Putting Out Fires During Noah's Flood, Or Eyeless In Gaza Part II
Paul Krugman had a short post recently drawing attention to a rather foolish and ill-thought-outstatement originating in the mouth of German Finance ... by debt,"Apart from the point Krugman wants to implicitly make about interest rates, the point about consumer debt in a current account surplus economy like Germany is extraordinarily misplaced [more...]
Date: 2009-01-09 08:36:00
Blog posts
(99)
|
Videos
(60)
Putting Out Fires During Noah's Flood, Or Eyeless In Gaza Part II
Paul Krugman had a short post recently drawing attention to a rather foolish and ill-thought-outstatement originating in the mouth of German Finance ... by debt,"Apart from the point Krugman wants to implicitly make about interest rates, the point about consumer debt in a current account surplus economy like Germany is extraordinarily misplaced [more...]
Date: 2009-01-09 07:57:00
Opening Comments January 14 2008
Prices of Treasury coupon securities remain ensconced safely in their recent range and retreated modestly in overseas trading ... and Italy and German issued debt overnight and that issuance probably caused a little financial ... narrowed a basis point to 154 basis points. In Australia home loan approvals rose for the second [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 12:36:38
S&P's Puts Spanish Sovereign Debt On Ratings Watch Negative
Spain yesterday became the third euro zone country within a week to be warned by rating agency Standard & Poor's that its credit rating ( ... finances.The gap in bond yields between the benchmark German bunds and the sovereign debt of Spain ... fallen.One year ago the financing of Spanish government debt was barely more expensive than [more...]
Date: 2009-01-13 10:11:00
S&P's Puts Spanish Sovereign Debt On Ratings Watch Negative
Spain yesterday became the third euro zone country within a week to be warned by rating agency Standard & Poor's that its credit rating ( ... finances.The gap in bond yields between the benchmark German bunds and the sovereign debt of Spain ... fallen.One year ago the financing of Spanish government debt was barely more expensive than [more...]
Date: 2009-01-12 22:13:00
Bond Expert: Wedesday Outlook
Prices of Treasury coupon securities remain ensconced safely in their recent range, and retreated modestly in overseas trading ... and Italy and German issued debt overnight, and that issuance probably caused a little financial [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 13:44:49
Bond Expert: Wednesday Outlook
John Jansen submits: Prices of Treasury coupon securities remain ensconced safely in their recent range, ... declines is supply. Bloomberg reports that Japan and Italy and German issued debt overnight [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 13:44:29
Stress Will Make You Fat
New research, conducted by German researchers at the University of Mainz, shows a link between obesity and indebtedness – and the link is becoming even stronger as the current global economic crises continues. Eva Muenster and her colleagues at the western German university surveyed more than 900 people undergoing debt and insolvency counselling and compared them to a group of more than 8 000 who had previously participated in a health survey. [more...]
Date: 2009-09-04 04:45:03
Mecom emerges from debt trap — for now
Mecom’s sale of its German newspapers will allow the company run by David Montgomery to pay off around one-quarter of its €650m net debt ... loss. Either way, David Montgomery appears to have secured his company’s future and emerged ... . But presumably their jobs look a mite safer this week. If you’re a debt-laden publisher, finding a buyer [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 10:39:23
Salzgitter sets 7-yr convertible bond
FRANKFURT, Sept 29 - Germany's No.2 steelmaker Salzgitter became the latest in a string of German companies to tap into investors appetite for corporate debt, placing a 296 million € convertible bond. The company said on Tuesday it placed its sev ... [more...]
Date: 2009-09-29 17:05:01
THE FINTAG NEWSLETTER @ 07 January 2009
FINTAG COMMENT Middle east. Sorry, that was a typo ... off your credit card but one of my prime brokers, the German one that sort of rhymes with Lurcher ... from a mantra of debt is only for use by businesses who want to buy expensive equipment [more...]
Date: 2009-01-07 06:48:13
European bond spreads widen to records
By David OakleyPublished: January 13 2009 18:58 Last updated: January 13 2009 18:58The gap between German and other European bond yields widened to record levels on Tuesday ... of its high debt burden, the agency said. Spain was given a similar warning on Monday. Greece [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 14:07:00
Can You Name the Greediest Corporate Titans of 2008?
You know who Bernie Madoff is. But what about Dwight Schar, Patrick Soon-Shiong, or Richard Baker? ... a pharmaceutical company to a German company for $3.7 billion; the company, the only source of much-in-demand ... they could spin debt and swaps into gold (for themselves) by creating all sorts of new financial products [more...]
Date: 2008-12-23 19:45:05
Putting Out Fires During Noah’s Flood, Or Eyeless In Gaza Part II
Paul Krugman had a short post recently drawing attention to a rather foolish and ill-thought-outstatement originating in the mouth of German Finance ... sure that a policy of cheap money does not lead to a new growth bubble founded on credit ... by debt,” Apart from the point Krugman wants to implicitly make about interest rates, the point [more...]
Date: 2009-01-09 08:21:49
High Debt? Take More
As we have written recently on our pages, politicians and financial analysts are increasingly being confronted with the harsh reality of taking up just alittle bit too much debt. Like our friends in Greece. The visionary specialists of Standard ... of rising fears over its skyrocketing public sector debt. FT writes “The vast amount of bonds due [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 14:56:09
Four at Four: A Familiar, Comforting Sort of Lousiness
The extended Santa Claus rally was cut off late last week and has run into a more alarming reality this week (other than Santa not being real): The banks aren’t coming along for the ride. “There’s just a lot of worry about financial companies, that they might have to raise additional capital — nobody really wants to buy aggressively here, [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 12:59:00
Japanese Rating Agency Chief Recommends Marshall Plan for US
In part because the Japanese corporate bond market is no where near as deep and large as its US counterpart, ... . Treasury yields, which are near record lows, may fall further without debt relief, making ... . And they have met their Kyoto agreement greenhouse gas reduction targets too . When one mentions tax cuts [more...]
Date: 2008-12-24 04:44:28
Global Bear Market Grips EMU, Threatens Monetary Union
About 12 months ago at a Sovereign Society conference in St. Kitts, I asked the audience if they were bullish or bearish about the U.S ... credit crisis costing the country trillions and massive trade and budget deficits. Just staggering ... poised to unravel this year as the credit crisis comes home to roost in a big way as weaker EMU (European [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 14:19:03
How to keep on financing wind farms when banks have no money left.
My earlier wind diaries can all be found here: Wind power series Banks are engaged in a massive deleveraging exercise right now. One part of that has been much described and commented upon: the elimination of bad assets ... user of debt finance to get investments done. This means that it is an industry particularly [more...]
Date: 2008-12-23 17:13:33
2008 Lookback: Huh?
Many a decision, assertion or downright strange occurrence raised the ire of investors this year, and then there were those that couldn’t help but make a person just scratch their heads. This list is not an overview of a rogue’s gallery, just a grouping of happenings that fall somewhere between ridiculous and sublime. 1. Citigroup [more...]
Date: 2008-12-26 12:57:45
Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/5/2009
Read through the official European reactions to Israel’s ground offensive into Gaza: Zapatero, the Vatican, the Italian government — all are pressuring Israel for a ceasefire. The surprise is Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who states that it would be pointless to condemn Israel without addressing what Hamas is doing [more...]
Date: 2009-01-06 04:54:00
Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/2/2009
In tonight’s news: Israel is poised to send ground troops into Gaza.A Muslim family was removed from a plane before takeoff, and is being compensated by the airline for the error. CAIR is in high dudgeon about the incident.Thousands of shoes were dumped on a Miami expressway — is that a message for President-eject Bush? [more...]
Date: 2009-01-03 04:42:00
Credit Crisis Sequel, Global Bank Bailout, Emerging Markets Still a Buy?, Gas Wars and More!
by Addison Wiggin & Ian Mathias Ghosts of the fourth quarter haunt global financials… so begins the second act of the credit saga Even the IMF needs a loan… $150 billion to back up struggling emerging markets Not so fast, says Mayer… emerging markets will remain drivers of global growth Jim Nelson with an industry likely to boom [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 07:36:46
Expat Living - The Credit Crunch In Spain
Ten years after it was launched, the euro is propelling Spain towards disaster. In giving up control of domestic interest rates to the European Central Bank, handed over a vital instrument of macroeconomic management. If you read the Jeff Randall article in the Telegraph recently you would think that the end is nigh, [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 17:40:39
Re-coupled Vengence: From Downturn to Implosion Risks ?
We've spent a bunch of time on the US economic outlook and the news, as you'd expect, continues to move from bad to worse ... the shallowness of the analysts involved grasp. But that's no longer the problem. Accelerating worldwide ... for the European schadenfreude that this was "just" a US problem. Developing Countries They also issued [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 21:20:15
The German stimulus package is more inspired by us than by Labour
Controversy raged last month over whether the German government was following the same economic approach as Gordon Brown or not ... "crass Keynesianism" and that on Brown's VAT cut, "all this will do is raise Britain’s debt to a level ... incentive on scrapping old cars in favour of newer, more environmentally-friendly models [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 12:45:24
Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/8/2009
The latest word is that an agreement with Russia has been reached, and the flow through the gas pipeline will resume.Also, look for the storming of the Israeli consulate in Montreal, as well as other Gaza-inspired violence around the world.Thanks to AA, Abu Elvis, Insubria, JD, Tuan Jim, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in [more...]
Date: 2009-01-09 04:49:00
Incidental #910
more the engrish! NEWS WHICH MACHIAVELLI ON STEROIDS AND AMPHETAMINES IS CERTAINLY DROOLING AND SMECKING OVER, LET ALONE HIS DROOGS: North Korea's official news agency KCNA has announced in a brief (as in two-line) statement that elections for delegates to the 12th Supreme People's Congress have been called [more...]
Date: 2009-01-11 16:59:41
Transcript: DICK Cheney on Fox News Sunday | The Exit Interview | December 21, 2008
(Source: CQ Transcriptswire) Editor’s Note: This portion of the show transcript contains only the Cheney interview. Mr. Chris WALLACE: Mr ... s package basically extends a line of credit to the companies for a specified period of time and also ... that’s a target. That’s not a restriction. The bond holders taking equity instead of debt — that’ [more...]
Date: 2008-12-21 20:13:21
Eurozone under pressure
Early last year, the blog flagged up a warning from Gillian Tett in the Financial Times that Iceland could go bankrupt, ... to its high debt levels, and may downgrade Portugal, Spain and Ireland • Bonds issued by Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy are now yielding record amounts versus the German benchmark The core [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 15:41:12
DrumBeat: December 23, 2008
Steve LeVine - Blunder: A New Age for Russia In August, Putin’s Russia seemed unstoppable, specifically after its five-day war with Georgia punctured the appearance of a new era of U.S. power in the former Soviet Caucasus and Central Asia. Georgia seemed the crowning achievement of a several-year-campaign of projecting Russian power over its [more...]
Date: 2008-12-23 14:14:56
The Reverse Stimulus
The national media is starting to pick up on the developments with the California budget, and their potentially devastating impact on the larger economy. Bloomberg has an article on the shutdown of infrastructure projects and the impact statewide: Just $5 million of work is needed to complete a new California Court of Appeals building in Santa [more...]
Date: 2008-12-26 19:34:08
Cavalcade of Risk #69: Risk Management and Uncertainty Quotes
It’s the Cavalcade of Risk, the first of 2009! It’s issue #69… and I figured any theme based on the issue number would be far too risky for this ... decision is wrong when it was taken too late. Lee Iacocca 1924-, Father of the Ford Mustang and CEO ... Makes Sense posted at Personal Finance Analyst. Credit Card Assist presents Is Credit Card Insurance [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 19:22:15
Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/6/2009
Tuan Jim sends an string of important news articles about the gas pipeline crisis caused by the deadlock between Russia and Ukraine. He notes that the affected countries are dusting off alternative sources of energy — fuel oil and nuclear reactors — for electricity generation.Thanks to AA, Abu Elvis, C [more...]
Date: 2009-01-07 04:50:00
When The Chips Are Down, Chipmakers Resort To Other Means
Economic pain that has been hitting the financial economy and the brick and mortar retailers is hitting Silicon Valley as well ... shareholders will provide 500 billion won in fresh loans and extend the maturity of Hynix's debt ... in cash as of Sept. 30, Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. estimated this month. Still, Hynix had net debt [more...]
Date: 2008-12-26 21:04:00
Holocaust in Gaza
By ROHINI HENSMANIn February 2008, Israel’s Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai warned that if Hamas continued firing rockets, they would bring upon themselves a ‘bigger shoah,’ the word used by Israelis to refer to the Nazi genocide or holocaust. This statement came in the wake of attacks on Gaza which left 32 Palestinians dead, [more...]
Date: 2009-01-11 17:22:00
Obama's Cabinet - Love Fest and Patsies!
A baggy eyed Sen. Clinton was given a pass yesterday in her Sec.of State Nominee hearings.Every president is entitled to the Cabinet he has slected and the opposition party should play the role of asking penetrating and probing questions and unless they find something very disturbing Cabinet Nominees should be allowed to serve [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 14:35:00
German Exports And New Orders Slump In November
Yesterday we learnt that German unemployment was, unfortunately, back on the rise, while today we get to see one of the principal reasons for the uptick. German exports fell back at a record rate in November - in fact seasonally and working day adjusted current-price sales exports fell back 10.6 percent from October (when they declined 0 [more...]
Date: 2009-01-08 11:40:57
US$ Gains Despite Terrible Retail Sales Report
The US$ is relatively unchanged this morning against most major currencies ahead of this mornings Retail Sales data ... . S&P threatened Portugal this morning that it’s sovereign debt may be downgraded, coming only ... downturn worsen. As net debt as a percent of GDP swells throughout the Euro Zone, confidence [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 14:08:02
Ten Plagues Brought by Global Warming
Fox News looks back on 10 things that have been blamed on global warming over the past year: 1. Cannibalism 2 ... . Killer stingray invasion Thanks to moonbattery, we'll be bequeathing a mountain of debt ... to look back and laugh at. german-beer.jpg More expensive beer is actually caused by greedy tax [more...]
Date: 2008-12-24 14:31:37
Submerging Markets - Catching Down to the US
Let's take some time out from lamenting the dour economic news at home, the sense of betrayal we all feel by the collective gods of Wall Street, captains of industry and frauds of our country (Madoff, this means you), and take some solace in the fact that we're not the only ones who %&*(#@!^'d up royally [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 18:08:12
DrumBeat: December 31, 2008
The Peak Oil Crisis: Civil Unrest Before grappling with 2009, it might be useful to remind ourselves that there is a dark side to what lies ahead. There was a little flurry in the news last week when it was discovered that the Army War College had released a report talking about preparing for civil unrest in the U.S [more...]
Date: 2008-12-31 13:58:02
So Begin The (Serious) Sovereign Downgrades…?
A possible downgrade of Spain.......Shocking..... But i doubt we will see some serious action to under AA- ( besides minor countries ) on this front ( just watch the table with regulatory risk weitghtings & the impact on bank´s balance sheets) UPDATE:S&P lowers Greece rating to A- ..... [more...]
Date: 2009-01-13 06:19:00
Portugal joins eurozone list on ratings warning
--Portugal joined Spain, Ireland, and Greet to be downgraded by S&PPortugal joins eurozone list on ratings warningBy Tony Barber in Brussels and ... about its high levels of public and private debt, while Greece and Ireland were told on Friday ... in the gap between German bond yields and those of other eurozone countries.But they are not the only [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 13:49:00
Joe Strummer: My thoughts on the looming crisis
“Joe Strummer” is the pseudonym of a frequent commenter on BloodhoundBlog. He runs a weblog of his own — under a different pseudonym — and leads a life of joy, contemplation and undisturbed privacy under his real name. But no matter how he is denominated, Strummer is an expert in the Austrian School of Economics, [more...]
Date: 2008-12-21 03:05:51
Flurry Of Fed Moves Could Lead To Hyper Inflation
In what was a surprising move yesterday, the Fed dropped the Fed funds rate basically to zero, surpassing market expectations. Everyone fears deflation, and the Fed is willing to do whatever it takes to avoid it. But as Toni Straka from The Prudent Investor points out, these drastic moves could soon lead us to hyper inflation [more...]
Date: 2008-12-17 17:27:58
Gazprom pledges to supply gas to Europe despite Ukraine dispute
Gazprom pledges to supply gas to Europe despite Ukraine dispute Moscow - Russian export monopoly Gazprom pledged Monday to honour contracts for ... debt arrears or see supplies cut. Executives of Gazprom and Ukraine's Nafto... » Taiwan ... Taiwan villages oppose German wind farm - Summary » Two killed in storm in north-eastern Spain [more...]
Date: 2008-12-29 15:54:26
Economic Potpourri December 27, 2008
The barrage of noteworthy economic news continues through the holiday season ... or more weeks ago, had been counting on post-Christmas sales to help rescue what will probably ... - and credit-constrained than ever before. After a 25-year spending tsunami, they’ve shifted from spending [more...]
Date: 2008-12-27 22:24:00
Is German (and Japanese and Chinese) frugality the problem?
Martin Wolf writes in today's FT: What are Germany's characteristics? ... , Portugal, and Spain--but mainly Greece) are at some risk of defaulting on their debt if the recession drags ... and Greeks and others) never would have been able to run up so much debt and get into so much financial [more...]
Date: 2008-12-10 11:51:44
A Few Questions for Donald Shriver
Donald W. Shriver, Jr. is a Professor of Ethics and President Emeritus at Union Theological Seminary. His book Honest Patriots: Loving a Country Enough To Remember Its Misdeeds, recently won the prestigious Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Below we ask Shriver some questions about his book and the Grawemeyer Award [more...]
Date: 2008-12-23 13:44:00
