September 23, 2008

Illiquidity versus Insolvency

Some people out there need to spend more time in remedial finance. There are two things going on in the financial sector, and while they are linked, they can and should be usefully separated, at least for discussion. We have...

Banking Committee Meetings: Unprepared Kids

I am in unsurprised dismay watching the Senate Banking Committee hearings this morning with Bernanke, Paulson, et al. Doug Kass gets it right in a comment moments ago: It reminds me of a bunch of school kids who turned...

The U.S. Dollar Hits a Wall

No big surprise, perhaps, but the U.S. dollar has hit a wall with respect to most other major currencies. The inflection point can be nailed pretty much spot on, as the following figure shows: September 10, 2008. [via Pacific]...

Links: Shortseller Sellers, Leverage, Norway, Wall Street Art, etc.

Some quick links to things others may find interesting: At least two short-sellers (GLG and Och-Ziff) are on the no-short-selling list. Isn't that some sort of wormhole in the space-time-SEC continuum? (NYTimes) If i-banks cut leverage ratios from 30 times...

The HELOC Auto Loan Connection Thing

According to new data from TransUnion, U.S. auto loans 60-days past due rose 11.5 percent in the second quarter. Blame a slowing economy and seasonal trends, says TransUnion, but this quote struck me: "In some states there's a lack of...

The Debt vs Equity Question

Very nice new John Mauldin missive out (okay, done by a guest, but still good), so read it in its entirely. Here is a quote from the conclusion that should be required by knee-jerk equity buyers: ... what would you...

Newsflash: Jim Rogers Doesn't Like the Paulson Plan

This won't come as a big surprise, but uber-investor Jim Rogers doesn't like the Paulson plan: "It's astonishing, devastating, and very harmful for America and American citizens," he tells me. "It means we're in for the worst recession since World...