I can't believe that Henry Blodget, one of the poster children of last decade's bust, is ... on the front pages.
I mean I don't wish him ill or anything, but ... gasp.
Anyway, just because you have to write something everyday, doesn't mean you have to write crap, like this:
The genius of Geithner's plan is that it pawns most of the cost (and most of the risk) off on the taxpayer without the taxpayer noticing.
How has Geithner induced private investors to bid off their gourds for assets? If Henry thinks it is the financing that is available, that's a mistake.
What's more, these potshots come cheap. WHO does Blodget think should bear the risk? The bond holders? How is the American banking system going to "work" with yields on long-term bank debt soaring to 500 bps over, or something, and nearly nothing available in the overnight market?
NO ZOMBIES, I'D PREFER A RECOVERY, IF POSSIBLE
Then, this:
But unless the taxpayer gets stuck with the entire spread, which is probably what Geithner is hoping, banks that sell assets will have to take massive writedowns. This will start the whole cycle of violence again.
The whole idea is to have the banks take their writedowns, sooner, rather than later, to the greatest extent possible. C'mon!
Can you believe that I just had to listen to some gray-haired gentlemen explaining to a CNBC audience that the banks were fine, we just had to let them earn their way out of their problems, over a long time?
I hear such things and I think poor Paul Krugman will be a hermit before the year is out. It's no wonder he didn' t post anything today. The world has gone mad.
