At Economist’s View, Mark Thoma brings up a subject no one seems to want to talk about anymore – helping people with modest incomes buy homes.
In the housing crisis, poor people — of all the likely suspects — are playing the role of scapegoats. Conservatives support the idea More…
Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture has an astounding followup to Matthew Blake’s coverage of Congress tearing into the rating agencies on Wednesday. As Matthew pointed out, lawmakers got into some unusually tough questioning of the CEOs of the agencies, which have come under heavy criticism for giving More…
Confused about the financial crisis? The rise of mortgage-backed securities and credit default swaps? So, it appears, were the credit ratings agencies — the companies that rated these financial instruments.
Since the federal government didn’t have authority to regulate the secondary mortgage market, it was up to the big CRA’s, More…
When it comes to the government’s $700-billion rescue plan, it’s clear that a huge amount of money is at stake. As a result, the Treasury Dept. vowed last week to run an “open and transparent program,” so taxpayers know exactly where that money will go and how it More…
The Starbucks Latte Index often gets cited as an indicator of whether consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending – if they give up expensive coffee drinks, the thinking goes, they’re serious about saving money.
But if you really want to know what’s going on with consumer spending on More…
They came together quickly in February to pass a short-term stimulus bill. They united again this month around a plan to bail out Wall Street. But as Democrats and Republicans begin deliberations over long-term reforms for the financial-services industry, both sides seem to be prepping for what will likely be More…
A troubled investment banker writes to Dear Lucy at the Financial Times to tell her about a disturbing experience recently at a dinner party. The investment banker was asked what he did for a living, and when he supplied the answer, everyone at the party turned on him. The More…
Yes, we know there’s nothing funny about the credit crunch. But via Calculated Risk, the Daily Mirror in Britain takes a crack at it anyway, with a list of top 10 jokes about the financial crisis.
A sample:
With the current market turmoil, what’s the easiest way to More…
There are 18 days until the end of Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign. Having begun this campaign as the clear front-runner — not only for the Republican nomination but for the presidency — and as the supposedly moderate force who could bring order to Washington, the Arizona senator finds himself More…
There was no way Sen. John McCain was going to miss this appointment.
Last month, he bailed out at the last minute on appearing on David Letterman’s late-night talk show, ostensibly to fly to Washington to save America from economic collapse. But before heading to Capitol Hill, he paid a More…
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