Inflation investigation

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 18, 2008 at 03:21 PM

Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture points out a BreakingViews column that questions whether the government is low-balling the inflation... More

Opening Bell: The Hours

Americans are working fewer, but not by choice; cuts on Wall Street; jobless ranks swell; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 18, 2008 at 07:14 AM

Lots of bad employment news today, and we’ll start out with the lead story in The New York Times, which... More

Opening Bell: Tech Biz Buzzes On

Seems largely impervious to downturn; rice crisis in Oz; Sallie Mae wants more cash; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 17, 2008 at 07:08 AM

In another good sign for how the tech industry is holding up, IBM reported solid first-quarter earnings yesterday with profits... More

Opening Bell: What Recession?

Super-rich keep raking it in; Are banks lying about Libor?; Bush flip-flops on global warming; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 16, 2008 at 07:04 AM

Not everybody’s losing money these days. The New York Times has on A1 a story based on a hedge-fund industry... More

Opening Bell: Retail Rut

Bankruptcies, empty stores, flat sales; America’s lousy credit; Brazil’s black gold; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 15, 2008 at 07:20 AM

The New York Times leads page one with a story on a “wave of bankruptcies” at retail chains, something it... More

Opening Bell: Hat In Hand

Wachovia the latest charity case; food crisis mounts; the rich party on; Delta and Northwest ready to merge; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 14, 2008 at 07:10 AM

The Wall Street Journal reports on C1 that Charlotte-based Wachovia is getting a capital infusion of as much as $7... More

Opening Bell: Dems Dodge Trade Vote

Bush Colombia pact stalled; and U.S. free-trade cred suffers; how Moody’s changed its ratings tune; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 11, 2008 at 07:17 AM

House Democrats stalled Bush’s Colombia free-trade pact, the papers say. The New York Times notes on C1 that the party-line... More

Opening Bell: FAA (Finally) Gets Tough

Nearly half of American Airlines flights grounded; Yahoo enlists AOL in Microsoft fight; Couric on her way out at CBS?; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 10, 2008 at 07:23 AM

Airline safety concerns continued to grow, with American Airlines canceling more than a thousand flights yesterday and grounding three hundred... More

Opening Bell: Justice Under Bush

‘A reflection of the environment of greed’; Will the Fed raise its debt?; To eat, or worry about the birds; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 9, 2008 at 07:58 AM

The New York Times devotes its column one on A1 to a look at how the Justice Department has effectively... More

Opening Bell: Penn-ing A New Trade Deal

Colombia pact dissected; Greenspan protests too much; CBS wants to turn its journalism over to CNN; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 8, 2008 at 07:06 AM

The free-trade issue is all the rage in the media these days, after the Clinton/Colombia campaign crackup, and both The... More

Opening Bell: WaMu’s Angel

The bank’s $5 billion Band-Aid; Bill Gates, corporate raider; George Washington, bailout master; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 7, 2008 at 07:43 AM

The Wall Street Journal scoops on A1 that Washington Mutual is about to get a $5 billion capital fix from... More

Opening Bell: Job Drop

Unemployment soars; Jamie Dimon, welfare king; Apple eclipses Wal-Mart; etc.

By Ryan Chittum   Apr 4, 2008 at 07:04 AM

The economy is beginning to shed jobs at a worrisome pace. Initial unemployment claims soared 38,000 last week to 407,000,... More

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