The Tipping Point

There's a limit to how much bad news can be withstood. The Bernie Madoff scandal comes on top of an avalanche of bad news and there are those who speculate whether a tipping point has been reached.  One hopes not.  A complete collapse of confidence would be catastrophic.   But we're either very near the ledge or about to fall.   

Super-Spike

On second thought, never mind. Goldman Sachs now thinks the price of oil is going to $30, not $200 per barrel. They apologize for the error.  Maybe.

Market Maker

Wall Street reeled yesterday on the news about Bernie Madoff, a renowned trading specialist and former chairman of Nasdaq.  Mr. Madoff, in an interview with the the FBI, stated that his firm was insolvent and that his business was a Ponzi scheme.  Estimated losses are $50 billion.  He was turned in by his sons, who worked for him. The details are here.

The Perfect Storm Defense

Steve Pearlstein rightly points out that the "perfect storm" defense has become all the rage at financial firms, auto firms, media companies, etc.  And he shreds it.

Even If You Tried

You couldn't make this up.   If it were in a novel and not the newspaper, you'd say: "that's completely ridiculous." 

Autopsy

Guess who ends up with the short end of the stick in the Tribune Company bankruptcy filing? You guessed right: the employees get hosed. And the people who created the Tribune's (obviously) unsustainable capital structure? They cashed their checks long ago, thank you.

The Somali Pirates Go Global!

Okay, it might not have been the Somali Pirates.  It might have been a gang of jewel thieves.   But one can hope.

Bridge Loan to Bankruptcy


Jim Manzi reviews the GM turnaround plan and finds it deficient in almost every respect. It's not really a business plan at all, says Manzi. It's magical thinking.

Turkeys

Charlie Rose (of all people) has become the indispensable TV interviewer of the financial meltdown. His most recent discussion was with Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan and one of the few people who saw the collapse long before the actual collapse.  It's well worth your time.

Free Plaxico!

New York City's ridiculous, unconstitutional gun laws may lead to the imprisonment of Plaxico Burress, the soon-to-be ex-New York Giant wide receiver. This seems a waste of a great, if stupid, talent. Can't he just be traded? To, say, Denver? Bronco Nation loves guns! We'd welcome him with open arms.