Add To Watchlist

BANKING-CRISIS

The Wire

Mexico treasury seeks measure favoring Citigroup

Mexico's Treasury Department confirmed Thursday that Mexican law bans foreign governments from holding stakes in local banks, but said it would ask the nation's congress to amend the law to permit participation in cases of emergency.

The Vine
The Big Squander: How The Feds Lost an Opportunity on the AIG Bailout
Source: The New York Times

Earlier this week, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a k a, the bank bailout fund, released his report on the 2008 rescue of the American International Group, the insurer.

He Saw It Coming: Byron Dorgan on Repeal of Glass-Steagal
Source: The Huffington Post

Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, was one of eight senators who stood up to oppose the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act in 1999.

Meanderings On Inflation, Deflation, Misinformation & Tomorrow
Source: blog post

A great primer on how we got into this economic mess! Nice and easy to understand for the layman.

They come to believe they're entitled
Source: ReviewJournal.com - News

Sen. Dodd got two Countrywide mortgages in 2003, refinancing his home in Connecticut and another residence in Washington.

A Cautious Thumbs-Up for TALF
Source: globeSt.com

As the July issue of industry publication US Banker noted, more than $168 billion of the $204 billion in commercial mortgages coming due this year are held by banks and thrifts. That dwarfs the $19.1 billion of CMBS loans that also mature this year.

A Dividing Line Through the Financial Landscape
Source: The New York Times

At one bank in Alabama, the problem is a construction bust. At two in Ohio, the trouble is real estate.

The Subprime 25: The Top 25 Lenders Responsible For Almost $1 Trillion Of Subprime Loans
Source: The Huffington Post

Today, the Center for Public Integrity releases the results of its investigation into the housing crisis, which showed that investment banks, some of which were recipients of billions of taxpayer dollars through the federal bailout, made major investments in subprime lending.

How tax havens helped to create a crisis
Source: FT.com

Banks employ large teams of highly paid people to devise transactions mainly for the purpose of avoiding tax. These activities seem to be far more profitable than the humdrum business of managing payments and channelling savings towards investment. Why?

American Express and the Bare-Knuckle Tactics of Card Issuers
Source: Washington Independent

I've physically seen credit reports of someone who's considered in the upper echelon. His scores were through the roof and not a single blemish to be seen anywhere at anytime. Pristine. What I'd like to know...

Thain Fires Back at Bank of America - WSJ.com
Source: Wall Street Journal

John Thain figured seven months ago that he was just one rung down the corporate ladder from becoming chief executive of the largest consumer bank in the U.S. Now, he is trying to climb back from the professional disaster that followed.

Beverly Hills 90210 Included in Latest FDIC Bank Closure Wave
Source: Reuters

Where oh where has my Rodeo Drive gone? My Black Card has been cut off. Credit lines should now be called Shopausaurus as they are extinct.

David Brooks -Yanks in Crisis - NYTimes.com
Source: The New York Times

"The Great Depression altered the national consciousness. So far, the Great Recession has not." But being manhandled by banks and credit card issuers might. We do not use banks out of choice, we need them. We carry credit cards because we cannot function without them.

TAX Burden Shift from Ultra-Rich to the Rest of Us
Source: Common Dreams

Tax give-aways to wealthy have contributed to economic meltdown. Tax burden shifted from the rich onto the backs of everyday Americans.

Multi-Agency Crackdown on Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Source: Spero News

Madigan said the surest way to identify a potential scam artist is if the company asks for a fee up front after making big promises about being able to get a homeowner out of trouble.

Government vows to crack down on mortgage scams -- baltimoresun.com
Source: The Baltimore Sun

"The Obama administration warned Monday that scams targeting distressed homeowners struggling to modify their mortgages or avoid foreclosure are on the rise across the United States.

Is Bank of America Worth $200 Billion?

Just for the record, I did study accounting, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I'm no accountant, by any means, but if you explain it to me slowly, I can usually "get it".

Paralytic Debt Poisoning - There are Hundreds of Trillions of Dollars of More Toxic Derivatives Out There
Source: The Huffington Post

Many of the financial pundits who cheerleaded us into this toxic red debt tide are now calling the bottom. There are, however, hundreds of trillions of dollars of more toxic derivatives remaining in this red tide of debt.

Is the Dollar Doomed? (to decline sharply in value and/or be replaced by another reserve currency)
Source: TIME

"The frequency and increasing intensity of financial crises," Zhou said, "suggests the costs of such a system to the world may have exceeded its benefits." Zhou recommended turning Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the unit of account used by the International Monetary Fund, into th …

Bill Moyers Journal: William K. Black Discusses Banking Crisis - Calls it Fraud - Says There is a Cover-Up (VIDEO)
Source: PBS

On April 3, 2009 Black appeared on "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS and provided some disturbing commentary on the current banking crisis.[4] In the interview with Bill Moyers,[5] Black asserted that our current banking crisis is essentially a big Ponzi scheme, that the "liar loans"  …

Iceland report a timely reminder that no regulatory system can be foolproof - Telegraph
Source: Telegraph

I thoroughly recommend the Treasury Select Committee's report into the Icelandic banking crisis.

Prophet and Loss
Source: Stanford Magazine

Brooksley Born warned that unchecked trading in the credit market could lead to disaster, but power brokers in Washington ignored her. Now we're all paying the price.

David Brooks on Greed and Stupidity
Source: The New York Times

There are many theories about what happened, but two general narratives seem to be gaining prominence, which we will call the greed narrative and the stupidity narrative. The two overlap, but they lead to different ways of thinking about where we go from here.

As Crisis Loomed, Geithner Pressed But Fell Short
Source: The Washington Post

...as Geithner and the New York Fed worked to solve narrow mechanical issues in the derivatives market, they missed clear signs of a catastrophe in the making.

Brits Already Tried Geithner's Plan And It Didn't Work
Source: The Nation

...both governments assume banks are suffering from a crisis of confidence that can be cured simply by removing the uncertainty of "toxic" debt.

Big Bank Nightmares
Source: Firedoglake

The CEOs and others at major financial institutions who aren't completely clueless are having trouble sleeping at night. They keep having a recurring nightmare, in which a certain advertisement keeps playing . . .

This area needs news. Click here to seed the vine