Economics Update

We've just had £2 billion ($4 b) fund in the UK suspend trading because of a panic, but "Aegon UK added that it believes the "underlying fundamentals of the asset class remain healthy".

Nope, there is an increasing understanding that the last one leaving the room won't only be without clothes, but that the price of exit will involve selling an organ.

Standard and Poors is now assessing the risk of bond insurer giants MBIA and Ambac in excess of 70% over the next 5 years. If they unwind, a lot more unwinds too.


Sprint is laying off 4000, and closing 125 stores.

Bond insurer ACA is asking for more time to unwind its contracts, basically because it's out of case. If they go under, "Banks and brokers could suffer billions of dollars of losses from credit protection they bought from ACA."