financial crisis

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Get a Clue, Washington: You Can't Do Everything

Effort to restructure exec pay smacks of arrogance

(Newser) - Clamping down on arrogant, risk-taking execs with an overconfident attempt to overhaul private sector pay structures shows that the arrogance has migrated to the Obama administration, writes David Brooks. The government is trying to micro-manage compensation packages at a wide variety of firms when pay regulation should be done, humbly,...

Iceland Too Poor for McDonald's

With currency off 80%, golden arches fall

(Newser) - Soon there will be at least one country you can visit without seeing the golden arches. The financial crisis hit Iceland’s currency so hard that McDonald’s, which imports most of its ingredients, can’t afford to operate there anymore. “We would have to raise our prices by...

Frank, Geithner to Roll Out 'Too Big to Fail' Bill

New rules will impose 'living wills' for banks

(Newser) - After months of negotiations, Congress and the Obama administration are ready to introduce new rules on financial institutions deemed "too big to fail." Barney Frank, who heads the House Financial Services Committee, will present a bill as soon as this week that will let the government seize...

Russian Banks Foreclose on Pigs, Lingerie

As defaults soar, banks stuck with weird collateral

(Newser) - With loan defaults soaring, Russia’s banks have had to seize a lot of collateral lately—and we’re not talking about houses. By year’s end, 20% of Russian loans could be non-performing, by Moody’s estimate. In order to recoup those losses, the banks have accepted controlling stakes...

Count the US Dollar Down, But Not Out
Count the US Dollar Down, But Not Out
ANALYSIS
Oct 23, 2009 4:25 PM CDT

Count the US Dollar Down, But Not Out

Fears of a looming currency crash are overblown

(Newser) - With the US economy in a prolonged slump and the Fed likely to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future, many worry that a dollar crash will be the next shoe to drop. Currency pessimists can point to a 6-month decline in the dollar; this week the currency hit...

Saudi Family Feud Rocks World Banks
Saudi Family Feud
Rocks World Banks
Oct 22, 2009 8:03 AM CDT

Saudi Family Feud Rocks World Banks

Saudi economy suffers as in-laws squabble over business

(Newser) - A bitter dispute between two of Saudi Arabia's richest families is damaging the world banking industry, dragging down the Saudi economy, and causing deep discomfort over Ramadan party invites. The Gosaibi clan accuse their son-in-law Ma'an al Sanea of embezzling $10 billion from the family business, while Sanea says the...

SC Hopes Its Dumb Pols Don't Hurt Economy, Too

Jokes are bad, but Sanford, Wilson messes could scare off more business

(Newser) - The fact that two of its more prominent politicians—Gov. Mark Sanford and Rep. Joe Wilson—are the butt of recent political jokes is no laughing matter in South Carolina, where memories of the fight over flying the Confederate flag are still scaring off business and tourism. The firestorm around...

Don't Fight Reform, Obama Warns Wall St. at NYC Dinner

Still, president reminds finance industry, 'we're in this together'

(Newser) - At a fundraising dinner tonight in New York attended by (among others) the sorts of financial types who could afford the $30,400-per-couple entry fee, President Obama wagged a finger at Wall Street. “I would ask that you join us in passing what are necessary reforms,” he said...

Bernanke: US Must Save More, Asia Spend More

Fed chief warns global imbalances could trigger new meltdown

(Newser) - The world economy is headed back down the drain if Asians don't start spending more and Americans don't start saving more, Ben Bernanke said at a conference yesterday. The Fed chief warned that unequal trade patterns were partly to blame for the financial crisis and that they are re-emerging as...

Bailed-Out Banks Boost CEO Perks

From private jets to bodyguards, they just keep taking

(Newser) - The CEOs of bailed-out banks and financial companies saw their perks and benefits—ranging from private jet use and country club membership to free parking and bodyguards—rise even at the height of the crisis last year. On average, the CEOs of the 29 biggest companies that received federal money...

Obama Bigwigs Take Aim at Wall Street

Says execs can't have their bailouts, and their bonuses, too

(Newser) - Wall Street is getting ready to hand out some hefty bonuses, and the Obama administration is already crashing the party, with top aides loudly dressing down execs, framing them as would-be fat cats who only last year were on the public dole. "The bonuses are offensive," says David...

In New York, No One Matters But Bloomberg
 In New York, No One 
 Matters But Bloomberg 
the imperial mayor
Oct 19, 2009 11:14 AM CDT

In New York, No One Matters But Bloomberg

Political foes gone, power elite diminished, moneyed mayor calls all the shots

(Newser) - Say what you will about Michael Bloomberg—the perfect mayor for New York in a financial crisis or arrogant billionaire who's pretty much bought an unprecedented third term—above all, Chris Smith writes, he is “a one-man Establishment.” A perfect storm of his personal fortune, the vagaries of...

In Switch, 'Real Economy' Hits Big Banks
 In Switch, 
 'Real Economy' 
 Hits Big Banks 
PAUL KRUGMAN
Oct 19, 2009 9:49 AM CDT

In Switch, 'Real Economy' Hits Big Banks

Slumping profits are 'payback' from Main Street whipped by bad practices

(Newser) - Those concerned about the nation’s banks should forget about the “softly, softly policy” of the Obama administration that has allowed Goldman Sachs to go back to business as usual in spectacular fashion. The real problem, Paul Krugman writes, is banks like Citi and Bank of America that are...

First Major Financial Crisis Trial Begins

Bear Stearns execs accused of lying as funds imploded

(Newser) - The first major criminal trial against top Wall Street execs involved in the financial crisis kicked off in New York yesterday. Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin are accused of misleading investors in a desperate attempt to stop them from abandoning the funds, even as they...

Stop Whining, Let Goldman Have Bonuses
Stop Whining, Let Goldman Have Bonuses
OPINION
Oct 13, 2009 5:45 AM CDT

Stop Whining, Let Goldman Have Bonuses

$23B is galling, but at least the bank is sensible: Sorkin

(Newser) - On Thursday Goldman Sachs is set to announce its third-quarter results, but the talk of Wall Street is the size of this year's bonus pool—predicted to be more than $23 billion. That's the largest figure in the company's history and twice as much as it paid out in 2008,...

Recession Finds Place in Rap's Latest Hits

Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne among those referencing sour economy

(Newser) - The ugly economy is making more than a cameo in today’s hottest rap music, with Young Jeezy taking the cake by naming his latest album The Recession. Rap’s often been a barometer of such huge swings, Sara Libby writes, noting the impact last year of Barack Obama’s...

Recession Trims Carbon Emissions 3%

There's less industrial activity, and more countries look to alternative fuels

(Newser) - The recession will help the world achieve something this year few laws have been able to: cut the output of greenhouse gases. Emissions will be down 3% mainly due to lower industrial activity, the International Energy Agency said today, with countries also helping by switching to alternative energy sources.

Lewis Due a Mere $53M From BofA Pension Plan

But President Obama's pay czar could yet step in on that, millions in stock

(Newser) - An executive pension plan Bank of America stopped in 2001—along with “golden parachute” balloon payments to execs leaving the company—will yield about $53 million for departing CEO Ken Lewis. Lewis, 62, participated for years in the plan, which was frozen the year he ascended to the top...

IMF: Global Recession Is Over
 IMF: Global Recession Is Over 
Oct 1, 2009 5:37 AM CDT

IMF: Global Recession Is Over

World economy is growing, but recovery will be slow

(Newser) - The global recession is over, the International Monetary Fund said today, revising its economic forecasts in response to Asian growth and more than $2 trillion in stimulus packages worldwide. The IMF now says the world economy is growing and will expand by 3.1% in 2010, with China growing at...

As Failures Mount, FDIC Asks Banks to Prepay

Regulator wants cash upfront through 2013 to avoid emergency credit line

(Newser) - The FDIC is set to ask banks to prepay three years of fees to replenish its coffers after a wave of bank failures, estimated to cost as much as $100 billion. Banks would be asked to prepay $45 billion of their quarterly assessments, but they wouldn't have to report the...

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