Vampire? How about Loser

My response to Paul Krugman's Wall Street Vampires editorial  is that they are a bunch of losers.

Rather than call Wall Street vampires. call them for what they really are: losers. After 2008 any informed corporate finance officer and local government entity in the world receiving a call from a Wall Street banker with a solution to some made up risk hangs up the phone. The only customers left are those stupid enough to believe, other big banks.

The Market is walking away from the ersatz financial products that Wall Street foisted on corporations and municipalities so that no matter what is spent for lobbyists to de-fang Dodd Frank, nobody wants to buy the "heads I win, tails you lose" crap they offer.

Relief for Banks that Rarely Fail

Rule Relief for Banks at Low Risk explains FDIC Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig's proposal  for regulatory relief from Dodd Frank for Banks with simple easy to understand operations. Its a terrific proposal from an Agency for which I have high regard.

Too Big to be of Interest to Investors

The Too Big To Fail syndrome culminated in the 2008 financial crisis.  Refocusing G.E. Reports Growth in Industrial Businesses notes that they expect their finance division to reduce to 10%  of overall profit generating operations.  This is a reduction from 42% in their finance department's hey day. Nobody put a gun to G.E.'s head and told them to come down from Too Big To Fail other than their own bean counters who determined it was a loser business and to get out.  Frankly, when finance gets too much over 10% of the country's economic activity its bad business.  As an investor I believe that the Too Big To Fail Banks are lousy investments.  Their lobby in Washington spends large sums fixing things so that they can practice foisting loser deals on completely suspecting customers who are running away from them as fast as they can.

Much Ado About Nothing

U.S. Primacy on Economics is Seen as Ebbing is a bunch of gibberish.  The U.S. economy is uniquely in the lead and our influence is ebbing?  Jonathan Weisman, what's your point?

Warren! I Smell a Rat

As a longtime follower of Warren Buffet and the Berkshire Hathaway Company I read his annual shareholders report.  He has waxed eloquent about 3G Capital of Brazil with whom he has invested in buying Heinz and now Kraft Foods.  Giant Food Companies Pay Later, Squeezing Their Suppliers headline in the business section of the New York Times puts in doubt the efficacy of Warren's investment with this crowd.  The failed investment in Tesco, the English supermarket chain, will look good in retrospect.

Banks need Breaking up for Economic Vigor

Smothered by a Boom in Finance makes the point of this blog which is that when banking gets too big it hinders rather than promotes economic growth.

Crisis Management, Rethought

Atif Mian and Amir Sufi's House of Debt reviewed in today's New York Times appears not to have given a second thought to the concentration of the banking system that lead toward the 2008 crash.  The complete reliance on third parties with no skin in the game is the culprit and is what is required to reset.