retail sales and historic jobless claims dampen spirits - August 8, 2008 9:22

It seems like every time investor sentiment turns positive and consumers gain hope, something in the way of negative financial news gets in the way. Thursday (August 7), there were a few bits of important economic news that worked together to spoil the day. Retail sales, jobless claims, and disappointing financial sector news all contributed […]

Safe-havens in Troubled Times? - August 6, 2008 11:03

Each day we hear another piece of bad news on the banking front. It was called the sub-prime crisis, then it was the credit crunch; what we have in reality is a full blown banking crisis.

Oil and Fed create perfect equities storm - August 6, 2008 10:58

Oil continued to drive downward Tuesday (August 5) as speculation brought light sweet crude futures to $118 per barrel during the day with a close at $119.17. This was a $2.24 drop in New York trade. Oil has now fallen $28 since its high on July 11, less than one month ago. The record high […]

Oil touches 7-week low - July 30, 2008 9:54

Stocks surged Tuesday, one day after a sell off, thanks largely to oil touching a 7-week low price point. In New York trade, light sweet crude oil futures dropped $2.54 to a close of $122.19. Not only is this a nearly two month low, it brought the recent oil slide to about $25 in just […]

The Paradox of Deleveraging - July 29, 2008 10:43

Back in college, most of us took microeconomics before we took macroeconomics. In fact, at Grinnell College where I went, microeconomics was a prerequisite for macroeconomics. The reason was simple: microeconomics begins with the concepts of supply and demand, an essential starting point for the study of macroeconomics. But you only know you’ve mastered both […]

A Occasional letter From The Collection Agency - July 28, 2008 16:00

It has been a rather busy time for The Collection Agency, picking up assets in lieu of cash. Anyone need a badly treated, surplus to requirements, Bank customer desk or ten? I can do job lots. We start off with an excerpt from The Bernanke Conundrum written on 8th May 08: “You see, For Ben […]

Jobless, housing data sours markets - July 25, 2008 12:16

Following a strong starting to the week, financially, jobless claims and housing market data put Wall Street and consumers in sour moods Thursday (July 24). Weekly jobless claims were over 400,000, the highest weekly impact since 2005.

Financial sector rebound anything but certain - July 23, 2008 13:15

A fresh batch of earnings reports in recent days have definitely called into question the likelihood of a near-term recovery in the financial services sector. Some financial services and lending companies have performed better than anticipated.

Will Europe Escape the maladies of the U.S.? - July 23, 2008 6:58

Last week all was well, as no less a person as Paulson, the Treasury Secretary reassured us all that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sufficiently capitalized. Last weekend a plan was put into effect to ensure their survival. The second largest bank failure ever in the States Indy Bank went bust. Many believe that […]