financial crisis

Stories 1341 - 1360 | << Prev   Next >>

Housing Prices Look for Basement

(Newser) - A witch’s brew of factors is cursing the US housing market, reports the New York Times, driving home prices ever lower as they search for bottom. Rising unemployment, higher interest rates, lower wages, and a glut of foreclosures are likely to continue to keep the market depressed through much...

Swiss Offer UBS $60B Bailout
 Swiss Offer UBS $60B Bailout 
Oct 16, 2008 6:46 AM CDT

Swiss Offer UBS $60B Bailout

Troubled banking giant will get capital injection, offload bad debts

(Newser) - Switzerland became the latest nation to shore up struggling banks, reports the Telegraph, as it bailed out UBS to the tune of $60 billion today. The Swiss central bank will offer UBS a capital injection of $6 billion in exchange for 9% of the company, and it will allow UBS ...

Chavez: 'Hola, Comrade Bush'
Chavez: 'Hola, Comrade Bush'
Oct 16, 2008 6:06 AM CDT

Chavez: 'Hola, Comrade Bush'

Irony of White House plans to buy stakes in banks isn't lost on Venezuelan prez

(Newser) - A smirking Hugo Chavez noted the US bank bailout yesterday and duly welcomed George W. Bush to the club of socialist leaders, reports Reuters. Hailing "Comrade Bush" was high praise from the man who has variously referred to his American counterpart as the devil and a drunk, but Chavez...

Asian Markets Plunge Again


 Asian Markets Plunge Again 


Oct 16, 2008 1:52 AM CDT

Asian Markets Plunge Again

Key indexes down across board amid continuing recession fears

(Newser) - Share prices tumbled in Asia again today amid fears of a US recession and a braking global economy, reports MarketWatch. The key Nikkei 225 Stock Average plummeted 10%, the Hang Seng Index dropped 7.6%, and the China Enterprises Index lost 9.9%. The MSCI Asian Pacific Index—set for...

Working-Class Anger May Boil Over Soon
Working-Class Anger
May Boil Over Soon
GLOSSIES
Oct 15, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

Working-Class Anger May Boil Over Soon

(Newser) - For a while now, the divide between rich and poor has gotten bigger, but it "hasn't sparked an outright political revolt," writes Reihan Salam in the Atlantic. That could change soon. Our fragile, 20-year "consumption compromise"—the era of cheap goods and cheap credit keeping economic...

Watch for These Layoff Signs
 Watch for These Layoff Signs 
Oct 15, 2008 6:45 PM CDT

Watch for These Layoff Signs

Knowing it's coming could help you prepare

(Newser) - More than 750,000 American jobs vanished this year, and more cuts are likely amid the current crisis. MarketWatch offers red flags that a pink slip is coming:
  • Colleagues get fired: You are not immune, even if your boss says so.
  • Training budgets dwindle: They are "not sure if
...

NY Probes AIG's Golden Parachutes, Spending

Attorney general charges insurer with 'unwarranted and outrageous expenditures'

(Newser) - New York's attorney general today called on AIG's directors to recover millions in “outrageous expenditures,” including golden parachutes to executives even as it neared the collapse that brought an $85 billion federal intervention, the Wall Street Journal reports. Andrew Cuomo is investigating whether the insurer broke state law...

Dow Finishes Down 733
 Dow Finishes Down 733 
MARKETS
Oct 15, 2008 3:21 PM CDT

Dow Finishes Down 733

Bad data pummels equities; oil drops below $75 per barrel

(Newser) - Stocks continued to slide in the final hours of the trading day as retail sales and manufacturing activity slowed while core inflation jumped, the Wall Street Journal reports. Oil slid $4.09 to $74.54 a barrel, its lowest price in 2008. The Dow closed down 733.08 at 8,...

Federal Cash Is Not Welcome at Small Banks

But US will pressure some to accept it anyway

(Newser) - The government’s plan to buy $250 billion worth of bank investments was greeted with cheers on Wall Street and in Congress, but with jeers by many bankers, the Washington Post reports. “We don't need a bailout,” said one indignant small-bank chief, “and if other banks had...

Dow Off 500; Fed Can't Calm Investors
 Dow Off 500; 
 Fed Can't Calm 
 Investors 
MARKETS
Oct 15, 2008 12:59 PM CDT

Dow Off 500; Fed Can't Calm Investors

Recession fears weigh more heavily amid ugly data

(Newser) - Poor data and continued pessimism over the state of the US economy had the Dow down around 500 points as today’s session entered the final hours, MarketWatch reports, with hints of further interest-rate cuts from Fed chief Ben Bernanke doing nothing to boost confidence. The Dow dipped below the...

States Warn Feds They May Ask for Cash, Too

Deficits and tight credit may force states to beg for Treasury dollars

(Newser) - The credit crisis is threatening states with budget shortfalls, and they could be the next group seeking a federal bailout, the Christian Science Monitor reports. California, looking at a $7 billion deficit, has informed the Treasury that it could come calling. States take loans to cover lean times, in the...

Poll: Americans Want More Regulation

70% say lack of oversight caused economic woes

(Newser) - What caused the financial and housing crises? Three-quarters of Americans think a lack of federal regulation played at least some role in current economic woes, and 90% characterize the economy as doing badly, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. When asked about the most crucial financial focus for the...

Panic Has Passed, but We Haven't Hit Bottom

Get ready for a long recession

(Newser) - The most panicky phase of the global financial crisis is likely over, thanks to the combined efforts of the world’s governments, writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. But don’t “confuse this moment of calm with a stock market bottom or a sign that a serious recession...

Economic Crisis Turned McCain Into a Bystander
Economic Crisis Turned McCain Into a Bystander
OPINION
Oct 15, 2008 10:53 AM CDT

Economic Crisis Turned McCain Into a Bystander

This election ended when economy tanked; the rest is shouting

(Newser) - John McCain isn’t losing because he’s running an incompetent campaign, Michael Gerson writes in the Washington Post. Rather, his campaign only looks incompetent because the economy doomed him to lose. When a campaign is sinking, pundits weigh in with their pet suggestions, while insisting that “the candidate...

Bank Rescue Won't Lift Home Prices, Stop Foreclosures

Continued downward spiral drives consumer spending down, killing net worth

(Newser) - Economists are increasingly concerned that the government rescue plan is missing the root cause of the foundering US economy: still-falling home prices, reports the Wall Street Journal. And, while the bailout of banks and financial institutions could ease the pain of the slump, unless help is extended to the housing...

Out of $3.6B Writedown, JPMorgan Pulls a Q3 Profit

(Newser) - JPMorgan Chase surprised analysts and brought some partly sunny news to a mostly gloomy Wall Street, reporting net income of $527 million, or 11 cents a share, despite mortgage-related writedowns of $3.6 billion and $640 million in losses from its takeover of Washington Mutual, reports the Wall Street Journal....

How Brown Became a Superhero
 How Brown 
 Became a 
 Superhero 
ANALYSIS
Oct 15, 2008 8:25 AM CDT

How Brown Became a Superhero

Glum British PM now seems more 'Flash Gordon'

(Newser) - Unpopular at home and nearly invisible on the world stage, Gordon Brown endured a tough ride during his first year in power. But the global financial crisis has transformed the British prime minister, who now finds himself in the unlikely position of international superstar. As Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and...

A $250B Offer They Couldn't Refuse
A $250B Offer They Couldn't Refuse
Oct 15, 2008 7:47 AM CDT

A $250B Offer They Couldn't Refuse

In brief meeting, Paulson gave banks a 'take it or take it' deal

(Newser) - When the CEOs of America's 9 largest banks arrived at the Treasury at 3pm Monday afternoon, they each received a draft one-page statement promising to sell shares to the government. By 6:30 they'd all signed them. The New York Times reconstructs the meeting, during which Henry Paulson wore down...

Credit Markets Show Signs of Thaw

But experts warn that the credit market remains tight, and may not ease for months

(Newser) - The government’s move to take stakes in major banks has finally succeeded in easing some of the panic that’s locked up credit markets, reports the Wall Street Journal. Corporate-bond values rose and commercial paper began trading at lower rates, giving hope that the intervention is working, though experts...

Academics Laud Bank Plan
 Academics Laud Bank Plan 
OPINION
Oct 14, 2008 4:26 PM CDT

Academics Laud Bank Plan

Econ professors say capital infusion best option

(Newser) - The Treasury gets gold stars for finally recapitalizing collapsing banks, with the Wall Street Journal reporting on reactions from economics professors:
  • Barry Eichengreen, UC Berkeley: "I would give it an A- for quality but lower the final grade to a C for lateness."
  • Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard: "Thank
...

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