The Whiteboard - Most Recent
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11
Tangible Common Equity, or TCE
Mar 3, 2009
Tangible Common Equity used to be an obscure and rarely-used accounting term. Today it's one of the main motivators behind the government's decision to turn the American taxpayer into one of Citigroup's biggest stockholders. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.
22
Cramdowns
Feb 18, 2009
A debate is raging in Washington, D.C., about how to deal with America's foreclosure problem. One proposal is to restructure the loans using a tool usually seen in bankruptcy courts: The "cramdown." Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.
6
Write-downs
Feb 10, 2009
markets have deteriorated, "write-downs" have figured prominently in more and more corporate reports. What are write-downs all about? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.
12
Mark to market
Jan 30, 2009
There's a debate in financial circles over whether banks are unfairly penalized by the requirement that they "mark to market" their holdings. Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains what that term means.
17
Toxic assets
Jan 21, 2009
If you've been following the problems encountered by the banks, you've probably come across the phrase "toxic assets." They've poisoned banks' balance sheets and brought them to the brink of failure. But what is a toxic asset, exactly? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.
7
Why 'bad banks' might be a good thing
Jan 13, 2009
Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's latest plan to get the economy moving -- and the risk involved.
14
Getting naked in short selling
Jan 1, 2009
The practice of short selling has been blamed for the collapse of several major companies' shares during the financial crisis. What is short selling? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.
28
Quantitative easing
Dec 22, 2008
Now the Federal Reserve has effectively cut the target lending rate to zero, it only has one more weapon in its arsenal. Quantitative easing. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains what this "nuclear option" it is, and what the Fed hopes it'll do.
16
A look inside hedge funds
Dec 15, 2008
Hedge funds used to occupy a dark, undisturbed corner of the financial world, but over the last year they've been thrown under the spotlight. Still, many people don't know exactly what hedge funds are, or what hedging actually means. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.
12
Leveraging and deleveraging
Dec 8, 2008
Leveraging -- or borrowing -- has been cited as one of the contributors to the financial crisis. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains how the move to deleverage -- or reduce debt -- is prompting wild market swings and concerns about deflation
Pages
Financial mysteries explained! Watch the latest video explaining the FHA in Sr. Producer Paddy Hirsch's Whiteboard series. Plus, win a chance to get a signed copy of Paddy's new book, "Man vs. Markets."
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