German state bank zeroed out in subprime scam

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Tuesday August 28, 2007 · 10:01 AM PDT

2007/08/28 · 10:01

In this rec'd diary from yesterday http://www.dailykos.com/... ), DKos econ guru bonddad warned that foreign investors had become a major ($1 trillion in last 7 years) offloading point for US debt. The implication - if their appetite suddenly disappeared, the credit crunch could well worsen, and fast.

Alarmist? Quite the opposite, judging from this story ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/... ) in the online Daily Telegraph (UK). One German bank has essentially been declared insolvent because of exposure to US sub-prime debt - and the ECB intervention earlier this month turns out to have been related to credit problems at another German bank, as well as to the freeze on withdrawals from certain French (Paribas) investment funds.

frenchman

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Monday August 27, 2007 · 9:27 AM PDT

2007/08/27 · 09:27

A NYT article on Countrywide Home Loans ( http://www.nytimes.com/... ) and a blog post from analyst Mike Shedlock (known to many as "Mish") of globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com suggest that the economy, stupid, is a story that continues to unfold - even though the Fed's discount rate cut, the market rebound, and Bank of America's $2 billion investment in Countrywide appeared to have combined to put the cap on the "crunch". More after the flip...

frenchman

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Sunday August 19, 2007 · 5:53 PM PDT

2007/08/19 · 17:53

This diary concerns a report published a few weeks ago by the Sentencing Project. I learned about the report from Jeralyn Merritt of Talk Left, and her post can be found here - http://www.talkleft.com/... - and the report itself is available here - http://sentencingproject.org/... .

The report says that Iowa has the worst black-to-white incarceration ratio of any of the 50 states. Basically, 3 of every 1000 white Iowans are locked up - but 42 of every 1000 black Iowans are locked up, close to 14 times the rate for whites.

How can that NOT be a little bit racist?? Join me below.

frenchman

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Wednesday May 02, 2007 · 1:02 PM PDT

2007/05/02 · 13:02

It's going on right now at orange.fr. Depending on your machine, you can stream it pretty good. Depending on your French, we have the same gap here that you find with British "question time" - they talk fast and smart about lots of things.

And our politicians don't. There's a real time blog too. Scoop: Tony Blair appears to have given Sarkozy a lefthanded endorsement in Paris Match!! Says he's "learned to appreciate" the hardline right winger. Says he"never met" Royal!

Right-wing poodle to the end, eh Tone?

UPDATE - it's over. It was great though. Allez Ségolene!!

Hard Landing: Political Risk of Deficit Reduction

frenchman

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Wednesday December 27, 2006 · 11:00 AM PST

2006/12/27 · 11:00

This is a response to bonddad's diary about deficit reduction - which itself is essentially a repeat of one of his previous diaries opposing ideas used in a recent Paul Krugman column. (Links in extended.)
I'm not questioning bonddad's facts, or his contention that failure to address the asymptotically climbing Federal debt threatens the health of US financial markets. But bonddad himself admits that he mostly leaves the political side alone.
My suggestion is that Democrats who like the fiscal responsibility meme might get wrong-footed by economic events in the next 18 months. This COULD cost us the White House, and so we need a contingency plan for the coming recession.

frenchman

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Saturday December 23, 2006 · 8:55 AM PST

2006/12/23 · 08:55

Diary edited and updated. See below.

frenchman

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Saturday December 09, 2006 · 8:01 AM PST

2006/12/09 · 08:01

I started this because of devilstower's "you write the laws" diaries. I took some encouragement from something Adam B wrote about an initiative called "Housing First" in Philadelphia.

As the housing market declines, construction crews with lots of skills will be disbanded. The market for McMansions is soft - but there's never been a greater need for simple housing. Fannie Mae has trillions of dollars worth of empty housing on its books.

Save the jobs of skilled housing builders, and stop letting houses sit empty!

frenchman

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Friday December 08, 2006 · 6:51 AM PST

2006/12/08 · 06:51

NPR's Marketplace has reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel may intend to make a Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) the centerpiece of Germany's 6-month EU Presidency, which begins January 1. ( http://marketplace.publicradio.org/... - looks like it takes a day for the report to post as a podcast )

This is economically and politically very important. It involves a reaction (finally!) by the West to the danger of global labor arbitrage, and a combination olive branch/lifeline offered by the EU to a sinking US economy.

frenchman

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Sunday December 03, 2006 · 11:38 AM PST

2006/12/03 · 11:38

Richard Brautigan wrote a story about a kid who was so into making Kool-Aid that he made a ritual out of it, sipped it like wine, didn't even use sugar. He was a kool-aid wino.

I got into the health care debate because I was sure there was a real shortage of health care. Then, someone from the PNHP (not the person who has posted the diaries defending its point of view) told me that this was just wrong - that in effect there is existing surplus health care capacity.

So - am I just wrong? Am I the Kool-Aid wino? Is it time for me to swear off?

frenchman

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Monday November 27, 2006 · 6:15 PM PST

2006/11/27 · 18:15

This is a dialogue with current debates on the topic. Since there have been more diaries already announced, I don't have to pretend to "oppose" single-payer.

In fact, in a switch, instead of going at it wonky, I want to discuss how to present it politically, since the best version offered is not substantially different from what Kerry suggested in the debates in 2004. Sure, the terrain in 2008 will be different. But the question is whether universal health care - which is not quite identical with single-payer - can be presented in a politically advantageous way.

frenchman

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Sunday November 19, 2006 · 6:11 AM PST

2006/11/19 · 06:11

The debate on health care has been stuck in neutral for a long time. We are told our alternatives are the present hideous mess and - Canada, or worse, "socialized medicine."

My position is that there is simply a shortage of health care that the health care "industry" has no incentive to make up, because Americans have been trained to compete for health care the way they compete for everything else.

But surely health care is the prime example of an "industry" in which competition can harm the health and ultimate security of the nation!

frenchman

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Friday November 03, 2006 · 1:12 PM PST

2006/11/03 · 13:12

I'm only asking for about five seconds of your GOTV time here. This is a short diary for me.

Suppose there was a way to save everybody from having to work so hard to get the vote out (next time, that is)?

There is. Read More

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German state bank zeroed out in subprime scam

Papering over the subprime crisis

Iowa - A Little Bit Racist?

French Presidential debate liveblog

Hard Landing: Political Risk of Deficit Reduction

Sociology vs. Economics

National Housing Initiative

EU to propose economic alliance with US?

health care kool aid wino

Political Risk of Single-Payer Health Care

Hour of the Wonk: Beyond Single-Payer Health Care

Raincheck voting