Actually, I lied.  He really is not that bullish at all.  But he does sound relatively upbeat by comparison to 5 months ago.
I have seen Whitney Tilson of T2 Partners a lot in the media of late.  The two most recent appearances are with Tech Ticker where he talked about house prices and with the [...]

Earlier today I posted an article about how accounting was favourable to banks in that it could help them weather the storm and appear well-capitalized until a recovery is underway.  Afterwards, a buoyant economy would increase earnings enough to allow the massive writedowns that need to flow through the income statement to be taken in [...]

This is the conclusion that Wachovia Chief Economist Mark Vitner draws from the very bullish consumer confidence number we have just seen.  To fill you in on the details, the Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index leapt from a poor 40.8 reading in April to a less poor 54.9 reading for May. This was [...]

Obushma-Biney in the Home of the Frightened – Willem Buiter
Tell us what you really think: “The spinelessness and moral cowardice of the Obama administration know no bounds.”

Fall in Libor May Overstate Improvement in Interbank Lending Market – Yves Smith
It’s not over until the Fat Lady sings. I do think we are seeing the crisis fade [...]

I received a high-quality note from Marc Chandler, Chief Currency Strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, which I think worthy of posting.  He makes several points which are game changers regarding fiscal and monetary policy.  They are:

Don Kohn, an influential Fed official, thinks that the Fed has kept long-term interest rates down in the United States, [...]

If you thought house prices were about to show some price gains, think again.  The Case-Shiller Home Price Index for March 2009 was released this morning and it paints a fairly grim picture.  The Composite-10 index shows an18.6% decline in prices over the last year, while the Composite-20 registered a 18.7% drop in that time.  [...]

The following Bloomberg article points out why I have repeatedly argued that banks will be earning a lot of money, Meredith Whitney’s counter-arguments notwithstanding. It also points out why the likes of John Hempton believe that the FDIC ‘stole’ Washington Mutual from shareholders and awarded it to JPMorgan, a view I have not supported (hat [...]

I want to use this holiday weekend to fill in some gaps on major issues because I think we are at a key turning point. Because the economy has left the freefall stage and I have been more positive, I have been getting the feeling that I am the bull in a room of bears.  [...]

If you are in the States, have a great holiday wekend.

Friday Night Videos: Inflation or Deflation; Lost Vegas – Mish
Very sobering account. By the way, the part about no notice evictions is scary and must be stopped.

Don’t Get Carried Away Now! – Edward Hugh
Interesting look into the difference between recessions caused by financial crises and [...]

Kyle, a long-time reader, recently asked why I think mark-to-market accounting actually matters.  After alI, savvy investors know that accounting does not necessarily change cash flows.  I think his question has a lot to do with not just accounting, but also with the stress tests.
Kyle writes:
My point is that it has really NOT changed, and [...]