banking

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Federal Cash Is Not Welcome at Small Banks

But US will pressure some to accept it anyway

(Newser) - The government’s plan to buy $250 billion worth of bank investments was greeted with cheers on Wall Street and in Congress, but with jeers by many bankers, the Washington Post reports. “We don't need a bailout,” said one indignant small-bank chief, “and if other banks had...

Banking Meltdown Driving Icelanders Back to Fishing

Financial system collapse leaves nation adrift

(Newser) - The collapse of its financial system has left Iceland with little left to rely on but the sea that surrounds it, writes the Wall Street Journal. With few natural resources on land, fishing was the mainstay of Icelandic life for centuries until the nation's global banking industry rapidly expanded a...

Rumors Spark Wild Run on Asian Bank
Rumors Spark Wild Run on Asian Bank

Rumors Spark Wild Run on Asian Bank

Panicked thousands rush to grab savings from Bank of East Asia

(Newser) - Rumors that the Bank of East Asia was in trouble spread like wildfire through Hong Kong yesterday, causing a panicked mob to descend on the bank as thousands withdrew their life savings, the Financial Times reports. Police moved in to keep order as crowds demanded their money. BEA's tycoon chairman...

Young Hopefuls Hit Hard by Credit Crunch

Interns give up dream of retiring at 35 with house in Hamptons

(Newser) - The sad eyes of interns watched Wall Street's precipitous drop all week. These "lackeys," who had worked all summer at investment firms, can no longer expect to  retire at 35 with houses in the Hamptons and "a closetful of Brioni suits and Hermès ties," David...

Bush Asks Congress for $700B Bailout Fund

President urges swift action, 'and the cleaner the better'

(Newser) - The Bush administration today formally asked Congress to authorize a $700 billion fund, administered by the Treasury Department, to help troubled financial institutions unload bad debt, the Washington Post reports. The figure is $200 billion higher than legislators were led to expect yesterday, and the national debt limit would be...

Little Guy 'Cries a Lot' as Market Hurts All Over

Investors seek options, others dip into savings for house payments

(Newser) - Wall Street’s crisis has prompted a variety of reactions in everyday lives as Americans rush to decide where to put their faith and their dollars—and try to avoid the pain, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some are pulling their money out of the markets as conditions worsen, while...

Denial Exacerbated Meltdown
 Denial Exacerbated Meltdown 
ANALYSIS

Denial Exacerbated Meltdown

Banks, like homeowners, refused to believe how bad things really are

(Newser) - The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the fire sale of Merrill Lynch are stunning developments, Joe Nocera writes in the New York Times, as is the fact Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the only big investment banks standing. But the turmoil isn’t simply the result of complex trading...

UK Banks 'Milk Borrowers' to Pay for Credit Crunch

Banks hike mortgage payments despite interest rate cuts

(Newser) - Britain's big banks are being accused of hoisting nearly £3 billion in interest payments on customers to make up for bad bank investments, the Daily Mail reports. Seeking to recoup huge losses from assets linked to subprime US mortgages, the banks have hiked mortgage rates and fees despite interest...

Feds Seize 2 Failed Banks
 Feds Seize 2 Failed Banks

Feds Seize 2 Failed Banks

Western banks sold to Mutual of Omaha

(Newser) - The housing bust and credit crunch have toppled two more banks, Reuters reports. Federal regulators have taken over First National Bank of Nevada and California's First Heritage Bank and sold them to Mutual Bank of Omaha. The undercapitalized institutions were the sixth and seventh to go under in the US...

Economic Recovery to Take Months: Paulson

But banking remains 'safe and sound'

(Newser) - Henry Paulson sought to reassure Americans today that US banking is "sound" despite a growing list of troubled banks, Reuters reports. He also said the economy will stay slow for months, but expressed confidence that Congress will shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before summer recess. "Congress...

Feds Battle UBS to Give Up Tax Dodgers

Swiss bank pressed for names of US customers

(Newser) - The Justice Department is pressing UBS for the names of suspected tax dodgers with secret bank accounts in Switzerland, the New York Times reports. Federal authorities believe the Swiss bank may have helped up to 20,000 Americans stash $20 billion in offshore accounts, evading hundreds of millions in taxes....

UBS Case May Reveal Secrets of the Rich

Swiss bank considers divulging names of 20,000 US clients

(Newser) - The Swiss bank UBS built itself into a financial powerhouse on the strength of its private wealth management division, in which discreet bankers tended to the fortunes of the world's elite. But a major American tax evasion probe may lead UBS to do what was once unthinkable: divulge its secrets....

UBS to Lay Off 8,000, Add $11.4B to Writedowns

Swiss bank likely to announce cutbacks with earnings

(Newser) - Swiss banking giant UBS will lay off some 10% of its 83,000 workforce and scale back its investment banking arm in an attempt to reassure shareholders that it's taking actions to curtail losses associated with the subprime debacle, reports Bloomberg. Switzerland's largest bank says it will detail a further...

Bear Bailout Called 'Worst Mistake in a Generation'

Bear Stearns move 'worst mistake in generation,' he charges

(Newser) - A former top-ranking Fed official has called the central bank's decision to bail out Bear Stearns its "worst mistake in a generation," the Wall Street Journal reports. The official, former chief of monetary policy, compares the hasty move to errors that helped trigger the Great Depression. He accused...

Wachovia Targeted in Drug Money Laundering Probe

Feds look into bank's conection with suspect casas de cambio

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors have targeted Wachovia in an investigation into the use of money-exchange houses along the Mexican border to transfer money from US sales to Latin American drug lords, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bank invested heavily in the casas de cambio despite warnings that such firms were often...

Surprise Rate Hike Will Soon Rattle US Borrowers

Yardstick London interest rate jumps

(Newser) - A surprise hike in a widely used interest rate is expected to soon send many US borrowers reeling, the Wall Street Journal warns. The London interbank offered rate, a yardstick for financial instruments including resettable mortgages, jumped sharply yesterday. The increase, a signal that banks are becoming more cautious about...

Citigroup Posts $5B Loss, Will Cut 9,000K Jobs
Citigroup Posts $5B Loss,
Will Cut 9,000K Jobs
updated

Citigroup Posts $5B Loss, Will Cut 9,000K Jobs

News is worse than expected for nation's largest bank

(Newser) - Citigroup reported a first-quarter loss of $5.1 billion today, posting another $14 billion in writedowns as a result of the credit crunch and loan defaults, the Wall Street Journal reports. The loss of $1.02 a share exceeded analysts' estimates and marks the second straight quarterly loss for the...

TurboTax Tries to Avoid '07 Filing Nightmare
TurboTax Tries to Avoid '07 Filing Nightmare
Tax Day

TurboTax Tries to Avoid '07 Filing Nightmare

No error messages this time around, Intuit promises

(Newser) - It’s April 15 again, and perhaps nobody has their fingers crossed quite like Intuit software. A year ago 170,000 people rushed to file last-minute tax returns online through TurboTax… only to get an error message, delaying their filings for up to 13 hours. This year, Intuit’s done...

IMF OKs $11B Gold Sale
 IMF OKs $11B Gold Sale 

IMF OKs $11B Gold Sale

Global lender will also cut staff, change biz model

(Newser) - The International Monetary Fund has approved the sale of 400 tons of gold from its massive reserves for an expected $11 billion, the Financial Times reports. The global lender also plans to slash up to 15% of its workforce to improve its finances, which have been hit by falling demand...

UBS Girds for Battle With Group Led by Ex-President

Investors tell ailing Swiss banking giant its time to cut dead weight, sell businesses

(Newser) - UBS, one of the banks hardest hit by the subprime collapse with $37.7 billion in writedowns, is under attack from an investor group led by one of its former presidents, reports the Wall Street Journal. The group wants the Swiss banking giant to spin off its investment bank, blaming...

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