financial crisis

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Stimulus Deadline Looms for Skeptical SC Gov. Sanford

As fiscal situation worsens, SC governor's stimulus refusal draws ire

(Newser) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has until Friday to choose between the philosophical and the fiscal as the deadline to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money approaches, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sanford wants authority over the funds, earmarked for education and public safety, and has pledged to refuse...

Former AIG Chief Greenberg to Testify Today

'I don't feel any responsibility,' 38-year CEO says of AIG

(Newser) - Former AIG chief Maurice “Hank” Greenberg will go before a House committee on Capitol Hill today, testifying about the world-wide conglomerate that is now the most infamous culprit of the financial crisis, despite efforts by both the GOP and current AIG management to undercut his credibility. Greenberg is expected...

Hollywood Trims Star Deals
 Hollywood Trims Star Deals 
Apr 2, 2009 7:50 AM CDT

Hollywood Trims Star Deals

It's curtains for deals that pay actors before studios recoup losses

(Newser) - In this economic climate, even Hollywood has become risk-averse, forcing actors to share in a film’s success or failure, the Wall Street Journal reports. “First-dollar gross” deals, which pay actors handsomely even when films flop, are out of favor. For years, top actors drew deals paying a percentage—...

G20 Leaders Close to Deal
 G20 Leaders Close to Deal 
Apr 2, 2009 6:19 AM CDT

G20 Leaders Close to Deal

French, German demands for regulation are final sticking point

(Newser) - G20 leaders have nearly completed an agreement to confront the global financial crisis, reports the Times of London. Gordon Brown opened the summit by saying that the draft communique already prepared reflected "a high degree of consensus between us." The British PM said that the leaders needed to...

DC Still Turns Blind Eye to Banks: Spitzer
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...

Climate, Financial Crises Two Sides of One Coin

(Newser) - The key issue behind both the global economic and climate crises is exactly the same: “mispricing risk,” Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times. “We have been mispricing risk in both arenas,” he contends, “producing a huge excess of both toxic assets and...

Boaters Jumping Ship in Troubled Times

Erstwhile skippers scuttle their craft for the insurance payout

(Newser) - Many boaters who bought their vessels during sunnier economic times are now regretting their purchases, and some of them are resorting to desperate measures, reports the New York Times. Facing hefty maintenance costs and docking fees, some skippers are simply cutting their crafts—often fully paid for—loose to drift...

Sinking Car Sales May Be on the Rebound

Today's figures 'as low as it's going to get': analyst

(Newser) - Figures to be released today are likely to show a third straight month of annualized new-car sales below 10 million, the Wall Street Journal reports—but there’s a chance those numbers have hit bottom. Considering the size of the American consumer market, today’s figure “is about as...

Sarkozy: World Growth Must Come First

French prez urges G20 to work for better kind of capitalism

(Newser) - Today's G20 talks must focus on restarting global growth through a better-regulated form of capitalism, Nicolas Sarkozy writes in the Washington Post. The international financial system needs urgent restructuring, writes the French president, and confidence cannot be effectively restored unless reforms are carried out with a greater sense of morality...

Site Reaches Out to Those Worried Sick About Money

Addresses economy-related health issues

(Newser) - A federal agency has launched an online rescue kit for people whose mental and physical health is being wrecked by economic worries, reports Reuters. The "Getting Through Tough Economic Times" website aims to help people spot the warning signs of emotional distress in themselves and others and point them...

Thatcher's 'Big Bang' Free-for-All Led to Bust
Thatcher's 'Big Bang'
Free-for-All Led to Bust
ANALYSIS
Mar 31, 2009 6:55 AM CDT

Thatcher's 'Big Bang' Free-for-All Led to Bust

Pioneers of British '80s deregulation dismayed at unforeseen 'side effects'

(Newser) - The British regulatory reforms that changed the face of the financial industry in the '80s allowed banks to become bloated giants, two architects of the so-called "Big Bang" changes tell the Wall Street Journal. The deregulation let London's financial sector flourish, the men say, but also allowed banks to...

Sarko Threatens to Walk Out of G20 Summit

French prez seeks tough financial regulations—or else

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy may walk out on the G20 summit if things don't go his way, the Times of London reports. The French president—who blames "Anglo-Saxons" for the financial crisis—is pushing for tougher global financial regulation and has told his ministers that he will abandon the talks if...

To Dodge Recession, Move to Huntsville

Mid-size cities do better in crunch, have seen lending increase

(Newser) - While big cities and rural areas have taken a beating as the financial crisis unfolds, many mid-size cities have seen consumer lending increase, indicating an economic resilience that other areas lack, the Wall Street Journal reports. In cities with populations around 400,000—like Huntsville, Ala.; McAllen, Texas; and Provo,...

AIG's Woes Point to Larger Insurance Crisis

Federal aid may offer AIG a competitive advantage in ailing industry

(Newser) - AIG’s troubles were quickly blamed on a single, obscure wing of the company, but its problems extend to its core life-insurance division—underscoring dangerous weaknesses across the entire industry and pointing to the possibility of a second financial crisis, the Los Angeles Times reports. What's more, by offering AIG...

Auto Team: Chrysler Needs Bankruptcy, Fiat Deal

Administration offers 30 days more working capital before aid dries up

(Newser) - Chrysler cannot become viable on its own, says the White House's auto task force, recommending “quick and surgical” bankruptcy restructuring and the proposed Fiat partnership as the automaker's best shot at survival. The administration will provide Chrysler 30 days’ more working capital to finalize a deal, but the federal...

Brazil Prez Blames 'Blue-Eyed Whites' for Mess

Brazilian president doesn't know a 'single black banker'

(Newser) - The world's black and indigenous people are paying the price for the blunders of "blue-eyed" bankers, Brazil's president declared yesterday. "This crisis was fostered and boosted by irrational behavior of some people who are white, blue-eyed," Lula da Silva said at a press conference in Brazil with...

Commercial Real Estate Crisis May Rival '90s Disaster

(Newser) - Commercial real-estate borrowers are defaulting on their loans at an ever-faster pace, and experts now believe the crisis could match or exceed the early-1990s slump, the Wall Street Journal reports. That catastrophe killed off 1,000 banks and savings institutions, with lenders taking $48.5 billion in charges. This time,...

In Tough Times, Celebs Seek Out Infomercials

Expect to see more stars in late-night ads

(Newser) - With the economy tanking, it may not be long before you see high-profile stars hawking ShamWows or Slankets, the New York Post reports. “Celebrities who were once appalled at the idea can’t afford to be quite as picky,” says the author of a home-shopping business book.

This Rally May Be the Real Deal
 This Rally May Be the Real Deal 
OPINION
Mar 26, 2009 9:07 AM CDT

This Rally May Be the Real Deal

Positive indicators, better policy, historical benchmarks; the time is right for a bottom

(Newser) - The tentative rally on Wall Street is reason enough for one economist to feel hopeful: "I’m ready to take another shot at calling the bottom," writes Michael Mandel in BusinessWeek. Since (apparently) bottoming out March 9, stocks have risen 20%, and the reasons behind the climb are...

Auto Task Force to Back More Loans, Push Concessions

Experienced or not, decisions from Obama's task force will come this week

(Newser) - President Obama’s auto task force will back new loans for General Motors and Chrysler but will ask for more sacrifices from unions, management, and GM’s bondholders, the Wall Street Journal reports. GM and Chrysler have requested $22 billion more atop the $17.4 billion already loaned to them....

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