Archive - Aug 11, 2009

Presented is the recusing ethics waiver that allowed Hank Paulson free reign to do as he saw fit when bailing out Goldman Sachs. The next question is whether Mr. Fred Fielding recused himself of recusing Hank, and just what authority he was granted by the president to allow such unprecedentedly conflicted individuals as the former CEO of Goldman Sachs to do everything in his power to not only place unlimited collect calls into Lloyd Blankfein's office but to make sure that Goldman was the primary beneficiary of all the banking cataclysms of 2008.

The Congressional Oversight Panel has released its August report which contains some much more dire language about the prospects of the U.S. banking system than did the joke that was the Stress Test, especially in the small/middle bank sector.

The 21-day MA on the NYSE Up Issues Ratio is the most stretched since 1991.

• CIT delays report, could have to file for bankruptcy (Reuters)
• In an ironic example of what happens when the government is not running the economy, Ruble falls in longest slump since February on record GDP drop (Bloomberg, h/t Nic)
• Fitch warns Midtown loans face default (Real Deal, h/t Ed)
• SEC investigating Huron for accounting errors (Reuters)
• Double dip recession? (Washington Times)

• Asian stocks gain for the second day on speculation profits will increase.
• Bad assets still threaten bank stability, congressional watchdog says.
• Bank of Japan keeps key rate at 0.1%, focuses on risks to economy, prices.
• "Cash for clunkers" program generates more than 245,000 vehicle sales in 2 weeks.
• China backs off from allegations that Rio Tinto cost it $102B in overcharges.

Tuesday highlights for UK and Eurozone. Today we cover important news coming out of the Eastern block, economic data and some insightful Blog posts. An Asian update is also provided for numbers which came out of China and Japan today.

Following an expansionary announcement by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Chinese market data paints a mixed picture on Chinese economy.