Several of the federal bailout programs will make a profit, but the effort has also exposed taxpayers to enormous risk and created a moral hazard for investors, according to a new congressional report. The Congressional Oversight Panel said the Treasury Department's expanded efforts to guarantee loa ... Read more

Credit cards losses are accelerating at Capital One, a trend one should expect to continue given the rapidly rising unemployment rate. Interestingly, Capital One is returning TARP funds. Please consider Capital One Card Write-Offs Advance to 9.4 Percent . Capital One Financial Corp., the Virgin ... Read more

On CNBC this morning, Warren Buffett mentioned that credit conditions are tightening again. Here is a look at a few indicators: Click on table for larger image in new window. The first graph shows the spread between 30 year Moody's Aaa and Baa rated bonds and the 30 year treasury. ... Read ... Read more

Yesterday's House Financial Services Committee hearing gave evidence that bank lending is flowing again, but credit is still tight. As is traditional in these affairs, a good deal of time was chewed up by congresspersons zealously jawboning to express vicarious anger on behalf of their constitue ... Read more

It's been awhile, and by popular demand ... Treasuries have rebounded somewhat since the beginning of the year, and there was tepid demand today for Five Year Treasuries, from Bloomberg: Treasuries Drop as Record Sale Draws Higher-Than-Forecast Yield Treasuries plunged as the government sold a ... Read more