On The Economic Populist you might have noticed the middle column. We try to list other sites and blogs who have exceptional insight and writing on what is happening in the U.S. economy.

Sometimes though, one cannot say it better but miss those who did.

Must Read #1

Chris Whalen says Q4, 2009 will be a bloodbath for banks. It's a long video interview talking about how the original bank problems have been simply put off but have not gone away. This is completely contrary to Goldman Sachs upgrades on TARP banking companies recently. He also says the real U.S. economy is dying.

This is a major h/t from Naked Capitalism who expands on the prediction. This quote:

Even if Goldman is wrong, and lots of investors take their advice and get hurt buying into banking stocks before an approaching “bloodbath,” they seem to have it covered, at least for themselves, with of derivatives delivering profits into their own pockets should those banks fail. At least this is the pattern shown in their dealings with CIT.

is pretty much what came up in my mind when I read the Goldman Sachs upgrades on TARP recipient banking stocks.

Must Read #2

Zero Hedge has a post, The High Frequency Trading Debate Gets Down And Dirty which overviews some of the debate going on as well as this Paul Farrell article, HFT-Quants beat Lazy Portfolios in 'The Singularity'. The money quote is from Forbes:

Forbes bluntly put it this way in a sidebar: "Trading for Dummies" "The role of sucker on Wall Street has traditionally been played by retail investors." That's you.

Zero Hedge is hosting this Rosenblatt Securities in-depth report (pdf) on high frequency trading.

Must Read #3

A bit of good news. The Obama administration is dropping lobbyists from it's trade advisory committees.

The Obama administration has informed members of its industry trade advisory committees (ITACs) that when their current terms expire Feb. 17, 2010, the lobbyists among them will not be reappointed. Estimates are that as many as half the 330 current ITAC members are registered lobbyists because they are trade association executives, government relations specialists for companies or lawyers and consultants.

Trade Reform and Public Citizen have the juice.

Must Read #4

As if we didn't have enough problems, here comes a warning on reverse mortgages:

Reverse mortgages may be the next subprime crisis, according to the National Consumer Law Center.

Some of the same U.S. lenders that helped drive the real estate boom with loans to home buyers who couldn’t afford the payments are now targeting seniors, the center said. Brokers, who are given financial incentives to sell the loans, may be making misleading claims to potential customers, according to a report titled “Subprime Revisited,” that was released today by the Boston-based NCLC.

“This market is designed to serve seniors, so when we find abuses cropping up and migrating from the subprime market to the senior market, that sounds an especially loud warning bell,” said Rick Jurgens, an advocate at the NCLC, who contributed to the report.

Happy reading*

^{* not recommended for those with heart conditions}