financial crisis

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More Women Trying to Cash In by Donating Eggs

(Newser) - In an unusual sign of the slowing economy, more women are applying to donate eggs or become surrogate mothers at fertility clinics, reports the Wall Street Journal. Surrogates can make about $25,000; while eggs usually sell for $3,000 to $8,000, one agency's ad offers $25,000 for...

Dow Down 242 on Auto Doubts
 Dow Down 242 on Auto Doubts 
MARKETS
Dec 9, 2008 3:27 PM CST

Dow Down 242 on Auto Doubts

Uncertainty over bailout details gives rally a flat tire

(Newser) - Yesterday’s gains in the market, buoyed by the probable Detroit bailout, slipped away today as details remained uncertain, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though investors are still optimistic about the president-elect’s infrastructure initiative’s impact on raw goods and energy, that sector couldn’t carry the market. The...

Whom to Thank for This Mess
 Whom to Thank for This Mess 
opinion
Dec 9, 2008 2:59 PM CST

Whom to Thank for This Mess

Bad decisions starting in the '80s triggered the credit crisis

(Newser) - This financial crisis brewed over decades of bad decisions, and, in Vanity Fair, economist Joseph Stiglitz makes sure credit is given where due:
  • In 1987 President Reagan appointed anti-regulation Alan Greenspan to a regulatory post.
  • Greenspan offered the markets a "flood of liquidity" that boosted inflation and caused
...

Russia's Credit Rating Lowered
 Russia's Credit Rating Lowered 
Dec 9, 2008 1:59 PM CST

Russia's Credit Rating Lowered

Putin in trouble

(Newser) - The plummeting ruble might just bankrupt Russia, the Financial Times reports. Standard and Poor’s has dropped the G8 member’s credit rating from BBB+ to the lowly BBB, warning that the country may have to spend all $200 billion in its sovereign wealth funds to recapitalize the banking system...

Bailout Turns to Shore Up Credit Unions

$41B will focus on largest; most haven't seen a dime yet

(Newser) - Largely overlooked by federal regulators managing the bailout, credit unions will receive  $41 billion in lending to brace a handful of the largest institutions in a plan expected to be announced this week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan is intended to bring relief to as many as 10,...

State, Chicago Threaten BoA Over Ill. Sit-in

Will yank business if bank doesn't restore window factory's credit

(Newser) - The sit-in launched by laid-off workers at a Chicago door and window factory could have a nine-figure financial impact on Bank of America. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a day before his arrest on corruption charges, called on state agencies to cease doing business with the bank, and the city of...

Morgan Stanley to Withhold Bonuses Until Bets Pay Off

Wall Street showing bonus season restraint

(Newser) - Attempting to curb criticism after taking billions in government bailout cash, Morgan Stanley has attached a “claw-back” provision to employee bonuses this year that allows the bank to withhold payouts if employees don’t manage risk properly. The Wall Street behemoth will hold onto a portion of employees’ bonuses...

Sony Slashes 8,000 Jobs



 Sony Slashes 8,000 Jobs 
Dec 9, 2008 6:25 AM CST

Sony Slashes 8,000 Jobs

(Newser) - Sony is slashing 8,000 jobs, or 4%of its global work force, aiming to cut costs by $1.1 billion a year as a global downturn and stronger yen batters profits at the Japanese electronics maker. Sony, which has 185,000 employees worldwide, said today it will complete the layoffs...

'We're Sorry, Now Pay Up,' GM Tells US

Automaker apologizes for 'betraying' consumers, makes case for bailout

(Newser) - Remorseful General Motors paid for a full-page ad in Automotive News to tell America: "We have disappointed you." The ailing automaker admitted to manufacturing substandard and "lackluster" products, pushing SUVs on consumers, and committing to "unsustainable" union pay, reports the Washington Post. Before the ink could...

Dow Up 299 on Stimulus, Autos
 Dow Up 299 on Stimulus, Autos 
MARKETS
Dec 8, 2008 3:17 PM CST

Dow Up 299 on Stimulus, Autos

Industries likely to benefit from Obama building plan see gains

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today, led by automakers, which look ever likelier to get a federal bailout, and industrial firms expected to benefit from President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed public-works programs, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 298.76 to close at 8,934.18. The Nasdaq rose 62.43, closing at 1,...

Tribune Company Files for Bankruptcy

Financing billions in debt becomes too onerous in down economy

(Newser) - The Tribune Company filed today for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to mounting debt and an inability to pay interest in the floundering economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tribune’s profits declined 83% in the third quarter, making it difficult to finance $12 billion in debt. The company has...

Forget Obama and Congress; Bernanke Has Most Tools

Fed taking a big gamble

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s economic team and its plans get the big headlines, but let’s not forget that Ben Bernanke remains the biggest mover in US economic policy, Robert Samuelson writes in the Washington Post. Bernanke has been inventing new economic tools at a pace never seen before at the...

Transit Ridership Soars—for Now

Plummeting gas prices haven't driven us back to cars ... but now fewer have jobs to commute to

(Newser) - Dramatic increases in public transportation ridership have outlived sky-high gas prices, but the souring economy could reverse the trend, USA Today reports. Nationwide, third-quarter ridership was up 7% compared to last year, spurred by $4-a-gallon gas in July. Some municipalities saw almost 20% more commuters on their trains and buses....

Media Frenzy Makes Recession Worse
 Media Frenzy Makes 
 Recession Worse 
OPINION
Dec 8, 2008 12:37 PM CST

Media Frenzy Makes Recession Worse

Sky isn't falling for many, but barrage 'crackling with panic' makes us feel that way

(Newser) - There’s no doubt the economy is bad. The of flood sky-is-falling news stories make that abundantly clear. But the avalanche of bad news—delivered faster than ever before through myriad, ever-present media outlets—has fed upon itself, sinking all of us into a deeper state of collective panic than...

As NBC Falters, Real Drama Is Behind the Scenes

Network moves to consolidate amid executive shakeup, poor ratings

(Newser) - When NBC announced a sweeping shakeup last week, it confirmed just how bad things are at the network, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ratings are down 14% this season, just as companies are dramatically slashing advertising budgets in the face of recession. “This is not a good time to...

Electric-Car Makers Want Fed Jolt, Too

Troubled firms call for government aid, bigger tax credits for drivers

(Newser) - The electric-car industry is facing the same problems as Detroit’s needy giants—plus a few of its own, the Wall Street Journal reports. Like Big Three leaders, electric-car reps have been to Washington seeking government help; struggling industry leader Tesla Motors wants $400 million from the $25 billion energy...

Dow Chemical to Slash 5,000 Jobs, Close 20 Plants

Moves will save company about $700 million

(Newser) - Dow Chemical Co. will slash 5,000 full-time jobs—about 11% of its total work force—close 20 plants, and sell several businesses to rein in costs amid the recession, the company announced today. One of the largest chemical makers in the world, Dow expects the moves to save about...

Recession Has US Recycling Industry in Dumpster

Scrap fetching a fraction of the price it used to—if it's not cheaper to send it to landfills

(Newser) - With the economy tanking, recyclable material is selling like, well, trash. Mixed paper, which sold for $105 per ton as recently as October, now fetches $20-$25, the New York Times reports. “It’s awful,” said one recycling rep, who says her yard is packed with refuse that can’...

Putin Pounces on Private Companies
Putin Pounces on Private Companies
Dec 8, 2008 8:42 AM CST

Putin Pounces on Private Companies

Kremlin uses financial crisis to further its aims of 'renationalizing'

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin has insisted for years that Russia made a colossal mistake by privatizing the nation's giant reserves of oil, gas, and other natural resources after the fall of the Soviet Union. The president-turned-prime minister has made muscular efforts to renationalize those industries—most notoriously the Yukos oil company, whose...

Volcker Will Call for Tough Measures to Right Economy

Ex-Fed chief says consumerism, unchecked Wall Street to blame for woe

(Newser) - Paul Volcker is known for the tough measures he used as Fed chief to reel in inflation in 1981, risking a recession and widespread pain in the short term to get the economy back on track for the next 2 decades. Now Volcker, tapped as chairman of Obama’s Economic...

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