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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: securities

securities stories: 18 news summaries
OPINION

 Meet Wall 
 Street's Most 
 Shameless 
 Failures 

'Mulligan Club' keeps hustling disastrous securities

Sep 2, 09 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - You'd think the men who hyped and traded the financial instruments responsible for the recession wouldn't be allowed to touch another dollar. Instead, they’re “charter members of Wall Street's Mulligan Club,” Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post, buying and trading the same "crappy securities" like... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wall Street • recession • securities • financial institutions • trading firm • RBS

 Troubled Securities 
 Threaten to Drown Banks 

Feds set to seize Texas' Guaranty

Aug 21, 09 10:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bad loans have been killing off banks at the fastest rate in 17 years—but now, securities purchased from other banks are a mounting threat, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thousands of banks nabbed securities dependent on mortgages and the financial industry. “Under most scenarios, they were good and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
bank • securities • mortgage backed securities • financial institutions • housing crisis • bank failure

OPINION

Geithner, Summers Outline New Regulatory System


Jun 15, 09 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The current financial regulatory system “is riddled with gaps, weaknesses, and jurisdictional overlaps,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Obama economic guru Larry Summers write in today’s Washington Post. They outline, in broad strokes, their plan to fix it:
  • Capital and liquidity requirements will be raised
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Federal Reserve • capital • liquidity • regulation • securities • Larry Summers • bank regulation • Obama administration • Timothy Geithner

(Newser) - Two Japanese citizens were detained last week after allegedly trying to take $134 billion in undeclared US bonds from Italy to Switzerland, Bloomberg reports. Both countries are investigating the incident. “Italian authorities are in the midst of the investigation, and haven’t yet confirmed the details, including whether they... More »

MORE ABOUT:
crime • Italy • Switzerland • bonds • securities • Japanese

Ponzi Victims Will Be
Tax Nightmare for IRS

Service expects to refund $7-$10 billion in taxes paid on fake income

Mar 13, 09 12:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - The work of fraudsters such as Bernie Madoff and R. Allen Stanford will complicate the IRS’ job as tens of the thousands of victims attempt to reclaim taxes paid on income that went up in smoke, Time reports. The IRS estimates that refunds due victims to Madoff alone could total... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fraud • taxes • IRS • securities • Ponzi scheme • investment fund • tax refunds • Bill Maher Grid

ANALYSIS

Madoff Case Likely to Sour Boomers on Stocks

Fraud is final straw after terrible performance, analysts say

Mar 12, 09 1:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - With Bernard Madoff’s long, fraudulent story drawing to a close, stock-market analysts look to the larger effect the $50 billion Ponzi scheme will have on equities, Kate Gibson writes for MarketWatch. Combined with the dismal performance in stocks over the last year, experts say Madoff’s deception has probably... More »

MORE ABOUT:
investing • stock market • baby boomer • equity • securities • Ponzi scheme • Bernard Madoff

Analysis

Credit Crunch Pinches Entire Lending System

Undercapitalized banks stand to benefit from $1T infusion

Feb 20, 09 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Banks aren’t lending, and to change that the government is propping up not just the banks but also the vast, largely unseen financial system that fuels them, the New York Times reports. Banks rarely keep the loans they make anymore; instead, debt is packaged into securities and sold,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Federal Reserve • credit market • securities • mortgage backed securities • financial sector • Obama administration • banking industry • Timothy Geithner • TALF

30-Year Mortgage Rates
Fall to Record Low 5.01%

Fed buys $10.2B in agency mortgage bonds

Jan 8, 09 5:08 PM CST
(Newser) - Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to a record low 5.01% this week, Bloomberg reports. The drop—the 10th weekly fall in a row—comes as the Federal Reserve purchased $10.2 billion of mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae as part of a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Federal Reserve • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • interest rate • bond market • securities • mortgage backed securities

 Just How Bad Was 2008? 

The worst anyone under 70 has seen, Bloomberg reports

Dec 31, 08 4:37 PM CST
(Newser) - If you're under the age of 70, 2008 was probably the worst year you've lived through, reports Bloomberg. Here's why:
  • In housing, which started the downturn, median resale prices saw a 13% decline, the largest since the 1930s.
  • Foreclosure rates reached 2.97%, and mortgage delinquency hit 6.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
stock market • housing market • Bear Stearns • Merrill Lynch • recession • Lehman Brothers • securities • mortgage backed securities

Goldman May See $2B Fourth Quarter Loss

Credit downgrades key catalyst in Wall Street titan's loss of value

Dec 2, 08 7:39 AM CST
(Newser) - After dodging many of the bullets that left its Wall Street peers wounded or dead, Goldman Sachs faces a net loss of up to $2 billion for the fourth quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports. The loss of $5 per share is five times worse than analysts feared as the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wall Street • Goldman Sachs • credit crisis • securities • mortgage backed securities • financial crisis

Hedge Fund Selloffs Behind Swooning Dow

Investors cashing out
in record numbers to meet obligations

Nov 7, 08 9:25 AM CST
(Newser) - Hedge funds are increasingly to blame for the swooning Dow, the Wall Street Journal reports, as demands from investors to withdraw funds have sparked a securities selling frenzy in recent days. The rush to withdraw comes as investors—endowments and  pension funds as well as wealthy individuals—see other investments... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Carl Icahn • financial markets • securities • Citadel Investment Group • hedge funds • financial crisis

For Paulson, Toughest Part Lies Ahead

Treasury has just weeks to create asset-buying behemoth

Oct 4, 08 8:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - The real work for the Treasury Department begins now that the bailout bill has passed, the New York Times writes. Secretary Henry Paulson has less than a month to get a massive asset management firm up and running, and to start pricing the toxic securities that have flummoxed experts. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Henry Paulson • asset management • Treasury Department • credit crisis • securities • bailout • financial crisis

 Even Money Market 
 Funds Are Risky 

Even 'safe' money markets show their soft underbellies in today's market

Sep 18, 08 10:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - As one safe haven after another disappears—from money market funds to stock investments—financial advisers are telling consumers to take a more active role in their planning, reports the New York Times. But first, do your homework and understand what you’re investing in, experts say. More »

MORE ABOUT:
investing • CDs • mutual funds • money management • securities • financial crisis

 Feds Outline 
 Fannie, Freddie 
 Bailout 

Gov't will step in as conservator; Treasury will buy preferred stock

Sep 7, 08 11:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Citing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as "critical to turning the corner on housing," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson this morning announced a bailout of the beleaguered mortgage companies that includes his agency purchasing preferred stock, while the Federal Housing Finance Agency will step in as conservator. Additionally, Treasury... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • housing market • mortgage • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • Treasury Department • Federal Housing Administration • securities • financial crisis

Feds Plan to Allow Foreign Accounting Rules

Critics slam 'outsourcing' of financial protections

Jul 5, 08 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Federal officials are proposing to loosen accounting regulations, allowing American companies to shift to international standards that offer more latitude in reporting earnings, the New York Times reports. The move would make businesses more competitive, the administration argues, but it would also effectively exempt them from the investor-protection measures instigated... More »

MORE ABOUT:
finance • SEC • Sarbanes Oxley • accounting • regulation • securities

 Lehman Is Selling $3B in Shares 

Firm seeks to calm fears of another Bear Stearns disaster

Mar 31, 08 7:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Lehman Brothers is selling $3 billion in new shares to allay fears after its stock dropped 42% this year, Bloomberg reports. "We still maintain that we don't need capital, but we've realized that perception is the dominant issue in today's markets,'' said CFO Erin Callan. Lehman fell up... More »

MORE ABOUT:
stock market • Wall Street • Bear Stearns • Lehman Brothers • US economy • securities • subprime crisis • share price • weakening economy • investment banks • financial crisis

Auction-Rate Troubles Hit Silicon Valley Startups

Private companies hurting for cash

Mar 14, 08 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - A freeze in the market for a type of securities known as auction-rate securities may cause big cash-flow problems for many Silicon Valley startups. A number of private companies have large chunks of cash tied up in the securities, reports the Wall Street Journal. Now, buyers have dried up... More »

MORE ABOUT:
investing • Silicon Valley • JetBlue • venture capital • securities • startup • private companies • auction-rate securities • cash flow • investment banks

Fed Chief to Address
Market Uproar

Wall Street will be craining for clues on possible rate cut

Aug 30, 07 5:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tomorrow, Ben Bernanke will make his first speech since turmoil erupted in the world's financial markets early this month. As Wall Street listens for clues about whether interest rates will be cut next month, the Fed chief be walking a tightrope, the Washington Post observes. If he appears indifferent, panic... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • Wall Street • Federal Reserve • interest rate • credit crisis • mortgage debt • securities • mortgage backed securities

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