Magazine article from our research archive:

Community Banks as Guides to Local Government: Help Avoid the Hippos

They say 40 percent of all statistics are wrong. Given current conditions, this funny phrase expresses about the same level of certainty enjoyed in credit markets these days.

It is not so funny when we consider the outcome of reliance placed on market experts who devised and engineered debt instruments intended to leverage so-called market efficiencies. The recent municipal bond auction failures, mono-line insurer downgrades, bid-rigging in municipal derivatives and the underlying subprime mess reminds me of another kind of adventure that suggests simpler solutions.

I have a friend who makes his living as a rafting guide on the Colorado River. During the off season he occasionally takes a ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

See all results. Or, try our Advanced Search.

Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 60 million articles! Access over 3,500 publications with a FREE trial!