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Articles by Ryan Chittum | Email the Author
Opening Bell: Back-Scratching 101
Senate relief plan would spread the goodies; Big Ben’s bad day; Bush’s MBA doesn’t seem to help; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Apr 3, 2008 at 07:14 AM
Senate leaders agreed on a compromise housing-relief plan in non-senatorial fashion—fairly quickly. The $15 billion to $20 billion plan (depending... More
Opening Bell: When Down Is Up
Market soars on bad news; blame it on the shorts; perilous bank balance sheets; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Apr 2, 2008 at 07:06 AM
Stock markets rallied big—again—yesterday on news that two big financial players are taking multibillion-dollar hits. Yes, news has been so... More
Opening Bell: Subprime Mess Snares UBS
Swiss bank’s massive write-down; Bush regulatory plan panned; central banks scramble; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Apr 1, 2008 at 07:42 AM
Swiss banking giant UBS announced this morning that it would take a massive $19 billion write-down of its assets in... More
Opening Bell: The Fed’s Blank Check
And our least-transparent agency shall lead us; Paulson in wonderland; Food stamp flurry; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 31, 2008 at 07:59 AM
The Wall Street Journal fronts news that a plan is taking shape within the Bush administration to turn the Federal... More
Opening Bell: Uncle Jimmy’s Fire Sale
Bear’s Cayne brought to his knees; the sticky rice market; pissed-off homeowners; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 28, 2008 at 07:10 AM
The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times both report that our beloved national uncle, Jimmy “Nero” Cayne, has sold... More
Opening Bell: Regulation!
Paulson the heretic; the death of home-equity loans; is New Century Financial the next Enron?; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 27, 2008 at 07:12 AM
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the Federal Reserve should have more power to regulate Wall Street. He’s the first in... More
Opening Bell: Clearly a Mess
Collapsing deals; the Fed in perspective; Floridians’ recession strategies, etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 26, 2008 at 07:40 AM
The Wall Street Journal reports on A1 that the $19 billion private-equity deal reached 16 months ago for Clear Channel... More
Opening Bell: We Was Mugged
Congressional hearings on Bear; the Fed plays hardball; housing lobby spins; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 25, 2008 at 07:39 AM
JPMorgan Chase upped its offer for Bear Stearns from $2 a share to $10.13 yesterday in a bid to appease... More
The Opening Bell: Blubbering Bear
NYT’s scoop on JPMorgan’s new offer; all that costly regulation!; the Japanese talk smack; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 24, 2008 at 07:07 AM
The New York Times goes above the fold on A1 with a major scoop that JPMorgan Chase is discussing quintupling... More
Opening Bell: Ripple Effect
CIT Group follows Bear to the brink; small homebuilders default; Murdoch targets Newsday; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 21, 2008 at 07:45 AM
Commercial-finance firm CIT Group said it’s in trouble yesterday, having had to tap more than $7 billion in emergency loans... More
Opening Bell: Hang On To That Bomb Shelter
Faith in Freddie and Fannie; commodity markets get hammered; Depression anyone? Etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 20, 2008 at 07:14 AM
The papers go big with the government making it easier for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to bolster mortgage lending—allowing... More
Opening Bell: One-Day Wonder?
Market soars, but…; another twist in the Bear saga; the subprime blame game; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 19, 2008 at 07:41 AM
The papers lead with the stock market going manic yesterday on bolstered confidence in Wall Street banks and another big... More
Opening Bell: The Street Freaks Out
Earnings reports land with a shudder; questions for Lehman; the ghost of 1990s Japan; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 18, 2008 at 07:52 AM
Wall Street continued to reel yesterday from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression as the formidable Lehman Brothers... More
Opening Bell: Bear Meat
Helicopter Ben strikes again; is Lehman next? Merrill?; more evidence of subprime greed; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 17, 2008 at 07:58 AM
Bear Stearns collapsed into the arms of JP Morgan Chase (and the Federal Reserve) last night, ending the stunningly fast... More
Opening Bell: The Economy’s Toxic Blend
Okay, we get it, we’re in a recession; dollar-dive ripples; Carlyle’s creative and time-tested investment strategy; etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 14, 2008 at 07:33 AM
The business press piles on the economy this morning with The New York Times saying it faces a “Toxic Blend... More
Opening Bell: The Great Hedge-Fund Unwind
Carlyle Capital leads the way; the Bushies get (regulatory) religion; rotten meat; unlucky pennies, etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 13, 2008 at 07:48 AM
The hedge fund Carlyle Capital all but collapsed last night, stunning investors with the speed of its fall from being... More
Opening Bell: Bailout!
The Fed’s big cash drop, Citi’s “attractive investments,” a rebid for Boeing?, etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 12, 2008 at 07:35 AM
Stocks posted their biggest one-day gain in five years yesterday, after the Federal Reserve said it would dump $200 billion... More
Opening Bell: The Roof Is On Fire
Bear Stearns tumbles; Freddie and Fannie teeter; Blackstone’s burden; Schadenfreude on the Street
By Ryan Chittum Mar 11, 2008 at 07:35 AM
While Wall Street was busy celebrating the sudden fall of its crusading nemesis, Eliot Spitzer, yesterday, shares of one of... More
Opening Bell: Negative Yield
Panicking banks; more room to fall; WaPo shines, etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 10, 2008 at 07:45 AM
If it's Monday, it must be analysis time. Bloomberg says that the sudden proliferation of belly-up hedge funds shows the... More
Opening Bell: Notice of Default
Carlyle on the ropes; housing is just unbelievable; problems in ‘Bama; roaches in the economy, etc.
By Ryan Chittum Mar 7, 2008 at 06:55 AM
Carlyle Capital, a publicly traded hedge fund-like company, failed to meet margin calls from its banks on some of its... More
#Realtalk: This isn’t another ‘golden age’ for print - But it is one for media
Social media in smaller markets - How three social media managers deal with smaller markets and more local coverage.
A rally for laid-off Sun-Times photogs - A protest Thursday morning drew about 150 picketers to the newspaper’s headquarters
Reporting, or illegal hacking - Scripps reporters are accused of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Exchange Watch: California Dreaming - Low healthcare premiums on the West Coast were trumpeted as a big, good-news Obamacare story. But: “Compared to what?”
One of the great reporters of his generation died Tuesday at 33. The stories he wrote, and the ones he didn’t live to write
Michael Hastings: my friend and his enemies
Hastings was fearless and shook things up - especially with his McChrystal expose. The haters in the media couldn’t forgive him
Journalism is about finding flaws and magnifying them, and surely someone who would spill massive loads of state secrets must contain a few broken parts, right?
Call it the Politico rhetorical crutch
The inside-the-beltway publication’s go-to phrase
Rachel Maddow’s tribute to Michael Hastings
“Michael was angry … he was angry about things that weren’t right in the world. He was angry with war and with loss, and that drove his reporting.”
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
