Bob Morris @ Jan 18th 2008 15:18 - Category: Credit crisis Tags: Ambac, bond insurers;
Look out below. The downgrades of bond insurers have begun. This downgrade means the start of more write-downs for banks. Just how much, no one knows. It also means that bonds that were AAA rated are no longer.
Bob Morris @ Jan 18th 2008 10:44 - Category: Peak oil ;
Forecasts of peak oil are wrong, says a new study by industry experts that says there’s still lots of oil left in the ground.
This seems a bit evasive to me. Because the real question is not how much is left but what it costs to get it out. And much of the easy to get oil is already gone.
Besides, using oil generates carbon emission. We need clean energy instead.
Bob Morris @ Jan 18th 2008 07:04 - Category: Unfiled Tags: Ambac, bond insurers, MBI;
This could be a financial nuclear bomb. Seriously. The major bond insurers are in serious trouble and losing spectacular amounts of money. Ambac, the 2nd largest, just announced a 4th quarter loss of up to $32.83 a share. I’ve never heard of a loss that big, have you? MBIA, the largest bond insurer is in similar trouble.
In a serious twisted piece of financial chicanery, any bond insured by a bond insurer takes on their financial rating. The bond itself could be toxic garbage, but if AAA-rated Ambac insures it, then that bond becomes AAA too. How cozy.
The problem is, the bond insurers now are in serious danger of losing their AAA rating. If (when?) that happens, we will be in uncharted territory.
Losing the AAA stamp would cripple the bond insurers and throw doubt on the ratings of $2.4 trillion of debt the industry guarantees, causing as much as $200 billion in losses, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Among other things, municipalities routinely insure their bonds. This allows them to offer the bond at a lower interest rate, thus keeping their expenses down. Without insurance, any bonds they issue will have to be at a higher, more expensive rate of interest - at precisely the same time they are getting revenue shortfalls due to the real estate slump.
Bob Morris @ Jan 18th 2008 00:18 - Category: Renewable energy ;
Co-founder and chairman of the Cleantech Group, Nicholas Parker, says: “We foresee continued growth over 2008 as the cleantech market cycle moves from early adoption to mainstream driver of wealth and job creation.”
If you’re reading this blog, you probably are an early adopter of cleantech, and may well be frustrated at the seemingly slow move to renewable energy and clean transportation.
Yet just in the past year, it’s become apparent that big business does get it, and is now moving full speed ahead into cleantech. In a year or two, all this will be mainstream and we will be seeing the birth of entire new industries. Hey, this might even be what pulls us out of the recession.
Here’s an example of how big business increasingly gets it.
Ultra-green next generation Wal-Mart stores will use 25% less energy than current stores.
The new high-efficiency store will have a white roof, low-flow bathroom fixtures, LED lights, and advanced daylight harvesting. And it’s the embodiment of Wal-Mart’s steps towards greener retailing. In another store in Chicago, Wal-Mart is testing a green roof. They’re also working on packaging reduction, ethical and green sourcing, in-store recycling, and more.
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