David Martin

The Chickens of Irresponsibility Come Home to Roost Under Obama's Reign

The 'fantastically deep pool of talent' Obama has to draw on includes most of the people who created this mess, and who are deeply implicated in the Ponzi schemes involved.
When he has people like Roubini who actually predicted this coming then perhaps we can make some attempt at a rational assessment of the situation.
At the moment banks are not even being made to be transparent on their holdings, and all is quiet whilst Paulson gets on with his job of the unsupervised and extra-legal looting of the economy to the benefit of his cronies and at the cost of the taxpayer.

The Real Cause: Current Account Deficit

Nice try to escape blame. You are telling us that the banking industry did not know that they were puffing income of mortgage recipients?
The bonus structure biased towards short term performance did not lead to a total disregard of the long term health of their companies?
That it is right that bankers should still be collecting huge bonuses courtesy of the taxpayer after wrecking the economy?
These guys are grifters playing a shell game, and should be in prison, after confiscation of their passports and assets.
Instead of which, of course, they are charging huge sums to 'manage' the loot that Paulson has brought home to them , in a bail out which cannot and will not work, as the housing market has much further to fall.
Nevermind, it gives more time to complete the gutting of their companies and shareholders.

Bear Market In Its Final Stages?

Once the Framie debacle unwinds, and the realisation dawns that housing cannot recover with present earnings/price ratios but in the process the credit worthiness of the Treasury has been trashed, interest rates will rise, unemployment soar and house prices fall still further to go with a stock market crash.
A massive transfer of wealth to the banking sector has been carried out, and the cost is the financial stability of the US Treasury.

The Two-Ton Wall Street Conflict of Interest Few Dare To Talk About

Spot on about Wall Street, but weird on the politics - apart from lies to grab taxpayer funds for bailing out bankers and their absurd non-performance bonuses, fighting all and sundry in wars is pretty expensive too - but Bush has just put it on the taxpayers tab.