The Audit

Audit Notes: Fannie/Freddie Already, Obama on Finreg, WaMu’s Valukas?

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 21, 2010 at 08:20 PM

Next time you hear someone spouting the line that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Community Reinvestment Act were the... More

Surprise! Ratings Firms Nailed By Financial Reform

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 21, 2010 at 09:55 AM

The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that part of the bond market has shut down because credit raters like... More

Audit Notes: Not-So-Sharp Claws, Eighty Cents, A+!

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 20, 2010 at 08:10 PM

Charlie Gasparino scoops that pay czar Ken Feinberg is going to try to claw back some 2008 banker bonuses later... More

Audit D.C. Notes: Smoked Out, Debate On, Happy Enough?

By Holly Yeager   Jul 20, 2010 at 03:58 PM

Stateline.org digs into something I’ve often wondered about but rarely seen reported: the way Americans’ decrease in smoking is hitting... More

Megabanks on Steroids

The Journal examines how the too big just keep getting bigger

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 20, 2010 at 10:58 AM

The Wall Street Journal has an excellent page-one story this morning on how giant banks are getting bigger and throttling... More

Audit Notes: GPOs, Broadcom Injustice, The Upside of BP

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 19, 2010 at 09:17 PM

Mariah Blake has a must-read investigation in The Washington Monthly on the for-profit group purchasing organizations that dominate the medical... More

Bloomberg’s Obama Bull

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 19, 2010 at 07:48 PM

Bloomberg's back on the "Obama's Bull Market" stuff. Remember when it was "Obama's Bear Market"—six weeks into his presidency, and... More

FT: Wall Street Opacity Survives

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 19, 2010 at 04:21 PM

The Financial Times looks at how complexity and opacity plays into Wall Street's hands at the potential expense of its... More

Mind the Gap

Politico looks at how Washington elites see the economy

By Holly Yeager   Jul 19, 2010 at 02:02 PM

Politico has the smart idea to compare how the American public sees the economy and what “Washington’s governing class” thinks.... More

Audit Notes: Kanjorski?, Top 1 Percent, Geithner vs. Warren

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 16, 2010 at 06:34 PM

Simon Johnson has been beating the drum a bit on something called the Kanjorksi Amendment that made its way into... More

The Goldman Settlement Coverage is Mostly On-Target

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 16, 2010 at 09:39 AM

The press does a pretty good job of handling the SEC's settlement with Goldman Sachs (an Audit funder). It seems... More

Audit Notes: The SEC Lets Goldman Off Easy

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 15, 2010 at 07:25 PM

So Goldman Sachs (an Audit funder) gets off the hook with a $550 million fine and with no apology. But... More

Audit D.C. Notes: Sweetheart Deals, Tax Talk, Commission Coverage

By Holly Yeager   Jul 15, 2010 at 04:54 PM

The Wall Street Journal does well by staying on top of the controversial Countrywide lending program that provided sweet deals... More

What They Don’t Know

The press has work to do on the deficit debate

By Holly Yeager   Jul 15, 2010 at 03:25 PM

With all the buzz about cutting the deficit, the press should be all over the job of explaining how much... More

WSJ on the Lookout for Poor Lending

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 15, 2010 at 02:10 PM

The Wall Street Journal has its ear to the ground for signs of bubble-era lending, and it's come up with... More