small businesses that do business in states other than their own. These are taxes states levy on businesses to recoup the lost tax revenue they feel they are owed because of an out-of-state business’s activity in their state, such as having independent contractors there.
I…
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 18:57

Dems’ Mudslinging Soils Market’s Mood

Dems’ Mudslinging Soils Market’s Mood

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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 18:51

Conservative Fascism

(February 15, 2008 10:43 AM, by Arnold Kling) David Brooks writes, National service should be a rite of passage for 20-somethings, and these volunteers could mentor students through……
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 18:43

McClatchy (MNI) Downgraded Again

Night of the living dead newspaper chain McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) got hit with another downgrade today. Fitch cut the company’s issuer default rating further into the junk word, dropping it to “BB”. It is also keeping the firm on its negative outlook list which means the rating may be cut again, according to the AP McClatchy is famous for buying rival newspaper chain Knight-Ridder just as the industry hit its death spiral. The company’s shares were over $50 two years ago. They now change hands for just above $10. Wall St. is concerned, for good reason, that McClatchy might have…
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 18:39

Fast Money

Word On The StreetWATCH THE VIDEO HEREFinerman’s Valentine TradesFinerman offered up some trade ideas that are a direct play off of Valentine’s Day trends. She picked Estee Lauder (EL), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Allergan (AGN). …
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 18:37

Toyota (TM) Gets Pounded In Europe

Toyota (NYSE: TM) is not used to seeing its sales go anywhere but up. It has certainly had a tremendous ride in the US and Europe over the last several years. Numbers from Europe indicate that buyers may have had their fill of products from the Japanese car-maker. During January, Toyota sales fell 10.5% in January. While auto sales overall for the month were down.3% in Europe according to figures obtained by Reuters. Sales for BMW were up 13%. The US car companies did not post their best showing. Ford (NYSE: F) units fell 3.5% and GM (NYSE: GM) dropped…
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 18:30

The Magic of Pricing Conventions

A banker makes a $10 million loan to a client at an interest rate of 10%. He then turns around and securitizes the loan, selling it to bond investors at an interest rate of 10%. Does that sound like a breakeven deal to you? Me too. But somehow, thanks to the magic of pricing conventions, our banker still manages to make a substantial profit of $270,000 on the deal. That’s finance, that is. Be careful out there!…
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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) @ 18:29

They Just Don’t Get Coke!

They Just Don’t Get Coke!

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15 Febrero, 2008| Economy | Comments (0) admin @ 18:21

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