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Articles by Ryan Chittum | Email the Author

 

1. The Audit

   WSJ Is Incredible on Foreclosure Court

   February 18, 2009 08:36 AM

   The Journal has a superb A1 story today about a foreclosure "rocket docket" in Florida that gives homeowners fifteen or twenty seconds to "present" their cases. Reporter Michael Corkery (disclosure: a friend and former colleague of mine) traveled down... Continue reading

2. The Audit

   WaPo on Why Geithner Fumbled

   February 17, 2009 02:51 PM

   The Washington Post, apparently very well-sourced at the Treasury Department, has a nice tick-tock explaining Tim Geithner's disappointing performance last week. Basically, Geithner changed his mind at the last minute and had to wing it. Not exactly confidence-inspiring leadership,... Continue reading

3. The Audit

   Bloomberg Digs Into Executive Perks

   February 17, 2009 10:19 AM

   Bloomberg has a good story this morning looking at the executive perks still being paid for by taxpayer-bailed-out Citigroup. It found that ex-execs Chuck Prince, John Reed, and Michael Klein—one of whom hasn't worked for the bank in going... Continue reading

4. The Audit

   Crisis Crib Notes from the FT

   February 17, 2009 10:16 AM

   If you're still somewhat flummoxed by what caused this financial crisis, head over to the Financial Times site and watch this video. In it, Martin Wolf, the paper's chief economics commentator, spells out clearly and concisely (in less than... Continue reading

5. The Audit

   Japanese Lessons and Currency Concerns

   February 13, 2009 03:25 PM

   The NYT is good to look at the similarities between Japan's crippling decade-long economic crisis and the one we're now more than a year into. But something important gets lost in translation: How much the yen is worth. ... Continue reading

6. The Audit

   ProPublica on Stimulus Spending

   February 13, 2009 02:57 PM

   Check out this chart from the non-profit investigative journalism group ProPublica. It helpfully lists, line by line, all the spending items in the stimulus agreement, grouped by category. That's a helpful resource. Continue reading

7. The Audit

   Hedgies About to Get Trimmed?

   February 13, 2009 10:21 AM

   The Journal and Bloomberg have very interesting stories on the legal battle between Fairfax Financial Holdings and the short-sellers it says conspired against it. Fairfax's attorneys uncovered emails that show a stock analyst gave several hedge funds, including... Continue reading

8. The Audit

   NYT Chickens Out on Insolvent Banks

   February 13, 2009 08:45 AM

   The Times runs a front-page piece this morning looking at the argument that much of the nation's banking system, especially the biggest banks, is effectively insolvent. But there's a hole in the story as big as Citigroup's balance sheet:... Continue reading

9. The Audit

   Merrill in the Public Stocks

   February 12, 2009 03:40 PM

   I like the prominent display The New York Times and the Financial Times give the news that Merrill Lynch made 700 of its employees bonuses of more than $1 million each. The Journal stuffs it on C3.... Continue reading

10. The Audit

    The Corruption Thing

    February 12, 2009 12:16 PM

    Portfolio's new issue contains an interesting piece by Gary Weiss comparing the problems on Wall Street with the extensive corruption in police forces thirty years ago. The press has been too loath to state the obvious: What happened on... Continue reading

11. The Audit

    Post Shines on Unemployment Disputes

    February 12, 2009 10:04 AM

    The Washington Post has a great story today looking at how employers are fighting ex-employees' unemployment claims in record numbers. Why? To save a few bucks on their unemployment insurance. More than one in four unemployment-benefits claims were disputed... Continue reading

12. The Audit

    Must-Read of the Day

    February 11, 2009 05:11 PM

    Martin Wolf of the Financial Times is on fire over the Geithner/Obama bailout plan. I thought Wolf's lede was over-the-top when I read it; much less so after I wended my way through his entire piece. Has Barack... Continue reading

13. The Audit

    Auletta on the Newspaper Death Watch

    February 11, 2009 11:13 AM

    Ken Auletta makes some sharp comments on the perilous state of the news industry in a Q&A with The Boston Phoenix. Q. What about the broader question of paying for news? A. I have two views. One is, the... Continue reading

14. The Audit

    WaPo’s Pearlstein Sticks It to Wall Street

    February 11, 2009 08:43 AM

    Steven Pearlstein has an excellent column today ripping Wall Street for still not getting it. He leads with six columns dripping with contempt for the "Titans of Finance" acting like "spoiled, petulant children." These guys won't be happy until... Continue reading

15. The Audit

    Odds & Ends

    February 10, 2009 06:21 PM

    This one-source story in the NYT today bothers me. It's got some analysis, but not much. Couldn't find one independent source who had something worthwhile to say? ProPublica does some good bird-dogging of Sen. Christopher Dodd's... Continue reading

16. The Audit

    CNBC’s Bear Trap

    February 10, 2009 11:46 AM

    CNBC paired noted bears Nouriel Roubini and Nassim Nicholas Taleb yesterday in what could have been a very good arrangement. But rather than fully explore their arguments on why the financial system is fundamentally screwed, the segment devolved into... Continue reading

17. The Audit

    A-Rod, the WSJ, and A1

    February 10, 2009 11:20 AM

    Why is a huge headshot of Alex Rodriguez taking up half the above-the-fold space on page one of my Wall Street Journal this morning? This is a Murdoch special—something you never would have seen on page one before he... Continue reading

18. The Audit

    LA Times Finds California Farms Not Hiring

    February 10, 2009 08:37 AM

    The LA Times has a very interesting story about how the recession is causing a surplus of farm labor in California. The collapse of the construction industry and a slump in the restaurant and food service sector have sent... Continue reading

19. The Audit

    The Times on the Times

    February 9, 2009 03:30 PM

    The New York Times's media reporter Richard Perez-Pena plows into the minefield to look at his own company's prospects for survival. Don't envy him this task. I'll bet you every editor in the building looked at that piece when... Continue reading

20. The Audit

    Journal Is Wide-Eyed on a Potential Rebound

    February 9, 2009 09:48 AM

    The Journal is too contrarian for the sake of it in an Outlook column positing that the economy could be in for a sharp recovery. The chance of any rebound in the current quarter seems far-fetched after last week's... Continue reading

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