Audit Notes: The Federal Reserve’s Trillion-Dollar Bailout Document Dump

By Ryan Chittum   Dec 1, 2010 at 08:42 PM

The Federal Reserve today released a trove of information, much of which was sought by Bloomberg's Mark Pittman lawsuit, on... More

The Overdraft Racket Continues

But reports differ on how many consumers have opted in to the fees

By Ryan Chittum   Dec 1, 2010 at 01:32 PM

Back when the Federal Reserve adopted rules forcing banks to make customers opt in to overdraft "protection," it looked like... More

Audit Notes: Others on the Business Press

By Ryan Chittum   Dec 1, 2010 at 12:19 AM

If you haven't read John Cassidy's piece in The New Yorker asking "What Good Is Wall Street?", get to it.... More

Yes, We Are Much Poorer Than in 2007

Michael Kinsley flubs the numbers and the argument in a Politico column

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 30, 2010 at 08:19 PM

Boy, how out of touch is this Michael Kinsley column asking "Are we poorer than we used to be?" Kinsley... More

The Prosaic Mosaic Theory

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 30, 2010 at 12:25 PM

The New York Times is trying to play catchup with The Wall Street Journal, which has dominated the hedge-fund investigation... More

Audit Notes: Up Next For Wikileaks: The Banks, Forbes, Gaming Google

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 29, 2010 at 07:19 PM

Julian Assange is Forbes's cover boy this week. No surprise there. He just turned the diplomatic community on its head... More

Corporate Welfare Rocks!

The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek give Utah the puff treatment

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 29, 2010 at 04:10 PM

The Wall Street Journal reports that government activism is good... when it benefits Big Business. It's a puff piece about... More

NYT on the Irish Mess

A private-sector crisis turned into the people’s problem by politicians.

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 29, 2010 at 11:16 AM

This New York Times lede from Friday is terrific, conveying as it does the Bizarro world of the Irish bailout:... More

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin’

Hamster for the holidays from the NYT, WSJ, and Politico

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 24, 2010 at 03:09 PM

Audit boss Dean Starkman wrote a CJR cover story a couple of months ago called "The Hamster Wheel," decrying journalistic... More

Audit Notes: Hypocrisy on Warren, Just… Why?, Congress’ Net Worth Soars

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 24, 2010 at 12:33 AM

Former Timesman Peter S. Goodman is out of the gates fast over at The Huffington Post. He points out the... More

Quick Facts on the China Trade

You didn’t read them in Fortune

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 23, 2010 at 07:53 PM

CNBC's Becky Quick tosses off a dud over at Fortune, telling us all to "Stop the Beijing bashing!" because the... More

The Ultimate Mortgage Fraud Anecdote

The Miami Herald finds a Miami woman defrauded at every turn

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 23, 2010 at 01:31 PM

The Miami Herald has found the perfect anecdote for the foreclosure scandal, the mortgage crisis, and how both are two... More

Audit Notes: Countrywide, WSJ Stays Ahead on Probe, Blodget

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 22, 2010 at 07:59 PM

All the biz/econobloggers are going gaga over a nugget of information buried deep in Gretchen Morgenson's column yesterday. Consider a... More

All But Ignoring the Fed’s Call for More Stimulus

Deficit-obsessed newspapers stuff Bernanke’s plea for near-term spending or tax cuts

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 22, 2010 at 12:51 PM

Last week, Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, Republican, Bush appointee, calm technocrat, called for more fiscal stimulus (government spending and/or... More

Audit Notes: WSJ Scoop, SAC’s Golf Guy, Two Old Guys Flailing

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 19, 2010 at 11:53 PM

The Wall Street Journal has a big scoop out this evening, reporting that the federal government is winding up a... More

Unemployment Benefits as Search Engine Bait

Readers want to know about this issue. Many of them need to know

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 19, 2010 at 06:23 PM

When I think of SEO (search engine optimization), silly slide shows and headlines about Lindsey Lohan come to mind. But... More

Covering the Unemployment Benefits Extension Vote

The reporting and play on a critical issue for millions needs to be a lot better

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 19, 2010 at 11:37 AM

(UPDATE: Thanks for the comments, all. All I can say is I hope things turn around for you—soon. I've quoted... More

The Former Car Czar Kicks Back on CNBC

Network lets Rattner guest host as subpoenas, settlements, and lawsuits fly

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 18, 2010 at 07:24 PM

It's probably not the best idea to let somebody in the news for bribing public officals guest-host your news show.... More

The Chamber of Commerce, Front for Hated Industries

Bloomberg reveals health insurers gave $86 million to oppose Obama’s reform plan

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 18, 2010 at 05:21 PM

Bloomberg gets a great scoop on the Chamber of Commerce, reporting that the health-insurance industry gave the secretive nonprofit a... More

Deflation Warning Signs, Mostly Buried in the Press

Core inflation at a 57-year low isn’t big news for the NYT, WaPo, and LAT

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 18, 2010 at 01:09 PM

Core inflation hit a record low last month, a warning sign that the economy could be heading toward Japan-style deflation.... More