CNBC host Rick Santelli’s recent trading-floor rant has made him the darling of the right. Apparently Santelli, just like conservatives, is trying to deflect blame for the financial crisis away from himself onto anyone else he can think of—in this case, the poor. See, the Santellis of the world are used to being the masters of [...]

Just a quick little note on Obama’s visit to Arizona last week, during which he outlined his mortgage rescue plan. From the Arizona Republic : Obama’s $75 billion plan removes restrictions that prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from guaranteeing loans for mortgages valued at more than 80 percent of a home’s value. That rule prevents families from refinancing at historically low interest rates if they owed more than their homes are worth. Obama also says he will announce uniform rules for th

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand consumers are making fewer applications for credit and are more likely to default on bills and mortgages as a recession enters its fifth quarter, according to the nation’s biggest credit-checking company.

Gordon sets up a webshyte: http://www.wearejustsofucked.gov.ukThe one eyed Scottish idiot, our snot gobbling and alledged trouser wetter has posted some fine old excuses on how he fucked the UK economy:First up he explains the sub-prime market. Also note the fact he use the USA as his whipping boy, avoiding the point that we did exactly the same here in the UK.The spread of sub-prime: despite record house-building, more people wanted homes than were for sale and they were prepared to borrow more

In comments, gene’o asks:Do you think the UST bond market is going to collapse soon, making it impossible for the US Gov. to service its existing debt and borrow new money to bail out elites? I think maybe. I’m keeping tabs and looking for an ungodly spike in the yield for 2-yrs and shorter. I think that’s probably the point of no return.I’m leaning toward “yes” on this topic. There are a LOT of “IFs” surrounding the topic.A Google Search on “Treasury Bill Bubble” yields a whole lotta articles a

As my readers may have noticed I am pretty much letting my colleague Edward running the show at the moment in terms of detailing the fall from grace of European economies. It is funny to think about how it is under a year ago that the notion of decoupling was fiercely debated. What a difference a couple of bust economies and banks make eh? In any case, what follows will be some semi-random observations on last week's and the coming ditto's events. As a common theme I think it is safe to say tha

Tired of the steady barrage of bad news these days? Despite a global epidemic of bankruptcies, layoffs, wage cuts, foreclosures, credit defaults and dismal financial markets, one part of the Poconos appears to be a place of surprising growth and prosperity. Lehigh Gorge State Park...

Don't understand the credit crisis? No problem. A graduate student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena has created a simple cartoon that explains the basics in just a few minutes.

Ah, sweet irony! Corporate credit grader Standard & Poor’s cut its key rating of Bankruptcy Management Solutions Inc. — an Irvine-based provider of computer support services to bankruptcy trustees who liquidate debtors’ assets — from lowly “B-” to even worse, near-default “CCC+.” BMS, controlled by investors led by Charlesbank Capital Partners , has total debts of $905 million, according S&P. BMS’ rating outlook is “negative,” S&P says. In a press release, S&P said : “The

"Too big to fail" corporate crack whore AIG is back for more. (The first $150,000,000,000.00 the American taxpayers gave it wasn't enough apparently). Gosh, who could have ever predicted that the federal government's "money for nothing, stimulus for free" bonanza of the last 6 months would result in these bloated corporate junkies (the lucky ones who were "allowed" to survive) coming back for more. I suppose the taxpayers can just "absorb" AIG's $60BN expected loss. Obama's mortgage "plan" h

By Wolfgang Münchau, FT: The crisis started in the US, but Europe is where it might turn into catastrophe. A senior policymaker told me last week that the present situation reminded him of the 1992 crisis of Europe’s exchange rate mechanism, when one country after another became subject to speculative attacks – leading to the expulsion of the UK and Italy from the system. In a monetary union, you can no longer bet on exchange rates. But thanks to credit default swaps, you can place conven

Steve Lendman February 23, 2009 The more they do, the worse it gets, and world headlines confirm it. Recent ones include: – The New York Times, February 17: “After Manhattan’s Office Boom, a Hard Fall;” – Washington Post, February 17: “Obama signs $787 billion stimulus bill; Dow Jones industrial average drops nearly 300 points;” “Bail out of Wall Street” and “nationalize” the Fed. In other words, drop the fiction that it’s a government agency. Expose its sta