"The idea of financial panic -- that has been pretty much taken care of," Warren Buffett “Economy May Face Prolonged Pain, History Suggests” Greg Ip, Wall Street Journal Mr. Buffett may be technically correct but that won’t help investors who come to the mistaken conclusion...
This week in Outside the Box we take up a topic that should be on the top of the agenda of every regulatory authority, executives at financial services firms of all types, and average investors: How do we fix the credit markets to make sure we do not have such a crisis again? Good friend Michael Lewitt...
Since the credit crisis began, investors have been bombarded with acronyms and phrases that most had very little direct experience with. Since the credit crisis is far from over and has both real and financial economy affects (that will result in a transformation of the US economy in the years ahead...
Written: April 25, 2008 Dear Reader, What an interesting week! Having been a single parent for two weeks, with the kids on spring break for the second of those, I have attained a whole new level of appreciation, yes, I think that's the word, for the difficulty associated with holding down the home...
It could be argued that the recent rise in the medium and longer term US Treasury rates have something to do with concerns re inflation. It also could just as easily be argued that a major part of the rise is due to a lessening of the fear factor related to the credit crisis and an associated narrowing...
This week's Outside the Box is from my friends at Hoisington Management. While somewhat technical, they make the case that a slowdown in consumer spending is inevitable. This is worth taking some time and thinking about. Quoting: "This means that consumer spending increases should be approximately...
excerpts from this week's report: Gary Crittenden Chief Financial Officer, Citigroup "For those who may be inclined to go along with the recent optimistic comments from the heads of several major investment banks (see last Thursday’s blog posting, “News Flash: Credit Crisis End in Sight”) and...
Bloomberg reports today that major money manager, Mark Mobius, has joined four financial titans (Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase; Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs; John Mack, Morgan Stanley; and Richard Fuld, Lehman Bros.) in proclaiming that the end of the credit crisis is in sight. Such statements are astonishing...
"In my interview with the CEO of CreditSights we explored a wide range of factors related to the credit markets including rising corporate default risks, the difference between today's environment (economic and financial) versus 1990/1, confidence levels in the financial system, and an estimation...
“…it is now clear that the current turmoil is more than simply a liquidity event, reflecting the deep-seated balance sheet fragilities and weak capital bases, which means its effects are likely to be broader, deeper, and more protracted.” IMF Global Financial Stability Report April 2008 This has been...