Earlier this year we watched oil take a roller coaster ride up to $150 but it’s now plummeted to less than half that.  At first we were told it was simply supply and demand establishing a fair value.  We are now fairly certain it was the speculators, which, thanks to new rules, have been mostly [...]

Not many jobs out there are recession proof.  Some are more at risk than others.  If you work in the industry that started the recession like I do then your job security can be in even more danger.  My list below is not a recommendation for a career change, but instead a helpful reminder that [...]

Remember yesterday when I talked about Wachovia remembering my original post about them hunkering down?  Looks like they hunkered a bit too far.  To the template!
What Happened?
Amid the fallout of the WaMu failure and takeover, rumors about a Wachovia failure came to the front.  The funny thing about these failures is they’re self-fulfilling.  Over the [...]

I doubt that name would stick, its too long already.  I like the name of WaMu, but Washington Mutual is boring.  Expect this purchase to eliminate the WaMu brand altogether.  
So once again, we do the format of the financial crises analysis:
What Happened?
WaMu (slogan: “Whoo Hoo!”, no joke) was one of those banks that [...]

Obviously the big news lately revolves around the credit crunch.  AIG’s problems stem from it as well.  But the most shocking news has been the fallout of the largest investment firms history has ever known.  Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers are all but dead.  Merrill will live on only as a brand of [...]

No, I’m not talking about our corporate overlords, I’m talking about the actual clothes.  It started when I was a lad.  My parents made me wear a sport coat and tie to church.  This made me hate going to church because I had to wear an uncomfortable coat and tie.  Eventually they laxed on the [...]

This was first written last week, before the crazyness that happened on Monday.  Updates about everything else will come later in the week.
What Happened?
On Sunday, September 9, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pulled out his figurative “bazooka” and fired it down the street to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (henceforth referred to as “the Frannies”, “the [...]

GM has one of the largest advertising budgets on the planet.  When your cars are crappier than the competition in quality, appearance, reliability, and brand image, there is only one thing left for them to do to sell cars.  Push the MPGs.  While the news I’m about to share with you generally received a warm [...]