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European bank practices were analogous to US subprime ARMs in that European banks lent money to Eastern European countries that could not sustain repayment of that debt unless their economies kept growing and they kept rerolling the debt (analogous to lending to low-income home buyers that could...

Liquidation is tricky because: 1. The impact of liquidation on other banks' asset values. How does the liquidation avoid a messy devaluation of loan portfolios sitting on other banks' balance sheets? 2. The impact of liquidation on bonds held as assets by other financial services firms (e.g...

Doubtful. UBS assets are four times the GDP of Switzerland (i.e., the equivalent of the US trying to bailout a $60 trillion bank). The best the Swiss could hope for is to split the bank, save the domestic sliver, and let the massive international side go. Nor is UBS an isolated example of a...

Looks like Ireland or Spain are the leading candidates in the EU: From: http://www.cnbc.com/id/29156803

Coprolite? This is why "screwing the banks" is likely to end badly. To the extent that the toxic asset situation isn't resolved quickly, the counterparties to banks' liabilities will find that they hold toxic assets, too. It's all a very large chain of dominoes with lots of semi-innocent...

Only Americans are going to have to save Americans. I doubt that any government stimulus bill could ever create the kinds of long-term jobs, products, and services, that will turn the country around. Government jobs simply don't create growth, they may provide some seeds for growth (e.g...

The data is far far worse than anything from the last 70 years -- we've had 6 quarters of declining earnings for the S&P 500 (ties with a recession in the early 50s) and Q4 2008 was the first quarter ever with an aggregate loss for the S&P 500 since the start of records (1936). (See...

GM et al would have gone bankrupt years ago if the banks hadn't let people convert home equity into automobiles. The only way the automakers could sell all those profitable SUVs was because the banks and asset-backed securities investors were giving out free money to any one that could hold a...

Actually it's just the transmitter, not the CPU. If you are in a weak signal area, it means you are far form the nearest tower or have a lot of junk between you and the tower. And if your phone can't hear the tower, then the tower can't hear your phone unless your phone cranks up it's transmit...

Exactly! Ignoring stock_trad3r is like ignoring all the ticks that go against your position or bias. I want to see the full market of prices and trading ideas, the prices and ideas that are bullish, the ones that are bearish, the ones that are trending, and the ones that chopping. Yes, ET...

How much farther down do you expect the market to drop before it rises again? And if it drops more than you expect (and does not rise) isn't that a strong indicator that your model of the market is wrong and your predictions of a rise may be wrong. The reasons for it going up or down are not...

It's not the number of apps so much as the type of apps. Some apps use the CPU, disk, graphics, network, etc. more and they drain the battery faster. Others use less resources.

I agree that when the govt borrows from the Fed, the Fed printed the money. But when the govt borrows from the Chinese or from private investors looking for a "safe" place, then no money is printed. T-bill auctions don't involve printing money, only a lending of money already in circulation...

They will return because they think they have to. I had dinner with a retired friend yesterday. His savings got hit pretty hard by the downturn and that makes him wary of equities. Yet he says that he must get 10% annual return or be forced go back to work. Hmmm.... I wonder what he'll...

Yes, we are saying the same thing at some level. The rationale for borrowing vs. printing is the difference in effective interest rates and the impact on long-term growth rates. For many countries, it seems to be much cheaper to borrow $1 trillion (and keep prices stable) than to print and...

Government debt and the central bank printing press are two different independent issues. Governments don't need the printing press in order to borrow (they just need willing lenders). Lots of governments have failed to live within their means without using the printing press -- just look at...

Say what you like about his ideas, but Geithner is right about the need for speed. Every day that this crisis continues, the values of bank assets decline toward or past the insolvency line. Currently, a number of banks would probably be bankrupt if it weren't for various accounting games...

I agree, but lets examine the effects of a series of long-term bonds and loans in terms of three numbers: circulating money, bonds, loans 1a) Start with c in circulation and the opening of a bank 1$) c, 0, 0 (c in circulation, 0 long-term deposits, 0 loans) 2a) Someone deposits x in a...

Yes, and when the convoy rolls over the hidden 6 ft trench in the road, the survivalists will have a nice supper. :D

Exactly! The core weakness of fiat currencies is the weakness of the flesh -- the money regulators inevitably opt for short-term gains that lead to long-term corruption of the currency. Some form of standard provides a rational constraint lacking in the wills of the people and politicians...