Top ten blogs to read during the banking crisis

Perplexed by plummeting indexes? Worried about your bank's future? Comment Central's rounded up ten of the best blogs to guide you through the banking crisis:

Oliver Kamm's Blog:

Oliver modestly says that his leaving the City and the collapse of the banking system were merely coincidental. But the Times is certainly blessed by the fact that he joined us shortly before the current crisis. Oliver has traditionally left finance alone on his blog. But now he's writing about it with his predictable brilliance. A must-read.

Peston's Picks

The BBC's Robert Peston has literally moved markets this week. And whoever is to blame for the leaks that have spilled into his ears, you can't blame the journalist for making such excellent news with it. Ground-breaking and consistently on top of everything that's going on, this is the blog that the bankers are turning to.

Free exchange

No surprise that one of the best places to head for up-to-the-minute analysis of current events is over the Economist. Free exchange is smart, savvy and constantly updated. The regular roundup of news and analysis from all over the media ensure that, boom or bust, they never take their eye off the ball.

Brad Setser: Follow the money

From Iceland to Russia and back via Brazil. If you want the big picture on what's happening to your money right now, head over to this excellent Council on Foreign Relations blog. Brad Setser talks you through events in the world markets while making his own predictions. One for the globetrotter.

Stumbling and Mumbling

Only Chris Dillow could take a story about restaurants using monkeys as waiters and turn it into a post on how to save capitalism. The Investor's Chronicle writer has risen to the challenge over the past month with intelligent and often counter-intuitive theories on a variety of crisis-related topics.

Becker-Posner Blog:

Boasting about your financial literacy down the pub comes much more naturally if you know you have the clout of a Nobel Prize winner behind you. Gary Becker (who scooped the prize for Economics) and Richard Posner (a high-flying judge) write weekly on a variety of issues. Recently, they've covered the crisis, government equity and bailout structuring - all for your cribbing pleasure.

Greg Mankiw:

Ready for an economics class? Then head over to this Harvard Professor's blog. Originally designed to keep up with Mankiw's current and past students, it has become a must-read for those hoping to keep up with economic events. And as the former chair of Bush's economic advisors, Mankiw has an inside track on what's actually going on right now.

Real Time Economics

Reading Real Time Economics is like having the brains of the Wall Street Journal on speed dial. The journalists here put their fingers on the questions that everyone's wondering about. Better still, they actually take a stab at the answers.

Marginal Revolution

Two economists, one blog and an excellent cheat sheet. Marginal Revolution is one of the best-read economics blogs out there and has lived up to its reputation these past few weeks. During the crisis, they've provided a breakdown of events that is accessible to even the most credit confused customer.

The Daily Mash

Everyone needs a laugh right now. And the Daily Mash has surpassed itself as the first port of comedic call in this time of doom and gloom. They've written spoofs aplenty but their best line remains this explanation of the bailout:

The government is to invest £500bn of your money in British banks so they can lend it back to you with interest.

(And as a bonus blog, head on over to Times Online's excellent Money Central. They provide some of the most helpful lists out there for worried workers. Whether it's the best place to put your savings or ten properties you can afford to buy with your credit card, it's well worth a look.)

Comments

[Emma]

Not forgetting FT Alphaville. The Markets Live discussion at 11am everyday is entertaining and addictive. A bit financially technical in places, but after a while even a novice (me) starts to get it.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/marketslive/

[Daphne Kenward]

The economy, will result in Global recession, Famine, war, break down in society, Civil war, council workers strikes. People defaulting on Mortgages, loans, high unemployment. No growth with no investments, currencies devalued. And resulting in global economic meltdown.

[Lester]

The community organizer learned that the money messenger was King. He thought, how to be able to give more.
Answer become a U.S. senator.

[Lester]

Acorn is not the seed, but the root of the housing stack of cards. I'm sure many books will be written on How a misguided community group collapsed a great economy !!

[NICK]

A new blog from market practicioners with interesting weekly analyses and daily comments with a twist. The weekly polls lighten the mood!

[ThirdWay]

Also don't forget the following excellent blogs for the gory details of what's going on:

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/
http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini

[david Jones]

the most astute economic minds, with well presented hard copy backed data, are on MarketWatch.com. They have been calling this for years, timed it to perfection, are making money on the down, and, believe it or not, are not gold fanatics.

At least go take a look.

[Zack]

A list of business/market/financial blogs which doesn't include the FT's Alphaville is a joke. As emma mentions above their market chat is unbeatable. Check it out http://ftalphaville.ft.com/marketslive/

The only other two i agree with are Real Time Economics and Preston's blog.

[Jabba the Cat]

I'm surprised that Dr Richard North's EUreferendum blog, which consistently points out our powerlessness to sort out critical issues, such as in the current situation, due to EU law and directives trumping our laws and wishes to adapt to rapidly changing events.

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com

[Michael Lever]

If you read MLog, on my web site, you'll see that I reckon the credit crisis has been deliberately orchestrated by some very shrewd operators who have made trillions out of the debacle.

[Dave Dowling]

For immediate mkt commentry & a good sense of humour (needed in this mkt) you should use Dealbreaker. They have a very large user base where ideas and opinions are shared openly (with immediate and non-moderated comments)

http://www.dealbreaker.com/

[Ben]

Nice right-wingy blog selection. For a wider perspective, Google nouriel roubini, econbrowser, brad de long, paul krugman, naked capitalism. Might as well get used to some left wing rhetoric, you know?

[tc]

marketwatch.com is great with plenty of comments and also Todd Harrison's http://www.minyanville.com/

[Jabba the Cat]

@ Ben 10.14

Lol...funny how no one reads the leftie blogs, wonder why that is?

[Michael Panzner]

How about one of the few blogs that correctly anticipated the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression: http://www.financialarmageddon.com.
(It's not published by an economist, which some might view as a major plus.)

[Austin Tassletine]

Is that it?

What about Housepricecrash.co.uk?

They have been right more often than these blogs here! They also have more erudite and savvey bloggers from the real economy commenting

[Naomi Stewart]

This is the diary of an anonymous finance PA in Mayfair who predicted a world economic collapse before any of the so-called experts (even getting the timing almost spot on) and as an added bonus she is also much funnier than those dry articles!

[James MacAonghus]

You can't seriously omit FT Alphaville. Those guys are sharp, knowledgeable, funny. It's an addictive read.

[Naomi Stewart]

This is the diary of an anonymous finance PA in Mayfair who predicted a world economic collapse before any of the so-called experts (even getting the timing almost spot on) and as an added bonus she is also much funnier than those dry articles!

http://londonbohemiangirl.blogspot.com/

[Dan]

I recommend the following:

http://www.minyanville.com
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/
http://www.financialsense.com/
http://www.chrismartenson.com

[jc]

You got to be kidding. How could you not mention Nouriel Roubini's RGE monitor. He's the only guy who has been consistently jumping up and down for YEARS saying this would happen. And it has unfolded pretty much exactly as he has predicted.
If you were to rate these blogs for their foresight and predictive accuracy Roubini would garner a 99/100 and the next closest blog would have a 40/100 on the same scale.

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/

[Ian Thorpe]

I think we all need a few laughs so I'll keep my blog bashing out the daily comic take on events.

This is a good selection though, thanks.

[G.D.Flynn]

Yet not one of these so called experts
mention the contradiction of OFFSHORE TAX HAVENS and their role in the Euro,the Dollar and the Pound.maybe another 200 plus Icelands out there.?

[Ged]

The list is way too American.

What about

housepricecrash.co.uk
ukhousebubble.blogspot.com

[Miguel Marcos]

Floyd Norris at the NYT is doing a marvelous job covering the situation and his writing is succing and crystal clear.

http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/

[Seagulls]

If you have the stomach for it, Finbar Taggit (http://www.fintag.com/)
has been spot on for the last 18 months. Lying bankers, socialist politicians comporting as free market champions and confused, inept regulators have made for the greatest slo-mo train wreck in financial history.

[UP]

The www.housepricecrash.co.uk news blog gets my vote. It's unique. Pretty much unfiltered and regularly provides an excellent range of critique and analysis of current news stories... By normal people for normal people. www.chrismartenson.com is definately worth a look. And the worst blog? Has to be David Smith's.

[David]

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk has been much more accurate than the mainstream media. I first heard about NR in July 2007 and was warned about the Icelandic banks back in March 2008 thanks to HPC.

Robert Peston and his deepthroat (Ed Balls? GB?) probably needs to be investigated for some of the stuff he has been saying.

The Daily Mash is just tedious.

[Robert Woolley]

And don't forget alphaville on the FT's web site:

http://www.ft.com/alphaville

[Paul]

You forgot to mention this tribute to Henry Paulson:

[jr]

Oh, please! I agree RGE Monitor is interesting to follow BUT Roubini has been predicting financial crisis every other day. He had to be right on one.

[Lance Concannon]

http://www.economonkey.com - I set this up with a friend last year to try and explain all this stuff in plain English.

[Morgan]

If you've been ssying something will happen for 'YEARS' then you might be eventually proved right. I like Chris Dillow because his writing speaks to experts and novices (like me) alike.

[Dectora]

Daphne Kenward: I think that you left out the plague of locusts and the rain of blood, to say nothing of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. I always enjoy your communications from Planet Zog.

[joe123]

Petition to 10 downing Street
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Investigate thoroughly into the recent debacle concerning inter-bank lending, toxic assets loans, suspect financial instruments - speculation/hedging, extremely high bonuses and bad stock market trading practices- especially of London Stock market and banks.
Category: Economics and finance:
Being tax payers, we are extremely concerned that we have been "forced" to bail out devious dealers and greedy bankers who apparently have been lining their pockets with scant regard for Britain or the British public (and of course the world at large).
- We MUST trace EACH transaction that led to this disaster from START to FINISH and we KNOW it CAN be done.
- Find the guilty and punish them - imprisonment, return Petition to 10 downing Street
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Investigate thoroughly into the recent debacle concerning inter-bank lending, toxic assets loans, suspect financial instruments - speculation/hedging, extremely high bonuses and bad stock market trading practices- especially of London Stock market and banks.
Category: Economics and finance:
Being tax payers, we are extremely concerned that we have been "forced" to bail out devious dealers and greedy bankers who apparently have been lining their pockets with scant regard for Britain or the British public (and of course the world at large).
- We MUST trace EACH transaction that led to this disaster from START to FINISH and we KNOW it CAN be done.
- Find the guilty and punish them - imprisonment, return of funds/fees/salary/bonus/shares/options etc to reduce the burden on British tax payers.
- SERIOUSLY PROSECUTE the internal and external Auditors and Audit firms.
- HOW ABOUT THIS?
All the cost of THOROUGH investigations MUST be funded by these MEGA Audit firms. Please hold them accountable too;
OTHERWISE, DEAR PRIME MINISTER AND CHANCELLOR:
WE HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS TOXIC TURMOIL.
MANY THANKS.

[Wallace Brand]

Look at today's Powerlineblog.com and see McCain's May 5, 2006 letter to the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Banking Committee Chairman warning of financial disaster if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not regulated by the bill he cosponsored.

[s.a.b.]

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/

[Antonio]

For the spanish market you can read
www.comparativadebancos.com and find the best deals on finance products and guidelines to invest with no risk.

[Richard Hoblyn]

My quarterly client reviews are published on this blog http://hoblyncapital.blogspot.com

[Richard]

Those who haven't tried it yet, I suggest visiting www.meettheboss.com. It's where the C-level execs meet up with daily discussions, weekly broadcasts and free web 2.0 features such as video conferencing and IM

[Mark]

You may want to take a look here.

The only explanation of the crisis that fits the facts:

http://cynicuseconomicus.blogspot.com/2008/09/banking-crisis-what-is-really-going-on.html

It is not happy reading, however....

[Cal, Charlottesville, Virginia]

CHARGE OF THE TARP BRIGADE

(Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred Lord Tennyson)

(Modified by WilliamBanzai7)

Half a trillion, half a trillion,
Give or take 200 billion, onward!
All in the valley of Balance Sheet Death
Rode the seven hundred billion tax dollars.
"Forward, the TARP Brigade!"
"Charge for the ABS Credit Default Swaps!" Hank said:
Into the valley of Balance Sheet Death
Rode the seven hundred billion taxpayer dollars.

"Forward, the TARP Brigade!"
Was there a politician dismay'd?
Not tho' the Congress knew
Some guy named Hank had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Balance Sheet Death
Rode the seven hundred billion taxpayer dollars.

CDOs to right of them,
CDSs to left of them,
AIG and the GSEs in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with Wall Street shot and shell,
Boldly that load of Federal largesse rode and well,
Into the jaws of Balance Sheet Death,
Into the mouth of subprime contagion Hell
Rode the seven hundred billion taxpayer dollars.

Flash'd all the workout sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the asset backed losses there,
Charging an army of tawdry bankers, accountants, and shysters, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the seedy subprime-smoke
Right into the red numbers they broke;
Lehman and Bear Stearns
Spared from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the seven hundred billion.

Subprime CDOs to right of them,
Subprime CDSs to left of them,
Fat Wall Street advisory fees behind them,
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with derivative losses, asset backed shot and shell,
While level 3 zeros fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Balance Sheet Death
Back from the mouth of subprime contagion Hell,
All that was left of it?
Nothing left of seven hundred billion buckaroos!

When can its glory fade?
O the wild loss charges!
All the world wondered.
Honor the huge expenditures they made,
Honor the TARP Brigade,
Noble seven hundred billion taxpayer dollars.

(TARP--Troubled Asset Relief Plan of 2008)

williambanzai7.blogspo.../

[tom s]

John Redwood's blog.

[Ms Robinson]

Wry, witty, smart, clever..www.fintag.com has got a huge following and why not..he's a hedge fund manager with a twist..and he called the recession

[Jon H]

"And as the former chair of Bush's economic advisors, Mankiw has an inside track on what's actually going on right now."

Uh, no. He helped get us into the mess, but he never expected the mess.