By Mike Konczal, aka Mike Rorty, of Rortybomb and The Atlantic I want to point out this research brief on the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (pdf file) from Law Professor Adam Levitin. At 16 pages, it’s the best one-stop paper I’ve seen for understanding why CFPA needs to pass. As opposed to specific […]
Well, this is exciting and encouraging news: “Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s pay czar, said Sunday that he had broad and “binding” authority over executive compensation, including the ability to “claw back” money already paid, and he is weighing how and whether to use that power. He also said he has the authority to use […]
I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that that market neutral strategy illustrated through the blog research is working like a charm (I will be posting some results soon). The market has been on a massive bullish tear, to the dismay of market bears. Well, the new strategy works and it allows us […]
By Harald Finger and Carlo Sdralevich IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department In mid-2008, few would have predicted that 2009 would be a good year for Lebanon. But while many emerging market countries are deeply embroiled in the global economic crisis, the Lebanese economy could this year grow substantially faster than our recent […]
Here is a series by Nathan Lewis at The Huffington Post, explaining the hidden workings of our finanical system, using Goldman Sachs as the lens. I recommend reading them. Do We Need Goldman Sachs? The GS-Files 2: Stuffing the Taxpayer The GS-Files 3: Heads We Win, Tails You Lose The GS-Files 4: Always a Winner About the […]
As we approach two and a half years of financial crisis and recession, one has to at least begin to inquire why the dynamics continue and what the Administration plans to do about them. So far, the answer seems to be “subsidize the financial services industry” and stage a “reorganization.” But subsidies keep the same […]
Rolfe Winkler of Reuters and Louise Story of the New York Times sat in on the hearings on the SEC-Bank of America settlement today. Those who have followed this little drama may recall: Merrill paid its employees bonuses of $3.6 billion prior to the close of the deal with Bank of America. It was very […]
Friday the FDIC closed another three banks: Community First Bank in Prineville, OR, Community National Bank of Sarasota County in Venice, FL, and First State Bank in Sarasota, Fl. While the FDIC transfers the deposits and liquidates the assets, one must wonder how many more bank failures are to come? With 97 banking institutions having […]