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Corporate Credit Distress - The Next Wave Is Here

A: As Paul Krugman says, "...Don't Panic About The Stock Market...Panic about the credit markets instead. Interest rate on 3-month Treasuries at 0.02%; interest rate on high-yield (junk) bonds over 20%." I'll leave it there. Other credit indicators, such as... (read more)
 

Breaking News: Mark Cuban Charged with Insider Trading

This just in: the WSJ is reporting that the SEC has charged billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with insider trading relating to trades made of Mamma.com. We’ll link and update the post when more news becomes available. It hasn’t... (read more)
 

Deflation? Quantitative Easing?

Does today's news that the CPI fell 1% last month mean we headed for deflation? Not if the Fed has anything to say about it: Feds Kohn: Deflation Risk Bigger but Still Small, by Brian Blackstone, RTE: Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said Wednesday... (read more)
 

What's Happening to Berkshire Hathaway?

Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has a very useful look at what's going on at Berkshire Hathaway, which fell $6,500 per share today to close at its lowest level in over five years. After reading his article, I think we might be one step closer to understanding why... (read more)
 

The Top Ten Cars That Help Explain The Demise of Detroit, and The Possible Revival of the Big Three

The global financial crisis is suffocating the Detroit automakers, but the problems have been festering for yearseven when the mighty "Big Three" were earning billions. Aging factories, inflexible unions, arrogant executives and shoddy quality have all damaged... (read more)
 

Citigroup Blames Short Sellers For Collapse

Ciitigroup is in deep trouble and here is the proof: Citigroup Said to Urge SEC to Reinstitute Ban on Short-Selling.Citigroup Inc., which fell as much as 25 percent in New York trading today, is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to revive a prohibition... (read more)
 

Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae to Suspend Foreclosures Until January 9th

Merry Christmas!This is a silver lining in a dark cloud, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are suspending all foreclosures until January 9th.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance companies seized by the U.S. government, are suspending foreclosures beginning... (read more)
 

Waxman Ousts Dingell - Another Key Barrier to Climate & Energy Progress Removed

This is fantastic news - and another sign that the stars are aligning for some serious policy changes to take place in Washington...Automakers' closest friend kicked out of chairmanship It's the end of an era -- Michigan Democrat John Dingell has been officially... (read more)
 

Bush to Pass the Buck on BailoutDecisions

MSNBC reported this week that the Bush Administration will leave at least half of the $700 billion bailout fund for President Elect Obama’s people to deal with. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has stated that he intends to leave $350 billion of the funds... (read more)
 

More on the Fed

Has the central bank gone rudderless?YESTERDAY, we looked at whether the Federal Reserve was reeady to act, as everyone anticipated it would be, on signs of deflation. The answer seemed to be...maybe. Fed officials recently said they were ready to act aggressively... (read more)
 

Credit Today

3 month t-bills: 2 bp (t-w-o basis points)2 year notes: 99 bp (record low)30 year bond: hit 370 bp (record low)30 year swap spread: negative 51 bp never seen before…U.S. credit default swaps widened to record levels that suggest investors anticipate the... (read more)
 

2009 Green Car Of The Year: The Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Today, the Green Car Journal gave its 2009 Green Car of the Year award to the Volkswagen Jetta TDI at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The 2009 Jetta TDI is a quiet-running, diesel-powered car. It beat out hybrids and mini-cars to take the title. The Jetta uses a... (read more)