Synergized Out Of A Job

Mish discusses synergies and downsizing in merging and non-merging financial entities, more job losses in non-financial companies due to downsizing, and more layoffs to after Christmas.
19,000 WaMu Employees Will Be Synergized Out Of A Job
Courtesy of Mish
Forbes is reporting JPMorgan Plans To Ax The WaMu Suits.

Up to 19,000 employees of Washington Mutual face being laid [...]

Unfair Bailouts

David Merkel, at the Aleph Blog, updates his thoughts on the bailouts.  A step-by-step how-to for large corporations.   
Bailouts are Unfair to Those Who are not Bailed Out
Excerpt:  "If you run a large corporation in trouble, there is a drill that you must follow.

In measured tones, tell the public that liquidity is no issue, and that you are [...]

Darker and More Dangerous Reality

Michael Panzner, at his new site, When Giants Fall, discusses the global financial crisis and the potential for severe social, political and geopolitical fallout, and the implications on the price of gold. 
Fear of a Darker and More Dangerous Reality
What a difference a year or two makes.
Back in early 2007, any mainstream analyst or commentator who raised the prospect that we [...]

Too Smart

Sunday Morning Coffee
with Random Roger, courtesy of Random Roger’s Big Picture.

Barry had a post about Bob Rubin’s diminished credibility and while the post was a good read there was a secondary point in there that I think is a very useful learning tool (or reminder) for just about anybody.
In there was a snippet from the [...]

New Realities

In this article, Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon discusses the effects of the economic crisis on the commercial real estate market.  Michael’s other website is When Giants Fall (name of his soon-to-be released new book).  
New Realities
Courtesy of Michael Panzner
Back in June, I had a brief chat with an investment banker who specialized in commercial real estate financing. [...]

Rubin Takedown by WSJ

Here’s an article by Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism on Robert Rubin and accountability, citing a WSJ article "Rubin, Under Fire, Defends His Role at Citi" (subscription required). 
Mirabile Dictu! Rubin Takedown by the Wall Street Journal!
Excerpt:  "This ought to be a celebratory event, the scrutiny of a powerful player in the financial system who heretofore seemed [...]

Updating Atlas Shrugged

Here are a few excerpts, to share Updating Atlas Shrugged by Jeremiah Tucker, and an Introduction by Barry Ritholtz.  In an effort to focus on the political and economic theory being parodied, I’ve left out the sexually explicit parts. 
Updating ATLAS SHRUGGED for the Financial Crisis
Excerpt from Barry Ritholtz’s introduction:
Friday flame bait:
Has ever a more pedantic, [...]

How Did We Get Here?

Brad DeLong excerpting from The End, by Michael Lewis. 
How Did We Get Here? Michael Lewis’s View…
Michael Lewis believes that the seeds of our financial crisis were sown when Wall Street investment banks transformed themselves from partnerships to public corporations–that that destabilized their internal risk controls and incentives and made them go for variance.
He has lunch [...]

Holiday Shopping Scrooge

Mish reports on Holiday Shopping. 
Holiday Shopping Scrooge 
Santa Claus may be hard at work as the holidays approach, but he will find many Americans struggling with a troubled economy. A CNN Poll On Holiday Shopping is an indication of what many of us suspect: This will be the worst Christmas shopping season on record. Let’s take [...]

Failed Economic Theory

Here’s an article by Ben Bittrolff, the Financial Ninji, discussing the economic model upon which our economic policy is based.  The theory, neo-classical economic theory, is based on premises which are simply wrong. 
Policy Based on Failed Economic Theory: Just Stupid
Courtesy of Ben Bittrolff [ The Financial Ninja ]
I can’t stress how important it is to understand that economists are [...]

Watching Gold

Interesting Friday morning thoughts on gold, courtesy of Tim Iacono at The Mess That Greenspan Made.
Watching and waiting for gold
Precious metals markets have been quiet today, that is, up until the last few minutes when that little line on Kitco’s live gold chart went vertical for what amounted to about a $7 gain for gold.
It [...]

Gov’t on Hook for $8T+

Mark at Fund My Mutual Fund summarizes the government’s quickly amassing obligations, and has reached a conclusion – similar to Phil’s - that it would be more efficient and more fair for the government to have simply paid off a percentage of mortgages.  "[G]ive everyone with a mortgage a 50% payoff and all these toxic instruments in the system [...]

Chesapeake Energy

Mish reports on Chesapeake Energy, Petrobras, and OPEC.  Courtesy of Mish, at Global Economic Trend Analysis.  
Chesapeake Energy, Largest US Natural Gas Producer, Runs Out Of Cash
YahooFinance is reporting Chesapeake Energy may sell $1.8B stock to get cash.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., the nation’s largest producer of natural gas, seeks to raise up to $1.8 billion through common [...]

Clues to Aging in Red Wine

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Red wine with your turkey dinner?…  This article discusses the protein sirtuin (subject to a post yesterday explaining how loss of regulation leads to chaos) which is activated by resveratrol, an ingredient of red wine. 
Scientists Find Clues to Aging in a Red Wine Ingredient’s Role in Activating a Protein 
By NICHOLAS WADE in the NY Times

Excerpt:  [...]

Case Shiller and CAR Analysis

Housing prices — overview of declines in various cities.  These numbers do not include the latest, which would reflect worsening of conditions in October and November. 
Case Shiller and CAR Analysis November 2008 Release 
Courtesy of Mish. 
California Association of Realtors C.A.R. Data
The following chart is from my friend "TC" who has been monitoring California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) and DQNews [...]