Tim Fernholz

Republican Sen. Bob Corker met with some conservative donors and let the cat out of the bag, telling “the gathering of donors not to worry about the incoming class of ‘crazier Republicans’ because the majority of Senate Republicans, especially minority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), had no intention of repealing the president’s health care bill.” […]

The U.S. plans to challenge China’s trade policies at the World Trade Organization, including the restrictions it places on exports of rare earth minerals used in high-tech manufacturing. The Chinese were not pleased by the challenge and apparently have instituted an informal embargo on the valuable mineral resources. Daniel Drezner observes that this decision is […]

One important aspect of the foreclosure fraud scandal are the increasing number of “put-backs,” cases where investors who own failing mortgage-backed securities are discovering just how bad the paperwork is behind these instruments and legally forcing the banks that constructed them to buy them back. It could amount to as much as $120 billion, if […]

This blog looks favorably upon a more aggressive monetary policy from the Fed, so it behooves me to pay attention when economist Joseph Stiglitz comes out saying that urging the Fed toward looser interest rates and quantitative easing would be “sheer folly.” But it turns out that he’s not really arguing against this approach per […]

The past few days have been marked by annual earnings reports from the major banks. Two important themes: The Dodd-Frank bill has changed the financial sector. Guest-blogging over at Felix Salmon’s place, Barbara Kiviat notes that consumer banks are making products more transparent with up-front, fee-for-service pricing rather than relying on penalty fees. Goldman Sachs, […]

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund has revealed quite a story about financial firms pursuing a new line of business: Purchasing citizens’ property-tax debt. If someone owes their city $1,000, banks can bid to pay the city for the debt. Suddenly, the taxpayer owes that money to the bank, which pursues him or her for repayment […]

The movie Network has become a trope of our troubled times, and the Tea Partiers — including New York Senate hopeful/madman Carl Paladino — have seized on Howard Beale’s righteous anger as a symbol of their movement. The problem is that the movie isn’t trying to laud Beale’s passion. Instead, it’s delivering a lesson in […]

Amar Bhide has produced a compelling Hayekian argument about underwriting efficiency and financial regulation, summarized here. His essential insight is that lending is not a process that is conducive to mechanization and centralization, suggesting that efforts to do so are at the heart of the subprime mortgage bubble and the current foreclosure fraud calamity. It’s […]

What is it about the fear of big-government fascism that makes Tea Party candidates act like big-government fascists? This story about conservative Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller’s Blackwater-esque private security firm detaining a reporter is pretty outrageous, but it’s even more outrageous because of Miller’s liberty lovin’ rhetoric: Ronald Reagan once said, “A government big […]