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The increasing risk of everything imploding into the financial singularity known as AIG has caused not only sovereign risk to blow out to never before seen risk levels, but also that of cities and states. New York City 5 year CDS was last seen trading at 335/355, implying (per the JPM recently oursourced black box model) a 50% chance of default in 5 years (granted assuming 80% recovery which may be a stretch).

The increasing risk of everything imploding into the financial singularity known as AIG has caused not only sovereign risk to blow out to never before seen risk levels, but also that of cities and states. New York City 5 year CDS was last seen trading at 335/355, implying (per the JPM recently oursourced black box model) a 50% chance of default in 5 years (granted assuming 80% recovery which may be a stretch).

Bill Gross' recent foray into a shadow government role may be just in time to avoid the depression from spreading onto the green, green grass of the Newport Beach country club.

Bill Gross' recent foray into a shadow government role may be just in time to avoid the depression from spreading onto the green, green grass of the Newport Beach country club.

In yet more rhetoric that the FDIC will not, and has no money to, nationalize big banks, Sheila Bair said in prepared remarks earlier, and quoted by Bloomberg, that she would be surprised if the U.S. can actually do the right thing in this current environment.

Sheldon Adelson, who recently made headlines for losing the most amount of money in the shortest time last year, after his Las Vegas Sands (he owns 336 million shares) stock price dropped from $100 to a little over $2, issued a plan for reducing its debt in the 10-K it filed early today.

Among the vaguely Leninist plan's bulletpoints are the following:

Probably not the best thing to tell your investors who are dying to pull their money after this morning's sterling announcement. Comments coming from a KKR conference call. Adds Kravis "The financial system has not yet normalized." This the kind of laser insight you need to get several rooms in the MOMA named after you.

Read all about it here. Looks like discount to privates is only 5%

Read all about it here. Looks like discount to privates is only 5%

Read all about it here. Looks like discount to privates is only 5%

The troubled company, after posting ghastly numbers on Friday, just announced it is commencing a $350 million debt offering, which will be "issued at a discount to the face amount." The maker of Oriented Strand Board, or the 99 cent store plywood equivalent, is burning cash at an accelerating rate and with new housing starts at record lows, needs to replenish its dwindling cash reserves or become the latest addition to o

Paulson keeping it real as usual