financial sector – News Stories About financial sector - Page 4

MARKET Open

May 11, 2009 8:57 AM CDT

Stocks, Commodities Plunge

(Newser) - Stocks plunged at the open, as banks sold shares to raise capital, and consumer and commodity stocks took a pounding, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow was down 140, the Nasdaq down 1.8% and the S&P off 2.1. Oil producers were hit hard as crude fell...

Brokers Bail on Wall Street

May 6, 2009 2:46 AM CDT

Brokers Bail on Wall Street

Commissions shrinking as investors turn away from stocks

(Newser) - A rising number of stock brokers are abandoning the industry as markets fall and commissions dry up, the Wall Street Journal reports. More brokers have already departed this year than in any of the last 15 years, and experts expect the exodus to continue as investors shift assets out of...

Banks Get Stress Test Grades

Apr 24, 2009 8:40 AM CDT

Banks Get Stress Test Grades

Pandit out at Citi?

(Newser) - The nation's biggest banks will start to learn how they did on the dreaded stress test today, reports the New York Times. Though the public won’t learn the results until May 4, analysts are predicting that many of the 19 banks will have to raise large amounts of new...

How Wall Street
Went Hollywood
(and Brought Down
Our Economy)

OPINION

Apr 23, 2009 11:42 AM CDT

How Wall Street Went Hollywood (and Brought Down Our Economy)

(Newser) - During the Great Depression, legend has it a group of Wall Street bankers went to Hollywood to see if it was worth investing in, only to be immediately repulsed by the brazen displays of wealth they saw there. Now that it's the bankers being pilloried for their excesses, writes Neal...

Bank of America Profit
Trounces Estimates

Apr 20, 2009 6:47 AM CDT

Bank of America Profit Trounces Estimates

(Newser) - Bank of America’s net income in the third quarter nearly tripled last year's, hitting $4.24 billion, or 44 cents a share, the company announced today, a figure that surpassed even the loftiest analyst expectations. The drastic turnaround will likely take pressure off embattled CEO Ken Lewis, who’s...

Feds May Reveal
Which Banks Are Weakest

Apr 15, 2009 4:00 AM CDT

Feds May Reveal Which Banks Are Weakest

Results of 'stress tests' may go public

(Newser) - The administration may go public with some of its "stress test" results, which diagnose how well the country's 19 biggest banks will weather the financial crisis, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The administration has so far been treating all banks equally, but the stronger banks could soon be...

Banks Rally, But Dow Falls 26

MARKETS

Apr 13, 2009 3:19 PM CDT

Banks Rally, But Dow Falls 26

(Newser) - More bankruptcy rumblings from General Motors sent stocks down early today, but the blow was cushioned by good news from the financial sector, the Wall Street Journal reports. Citi and Bank of America had double-digit gains ahead of what are expected to be solid earnings reports. The Dow finished down...

Fed to Banks: Keep Quiet on Stress Tests

Apr 10, 2009 12:38 PM CDT

Fed to Banks: Keep Quiet on Stress Tests

Officials worry leaked results will cause market chaos

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is adopting a loose-lips-sink-ships policy when it comes to the “stress tests” being administered to big US financial firms. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and others have been ordered to keep quiet about their financial report cards, Bloomberg reports. Officials fear that should those results leak, investors would...

Banking Should
Go Back to
Being Boring

OPINION

Apr 10, 2009 9:20 AM CDT

Banking Should Go Back to Being Boring

(Newser) - When Paul Krugman was in grad school, nobody wanted to be a banker. Sure, it paid more than being an academic economist, but “everyone knew that banking was, well, boring,” he writes in the New York Times. That was before deregulation came into vogue in the 1980s, turning...

Dow Rises 246
on Rosy Bank News

MARKETS

Apr 9, 2009 3:23 PM CDT

Dow Rises 246 on Rosy Bank News

Rosy NYT report on Treasury 'stress tests' fuels risk appetite

(Newser) - Surging financial stocks spurred a broader rally today, the Wall Street Journal reports. A New York Times report that all 19 banks facing Treasury “stress tests” will pass boosted shares in a sector already buoyed by a strong Wells Fargo earnings forecast. The Dow rose 246.27 to close...

Wells Fargo Lifts Stocks

MARKET Open

Apr 9, 2009 8:45 AM CDT

Wells Fargo Lifts Stocks

(Newser) - Stocks soared at the open today, thanks to Wells Fargo’s announcement that it expects record first-quarter earnings, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow climbed 150 points, while the Nasdaq added 1.8% and the S&P jumped 2.3%. Wells Fargo was up more than 20%. A sterling...

Obama Fakes
Center, Goes Liberal

OPINION

Apr 4, 2009 6:36 PM CDT

Obama Fakes Center, Goes Liberal

(Newser) - If President Obama were a quarterback, he’d be a master of the fake, Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard. Using “misdirection,” he markets “his product—the liberal agenda, plus a few add-ons—in a manner that disguises what he's really up to.” While trumpeting...

DC Still Turns Blind Eye to Banks: Spitzer

OPINION

Apr 1, 2009 11:38 AM CDT

DC Still Turns Blind Eye to Banks: Spitzer

Regulators attempt to save face after failing to prevent crisis

(Newser) - There’s a reason the government seems to have no control—darn the luck—over the banks it’s poured billions into: It’s trying to save face, writes Eliot Spitzer for Slate. Washington has struck a tacit bargain with Wall Street, the ex-governor says: Taxpayers bail out the financial...

Dow Drops Below 7000

MARKETS

Mar 2, 2009 8:45 AM CST

Dow Drops Below 7000

(Newser) - Stocks sunk below 7000 at the open today, extending a global selloff fueled by trouble in financials. The Dow was off 161 points by mid-morning, while the S&P tumbled 2.5%, the Nasdaq 1.9%. Bad news abounded, with HSBC saying it planned to limit US lending, AIG’s...

Eye on Banks, Stocks Sink Early

MARKETS

Feb 25, 2009 8:50 AM CST

Eye on Banks, Stocks Sink Early

Dow drops 30 points after bell

(Newser) - Stocks sank after the opening bell this morning, with traders’ eyes still on troubled banks, which face regulators’ stress tests starting today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow quickly plunged 30 points; the S&P slipped 0.5% with a 2.2% drop in financials; and the Nasdaq tumbled...

Credit Crunch Pinches Entire Lending System

Analysis

Feb 20, 2009 12:35 PM CST

Credit Crunch Pinches Entire Lending System

Undercapitalized banks stand to benefit from $1T infusion

(Newser) - Banks aren’t lending, and to change that the government is propping up not just the banks but also the vast, largely unseen financial system that fuels them, the New York Times reports. Banks rarely keep the loans they make anymore; instead, debt is packaged into securities and sold, generating...

Dow Drops to 6-Year Low

MARKETS

Feb 19, 2009 3:22 PM CST

Dow Drops to 6-Year Low

Fifth Third Bancorp reports losses

(Newser) - Stocks fell again today, with the Dow sinking to its lowest point in six years, MarketWatch reports. The usual financials led declines, with poor results from Fifth Third Bancorp souring sentiment. The Dow fell 89.68 points to close at 7,465.95. The Nasdaq lost 25.15 points, closing...

Dow Up 50 on Stimulus Deal

MARKETS

Feb 11, 2009 3:21 PM CST

Dow Up 50 on Stimulus Deal

Stocks stage mild recovery after yesterday's rout

(Newser) - Stocks posted mild gains today, MarketWatch reports. The indices had fallen to losses but headed up again after Harry Reid announced that the Senate had reached an agreement on the stimulus package. Beleaguered banks Citigroup and Bank of America were both up 8% after yesterday’s sell-off. The Dow rose...

Dow Plunges 382 Points

MARKETS

Feb 10, 2009 3:14 PM CST

Dow Plunges 382 Points

Geithner's rescue plan lacks sufficient detail to reassure investors

(Newser) - Stocks plummeted today as investors found Timothy Geithner’s description of the bank rescue plan too broad to spur a revival in financial stocks, MarketWatch reports. Analysts criticized Geithner’s announcement for failing to sufficiently describe the role of private capital in the rescue. Citigroup and Bank of America both...

New Bailout
Plan Hinges on Private Investors

Feb 9, 2009 8:37 AM CST

New Bailout Plan Hinges on Private Investors

Treasury will set 'floor price' on distressed assets to lure buyers

(Newser) - The Treasury's latest plan to rescue the banking industry relies heavily on private-sector investors, the New York Times reports. The government will guarantee a floor price on the toxic assets weighing down banks’ balance sheets, encouraging hedge funds, private equity groups, and even insurers to buy them. The plan should...