Charles R. Morris
A Path to Economic Recovery
The recession is getting worse, with the jobless count steadily rising and credit markets still far from operating smoothly. A big part of the problem is that government bailouts are encouraging banks to mask the extent of their balance-sheet problems. It’s time for the banks to come clean if the economy is going to restart.
Volcker Signs On: A ‘True’ Conservative in the Obama Camp
Volcker is celebrated as the Federal Reserve chairman who broke the plague of global inflation in the early 1980s. But he did it be engineering a violent crackdown on excess credit. Why a ‘Burkean’ conservative can support this Democratic nominee.
Fed’s $1.6 Trillon Bet
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spent his academic career studying the Great Depression. But this economic meltdown is uncharted territory. It turns out the Fed already guaranteed $650 billion even before Congress ok’d that $700-billion bailout.
Hyperventilating on the Bailout
Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson tried to push Congress into accepting the administration’s bailout plan. But the House pushed back. Hard.
Hopes Fade for ‘Clean’ Bailout Bill
Wall Street is lobbying hard on a bill it sees as a gold mine.
Paulson’s Plan Not a Resolution Trust Corp. Scenario
The stock market leaped giddily in late Thursday’s trading on rumors that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. is thinking of “a government-led plan that would bail out the banks in a Resolution Trust Corp.-type scenario,” in the words of the Wall Street Journal’s “MarketBeat” blog.
Yearnings for an “RTC-type solution” that could hold failing mortgages over [...]
Why Paulson Blinked on AIG
Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson saved AIG to avoid a brutal restructuring of the credit default swap market.
McCain’s Economic Agenda
GOP candidate’s Libertarian free-market proposals seek smaller government and tax cuts for big business.
Obama’s Economic Agenda
First in a two-part series on what to expect on the economy from each presidential candidate.
Mortgage Giants Need Dose of Reality
Last week’s announcements of first half results from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exposed the dire straits they are in. By its own rosy fair-value accounting, Freddie is already insolvent. Fannie is in better shape, but a string of heavy losses may have left it fatally weakened. Since both anticipate falling house [...]
