financial crisis

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Companies Desperate to Roll Back Pension Support

A 2006 law requiring firms to replenish pension loses may be latest victim of meltdown

(Newser) - Wall Street’s meltdown has diminished the value of US pension funds by $250 billion and cash-strapped companies are asking lawmakers to give them relief from rules that require them to make up the losses, reports the New York Times. The rules, designed to strengthen the pension system in the...

Detroit's Pain Could Be South's Gain

The South is home to eight foreign auto plants and more are on the way

(Newser) - Is Greer, SC, the new Motor City? With execs from the Big Three getting a frosty reception to their efforts to wrest $25 billion from the federal government to stay solvent, the home of BMW’s North American operations—as well as other Southern communities that are home to foreign...

Auto Execs Hit Turbulence Over Private Jets
 Auto Execs Hit Turbulence Over Private Jets
OPINION
Nov 20, 2008 7:49 AM CST

Auto Execs Hit Turbulence Over Private Jets

Legislators put screws to extra-shiny tin cups

(Newser) - Take three auto execs, add the private jets each took to a Capitol Hill hearing to beg for a federal bailout, and you get a recipe for the heaping helping of humble pie legislators served up, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. "There's a delicious irony in seeing...

Dow Falls 427 to Below 8,000
 Dow Falls 427 to Below 8,000 
MARKETS
Nov 19, 2008 3:21 PM CST

Dow Falls 427 to Below 8,000

Bad news in housing and predictions of recession sour stocks

(Newser) - Stocks plunged today on a spread of bad economic news, including signs that the housing market is not improving and dire predictions by the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate committee, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 427.47 to close at 7,997.28. The Nasdaq lost 96.85,...

Wagoner: Why the US Should Bail Detroit Out
Wagoner: Why the US Should Bail Detroit Out
OPINION
Nov 19, 2008 10:40 AM CST

Wagoner: Why the US Should Bail Detroit Out

Detroit making better cars—and has broad roots in US economy

(Newser) - An aggressive agenda of cost-cutting combined with research and development of new technologies has reshaped the US auto industry in recent years, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner writes in the Wall Street Journal. And with the industry’s deep, broad roots in the US economy, government aid will help it...

Military Recruitment Up Amid Job Crisis

Pending Iraq withdrawal also increasing appeal

(Newser) - More young people are considering joining the military as civilian jobs dry up and the US begins to prepare plans to withdraw from Iraq, reports USA Today. After years of difficulty finding recruits, a Pentagon survey shows a jump from 9% to 11% in the number of 16- to 20-year-old ...

Ways to Cut Your Bills Down to Size

Usual belt-tightening suspects abound: Eat at home, cut out luxuries, get a second job

(Newser) - Spendthrift Americans from all rungs of the income ladder are taking a page from Scrooge these days, adopting new, cash-lite strategies to get through hard times, USA Today notes. They're managing to save by:
  • Hocking whatever's collecting dust in their closets: The average household has $3,200 worth of
...

Paulson, Bernanke Defend Bailout Before House

Money for Detroit isn't the 'purpose' of the bailout: Paulson

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress today he opposes tapping a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout pool to help struggling US automakers. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke were on Capitol Hill defending their management of the bailout program, just a week after the Bush administration abandoned the original strategy...

You'll Need FDR's Optimism to Save Us, Obama
You'll Need FDR's Optimism to Save Us, Obama
OPINION
Nov 18, 2008 8:16 AM CST

You'll Need FDR's Optimism to Save Us, Obama

Obama needs to emulate Roosevelt's optimism in the face of deep crisis

(Newser) - Barack Obama keeps saying he wants to emulate Abraham Lincoln but he’s lucky that he more closely resembles Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Cohen writes in the Washington Post. Lincoln faced the massive challenge of reuniting the Union but knew just how to do it, while FDR, like Obama, confronted...

Brazilian Trader Shoots Himself at Exchange

He clings to life after suicide attempt in wake of plunging market

(Newser) - A Brazilian trader was in critical condition after shooting himself in the chest on the floor of the nation's commodities and futures exchange yesterday. The tragedy occurred in the raucous interest rate futures pit, where some $21 billion in contracts are traded daily. Brazil's main stock index has plunged 50%...

Paulson: We're Doing the Right Thing

Bush administration 'creatively working' on financial crisis

(Newser) - On the eve of his testimony before Congress, beleaguered Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson used last night's speech to defend the administration's response to the nation's "unprecedented" financial crisis. Paulson said without the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, things would be even worse, ABC News reports. "It's hard to...

Insurers Buy Troubled S&Ls in Ploy for Bailout Cash

Crisis has insurance titans desperate for capital

(Newser) - Four huge insurers are in the process of buying small, troubled S&Ls in order to qualify for a chunk of the Treasury’s bailout cash, Bloomberg reports. Genworth Financial, Lincoln National, Hartford Financial Services, and Aegon NV have set their sights on US banks cited for “unsafe and...

Dow Off 223 on Japan, Retail Woes
 Dow Off 223 on Japan, 
 Retail Woes 
MARKETS
Nov 17, 2008 3:15 PM CST

Dow Off 223 on Japan, Retail Woes

Manufacturing rises, but it's likely a mirage

(Newser) - Stocks seesawed to losses today as investors absorbed bad retailer reports and news that Japan’s economy had entered a recession, MarketWatch reports. The Dow fell 223.73 to close at 8,273.58. The Nasdaq lost 34.80, closing at 1,482.05, while the S&P 500 shed...

Detroit Bailout Is Key Opportunity for US Economy
Detroit Bailout Is Key Opportunity for US Economy
OPINION
Nov 17, 2008 12:58 PM CST

Detroit Bailout Is Key Opportunity for US Economy

Bankruptcy spells disaster; loan would speed green progress

(Newser) - Letting one—or more—of the Big Three automakers slip into bankruptcy could push the US economy into depression and would imperil millions of jobs tied to the industry, writes Jeffrey D. Sachs in the Washington Post. Instead, the government should bail out the industry, taking the lead in positioning...

Hirst: Art Is Overpriced
 Hirst: Art Is Overpriced 
Nov 17, 2008 10:39 AM CST

Hirst: Art Is Overpriced

Multimillionaire artist says economic woes will likely bring (his) prices down

(Newser) - With the economic slowdown finally slamming into the art market, one of the world’s priciest living artists says art has become too costly anyway, the Independent reports. British multimillionaire Damien Hirst failed to sell a painting valued at some $3 million last week; in retrospect, he said, it “...

Ex-Sen. Gramm Sticks to His Guns on Deregulation
Ex-Sen. Gramm Sticks to
His Guns on Deregulation
ANALYSIS
Nov 17, 2008 10:29 AM CST

Ex-Sen. Gramm Sticks to His Guns on Deregulation

Republican touts benefits of subprime loans, credit-default swaps as critics cry foul

(Newser) - While some experts argue his work contributed to the economic meltdown, former senator Phil Gramm stands by his efforts to deregulate the lending and financial sectors, the New York Times reports. “There is this idea afloat that if you had more regulation you would have fewer mistakes,” Gramm...

Champagne Loses Fizz With Economy

Industry is worried a tough holiday season will leave sales flat

(Newser) - Champagne companies are anything but bubbly this year as they head into what’s predicted to be a “horrible” holiday season, hurt by a sagging US economy and weak dollar, reports Advertising Age. November and December are crucial for the industry, with as much as 25% of sales during...

Slowdown Puts Mining Outfits in Deep Hole

China's drop in demand further drives down commodities

(Newser) - Mining companies are shutting down production, laying off workers, and trying to sell excess product as the global economic slowdown drills into the industry’s profits, reports the Wall Street Journal. Metal prices dropped a record 35% last month, and nearly every mineral has been hit. Mining, once an economic...

Citibank to Cut 50,000 Jobs

 Citibank to Cut 
 50,000 Jobs 
Nov 17, 2008 8:19 AM CST

Citibank to Cut 50,000 Jobs

(Newser) - Citigroup plans to slash more than 50,000 jobs, roughly 14% of its workforce, the company announced today, in an effort to shed expenses during the economic downturn. The cuts are in addition to the 23,000 heads that have already rolled this year, Bloomberg reports. Citi stock fell 19%...

Goldman Bosses Take a Pass on Bonuses

Wall Street's meltdown prompts top 7 execs to settle for $600,000 base pay

(Newser) - After an abysmal year, Goldman Sachs' top seven executives—including CEO Lloyd Blankfein—will give up their 2008 bonuses, totaling tens of million of dollars, reports the Wall Street Journal. The decision could force other execs on Wall Street to follow suit, reducing some of the pressure on investment banks...

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