No one if forcing Nomura to pay those bonuses…

Nomura to match Lehman’s ‘07 Asia bonus pool-sources | Industries | Financial Services | Reuters

except their ability to retain people. A large chunk of Lehman’s assets is the employees.
Worthwhile to keep in mind.

You might say

that bankruptcy simply speeded up things that were going to happen anyway.  But who knows for sure?
CrossingWallStreet.com: Should Lehman Have Been Allowed to Fail?
There is pain coming.  The question is how much.
I now wonder about the national accounts identity: Savings=Investment, although my thoughts are still confused.
I now believe for that ex-ante, bailing out, or even [...]

Nice essay

Here is why you need to learn the theory of statistics:
Edge: THE FOURTH QUADRANT: A MAP OF THE LIMITS OF STATISTICS By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Also why the statement ‘Assume that everyone knows the state space’ is a bit tricky.

And my last post

makes me even more cynical about who the winners are losers are. The winners are those who gambled on a bailout, but writing more CDS and buying junky mortgage CDOs

A risky bond plus CDS = a risk free bond,

If you have a risky bond and buy cds, then ignoring counter-party risk, you have a risk free treasury bond. That means that selling credit protection (selling CDS) is just like borrowing money to invest in a risky bond. So, people selling CDS (AIG) were borrowing money to invest in risky bonds. [...]

Food for thought.

Why is capital frozen?  And are there really no ‘good deals’ in these distressed securities?  I am not sure I agree with one-off bailouts, though.  I would prefer some concrete, predictable, and credible policy of what will be bailed out and what won’t be: rules, not discretion. 
Bailouts Are Painful – And Should Be – [...]

Agreement, again

Interfluidity :: JPM, BOA, and Citi: The new big three

Some reason for calm

The Link Between Foreclosures and House Prices

Or at least a reason not to rush to disaster scenarios.

He is right that there is a difference between illiquidity and insolvency, but

I disagree with the post: Paul Kedrosky: Liquidity versus Insolvency

It all sounds good in theory. Illiquidity is not the same as insolvency.
But the post does not explain exactly how to tell who is solvent but illiquid and who is insolvent but illiquid in a way that cannot be gamed. Why do [...]

Exactly correct

I agree with much of this:
Why Paulson is wrong: Saving capitalism from the capitalists | vox – Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists

But will a debt for equity swap get things moving again?