Items of Interest:
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. GDP Shrank 6.2% in 4th Quarter -- The U.S. recession deepened a lot more in late 2008 than first reported, as fourth-quarter GDP was revised down to a 6.2% contraction from 3.8%...
related:Catherine Rampell / NY Times:
Calculated Risk / The Money Blogs:
GDP Revision: Q4 GDP Declined at 6.2% — From the WSJ: GDP Shrank 6.2% in 4th Quarter, Deeper Than First Thought The U.S. recession deepened a lot more in late 2008 than first reported, according to government data showing a big revision down because businesses cut supplies to adjust for shriveling demand. ... The sharply lower revision...
Meg Marco / Consumerist
The GDP dropped 6.2% in the fourth quarter, ... — The GDP dropped 6.2% in the fourth quarter, the largest drop since 1982. Reuters says that a month ago the Commerce Department estimated that the economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace in the October-December quarter. Whoopsies! ...
TIME.com:
A 6.2% Drop in GDP: Is the Worst Yet to Come? — New GDP estimates confirm that a broad and deep economic contraction is under way...
EconLog:
Macroeconomic Identity Politics, by Bryan Caplan — I've already faulted Fama for misuse of the macroeconomic identity GDP=C+I+G+NX. Now TheMoneyIllusion takes the War On Misleading Tautology to a new level: When I discuss the effect of monetary stimulus on aggregate demand with other economists, I notice that they often want an explanation couched in terms of the major components of GDP. I find ...
G.D.P. Revision Suggests a Long, Steep Downfall -- The economy shrank at an annual rate of 6.2 percent last quarter, much more than earlier estimates, in a sign of the recession’s depth...
discussion:CrossingWallStreet.com: Q4 GDP RevisedDownard
NPR Topics:
Shrinking GDP, Citibank Plan Analyzed — The government said Friday the economy shrank at an annual rate of 6.2 percent. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department announced it is converting some preferred shares it owns in Citigroup to common stock, a move that helps stabilize the bank, but increases risks for taxpayers...
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Citi.com:Citi to Exchange Preferred Securities for Common, Increasing Tangible Common Equity to as Much as $81 Billion – Citi today announced it will issue common stock in exchange for preferred securities, which will substantially increase its tangible common equity (TCE) without any additional U.S. government investment. The transaction is intended to build Citi's TCE to a level that removes uncertainty and restores investor confidence in the ...
related:FT.com:
Eric Dash / NY Times:
U.S. Agrees to Raise Its Stake in Citigroup -- The Treasury Department announced on Friday that it would vastly increase its ownership of the struggling company...
USATODAY.com:
Government boosts its stake in Citigroup; dividends ended — Citigroup has struck a deal that allows it to shore up a key financial measure while giving the government a 36% stake in the ...
BBC News:
US increases stake in Citigroup — Citigroup agrees a deal which sees the US government increase its stake in the ailing bank from 8% to 40%.
Shawn Tully / Fortune: Will The Banks Survive?
Rick Newman / Flow Chart: 7 Other Stress Tests We Ought To Run
East Europe banks set for €24.5bn loan -- A group of multilateral lenders has pledged to support crisis-hit eastern Europe with up to €24.5bn in equity, loans and guarantees for the region's troubled banking sector...
related:ABC News:
FT Alphaville:
Eastern Europe gets €24.5bn — Eastern Europe has received its own special bailout after all. Well, not technically a bailout, it comes as "aid" via the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank in a bid support the region through its first technical recession since the breakdown of the communist system....
The Economist: Ex-Communist Economies: The Whiff of Contagion
Jack Ewing / BusinessWeek: How the Crisis Is Hitting Europe
Stonewalling in Style: Bank of America Subpoenaed -- On Thursday, Lewis refused to provide a list of bonus payments to the New York Attorney General, after arriving in New York in his $50 million corporate jet. Earlier this week, President Obama said the days of bank executives flying corporate jets "were over." Not for Bank of America.
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- Take Bankruptcy Over Nationalization - James Keller, RealClearMarkets
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- The Rand Factor In the Santelli Revolt - Robert Tracinski, RealClearMarkets
- Santelli, and the Decline of the Angry Republican - Jonathan Chait, TNR
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- Kill the Quants, Punish the ProBears - Doug Kass, TheStreet.com
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- Dow Jones Industrial Average Member Performance - Bespoke IG
- Tim Geithner, A Lonely Man at the Helm of Treasury - The Deal
- Why Jumbo Mortgages Don't Need a Bailout - Felix Salmon, Market Movers
- The Cap Case for Letting GM Fail - Paul Kedrosky, Infectious Greed
- How 6 Companies Are Thriving During Recession - C. Flavelle, Big Money
