Equestrian Tactics

Greek Finance Minister Papaconstantinou
Says: "The EU did not know what WE knew;
Our deft fiscal ploy
Is as ancient as Troy,
Or at least not in every DEGREE new."

Whose Dollar Is It Anyway?

The august Reserve Bank of Australia
Was to tighten their rates without failure,
When Beijing countered nimbly:
"You're tied to Renminbi -
Your policy tools won't avail ya."

CIT's new CEO

Ex-Merrill head honcho John Thain
Wants a life that is simple and plain:
"At the new CIT,
Meta-physic-ally,
I'm trading in Wall Street for Main."

Super Bawl

Said Hank Paulson, with trembling knees,
"Lehman's crisis blew in with the Brees
From the blue like a bolt -
Though I'm no Saint nor Colt,
'Twas un-Manning how credit might freeze."

Eagle and Panda: a Love Duet

"I can't do without your low prices." 
"Of your bonds I've cut extra-large slices." 
"It's wrong, we both know, 
But together we'll go 
Through our sub-prime trade imbalance crisis."

The New American Dream

The Smiths, of 212 Willow Lane,
Thought their mortgage a terrible strain;
They defaulted and then
Moved next door to 210,
Where they rent, and are solvent a-gain.

(Thanks to Mark Whitehouse of the Wall St. Journal)

Crunch Time in Kiev

When Ukraine, with a dread that was sickening,
Awoke to find bankruptcy beckoning,
They tried to postpone
With an IMF loan
Their day of Malthusian reckoning.

The Next Crack-Up

In Greece, Europeans suspect,
May occur the next financial wreck,
And each treasury bureau
Fears the hard-boiled Euro
May become a soufflé à la grecque.

A Mysterious Shiny Object

In forecasting iPad demand,
An analyst became quite unmanned;
"It's no use," he cried,
"I just can't decide:
What IS this cool thing in my hand?"