They could see the meltdown coming. (LA Times) Freelance financial watchdogs who examined the paperwork on sub-prime home loans being sold to Wall Street had an inside view of the boom in easy-money lending this decade. The reviewers say they raised plenty of red flags about flaws so serious that mortgages should have been rejected […]

CNN money points to pushback from non-US banks simply refusing to have a BS counterparty. Seems they were simply refusing to stay at the party. It’s unclear what exactly started Bear Stearns’ nightmare this week. Veteran repurchase agreement traders told Fortune.com that a major European bank last week refused to accept Bear Stearns as a […]

NYT sells bailout story with no alternatives: “You get to where people can’t trade with each other,” said James L. Melcher, president of Balestra Capital, a hedge fund based in New York. “If the Fed hadn’t acted this morning and Bear did default on its obligations, then that could have triggered a very widespread panic […]

The NYT reports on the Fed, Bears Stearns valuation, and interventions. The Fed, working closely with bank regulators and the Treasury Department, raced to complete the deal Sunday night in order to prevent investors from panicking on Monday about the ability of Bear Stearns to make good on billions of dollars in trading commitments. In […]

Obama’s energy plan. Clinton’s energy plan. John McCain’s site John McCain ran into a lot of trouble with Republicans the last time he proposed a bill on climate change, getting only 38 votes in the senate. I could not find an energy policy different than the current President’s. If you have access to one, let […]

Seems Colorado wants to change to a “right to work” state. They have been trying for at least a decade. Funny phrasing. I always thought I had a right to work. You know… pursuit of happyness, freedom and all. What does it mean for me if I have no right to work? Would I need […]

Here is a list of some of the possibilities floating around the media and blogs concerning what is relevant to the Spitzer case: 1. Use of campaign funds to finance the activity.2. Violation of the Mann Act.3. Suspicion of making bank transfers to avoid the $10,000 alert threshold.4. A public official contributing to a criminal […]

What is up with the so-called DC Madam – aka Deborah Jeane Palfrey – case? Is the stunning contrast between the lid being kept on the names of male clients in this matter and the interest of the media compared to the speed with which Eliot Spitzer name became notorious in a similar DC case […]

What are some predicted consequences if Bear Stearns failed? They do not have depositors like a bank. They invested for people, but for whom? Why would the credit market take the hit so severly if J P Morgan can get it for a penny on the dollar? Surely there are some good assets.

Reuters reported this from CNBC. NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bear Stearns Cos (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Alan Schwartz on Wednesday dismissed recurring speculation that the investment bank faces a cash crunch, saying it has hefty cash reserves that have remained little changed this year. Schwartz, in a televised interview on CNBC, also said […]