Archive for March, 2009

  • Who Was Responsible for the Great Moderation
    , March 31st, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    In The Atlantic, Virginia Postrel looks at what made the Great Moderation possible. The Federal Reserve thought it was them, and that was a big [...]

  • Buy List YTD
    , March 30th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    Since the first quarter ends tomorrow, I thought I’d give an update on the Crossing Wall Street Buy List. It’s not been a good year, [...]

  • Morgan Says Sell Into Bear Market Rally
    , March 30th, 2009 at 11:49 am

    I’m not selling, but I think Morgan may be right. Stocks have climbed so much so quickly. Investors should sell into the recent stock market [...]

  • The Golden State Fizzles
    , March 29th, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    California is not in good shape: California’s unemployment rate will soar to between 12 percent and 15 percent by next spring and remain in the [...]

  • Weekend Reading
    , March 29th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    There are many good articles this weekend. Here are a few: “The Quiet Coup” by Simon Johnson “Now the Long Run Looks Riskier, Too” by [...]

  • WaMu: Not Stodgy Old Banking
    , March 29th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

    I bashed this WaMu commercial a few years ago. Who really thinks a banker looks like Mr. Monopoly? In retrospect, perhaps WaMu should have paid [...]

  • Laid Off Wall Streeters Turning to Stripping
    , March 29th, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    From The New York Post (of course): Randi Newton, 28, who lives in Midtown, was a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley before the crash but [...]

  • Weekend Poll
    , March 27th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    Was the Rebel Alliance morally justified in destroying the Death Star? ( surveys)

  • Freeman Dyson: A Civil Heretic
    , March 27th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    The New York Times profiles Freeman Dyson: Dyson is well aware that “most consider me wrong about global warming.” That educated Americans tend to agree [...]

  • Corporate Bonds Don’t Believe the Rally
    , March 27th, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    David Merkel makes a good point: The spread between corporate bond and stocks is getting pretty big. In fact, way too big. Corporates seem to [...]

  • Banks and Toasters
    , March 27th, 2009 at 9:18 am

    Paul Krugman has a good op-ed today on the problems facing the financial industry. This one paragraph caught my attention: The market mystique didn’t always [...]

  • Did New Homes Sales Improve?
    , March 26th, 2009 at 9:02 am

    Barry Ritholtz has a great post on the supposed improvement in new homes sales. The media reported that sales grew up 4.7% in February, but [...]

  • Q4 GDP -6.3%
    , March 26th, 2009 at 8:55 am

    The final revision to fourth-quarter GDP came in at -6.3%. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar number for the first quarter. The economy [...]

  • I Guess Jon Stewart Was Right
    , March 26th, 2009 at 7:51 am

    The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M – Th 11p / 10c Words of Advice comedycentral.com Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

  • The Death of Equities: Part of a Never-Ending Series
    , March 25th, 2009 at 9:48 pm

    John Authers has an interesting article in today’s Financial Times. In it, he questions the received wisdom of investing in stocks for long-term financial planning. [...]

  • The Death of Equities:
    Part of a Never-Ending Series
    , March 25th, 2009 at 9:48 pm

    John Authers has an interesting article in today’s Financial Times. In it, he questions the received wisdom of investing in stocks for long-term financial planning. [...]

  • Will a Secondary Market Develop?
    , March 25th, 2009 at 11:07 am

    One question I have about the Geithner Plan—or more specifically, an outgrowth of the plan—is will a secondary market for these toxic assets develop? There’s [...]

  • Obama's Presser
    , March 25th, 2009 at 9:12 am

    At the 42:25 mark of this video, President Obama takes a question from a reporter with Ebony. Naturally, Richard Pryor and Tim Reid were three [...]

  • Obama’s Presser
    , March 25th, 2009 at 9:12 am

    At the 42:25 mark of this video, President Obama takes a question from a reporter with Ebony. Naturally, Richard Pryor and Tim Reid were three [...]

  • Dear Mr. Liddy, I Quit
    , March 25th, 2009 at 9:09 am

    The New York Times reprints a resignation letter sent from a Veep at AIG’s Financial Products division. All I can say is read the whole [...]