July 6, 2008

Speculation, Swaps and the Price of Crude Oil

Lots of people, myself included, arguing that speculation -- at least in the sense in which we understand that sort of thing -- in commodities markets is playing only a minor role in the run-up in oil prices. That, of...

Banking Losses to Hit $1.6-Trillion

According to a Bridgewater study leaked by a Swiss paper today, total financial losses from the the current credit crisis will hit $1.6-trillion, well above most current estimates. Here is the German/English translation: Explosive Study: The banking crisis will be...

How Bear Stearns Got Sucker Punched

Great 10,000-word read in the August Vanity Fair from Bryan "Barbarians at the Gate" Burrough about the collapse of Bear Stearns. On Monday, March 10, the rumor started: Bear Stearns was having liquidity problems. In fact, the maverick investment bank...

Sneak Peek at Weekend Reading

Here is a sneak peek at some links from my weekly Weekend Reading column over at TheStreet.com. More than 40% of investors in structured products don't understand them (Risk) Credit default swaps suggest both Ford and GM will declare Chapter...