RSS Feed

Calendar

March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Feb    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Search

Tag Cloud

Archives

CNN Business (February 14)

2023/ 02/ 15 by jd in Global News

The collapse of FTX last November “was a seismic event for the crypto industry” that some called crypto’s “Lehman moment.” We appear to be “entering the Dodd-Frank era of crypto,” as regulators now have “a clearer target and a wave of public outrage to bolster their cause.” Since FTX’s bankruptcy, “state and federal regulators have escalated both their rhetoric and their actions to keep the fast-growing digital asset industry in check — a shift that is, unsurprisingly, not going over great with crypto companies.”

 

The Atlantic (February 4, 2014)

2014/ 02/ 05 by jd in Global News

“Lehman conditioned us to always look for the next domino. But sometimes a falling currency is just a falling currency.” Since last May when then Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke mentioned tapering, “emerging market currencies have been in a world of pain.” But fundamentals are much stronger than before the Asian Currency Crisis so this needn’t be a repeat of 1997. “The danger isn’t slumping currencies. The danger is overreacting to slumping currencies.”

 

The Economist (September 28)

2013/ 09/ 28 by jd in Global News

“Has Brazil blown it?” The nation had been flying high, with an economy barely impacted by the Lehman crash and the prestige of being selected to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. “Since then the country has come back down to earth with a bump. In 2012 the economy grew by 0.9%. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in June in the biggest protests for a generation, complaining of high living costs, poor public services and the greed and corruption of politicians.” The Economist believes “Brazil is not doomed to flop,” especially if it makes progress in cutting “red tape, merging ministries and curbing public spending.”

 

USA Today (September 12)

2013/ 09/ 14 by jd in Global News

“Five years ago this weekend, the world economy was in uncharted waters and sinking rapidly. The bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. on Sept. 15, 2008, touched off a horrifying financial crisis…. Far too much hasn’t been done, or hasn’t changed, since those scary days when it seemed the world financial system was unraveling.” Though the consensus in favor of urgent reform has long since faded, reform is nevertheless urgently needed. Today, “the shoring up of the financial system is no better than a work in progress, and another severe crisis in the not-too-distant future is hardly out of the question.”

 

The Economist (September 7)

2013/ 09/ 08 by jd in Global News

“There may be no new Lehman-sized catastrophes on the near horizon. But plenty of smaller crises-in-the-making dot the landscape—and a potentially big one continues to threaten Europe. Five years on, global finance is a long way from safe.”

 

Euromoney (June Issue)

2013/ 06/ 06 by jd in Global News

“European policymakers remain in a state of cognitive dissonance—recognizing the need for root-and-branch overhaul of peripheral banks, but backtracking on joint liability plans.” Christopher Flowers, who took over Japan’s filed Long Term Credit Bank in 2000, recently warned that the dithering may end abruptly. “There is a scenario where we have a Lehman-type event: we wake up some Thursday and a big country is in trouble. And the ECB will have to decide to support banks x, y, z. And then the ECB will, in fact, decide to own bank x, y, z. So this leisurely pace will end and we will wake up on a Monday morning with a European banking union.”

 

IFA Online (November 23)

2011/ 11/ 24 by jd in Global News

“Fears of a financial crisis hitting the UK are at their highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.” The risk of “a high impact event” occurring has risen to the highest level since the 2008 collapse according to the Bank of England’s Systemic Risk Survey. 76% of respondents identified “sovereign risk and the threat of an economic downturn” as “the biggest danger to the financial system.”

 

Financial Times (July 10)

2011/ 07/ 11 by jd in Global News

Ratings agencies have come under considerable criticism since the Lehman crisis. Most recently, European leaders have heaped scorn on them after Moody’s downgraded Portugal to junk and S&P evaluated a proposal for a Greek debt rollover as a selective default. This time, the ratings agencies are addressing truths that are difficult to stomach. “We have to thank the rating agencies for giving the eurozone’s policymakers a clearer vision of which strategies are feasible, and which are not. It is now time to get serious.”

 

The Economist (April 4)

2011/ 04/ 06 by jd in Global News

“Japan gets all the bad luck.” On the verge of recovery from Lehman shock, the triple whammy earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis has again placed all in doubt. Responses to the Tankan survey illustrate the blow. Pre- and post-quake responses show a marked drop, with optimism turning to pessimism. Rotating power outages and the jishuku sense of restraint are inflicting further damage on the economy. The Economist urges that this is the “time, then, for the government to get out in front of its own people, and tell them to spend.”“Japan gets all the bad luck.” On the verge of recovery from Lehman shock, the triple whammy earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis has again placed all in doubt. Responses to the Tankan survey illustrate the blow. Pre- and post-quake responses show a marked drop, with optimism turning to pessimism. Rotating power outages and the jishuku sense of restraint are inflicting further damage on the economy. The Economist urges that this is the “time, then, for the government to get out in front of its own people, and tell them to spend.”

 

Bloomberg (December 22)

2010/ 12/ 25 by jd in Global News

Just weeks before being sued for its role as auditor of Lehman Brothers, Ernst & Young (E&Y) was advertising that it could help companies identify “new risks related to fraud and corruption.” A Bloomberg editorial agrees that “E&Y may have lots of experience in this field,” but adds it’s the wrong kind of experience. “It’s indisputable that E&Y blessed Lehman’s financial statements quarter after quarter, year after year, falsehoods and all.” The problem is all of the large audit firms have had the wrong kind of experience. “Killing E&Y or any of the other Big Four audit firms — PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Deloitte & Touche LLP and KPMG LLP — would leave just three large survivors, when the industry has too few competitors already.”

 

« Older Entries

[archive]