Be sure to read independent banking analyst XX’s scathing critique of DC’s favorite private sector economist, Moody’s Mark Zandi.
I think Zandi is a very nice guy, even though I frequently disagree with him. But I never understood why he was so well regarded by the powers that be. I found he did a so-so job recognizing in real time what was going on in the economy — a t least in the press.
If you start from a misunderstanding of what’s going on today, how good are your guesses like to be? Begin in the wrong place, and your forecasts are unlikely to be on target. And that’s what we see in his track record.
Now, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, but I can tell you from reading this analyst for years that his track record on the big issues — derivatives, bank credit, housing collapse, recession — has been dead on.
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Previously:
2008 Bailout Counter-Factual (August 17th, 2010)
