Panic Has Passed, but We Haven't Hit Bottom

Investors starting to panic that nobody has answers

(NEWSER) - What's behind the market meltdown? Some on-the-fly observations:

• Ezra Klein, Washington Post : The market is "diving because of forces Washington can’t control, and in many cases, doesn’t understand very well. How many members of Congress do you think could give a coherent account of what has happened to oil or steel prices over the last three years? Or what’s happening in the Eurozone? Or to the yuan?" Nobody knows where the recovery will come from, and the markets are reflecting that panic.

Robert Shiller shares a hunch

(NEWSER) - If you’re trying to spot the next big bubble that will roil markets, economist Robert Shiller has a dark horse candidate: Farmland. Sure, farm bubbles are pretty rare—there was only one in the 20th century—but prices for farmland have been booming in the US and UK, Shiller points out in a piece for Project Syndicate . More importantly, “farmland, at least in certain places, seems to have the most contagious ‘new era’ story right now.” More»

No, although a couple were charged and some were embarrassed

(NEWSER) - The government could soon prosecute a few Wall Streeters who allegedly played a role in the financial crisis, and the commission that uncovered those at fault was modeled on a similar probe after the Great Depression. So did anyone who precipitated that collapse ever go to jail? Nope, writes Brian Palmer in Slate ’s Explainer column: “The rampant speculation and eventual crash of 1929 weren't caused by fraud or illegality, but by unreasonable optimism and loose financial regulation.” More»

Inquiry panel will name names on Thursday

(NEWSER) - It might finally be time to pay for a handful of Wall Streeters, as the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission prepares to name names for possible prosecution, insiders tell the Huffington Post . The panel, which will release three separate reports on Thursday, is turning several cases over to state and federal authorities, who may prosecute. It’s a leap forward in the US response to the financial crisis, say people involved. More»

Even household names like Sara Lee unlikely to survive

(NEWSER) - The economic crisis can be blamed for the death of quite a few large companies already—think Circuit City, Northwest Airlines, and Countrywide—so which ones can we expect to go bye-bye this year? Here are 10 American companies that seem unlikely to survive, from 24/7 Wall St. via Daily Finance :

• Office Depot: It can’t compete with Office Max or Staples, and is trying to manage 1,150 costly locations on very thin margins. A takeover by a rival or another chain like Target appears likely.
• Frontier Airlines: It was bankrupt when Republic Airways Holdings bought it in 2009, and is too small to compete with the larger airlines that are increasingly dominating the domestic carrier market.