Commentaries

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: August 3, 2010 |

On Credit Contraction and Deflationary Pressures

The following is a series of thoughts about the threat of deflation knocking at the door of the U.S. economy. The U.S. economic growth is most dependent on the consuming […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 29, 2010 |

Waking Up From a Dream: An Assessment of Recent Events and Emerging Indicators

The stress tests for Europe’s banking system have come and gone and now we feel obliged to provide you with our take. We prefer not to trust the fox guarding […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 26, 2010 |

The Majestic Ride of Sleeping Assets

As a break from our continued attention to the banking sector and the financial stress that persists around the globe we’d like to offer some thoughts on more general economic […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 22, 2010 |

Awaiting the EU Banking Stress Tests: Plethora of Food and the Anorexic Sector

This coming Friday, July 23, 2010, the EU will make public the results of the stress tests implemented on its banks. Three comments are in order prior to the release: […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 19, 2010 |

Paul Volcker: A True Sage in an Age of Uncertainty

With financial reform just passed by the Senate, we wanted to take the time to express our delights and concerns of the bill while paying special recognition to Mr. Paul […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 12, 2010 |

A Prelude on Munis: The Drama of Debt, Deficits, Deflation, Entitlements, PIGS, & Austerity

It seems like these words have become part of every man, woman, and child’s lexicon in the midst of the Great Recession. With issues of debt and liabilities reaching sovereign […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 8, 2010 |

On Debt Contagion and Banks’ Balance Sheets

For some odd reason there exists a split among even the most well-known economists regarding what the current Greek debt crisis means in the grand scheme of things, both for […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 6, 2010 |

On Recovery, Escape Velocity, “Death Crosses” and Market Developments

The job report last Friday was dismal. Payrolls fell for the first time this year, indicating that the private sector feels uncertain about the depth of this recovery. We remember […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 1, 2010 |

Securitization, Credit Constraints, and the Chinese Dilemma

In our posting last week we pointed to the fact that while monetary reserves are rising, money supply is contracting due to the inability of banks to identify credit-worthy customers, […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: June 28, 2010 |

Institutionalizing a Stable Instability

The G-20 meeting took place last Saturday. We think it’s an oxymoron that world leaders try to address in one-day conferences serious problems that took years to be created. The […]