Yesterday, in Backdoor Bailouts for Goldman Sachs?, we noted that GS, as well as Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank, were all made whole on their bad bets with AIG. That’s right, what was misleadingly described as systemic risk turned out to be in large part little more than a co...

About time: “J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. slashed its quarterly dividend late Monday to save $5 billion a year and said that its first-quarter has been “solidly profitable” so far. Shares of the giant bank climbed 4.7% to $20.42 during after-hours trading. The stock closed down 2% a...

There is a strange and strangely interesting list of people to blame for the Financial crisis from Time magazine. It is quirky and odd and in more than a few places, misguided and ignorant. Despite its deep flaws (and revealing ignorance), it is still kinda interesting. I normally don’t link t...

There is a fascinating article about John Paulson in this month’s Portfolio. What is so intriguiging is not the billions Paulson made on the collapse, but this exchange between short fund manager Jim Chanos and Bear Stearns CEO Jimmy Cayne. Chanos, for one, is tired of the blame-the-shorts lit...

With the government now debating the release of the second half of the TARP funds, perhaps now is as good a time as any to look at how successfully spent the first $350 Billion dollars were. The evidence is not very favorable. What I can say without reservation is that the TARP spending prevented la...

“It was the Wild West. If you were alive, they would give you a loan. Actually, I think if you were dead, they would still give you a loan.� -Steven M. Knobel, a founder of appraisal firm Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson > Interesting article in the Sunday NYTimes about WaMu, the company that ...

“Since the financial meltdown, people have been asking, ‘Where was Congress? Why didn’t they see this coming? Why didn’t they provide better oversight?’ And the answer for some, including Senator Schumer, is that they were actually too busy pursuing a deregulatory agenda. Their focus was o...

Instant Classic: > Here’s a relevant Bailout Nation excerpt: Which raises the question: Why wasn’t there ever runs on semis or software companies? The short answer is their business model does not depend upon a belief system — of solvency, liquidity, profitability or risk manage...

CNBC’s Dylan Ratigan, host of ‘Fast Money’ and ‘Closing Bell’, tells TSC’s Debra Borchardt that Dick Fuld isn’t the only bank CEO to be blamed for the financial meltdown....

Thank you for allowing me to say a few words on this most important morning. I will say more about you in a moment, but I just wanted to thank you up front for your leadership and all you have attempted to do this past year. Fellow Shareholders, I speak to you today as a 28 year employee, a sharehol...