Three readers sent me this noteworthy blog piece: Over 1 Trillion Dollars Worth of Credit Default Swaps Against Governments [1]. The article mentions that there are still $33-to-$47 Trillion (notional) in CDS [2] derivatives still outstanding. This skunk won’t be washed clean until the real estate market bottoms, and all the “Marked to Mystery” paper gets marked to the real market. And, BTW, that bottom may not be for another five years. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The fallout from the nascent derivatives collapse [3] may topple some national governments.
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The latest huge download from Cheryl, our kindly volunteer Economic Editor: Oil Prices Up As Saudis Cut Production [4] — Credit Continues to Tighten in US [5] — Two EU Banks Warn of Tougher Market Conditions Ahead [6] — Naked, Short Failures [7] (from The Mogambo Guru) — Scrap Steel Buyers Cancel Orders As Prices Tumble [8] — Dow Tumbles 443 On Weak Economic and Corporate Data [9] (Post-vote losses = 10% in two-day rout) — Holiday Outlooks Grimmer After Dismal October [10] —Oil To Shoot Back Through $100 [11] — US Long-term Jobless Benefits at 25-Year High [12] —Global Recession, Country By Country [13] — Investors Running Out Of Places To Hide [14] —1,000,000 Jobs Lost This Year [15] (And this is the beginning of a recession?)
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Reader Henry S. mentioned: “The Swiss have produced a free guide to every type of toilet you can imagine. The guide is very Swiss and proper”: Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies (PDF [16])