financial crisis

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AIG CEO: Bonuses 'Distasteful,' Necessary

Liddy says paying employees will help taxpayer in long run

(Newser) - AIG's $165 million bonus payout has produced "a palpable wave of anger," admits Edward Liddy, the insurance giant's government-appointed CEO. But in an op-ed for the Washington Post, Liddy says that paying employees now will prevent "undue risk" and help AIG wind down the most dangerous positions...

MBA Programs Face Their Role in Financial Crisis
MBA Programs Face Their Role in Financial Crisis
ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2009 3:50 PM CDT

MBA Programs Face Their Role in Financial Crisis

(Newser) - Executives have taken a lot of blame for the financial crisis, whether for focusing on short-term gains in stock price or placing too much faith in ultra-complex financial instruments, writes Bradford Plumer for the New Republic. But what about the business schools that taught them to manage that way in...

Recession Creates Nation of Potty Mouths

F-bombs a popular way to react to your 401(k) statement

(Newser) - The state of the economy has made for a lot of bad news, and bad news makes for a lot of cussing, MSNBC reports. “I’ve been dropping the F-bomb every time I look at the Dow,” said one 35-year-old writer. “You see that number and you...

Brothel Battles Downturn with Flat-Rate Pass

Berlin club charges $90 for 'everything—ladies, drinks, and food'

(Newser) - A Berlin brothel is fighting world economic gloom with a special offer: a flat-rate, unlimited, all-access pass, Der Spiegel reports. For about $90, clients are free to get chummy with all the workers. Men can even bring their wives. “70 euros, that includes everything—ladies, drinks and food,”...

Suck It Up and Pay Those Bonuses
 Suck It Up and 
 Pay Those Bonuses 
OPINION
Mar 17, 2009 9:30 AM CDT

Suck It Up and Pay Those Bonuses

Keeping employees at AIG is paramount, says Sorkin

(Newser) - Everyone from President Obama down has been stung by the unfairness of AIG's planned $165 million in bonuses. But as Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the New York Times, the best thing to do is shut up and pay. "As unpalatable as it seems," he writes, "taxpayers...

Wall St. Looks to Skirt Bonus Limits With Padded Salaries

Attempt to skirt new rules could anger shareholders

(Newser) - In a move to skirt government restrictions on executive pay for recipients of bailout cash, some Wall Street companies are discussing raising base salaries, the Journal reports. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are considering the idea, which is gaining currency as regulators keep a watchful eye on bonuses, say industry insiders....

'Massive' Asset Purchases Likely Loom for Bernanke

Fed expected to step up purchase of mortgage securities

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is expected to step up its buying of mortgage securities after policymakers meet today and tomorrow, Bloomberg reports. The outlook for the economy and job market has gotten bleaker since the Federal Open Market Committee last met 6 weeks ago and analysts believe Ben Bernanke is likely...

Foreclosure Crisis Stings Renters, Too

(Newser) - You probably don’t want to live in the Chandler, Ariz., housing complex known as Alante on the Islands, MSNBC reports. The development was once owned by a California company, but entered receivership when the overextended firm went under. Now maintenance is spotty, the pool has turned green, residents don’...

Gains Fizzle; Dow Down 7
 Gains Fizzle; Dow Down 7 
MARKETS
Mar 16, 2009 3:16 PM CDT

Gains Fizzle; Dow Down 7

Tech leads declines, Dow falls from triple-digit gain

(Newser) - Stocks swung back to losses as optimism from last week’s rally faded today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investors treated last week’s announcements that many troubled financial institutions ran operating profits in the first two months of 2009—ignoring “toxic securities” on their balance sheets—with skepticism....

Give Summers' Genius More Leeway
 Give Summers' 
 Genius More Leeway 
OPINION
Mar 16, 2009 3:13 PM CDT

Give Summers' Genius More Leeway

To combat crisis, perhaps Obama's economic genius should be given free reign: Scheiber

(Newser) - The most common worry over Larry Summers’ directorship of President Obama’s economics advisory council has been that his hard-charging intellectual style would alienate politicians the administration needs, writes Noam Scheiber in the New Republic. But considering Summers’ experience as Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, as well as his prescient 1991...

Obama Goes After AIG Bonuses

President instructs Geithner to use "every legal avenue" to reclaim funds

(Newser) - President Obama has asked Tim Geithner to use “every legal avenue” to prevent AIG from paying out $165 million in bonuses to top employees who had a hand in the company's near-collapse, the Wall Street Journal reports. "This isn't just a matter of dollars and cents. It's about...

Volunteer Boom Becoming a Burden

Charities overwhelmed by would-be free workers

(Newser) - As more people lose jobs, they’ve got hours to fill—and many are turning to volunteer work, looking to do good and perhaps network, the New York Times reports. But organizations have been so flooded that many have had to put would-be helpers on waiting lists—and for some,...

Hard Times Again Push Irish Youth Abroad

Flatlining economy makes US, Britain, Canada attractive

(Newser) - After two decades of boom, Ireland’s economy has faltered and Irish youth are once again looking to distant shores for opportunity, the Los Angeles Times reports. Experts predict up to a 7% contraction this year for an economy that posted double-digit gains not too long ago, and, like their...

AIG Used Bailout Cash to Pay Wall Street Debt

$75B went to banks, municipalities

(Newser) - More details are emerging after AIG unexpectedly revealed where it channeled bailout funds, the Washington Post reports. More than $34 billion went to AIG Financial Products, whose toxic derivatives brought the parent organization to near collapse last year. The subsidiary used part of that money to pay banks that started...

Bernanke Optimistic in Rare TV Interview

Fed chairman sits down for rare one-on-one amid crisis

(Newser) - The recession will likely end this year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke declared yesterday on 60 Minutes in his first interview since taking office. Fed chairmen don't typically give TV interviews—the last one was Alan Greenspan in 1987—but Bernanke ventured out from behind the curtain to reassure the public....

Retail Giants Likely to Shrink in '09

(Newser) - Retailers are fighting to survive in 2009, some more successfully than others. Some 73,000 stores could close their doors by year’s end. Forbes breaks down which chains are shrinking the fastest:
  • Ann Taylor: Catering to working women isn’t so great when unemployment’s at 8.1%. Expected
...

Recession Grounds Lauer's World Tour

(Newser) - NBC is taking globetrotting out of Today host Matt Lauer’s job description, the AP reports, shelving his “where in the world” segment for fear of looking too extravagant during the recession. Rather, the network said today, the morning show will profile affordable US vacation destinations during a week...

Summers: Stimulus Is Starting to Work

(Newser) - Larry Summers sounded a note of cautious optimism today about President Obama's stimulus plan, the Washington Post reports. While it's way too early to assess its "broader economic impact," Obama's chief economic adviser called it "moderately encouraging" that consumer spending appears to be back on track.

NAACP Accuses Banks of Loan Discrimination

Blacks were forced into subprime mortgages, group says

(Newser) - The NAACP is accusing Wells Fargo and HSBC of forcing black people into subprime mortgages while whites with identical qualifications got lower rates. Class-action lawsuits were to be filed against the banks today in federal court in Los Angeles. Similar NAACP lawsuits are pending against a dozen other subprime lenders....

Noonan: Maybe Wall Street Was High on Xanax
Noonan: Maybe Wall Street Was High on Xanax
OPINION
Mar 13, 2009 7:39 AM CDT

Noonan: Maybe Wall Street Was High on Xanax

Maybe money men were hopped up on anti-depressants

(Newser) - Peggy Noonan has a novel explanation for the crash (“or the great recession, or the collapse—it’s time it got its name”): What if the bankers were all hopped up on happy pills? Antidepressant use became widespread in New York after 9/11, she notes in the Wall ...

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