The "Aughts," Rethought

Alan Greenspan had often attested
That inflation at last had been bested,
But his loose money vices
Inflated home prices,
Which a few enjoyed more than the rest did.

Cautionary Comparison

Said Bernanke, "Our debt looks unkempt to me,
And thriftier we must attempt to be,
For a few sidelong peeks
At the Spaniards and Greeks
Show examples that don't seem exemplary."

One Bad Apple, or a Rotten Bunch?

There's a time-honored CDO dictum,
When a firm's charged with fleecing a victim:
Every other firm too
Will conduct a review
Of the tranches it sold, and who picked 'em.

A Soft Spot in his Heart

Said the IMF head, Dominique:
"While Athens' finances are bleak,
As a good European,
I regard the Aegean
As the cradle of l'Europe Antique."

The Real Blow-Up

An eruption, intense and gigantic,
Roiled markets across the Atlantic;
This vesuvian debt,
One mustn't forget,
Is Hellenic more so than Icelandic.

Volcanomics

"Clouds of ash laid our company low,"
Says BA's Willie Walsh, who should know.
"'Tis an ill wind indeed
That helps no-one in need,"
Says Josh Silverman, Skype CEO.



Bonus feature today: Icelandic pronunciation guide!
Eyjafjallajökull = EYE-ya fyat-la YOE-kutl.

The Goldman-Paulson Case: Pro & Con

Institutional buyers of debt
Are big boys and deserve what they get,
But if some of those boys
Knew who cobbled their toys,
They may not have invested, peut-être?

Overheard at the Desk of "Fabulous Fab"

"This CDO's fit, if you please,
For a carry trade like IKB's,
With a mortgage portfolio
Hand-picked, as I told you,
By investors with deep expertise."

Abacus 2007-AC1

Said John Paulson, "Subprime will tank,
And I'd like to take that to the bank."
Said Goldman, "We'll fashion
A short you can cash in
From the Kool-Aid our dumb clients drank."