If the ballot measures fail and the recession does continue unabated into 2010, the budget gap could widen again into the $20 billion range. But the governor and legislative leaders may have fired all their political bullets in February, leaving them…
We are downgrading Apollo Group (APOL), ITT Educational Services (ESI) and Lincoln Educations Services (LINC) to Neutral from Outperform mostly due to rising concerns that a more-challenging legal/regulatory environment could hinder longer-term growth and hold back valuation multiples near-term. …… We…
Red and Blue tribal pundits agree that economic recovery can only occur if private capital returns to the market. That’s swell, at least they agree on something. So why is our brain trust in Washington doing every conceivable thing to…
Yesterday, amidst massive political and public opinion pressure, AIG revealed the counterparties they had paid out money to since receiving bailout money from the US government (AIG Press Release). The payouts are as follows: $22.4 billion for collateral postings under…
The New York times ran an enlightening front page story this morning (“Congresswoman, Tied to Bank, Helped Seek Funds”) about how Representative Maxine Waters used her position to set up meetings with Treasury officials for a local bank, UnitedOne, in which…
We’re going to be demanding some restraint in exchange for federal aid. – President Obama on Wednesday If you have someone who was making well over $1 million, and now they are capped at $500,000, it is very conceivable that…
I would like to see a regulatory system aimed at insulating the real economy from financial innovation insofar as that is possible. That may require limits on the freedom of action of commercial banks. – Robert Solow, 1987 Nobel Prize…
Here’s the PDF file for this weekend’s client note: Top Gun FP Client Note: The Causes Of The Financial Crisis.
This is great: The Free Market Clapper. 100% true as well.
Even if GM implements the planned operating actions that are substantially within its control, GM’s estimated liquidity during the remainder of 2008 will approach the minimum amount necessary to operate its business. Looking into the first two quarters of 2009,…