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China Embraces Credit Cards
 China Embraces Credit Cards 
Oct 22, 2008 1:36 PM CDT

China Embraces Credit Cards

Untapped market prompts banks to aggressively market plastic

(Newser) - Banks are moving to tap China’s lucrative market for credit cards, issuing millions in new plastic in recent years, the Los Angeles Times reports. There are about 100 million credit cards today in China, up from 3 million in 2003. And the market is still tiny, by American standards:...

World Narrows Eyes at Exec Pay
 World Narrows Eyes at Exec Pay 
Oct 21, 2008 12:30 PM CDT

World Narrows Eyes at Exec Pay

Germany's bailout plan imposes broader curbs than US version

(Newser) - As governments worldwide implement bailouts for ailing financial institutions, the movement to curb executive compensation at those firms, and others, is gathering steam. Golden parachutes and pay practices that encourage excessive risk-taking are extremely unpopular in the public eye, the Wall Street Journal reports, and governments are finding restrictions necessary,...

Treasury Hopes Bailout Will Spur Bank Mergers

Paulson seeks to reshape banking with new capital

(Newser) - Treasury's $250 billion cash infusion into financial institutions is meant to increase liquidity and get banks to start lending to each other again, but it might have another effect: accelerating mergers. The New York Times reports that the government's unprecedented recapitalization is also meant to give bigger banks the...

In Financial Crisis, Europe Leads the Way (for a Change)

Investment in banks proved better strategy than mortgage bailout

(Newser) - The US has long considered Europe to be the economic equivalent of a doddering old uncle, but this week it was oldster leading whippersnapper America by the hand through the most serious crisis since the Depression. Europe, seeing the need for a sturdier fix than the mortgage-bailout Band-aid Washington proposed,...

Academics Laud Bank Plan
 Academics Laud Bank Plan 
OPINION
Oct 14, 2008 4:26 PM CDT

Academics Laud Bank Plan

Econ professors say capital infusion best option

(Newser) - The Treasury gets gold stars for finally recapitalizing collapsing banks, with the Wall Street Journal reporting on reactions from economics professors:
  • Barry Eichengreen, UC Berkeley: "I would give it an A- for quality but lower the final grade to a C for lateness."
  • Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard: "Thank
...

Here Comes the New Bailout Plan
Here Comes the New Bailout Plan
Oct 13, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Here Comes the New Bailout Plan

Paulson will match Europe's effort by spending $250B on stock in 9 banks

(Newser) - The US version of Europe's new financial bailout plans is coming tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the wake of a rollout by European nations today, and soaring stock markets worldwide, Washington will do what it dissed only weeks ago: snap up billions in bank equity stakes. The...

Euro Nations Agree to Snap Up Bank Shares

(Newser) - European leaders emerged from a summit in Paris today and echoed the latest from Washington and London: It's time to buy up the banks, the New York Times reports. None of the 15 nations named an official price, but Germany and France will roll out plans tomorrow to buy equity...

Feds Consider Insuring All Bank Deposits

(Newser) - Under the shadow of the deteriorating global economy, the US is considering two more steps to assuage markets, the Wall Street Journal reports: guaranteeing billions in bank debt and insuring all US bank deposits. Either move is an aggressive step, and in tandem they would mark Wasington's largest intervention yet...

American Capitalism Is Dead. The Culprit? America
American Capitalism Is Dead. The Culprit? America
ANALYSIS
Oct 10, 2008 10:35 AM CDT

American Capitalism Is Dead. The Culprit? America

(Newser) - As Wall Street banks collapse like a house of cards, American capitalism isn’t just failing in practice; the very idea of unregulated, free-functioning markets has received a serious blow, writes Anthony Faiola in the Washington Post. Once the symbols of American economic might, there's a real possibility that many...

How Much Will Wall Street Pay Itself Now?
How Much Will Wall Street Pay Itself Now?
OPINION
Oct 7, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

How Much Will Wall Street Pay Itself Now?

The banker bonus culture encourages CEOs to take big risks

(Newser) - Richard Fuld has made roughly $480 million since 2000 as he piloted Lehman Brothers to total ruin, according to one congressman at his testimony yesterday. “I have a very basic question,” he said. “Is this fair?” Many shareholders are wondering the same thing, writes Andrew Ross Sorkin...

Europeans Seek Unified Credit Crisis Strategy

As individual states act, leaders scramble for coordinated measures

(Newser) - Finance ministers are meeting today to hash out a plan to steady Europe’s banking system, but resolution continued to be elusive, the New York Times reports. They raised the minimum level for deposit guarantees to €50,000, though some pushed for higher limits; the EU has not developed...

SEC Relaxes 'Fire Sale' Assets Rule

Aims to ease pressure by freeing assets from free-market value

(Newser) - The SEC is relaxing enforcement of a controversial rule in a bid to ease pressure on banks during the financial crisis, the New York Times reports. Current accounting rules require companies to value assets at a fluctuating fair market price. In the current financial chaos, values are rapidly heading south,...

Euros Eat Their Words as Own Bailouts Loom

A week after ripping US for crisis, dismissing need for own plan, Brown et al. retool

(Newser) - European leaders are eating their words a week after criticizing the US for allowing its banks to run dry and engineering a system-wide bailout for financial firms, Bloomberg reports. Governments across Europe, including Germany, the UK, Belgium and France bailed out banks across the continent and pledged support for others...

10 Films About Nasty Business
 10 Films About Nasty Business 
Sep 29, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

10 Films About Nasty Business

Hollywood takes a cynical approach to bankers

(Newser) - Wall Street executives have it tough these days, but Hollywood has rarely gone easy on guys in suits. USA Today lists 10 definitive films about them:
  • Stagecoach (1939): Like all John Ford movies, this one makes a banker look bad.
  • Splendor in the Grass (1961): A 1930s investor doesn't just
...

Critics: Bernanke-Paulson Plan Isn't the Only Option

Opponents say there are other ways to save Wall Street from itself

(Newser) - The Bush administration’s $700-billion bailout isn’t the only option available to help Wall Street, and critics say alternatives that limit taxpayer liability have been too quickly abandoned for the sake of quick action, reports the Washington Post. "They presented this as a comprehensive, decisive solution, but it's...

As Foreclosures Rise, Fraud Cases Balloon

Equity scammers take advantage of ignorant, desperate owners

(Newser) - Running parallel with spiking foreclosure rates, so-called “foreclosure rescue scams” have reached epic proportions, and many state and local agencies aren't equipped to fight back, MSNBC reports. Companies that promise to help floundering property owners keep their homes and avoid the stigma of foreclosure are instead milking them for...

What Killed Bear, Lehman Is What the World Needs
What Killed Bear, Lehman Is What the World Needs
OPINION
Sep 21, 2008 12:44 PM CDT

What Killed Bear, Lehman Is What the World Needs

Subprime loans bring relief to millions worldwide

(Newser) - Sure, subprime loans toppled two pillars of American investment banking, gutted the world’s largest insurer, and plunged the entire US financial system into a tailspin. But they are exactly what the world needs today, Daniel Gross argues in Slate. “Far from the madding, depressed crowds of Wall Street,...

Recession May Take Down More Banks: Expert

'Worst is yet to come' for US economy, economist warns

(Newser) - The credit-market slump could take a further toll on the largest US banks, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund tells Bloomberg. Claiming “the worst is yet to come,” Kenneth Rogoff says the financial sector “needs to shrink” before the economy will recover, and that...

Fed Again Leaves Funds Rate at 2%
Fed Again Leaves Funds Rate at 2%
Aug 5, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Fed Again Leaves Funds Rate at 2%

Decision aimed at balancing inflation, economic worries

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve declared today that it was keeping its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, at 2%. Confronted with the perils of a slumping US economy and rising inflation, the Fed decided for a second consecutive meeting to leave interest rates unchanged....

FDIC Hunts for IndyMac Buyer
 FDIC Hunts for IndyMac Buyer 
Jul 14, 2008 2:40 PM CDT

FDIC Hunts for IndyMac Buyer

Feds want to see it as a whole; see more small banks failing in future

(Newser) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is looking to sell recently capsized IndyMac as a whole to one healthy bank, an executive told Reuters today. The FDIC took over IndyMac on Friday after nervous customers withdrew more than $1.3B in 11 days. "I don't expect there will be large...

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