April 2008

Today, I read an article by Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post advising that the U.S. allow drilling for oil in previous no-go drilling zones because the cost of oil is rising. Originally, I agreed with his assessment. Today, I have…

The Lex column in Yesterday's FT highlights what many market players are thinking about the company's £4 billion ($8 billion) rights issue: the economic outlook in the UK is worse than feared."The main potential explanation for the apparent…

This blog entry will serve as a timeline to track housing prices over time as they are reported. US: S&P/Case-Shiller Index 2007 03 27 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Declined 0.2% 2007 04 24 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price…

With oil prices edging up near $120 a barrel, isn't it time for a Windfall Profits tax on oil companies in order to alleviate the burden of the high cost of oil? The short answer is no. Let me explain why.

As I predicted on Saturday, HBOS has got caught up in the global mortgage meltdown. Bloomberg reports:HBOS Plc, the U.K.'s biggest mortgage lender, will sell 4 billion pounds ($8 billion) of shares to bolster capital depleted by asset…

Deutsche Bank released earnings that showed a loss for the first time in five years as they wrote down $4.2 billion in equity as a result of the global credit crisis. While Deutsche Bank has got off well because of reduced exposure to…

When you hear about inflation on TV, don't you often wonder why the official number seems lower than inflation feels to you when you go shopping? It's an open secret in Washington, but the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the common measure of…

If you are looking for companies that have yet to write down massive amounts of losses in this global credit meltdown, look no further than Banco Santander. The Spanish Bank holds a major position in the Spanish mortgage and construction…

As I suggested in my blog titled 'The U.S. Economy 2008,' protectionism is the obvious outcome to a global economic downturn. As the economy turns down, people feel frustrated and angry. They look for scapegoats and turn to economic…

Buffett Says Recession May Be Worse Than Feared (Yahoo! News, 4/28/2008)One Guy Who Has Seen It All Doesn't Like What He Sees Now (WSJ, 4/26/2008)Ignore nonsense that credit crisis is over (Stene Pearlstein, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette…