Video: Barack Obama finally gets angry

OK, well this is just an actor in a comedy skit from Saturday Night Live getting angry.  But, it is pretty funny

Can Geithner’s public-private partnership get it done?

Barack Obama’s presidency will likely be decided by one single issue – his ability to deal with this financial crisis. With the release of his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s Public Private Partnership Investment Program two months into his administration, we now have a fairly comprehensive view of Obama’s strategic approach. Will it work

Russia to re-arm: Obama’s first test

The foreign policy challenges facing the new Obama Administration have mounted significantly in recent days. On the back of civil unrest and trade sanctions in Mexico, a destabilizing power struggle in Pakistan, the latest news to hit in the last week comes from Russia.

Russia is going to re-arm. Nuclear detente is at an end

Gillian Tett: Washington is talking to Swedes about banking crisis solutions

Gillian Tett has written in the Financial Times that the Obama Administration is no talking to the Swedes directly about their solution to the credit crisis, suggesting a openness to potential banking crisis solutions. Next week, Bo Lundgren, now head of the Swedish debt office, but formerly a Deputy Finance Minister under Carl Bildt, is scheduled to meet with American officials in Washington. For those of us who see positives in the Swedish crisis solution, this is positive news

Economists Give Obama an “F”

I give Obama high marks for much of what he has accomplished in such a short span and the tone he has set. However, on the economic policy front, there have been lapses. This video suggests there have been many. Related article Obama, Geithner Get Low Grades From Economists –

Obama’s mistake

The following is a translation of an article by Dr. Artur P. Schmidt, a well-known economist and economic journalist in Switzerland. Schmidt is also a keynote-speaker, who speaks regularly about new media, technology, future trends and knowledge creation.

Recently, he warned that Switzerland faces potential bankruptcy if it does not act to stem losses by its banks and in Swiss Francs in Eastern Europe.

Now he turns to the United States. While I do not agree with everything he writes (I see Glass-Steagall as less important than lack of regulatory oversight), the general tone and overall analysis is spot on regarding interest rates, bailouts and savings. He also has some interesting words to say about how the inflationary policy in Washington is making other nations pay for debts incurred in America.

I should warn you that this analysis at the end of this missive is ‘leftist’ in tone — quite a bit more than what you have seen me write. However, given the huge disparity in income that has built up over the last 35 years in the United States, Schmidt’s analysis does have merit. For my take on similar issues of wealth distribution, see my post, “A populist interpretation of the latest Boom-Bust cycle.”

Where’s Volcker?

Marshall Auerback here.

Unlike Ed, I like to call a spade a spade regarding the Obama Administration’s economic gurus. The more they screw up, the greater the number and depth of the crises, the greater the responsibility/ power Obama gives them. I wonder what he’d do if they ever succeeded? You can’t assume independent probabilities when you have the same actors making policy (and not learning from their past mistakes).

More broadly, you can’t assume independent probabilities even with different policy makers if they share the same theoretical priors and methodological blinders. It is very worrying is that neither Geithner, nor Summers display any obvious remorse or sense that they made contributed to the current mess, thereby making it impossible to believe that they actually understand how to get us out of it. It reminds one of George W. Bush’s reluctance ever to acknowledge an error (and look where that got us).

Geithner and Summers are far more likely to doom Obama’s Presidency. There is no hope for Obama if he continues to embrace neo-Rubinism as his governing creed

TALF details suggest Obama doesn’t get it

Marshall Auerback here. As Ed lucidly suggested to me by e-mail: “We see the Fed giving a loan for assets at the price as reported on the institutions’ books. Otherwise, you have to take a write-down just to get the loan. That’s a non-starter. So the Fed is going to take the asset as collateral

Jamie Galbraith: Stimulus not enough

James Galbraith, a well-known professor at the University of Texas-Austin has joined Paul Krugman in declaring Barack Obama’s nearly $800 billion stimulus plan too small. Below is a video from the Wall Street Journal explaining why the stimulus is not enough and what needs to be done with the banking plan

Chris Whalen critiques Obama stimulus speech

Chris Whalen is a well-respected banking sector analyst who often appears on CNBC and Bloomberg. Below he gives his view on Barack Obama’s stimulus package speech and the need for banking sector restructuring. Below that is a video of President Obama’s speech (he does a lot of thank yous before getting to the substance). You

Geithner and Summers consolidate power

If you recall, a few months ago there was a lot of speculation in Washington about Paul Volcker being named a ‘car czar’ to deal with the problem with the Big Three automakers. That idea has fallen by the wayside. President Obama has named Larry Summers and Tim Geithner to head his auto team. Obviously,

The Obama-Geithner Plan will fail

The title of this post is fairly provocative and categorical. This is by design. For I see Obama’s banking plan as more of the same — not ‘change we can believe in.’ And we all need to be clear about the need for Obama and his team to correct their course of action. Whilst there may be plenty of other reasons to support the President, this is not one of them