Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Steve Keen
I've added a new person to the "Smartypants Hall of Fame" on the right
Steve Keen is an Economist in Sydney, Australia. He is "post-Keynesian" and has publicly clashed with Paul Krugman from the New York Times.
He wrote a book, Debunking Economics, that is a scathing critique of current economic theory.
I will be working with him on his open-source dynamic economy modeling software, Minsky.
Capital Account with Lauren Lyster
Capital Account with Lauren Lyster is a new show on RT (aka "Russia Today").
I can't say enough good things about it. The guests are fantastic.
If you do one thing to keep on top of the economy, WATCH THIS SHOW . . . and read my blog . . . OK two things ;-).
You can subscribe to it on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/CapitalAccount
I'm baaaaaack
I just retired from Wall Street and will resume blogging.
I'm pretty much just invested in gold until the whole system resets. I realized that with all my risky gyrations with shorting stocks and trading options I would have done just as well just buying gold.
Spread the word that Voltron is back!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Adieu
I'll be working for a "white shoe" Wall St firm starting Tuesday, so I probably won't be making any more posts to this blog.
I recommend people subscribe to this blog so you'll get notified in case it comes back to life.
Also feel free to keep the party going in the comments section of this post.
Voltron out.
Subscribe in a reader
I recommend people subscribe to this blog so you'll get notified in case it comes back to life.
Also feel free to keep the party going in the comments section of this post.
Voltron out.
Subscribe in a reader
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wells Fargo more fvcked than JP Morgan
Voltron says: keep in mind wells is much smaller than jp morgan or skank of america
Monday, August 30, 2010
Walls Fargo teetering again
Hat Tip to Swinger: Wells Fargo down over 3% today.
crazy rumor of the day: Head of China's central bank has fled the country?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Blogs I Read
Voltron says: I'm shutting down the blog soon, so here's a list of my main sources. The list is also permanently on the right side of the blog.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
NYT: Fair Game - In the Mortgage Drama, One Role Is Enough
Excerpt:
Often, the same bank that services a primary mortgage owned by another institution also owns a second mortgage or home equity line of credit on the same property. When that borrower has trouble meeting both payments, the servicer has an interest in making sure that amounts owed on the second lien, which it owns, continue to be paid even if the first loan, which it has no interest in, slides into delinquency. About two-thirds of primary mortgages are serviced by banks who do not own them but hold the accompanying seconds.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Borrowers Refuse to Pay Billions in Home Equity Loans - NYTimes.com
Voltron says: This is why Wells Fargo is bankrupt many times over
Excerpts:
The delinquency rate on home equity loans is higher than all other types of consumer loans, includingauto loans, boat loans, personal loans and even bank cards like Visaand MasterCard, according to the American Bankers Association.
Lenders say they are trying to recover some of that money but their success has been limited, in part because so many borrowers threaten bankruptcy and because the value of the homes, the collateral backing the loans, has often disappeared.
The result is one of the paradoxes of the recession: the more money you borrowed, the less likely you will have to pay up.
Even when a lender forces a borrower to settle through legal action, it can rarely extract more than 10 cents on the dollar. "People got 90 cents for free, It rewards immorality, to some extent."
"Anything over $15,000 to $20,000 is not collectible. Americans seem to believe that anything they can get away with is O.K."
...85 percent said they would default and worry about the debt only if and when they were forced to.
"I'm kind of banking on there being too many of us for the lenders to pursue. There is strength in numbers."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/business/12debt.html?_r=2
Excerpts:
The delinquency rate on home equity loans is higher than all other types of consumer loans, includingauto loans, boat loans, personal loans and even bank cards like Visaand MasterCard, according to the American Bankers Association.
Lenders say they are trying to recover some of that money but their success has been limited, in part because so many borrowers threaten bankruptcy and because the value of the homes, the collateral backing the loans, has often disappeared.
The result is one of the paradoxes of the recession: the more money you borrowed, the less likely you will have to pay up.
Even when a lender forces a borrower to settle through legal action, it can rarely extract more than 10 cents on the dollar. "People got 90 cents for free, It rewards immorality, to some extent."
"Anything over $15,000 to $20,000 is not collectible. Americans seem to believe that anything they can get away with is O.K."
...85 percent said they would default and worry about the debt only if and when they were forced to.
"I'm kind of banking on there being too many of us for the lenders to pursue. There is strength in numbers."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/business/12debt.html?_r=2
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Sad sign of the times
Modern cargo ships slow to the speed of the sailing clippers
Container ships are taking longer to cross the oceans than the Cutty Sark did as owners adopt 'super-slow steaming' to cut back on fuel consumption
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/25/slow-ships-cut-greenhouse-emissions
Container ships are taking longer to cross the oceans than the Cutty Sark did as owners adopt 'super-slow steaming' to cut back on fuel consumption
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/25/slow-ships-cut-greenhouse-emissions
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Doubling Down on Housing - WSJ.com
Excert:
Some intrepid homeowners are intentionally taking a loss on their current house—and writing a big check to retire their old mortgage—in order to buy twice the home for not much more money. Others, eschewing conventional personal-finance advice, are even opting for "cash-in" refinancings, paying thousands of dollars out of pocket to settle old loans—and then taking out new mortgages with lower payments, shorter durations or both.
Voltron says: what could go wrong?
Monday, July 26, 2010
WSJ: Ten Stock-Market Myths That Just Won't Die
Voltron says: I like the snarky tone of this article.
Excerpt:
1 "This is a good time to invest in the stock market."
Really? Ask your broker when he warned clients that it was a bad time to invest. October 2007? February 2000? A broken watch tells the right time twice a day, but that's no reason to wear one. Or as someone once said, asking a broker if this is a good time to invest in the stock market is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. "Certainly, sir -- step this way!"
2 "Stocks on average make you about 10% a year."
Stop right there. This is based on some past history -- stretching back to the 1800s -- and it's full of holes.
About three of those percentage points were only from inflation. The other 7% may not be reliable either. The data from the 19th century are suspect; the global picture from the 20th century is complex. Experts suggest 5% may be more typical. And stocks only produce average returns if you buy them at average valuations. If you buy them when they're expensive, you do a lot worse.
3 "Our economists are forecasting..."
Hold it. Ask your broker if the firm's economist predicted the most recent recession -- and if so, when.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB128000197220920621.html
Excerpt:
1 "This is a good time to invest in the stock market."
Really? Ask your broker when he warned clients that it was a bad time to invest. October 2007? February 2000? A broken watch tells the right time twice a day, but that's no reason to wear one. Or as someone once said, asking a broker if this is a good time to invest in the stock market is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. "Certainly, sir -- step this way!"
2 "Stocks on average make you about 10% a year."
Stop right there. This is based on some past history -- stretching back to the 1800s -- and it's full of holes.
About three of those percentage points were only from inflation. The other 7% may not be reliable either. The data from the 19th century are suspect; the global picture from the 20th century is complex. Experts suggest 5% may be more typical. And stocks only produce average returns if you buy them at average valuations. If you buy them when they're expensive, you do a lot worse.
3 "Our economists are forecasting..."
Hold it. Ask your broker if the firm's economist predicted the most recent recession -- and if so, when.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB128000197220920621.html
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Disappearing Dollars
Voltron says: Here's why academics, journalists and economists haven't
got a clue
got a clue
http://www.marketskeptics.com/2010/07/disappearing-dollars.html
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