Myopia on Wall Street

The Observer’s Max Abelson finds a prime example in a new book

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 3, 2010 at 11:54 AM

Wall Street still hasn't taken responsibility for its central role in creating the housing bubble, the predatory lending, the financial... More

Audit Notes: Jamie’s WaMu Dud, Sloan on Foreclosuregate, Sorkin

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 2, 2010 at 06:30 PM

Bloomberg Bloomberg Markets takes a long look at the troubles facing JPMorgan Chase, the latest of which is that Jamie... More

Captive Customers

NPR reveals a behind-the-scenes role by private prisons in Arizona’s tough immigration law

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 2, 2010 at 03:19 PM

An NPR investigation goes right to the heart of the problem with private prisons: Putting a profit motive behind taking... More

Audit Notes: Magnetar, Comfort the Comfortable, Minimum Wage

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 1, 2010 at 06:50 PM

ProPublica reports that the SEC is investigating a specific JPMorgan deal with the Magnetar hedge fund and whether the bank... More

Robo-Signers Aren’t Limited to Foreclosures

The Times finds debt collectors signing up to 2,000 affidavits a day

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 1, 2010 at 11:27 AM

The New York Times does an excellent job this morning finding a new angle on the robo-signers scandal. It's a... More

Audit Notes: Stopping Wall Street, Kate Kelly, Labor Laws

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 29, 2010 at 06:38 PM

Michael Lewis has a useful Bloomberg column detailing how some on Wall Street are getting around the financial-reform law's ban... More

Reuters Thinks Big on the Housing Crisis

A “Marshall Plan” to bring parties together to fix the mortgage mess

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 29, 2010 at 03:34 PM

If something good comes out of the whole foreclosure scandal, it's that the whole housing issue, which is a millstone... More

Yeah, Right

An analyst says the Web isn’t hurting newspapers, all evidence to the contrary

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 29, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Justin Wolfers makes a good point at the Freakonomics blog: The Democrats will retain control of the House and the... More

Audit Notes: Matt Winkler Borrows a Megaphone, Foreclosures, Weil

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 28, 2010 at 07:04 PM

You've built the biggest news organization in the business press. You have a wire service with hundreds of thousands of... More

BizWeek Reports a Bank of America Threat to Fannie

Which corporate-welfare recipient will end up holding the bag on toxic mortgages?

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 28, 2010 at 05:55 PM

Bloomberg BusinessWeek's cover story this week has a very interesting piece of reporting that has flown under the radar. No... More

That Whole Journalism Thing Isn’t So Easy

Bloggers throw softballs and irrelevant questions at Obama

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 28, 2010 at 09:40 AM

Bloggers rightly criticize the press for focusing on the trivial at the expense of the meaningful, process at the expense... More

Audit Notes: Regulatory Capture, Monster Quotes, WSJ on Medicare Waste

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 27, 2010 at 07:50 PM

I'm glad The New York Times is taking such an interest in the potential conflicts of interest among the staff... More

Hiltzik Is Excellent on the CFTC Judges

The Los Angeles Times columnist digs into the case

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 27, 2010 at 02:19 PM

Michael Hiltzik takes an excellent look at that awfully interesting Commodity Futures Trading Commission story where retiring judge George H.... More

The Press Mostly Misses the Inspector General’s HAMP Report

We turn to the blogs, yet again, to find out what we’re missing

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 26, 2010 at 07:40 PM

The special inspector general of the TARP, Neil Barofsky, released a blistering report yesterday, including pointed criticism of Treasury's AIG... More

Leave It to the WSJ Op-Ed Page…

To print a call for the return of predatory overdraft lending and the interchange racket

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 26, 2010 at 11:55 AM

The Wall Street Journal runs a column today bemoaning the mortal wounding of the overdraft charge and calling for its... More

Audit Notes: Fraud Field Day, Nation on Countrywide, WSJ Win

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 25, 2010 at 08:13 PM

A Florida Times-Union investigation finds that the rampant foreclosure fraud in Florida even extends to court summonses. Even the... More

The $50 Million-a-Year Club Booms (UPDATED)

$10 million a week while the median earner’s wage falls to $505 a week

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 25, 2010 at 07:06 PM

UPDATE: Johnston reports that the Social Security Administration now says its data were wrong and it has updated the numbers,... More

WaPo Follows TARP Money Back to Politicians

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 25, 2010 at 11:10 AM

The Washington Post does a good job of keeping an eye on bailed-out companies' campaign donations with this story yesterday.... More

Audit Notes: Unreasonable Fees, Goldman Looks Away, iPad Mag Sales

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 22, 2010 at 05:26 PM

Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus puts the Bank of America financial-reform charge in perspective. The too-big-to-fail bank took a... More

An NYT Chamber of Commerce Investigation Outs Big Donors

No need to stretch for a story here.

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 22, 2010 at 09:31 AM

Now this is how you report on the Chamber of Commerce and secret donors. The New York Times this morning... More