financial crisis

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Unprepared Next Gen Faces 'Stone-Cold Scarcity'
Unprepared Next Gen Faces 'Stone-Cold Scarcity'
OPINION
Nov 4, 2008 11:14 AM CST

Unprepared Next Gen Faces 'Stone-Cold Scarcity'

Can young people used to prosperity handle scarcity?

(Newser) - Today marks a national sea change, the “end of an economic era, a political era, and a generational era,” writes David Brooks in the New York Times. “The baby boomers have been a politically undistinguished generation,” he writes, and now, “change is demanded." If...

Schwarzman Weighs In on Market Reforms
Schwarzman Weighs In on Market Reforms
OPINION
Nov 4, 2008 10:46 AM CST

Schwarzman Weighs In on Market Reforms

Private-equity billionaire says regs should be global, streamlined

(Newser) - With the world in “the worst financial crisis in recent memory,” private-equity billionaire Stephen Schwarzman advocates seizing the opportunity to prevent a repeat. In an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, the Blackstone CEO, who pocketed $677 million from the firm’s IPO last year, calls for...

For Wealthy, It's Cool to Be Cheap

Twin concerns drive new consumer psyche

(Newser) - Affluent Americans are folding up the Gucci sunglasses and trying green living's thriftier practices on for size, a response to environmental and economic concerns that's sure to dampen spending for the duration of the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. "People aren't shopping to feel better," said one...

We Should Offer Banks a Choice on Exec Pay
We Should Offer Banks a Choice on Exec Pay
Analysis
Nov 4, 2008 10:33 AM CST

We Should Offer Banks a Choice on Exec Pay

Either let US set limits, or make firms set aside cash: economist

(Newser) - Regardless of who wins today’s election, one issue from this campaign will continue to burn hot with investors, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the New York Times. Both candidates have blamed executive pay for the financial collapse, as execs are rewarded for risk-taking while rarely penalized for failure. But...

Architect: Crunch Will Topple 'Wow Factor' Buildings

Architect believes financial meltdown will cause building 'mood shift'

(Newser) - Attention-seeking skyscraper projects are likely to be early victims of the financial crisis, architect David Chipperfield predicts in a Bloomberg interview. "Wow-factor" buildings like London's "Shard of Glass" have proliferated during years when there's been plenty of money around, but a shift in mood is likely to...

US May Buy Equity in More Firms

After seeing some thawing in key credit markets, Treasury may expand program

(Newser) - Treasury is considering using some of the $700 billion at its disposal to buy stakes in a range of financial companies beyond banks, the Wall Street Journal reports. The idea comes after seeing measured success in thawing credit markets by taking equity stakes in several banks. Treasury may also abandon...

Art Market Stalls at Grim Fall Sale

Malevich sets record, but Sotheby's has a slow night in New York

(Newser) - In New York last night Sotheby's held a lackluster auction that portended a grim year ahead for the once buoyant art market. Of 70 lots at the sale of impressionist and modern art, fully 25 found no buyers. There was one bit of good news for the market: a...

Ukrainian Prez and PM Bicker as Kiev Burns

Nation nears financial default, so why not call an election?

(Newser) - It's been four years since Viktor Yushchenko, cheated out of an election victory, led Ukrainians in an "Orange Revolution" that seemed to portend a break with the Soviet past. But now Ukraine is paralyzed: the economy is in shambles, and Yushchenko and PM Yulia Tymoshenko are so...

Bear With It: Stock Market Has Seen Worse Than 2008

Dow lost 14.1% in Oct., but that pales against 30.7% in Sept. 1931

(Newser) - It would be hard to overstate the impact of the past 2 months on those who work and invest in the stock market, Ben Steverman writes for BusinessWeek. The crisis has surely spurred many investors to reevaluate the risks, but is it a game-changer, historically speaking? Although it was steep,...

Stocks Flat; Oil Falls $3.90
 Stocks Flat; Oil Falls $3.90 
MARKETS
Nov 3, 2008 3:37 PM CST

Stocks Flat; Oil Falls $3.90

Energy concerns take a hit as crude plunges

(Newser) - Stocks held steady today, with the indices ending the session only a few points removed from their opening marks, MarketWatch reports, with General Motors and Ford reporting mammoth October sales drops, and crude plunging $3.90 to $64.25. The Dow fell 5.18 to 9,319.83. The Nasdaq...

Geek Squad's Models Missed Risks—and AIG Paid Price

Insurance giant's dependence on computer predictions made situation far worse

(Newser) - “All I can say is beware of geeks bearing formulas,” Warren Buffett once said. AIG didn’t heed his advice. The huge insurer bet tens of billions on credit-default swaps, guided by imperfect risk-assessment models created by a moonlighting finance professor, the Wall Street Journal reports. AIG knew...

The Bush Era: An 'American Fiasco'
 The Bush Era: 
 An 'American Fiasco' 

OPINION
Nov 3, 2008 11:38 AM CST

The Bush Era: An 'American Fiasco'

Columnist rips into the White House's 'all-time loser' on election eve

(Newser) - In the waning days of the Bush administration, Simon Schama wonders how the president is handling his role as the “all-time loser in presidential history.” “If the Statue of Liberty were alive,” Schama writes in the Guardian, “she would be weeping tears of blood” over...

Credit Crisis Spells Disaster for Private Equity Firms

Debt tightens as profits fall for many acquired companies

(Newser) - After a nearly 3-year buyout spree, private equity firms are facing tightened credit conditions just as slumping consumer spending squeezes many of their acquisitions, the New York Times reports. The leveraged-buyout bubble that culminated in $796 billion in deals in 2007 is bursting, leading to a grim reckoning as firms...

Even Healthy Banks Eye Bailout Bucks

Institutions fear market will judge them harshly for not tapping into $700B pot

(Newser) - Investor and public pressure could prompt up to 1800 more financial institutions, both publicly and privately held, to apply for a share of the $700 billion bailout fund, the Wall Street Journal reports. The cash-grab likely stems from fear that failing to do so would make an institution look like...

As Deadbeats Soar, Utilities Quick to Pull Plug

As the economy worsens, electric companies get tough on delinquent bills

(Newser) - Utilities are growing increasingly aggressive about shutting off the juice even as more customers struggle to pay their bills in a sinking economy, reports the Wall Street Journal. The trend has regulators and consumer advocates worried companies have become too focused on their bottom lines, but utilities say they’re...

Bankrupt AIG Might Have Been Better Than Bailout

Experts say letting insurer file bankruptcy would have been a better, cheaper, plan

(Newser) - The government’s $143 billion bailout of AIG is looking more and more like an expensive example of good money following bad, as financial experts are concluding that bankruptcy would have been better for both the insurance giant and taxpayers, reports the Washington Post. AIG has burned through more than...

US to GM on Merger Aid: Hit the Road

Chrysler merger uncertain after $10B request is nixed

(Newser) - A possible merger between GM and Chrysler is now up in the air since the Treasury Department refused late last week to grant GM’s plea for $10 billion to help finance the deal. Treasury officials are trying instead to fast-track a $25 billion loan program to help automakers get...

Bow WOW! Berlin Opens Soup Kitchen for Dogs

New leash on life for pets of struggling humans

(Newser) - Things are apparently woof all over—so Berliners have now opened a soup kitchen for dogs. Businesses have donated pet food and funds so that hounds belonging to homeless people and the unemployed can chow down. Organizers shrug off criticism that their efforts would be put to better use serving...

Deflation Danger Looms as World Economy Slows

Falling prices could trigger long downward spiral

(Newser) - Fears of runaway inflation have been replaced by fears of its opposite as the world's economy starts seizing up, the New York Times reports. Economists see a potentially devastating deflation ahead as cash-strapped consumers create a glut of underpriced, unpurchased goods and services—in turn triggering mass layoffs at struggling...

JPMorgan Plans Relief for $110B in Mortgages

WaMu customers included in measure to avoid foreclosures

(Newser) - JPMorgan Chase will help distressed homeowners by reducing interest rates or principal balances for $110 billion in mortgages, Bloomberg reports. The restructuring applies to clients of Washington Mutual, which JPMorgan agreed to buy last month. Foreclosures will be suspended on all loans for the next 90 days while the relief...

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