National Moratorium on ForeclosuresSurprise, Surprise . . . the same banking behemoths that recklessly originated trillions in dubious mortgages — fuel for Wall Street’s securitization juggernaut — are apparently now running roughshod over the rights of delinquent borrowers as they seek to foreclose on their homes. How big a problem is this? And who’s going...Read More
Protecting Consumers From Banks It turns out that Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren will head the new Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, after all. The Bureau, which Warren proposed creating, is charged with ensuring that “consumers are protected from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices and from discrimination.” Seeing as how millions of consumers are routinely...Read More
“But isn’t that . . . ‘Socialism’??” He who frames the question wins the debate. I’ve been struck in recent months, talking to various people about the economy, by two things: One. The generally limited vocabulary people have when it comes to understanding all things financial — even people who are otherwise very sophisticated, well-educated,...Read More
Voiding Credit Default Swaps In a book stuffed with scathing insights and blockbuster revelations, here’s perhaps the biggest one (courtesy of Michael Lewis, writing in The Big Short): The reason Citigroup (amongst others) is considered “Too Big Too Fail” isn’t because it holds over $1 trillion in ordinary Americans’ savings in their vaults. It’s not...Read More
Strategic Defaults Driving Retail Sales? A penny saved is a penny earned. –Benjamin Franklin, circa 1780 A penny defaulted on is a penny earned. –Benjamin Franklin, 2010?? No, I have no way of knowing whether a modern-day Benjamin Franklin would have uttered the second quote. In fact, he didn’t even say the first one (that...Read More
An Independent Voice on Financial Reform (Hmm, I wonder why . . .?) Senator Ted Kaufman, Joe Biden’s replacement in the Senate, has rapidly emerged as perhaps the leading Congressional advocate for real financial reform (Chris Dodd’s version doesn’t come close). Not a few people have noted that Kaufman’s path to the Senate — he...Read More
