financial crisis

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Calif. Budget Gap Could Mean IOUs, Not Tax Refunds

Facing $42B deficit, Schwarzenegger, state Dems continue to wrangle

(Newser) - Faced with a mounting budget gap and failed negotiations toward a solution, California may have to send out promissory notes to taxpayers owed refunds and local governments, the Los Angeles Times reports. Talks between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic legislature foundered yesterday; lawmakers sent the governor a disputed package...

With Fewer Retail Jobs, More Cheating on Hiring Test

Unicru exam, used by Best Buy and others, unpopular with many job-seekers

(Newser) - Cheat on the personality test many retailers make job applicants take as part of the hiring process and you’ve got one foot in the door—and a lot of company, reports the Wall Street Journal. The computer-administered tests are feeding a growing culture of savvy applicants who share answers,...

Smart Money Trickles Back Into Energy

Those considered sectors 'smart money' see opportunity in sector

(Newser) - The energy sector is recharging, the Wall Street Journal reports, at least if a pair of deals by billionaire oil and gas investor George Kaiser is any indication. Kaiser, who built his fortune buying energy assets during downturns, is jumping back into the market, penning a $412 million natural gas...

$173B Later, Taxpayers Still Can't Get a Loan
$173B Later, Taxpayers
Still Can't Get a Loan
ANALYSIS
Jan 6, 2009 10:09 AM CST

$173B Later, Taxpayers Still Can't Get a Loan

Consumer credit remains frozen, even at banks flush with bailout funds

(Newser) - Though US taxpayers own $172.5 billion of shares and warrants in 208 financial institutions, most of them still can’t get a loan. Interbank lending rates have fallen since TARP funds have been paid out, but consumer lending remains tight and average credit card rates are virtually unchanged from...

Auto Sales Take a Drubbing in December
Auto Sales
Take a Drubbing in December
UPDATED
Jan 5, 2009 1:28 PM CST

Auto Sales Take a Drubbing in December

Chrysler off 53%; GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda all down more than 30%

(Newser) - Chrysler's sales were off 53% in December compared to the same time last year, the Wall Street Journal reports today, with Ford's off 32% and General Motors down 31%, further indicating a steep decline in US demand for cars. Foreign makers took an even harder hit last month: A 35%...

Quinn: Don't Wait to Go Bankrupt

 Quinn: Don't Wait 
 to Go Bankrupt 
OPINION
Jan 5, 2009 11:25 AM CST

Quinn: Don't Wait to Go Bankrupt

It's an embarrassment, but it offers a 'fresh start'

(Newser) - Your new year should be a “fresh start”—and if that means filing for bankruptcy, so be it, writes Jane Bryant Quinn in Newsweek. “If you're reaching the end of your rope, don't try to hold on. Save what you can,” Quinn says. Many families try...

Targeted in Bubble, Latinos Now Face Foreclosure Flood

Push to get subprime, other risky mortgages to Hispanic community backfires

(Newser) - The US housing crisis has hit particularly hard in the Latino community, the Wall Street Journal reports, which was targeted by both lawmakers and lenders—often with subprime and other risky mortgages—during the bubble. Hispanic homeownership swelled 47% between 2000-2007, and the foreclosure crisis has hit hard for many...

Don't Blame Fannie for Mess
 Don't Blame Fannie for Mess 



Glossies
Jan 5, 2009 9:11 AM CST

Don't Blame Fannie for Mess

Wall Street, banks, and government also at fault

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the "toxic twin" housing financing behemoths blamed for setting the world on fire, were not operating any differently than the entire financial sector, Bethany McLean writes in Vanity Fair. McLean documents Fannie Mae's history starting from conception in FDR's New Deal, when it was...

Obama Must Spend Boldly— or It's Great Depression II

Only government can save us now: Krugman

(Newser) - For decades economists believed that a second Great Depression was impossible; all the Fed had to do, they said, is print more money. But as Paul Krugman writes, monetary policy has failed; despite "supplying liquidity like an engine crew trying to put out a five-alarm fire," credit remains...

Labor Faces a Tough Year at Table as Economy Stalls

Worsening economic conditions are forcing unions to reopen contracts, weigh givebacks

(Newser) - Organized labor is facing one of its toughest negotiating years in decades as the swooning economy prompts employers to seek givebacks and contract reopenings, reports the Wall Street Journal. With several major contracts expiring—AT&T, United Airlines, and Goodyear, among others—2009 could be punishing for labor.

Obama to Unveil $300B Tax Cut
 Obama to Unveil $300B Tax Cut 
Jan 4, 2009 8:03 PM CST

Obama to Unveil $300B Tax Cut

(Newser) - Moving to get congressional Republicans on board with his economic stimulus plan, Barack Obama is eying a whopping $310 billion in individual and business tax cuts, reports the Wall Street Journal. The cuts, which dwarf both of President Bush's and could have a much more immediate impact, would make up...

Pols: No Stimulus By Jan. 20
 Pols: No Stimulus By Jan. 20 
Jan 4, 2009 6:58 PM CST

Pols: No Stimulus By Jan. 20

Republicans voice opposition to Obama's plan

(Newser) - President-elect Barack Obama’s massive economic stimulus bill may not move as quickly as Democratic leaders had hoped, Politico reports. Republicans began suggesting alternatives to the plan today, and House Democrats now say they likely won’t vote on the bill until the week of Jan. 19 or later. Obama’...

Rainbow Room Grill to Close
Rainbow Room Grill to Close 
Jan 4, 2009 4:54 PM CST

Rainbow Room Grill to Close

In throes of recession, rent dispute, the Big Apple landmark will shutter its dining hall

(Newser) - New York’s vaunted Rainbow Room will shut down its dining hall next week amid the recession and a rent conflict, the New York Daily News reports. With the Rainbow Grill’s closure, the tourist hotspot at 30 Rockefeller Plaza will—temporarily or otherwise—be 40 employees lighter and limited...

Wreck of IndyMac Sold for $13.9B
Wreck of IndyMac Sold
for $13.9B
Jan 3, 2009 8:41 AM CST

Wreck of IndyMac Sold for $13.9B

Soros, Dell among the players in FDIC's damaged-goods sale

(Newser) - A team of high-profile investors has bought the remains of failed bank IndyMac from the FDIC for $13.9 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The investors, including George Soros and computer tycoon Michael Dell, have agreed to share the losses from IndyMac's portfolio of troubled mortgages in a deal...

Real-World Financial Woes Worry Sports Owners

Off the field, most team records aren't promising

(Newser) - As investment portfolios dwindle and businesses suffer, more professional sports teams' owners are falling on hard times. League bosses worry that potential buyers, already an endangered breed, won't go for newly available teams because their primary businesses are foundering. Even the Cubs, one of MLB's few profitable franchises, can't find...

Vindicated in 2008, Some Experts Foresee Gloomy '09

A few who called last year's calamities correctly see grim days ahead

(Newser) - Labeled overly pessimistic for years, a few Wall Street prognosticators became the oracles of 2008 by correctly predicting the unwinding of the global economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The doomsayers correctly anticipated bank failures, stock market declines, and the housing market collapse of the second half of 2008. As...

Obama to Meet With Congress on Economy

First talks with congressional leaders since election will cover stimulus plan

(Newser) - Barack Obama's Hawaiian holiday is over, and he's now preparing to meet with congressional leaders Monday to discuss jump-starting America's economy, reports Reuters. Aides say the meetings—the president-elect's first with Congress since winning the election—will cover Obama's proposed stimulus package and a range of other issues.

BoA, Wells Fargo Wrap Up Takeovers
BoA, Wells Fargo
Wrap Up Takeovers
Jan 1, 2009 3:27 PM CST

BoA, Wells Fargo Wrap Up Takeovers

Tough road ahead for merged financial institutions

(Newser) - Bank of America and Wells Fargo completed their respective takeovers of Merrill Lynch and Wachovia this week, expected developments that close the books on a year of unprecedented change in the banking industry, Reuters reports. The acquisition of Merrill makes BoA the largest US bank by assets, with $2.7...

Thieves Return Madoff Statue, Lesson Attached

Note suggests 'swindler' return his plunder, too

(Newser) - The thieves who nabbed a $10,000 copper statue from fraudster Bernard Madoff's swank Florida home have returned it, along with this note: "Bernie the Swindler, Lesson: Return stolen property to rightful owners." The advice was penned by "The Educators," whose inspiration may be a German...

Federal Judges Lose Pay Raise Battle, Again

Financial crisis kills hike, leaves bench feeling shortchanged

(Newser) - Federal judges went without a cost-of-living pay increase yet again in 2008, the LA Times reports. A quirk in federal law prevents judges from getting the automatic raises other federal employees get, and the financial crisis derailed a bill that would have upped their pay by 28%. John Roberts is...

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