No charts. Just a decent letter from CEO Lloyd Blankfein to the FT on mistakes and lessons. Excerpts:
.This over-dependence on credit ratings coincided with the dilution of the coveted triple A rating. In January 2008, there were 12 triple A-rated companies in the world. At the same time, there were 64,000 structured finance instruments, such as collateralised debt obligations, rated triple A. It is easy and appropriate to blame the rating agencies for lapses in their credit judgments. But the blame for the result is not theirs alone. Every financial institution that participated in the process has to accept its share of the responsibility.
.For policymakers and regulators, it should be clear that self-regulation has its limits. We rationalised and justified the downward pricing of risk on the grounds that it was different. We did so because our self-interest in preserving and expanding our market share, as competitors, sometimes blinds us – especially when exuberance is at its peak. At the very least, fixing a system-wide problem, elevating standards or driving the industry to a collective response requires effective central regulation and the convening power of regulators..
Floyd Norris — NYT
December 10, 2008, 11:31 am
Shareholder Value
Three numbers, courtesy of Howard Silverblatt of Standard & Poor’s, shed some light on what companies did with their cash during boom times:
Over the last four years, since the buyback boom began, from the fourth quarter of 2004 through the third quarter of 2008, companies in the S.&P. 500 showed:
Reported earnings: $2.42 trillion
Stock buybacks: $1.73 trillion
Dividends: $0.91 trillion
As a group, every dime they made, and more, went to shareholders. Roughly $2 went to shareholders who sold out for every $1 that was paid in dividends to shareholders who held on to their shares.
article and discussion: http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/shareholder-value/
An interesting article on why nothing was done before the crisis exploded:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902816_pf.html
and a related online discussion:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/12/09/DI2008120901766.html?sid=ST2008120903238&s_pos=list
A wonderful article explaining how things got so bad:
In: Commentary Employment Source: NYT Stock Market US Economy
18 Oct 2008An addictive collection of beautiful charts, graphs, maps, and interactive data visualization toys -- on topics from around the world.
Galbraith (James) on the Crisis
In: Bailout Commentary US Economy
27 Feb 2009A good read on why the current strategies might fail:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/galbraith022609.pdf