Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Hi all,
So my new blog is up. Here's the link.
In long form: http://blogs.reuters.com/rolfe-winkler
BUT, this URL also works with the new blog: http://optionarmageddon.com. The URL with "ml-implode" will still bring you here, to the old blog. But the one without it now redirects to my Reuters blog.
The best bookmark (in case ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
For those interested, here's a link to the press release announcing my move to Reuters.
The new blog should be live today or tomorrow. Will follow up with that URL.
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Sorry to keep everyone hanging for OA's big news; I was hoping to have a link to the press release, but it's still not available.
Anyway, after a great year blogging for the Implode-O-Meter, OA is headed to Reuters. They've started a commentary team and, starting today, I'm their newest columnist.
This is great news. ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 26 Comments »
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Just a heads up for readers: OA will be announcing some big news later today. (which will also explain why posting has been light the last couple weeks...)
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
...then why is issuance again increasing under FDIC's "Temporary" Liquidity Guarantee Program? FDIC published May data today.
Below I've pasted each monthly summary since the program began late last year.
Click each image to enlarge in new window.
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Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
Senator Coburn of Oklahoma produced the following report about wasteful stimulus projects. Worth flipping through. The top 10 are rather funny/aggravating...
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
(Send links, videos, pics to optionarmageddon at gmail with subject “link”)
Credit Bailout: Issuers Slashing Balances (NYT) "Mr. McClelland’s credit card company was calling yet again, wondering when it could expect the next installment on his delinquent account. He proposed paying half of his $5,486 balance and calling the matter even. ...
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Sunday, June 14th, 2009
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 5th, 2009
From FDIC: Republic Bank of Chicago Assumes All Deposits of Bank of Lincolnwood
Bank of Lincolnwood, Lincolnwood, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
A big drawback to bailing out banks is that, intact, they can lobby to preserve the most lucrative parts of their biz. Like derivatives trading. Derivatives brought down AIG and were the reason given for bailing out Bear Stearns, et al. If ever there was an area that needed substantial ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments »
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
WSJ: SEC Expected to Approve Civil Charges for Angelo Mozilo
The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to approve civil fraud charges against former Countrywide Financial Corp. executives as soon as today, including founder and former chief executive Angelo Mozilo, people familiar with the matter say.
As previously reported in The Wall ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
Monday, June 1st, 2009
An interesting document. Here's the PDF.
GM bankruptcy filing
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
When the PPIP was first announced, OA pointed out the perverse incentive it provides for banks to buy toxic assets from themselves in order to shift risk to taxpayers.
It's reminiscent of seller-funded downpayment assistance on FHA loans. If a builder needs to clear inventory, he can affect a sale by ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Sunday, May 17th, 2009
NYT's Sunday Magazine is all about debt this week. Here are links to key articles:
Suze Orman is Having a Moment
What Does Your Credit Card Company Know About You?
My Personal Credit Crisis (This was Friday's "must-read"....re-linking in case you missed it.)
The China Puzzle
There are other, shorter articles on the Sunday Magazine ...
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Friday, May 15th, 2009
From PaidContent (this gives OA a great excuse to re-publish one of our favorite vids---see below):
Long-time angel investor Ron Conway talked with Bambi Francisco at EconSM Thursday....
Twitter: Conway isn’t concerned that Twitter isn’t making money yet. “If you look at some of the greatest companies that have ever come out ...
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Thursday, May 14th, 2009
This article from the Atlantic is a must-read. It has nothing to do with economics or finance, but OA readers are urged to check it out anyway.
Is there a formula—some mix of love, work, and psychological adaptation—for a good life? For 72 years, researchers at Harvard have been examining this ...
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Friday, May 8th, 2009
Another sign of foreclosure trouble in CA (WSJ) "Delinquencies on dues owed to homeowner associations have risen sharply"
Jobless Rate Increases to 8.9% (MarketWatch) Those looking for "green shoots" will point to this data proclaiming that the economy has turned a corner because the pace of job losses is slowing, to ...
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Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Some links to help readers digest the stress test results. OA will have commentary after we've had a chance to analyze the Fed's release in more detail.
First, the release itself. This PDF file explains the stress tests and includes individual "results" for each of the banks analyzed.
Second, a helpful interactive ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Apologies to readers, but I will be unable to post links today. In the meantime, I thought I'd offer up an open comment thread for readers to discuss the day's news or whatever is on your minds.
To get everyone started, here's a link to Tim Geithner's NYT op-ed today regarding ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
From WSJ: Stress Tests Separate Strong Banks from Weak
Results of the government's stress tests of the nation's largest 19 banks started to trickle out Wednesday, highlighting the burgeoning gaps between the industry's strong and weak players.
Among the institutions that have been instructed by the Federal Reserve to raise more capital ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Jeremy Grantham's thoughts are always well-considered. In his latest piece he argues that the mini-bull may have a bit farther to run. But he cautions investors not to get too excited...
Jeremy Grantham, Quarterly Letter
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 4th, 2009
A telling stat from Merrill's Chief Economist David Rosenberg (no link):
You know it’s a low quality rally when the top 50 most heavily shorted stocks are the ones that outperform the most – up 28% in April, an 1,860 basis point spread over the broad equity market.
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Another ponzi bites the dust. (WSJ)
California financier Danny Pang was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of structuring cash transactions to keep them under the $10,000 figure that triggers a report to the federal government.
The accusation, though it involves a felony, appears to be a placeholder while ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 27th, 2009
A new addition to the "What-Were-They-Thinking" file. (AP)
An administration official says a presidential Boeing 747 and a fighter jet flew low near ground zero in New York City Monday because the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty.
This ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
WSJ:
TD Bank Financial Group has entered the fray as a potential suitor for BankUnited Financial Corp.
The BankUnited FSB unit faces a deadline next week from the U.S. government to raise capital or find a buyer. If it fails, the banking unit could be seized by regulators. BankUnited has been crippled ...
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