Ailing economy forcing mass exodus
Bloomberg Dec 2, 08 3:49 PM CST
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Iceland faces its largest exodus in a century as job seekers flee the ailing nation, which is steeped in its worst financial crisis since independence. One survey estimates about half of Icelanders between 18 and 24 plan are thinking about leaving the country for Norway and other relatively strong economies. Iceland's own $7.5 billion economy may shrink by 10% next year even as the IMF provides a $4.6 billion boost, Bloomberg reports.
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Credit card company can now accept deposits, access emergency Fed funds
MarketWatch Nov 11, 08 2:09 AM CST
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The Fed has given credit card giant American Express the all-clear to become a bank holding company in a bid to keep the financial crisis wolves from the door, Marketwatch reports. AmEx can now accept deposits and access the Fed's emergency lending facilities. The central bank waived the normal 30-day waiting period, citing the "unusual and exigent circumstances affecting the financial markets.”
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OPINION
New York Times Oct 21, 08 10:00 AM CDT
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Wall Street may be cheering for the bailout, but Andrew Ross Sorkin knows what the banks are really doing with our $250 billion: “They have stuffed it under their mattresses like the rest of us,” he writes in the New York Times . Consumers will find it almost as hard to get a loan this week as last, and that won’t change until the economy actually recovers.
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But US will pressure some to accept
it anyway
Washington Post Oct 15, 08 1:46 PM CDT
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The government’s plan to buy $250 billion worth of bank investments was greeted with cheers on Wall Street and in Congress, but with jeers by many bankers, the Washington Post reports. “We don't need a bailout,” said one indignant small-bank chief, “and if other banks had run their banks like we ran our bank, they wouldn’t have needed a bailout, either.”
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Financial system collapse leaves nation adrift
Wall Street Journal Oct 10, 08 5:05 AM CDT
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The collapse of its financial system has left Iceland with little left to rely on but the sea that surrounds it, writes the Wall Street Journal . With few natural resources on land, fishing was the mainstay of Icelandic life for centuries until the nation's global banking industry rapidly expanded a few years ago—only to implode even faster.
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Panicked thousands rush to grab savings from Bank of East Asia
Financial Times (UK) Sep 25, 08 6:24 AM CDT
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Rumors that the Bank of East Asia was in trouble spread like wildfire through Hong Kong yesterday, causing a panicked mob to descend on the bank as thousands withdrew their life savings, the Financial Times reports. Police moved in to keep order as crowds demanded their money. BEA's tycoon chairman blamed "malicious rumors" for the panic and vowed to buy shares in the bank himself.
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Interns give up dream
of retiring at 35 with house in Hamptons
Washington Post Sep 21, 08 7:00 PM CDT
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The sad eyes of interns watched Wall Street's precipitous drop all week. These "lackeys," who had worked all summer at investment firms, can no longer expect to retire at 35 with houses in the Hamptons and "a closetful of Brioni suits and Hermès ties," David Bledin writes in the Washington Post . Nor will they endure years of 90-hour weeks and suicidal impulses.
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President urges swift action, 'and the cleaner the better'
Washington Post Sep 20, 08 12:00 PM CDT
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The Bush administration today formally asked Congress to authorize a $700 billion fund, administered by the Treasury Department, to help troubled financial institutions unload bad debt, the Washington Post reports. The figure is $200 billion higher than legislators were led to expect yesterday, and the national debt limit would be raised to $11.3 trillion. “It is a big package because it's a big problem,” said President Bush, who added that he abandoned his free-market impulses because of the risks involved for the financial system.
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Investors seek options, others dip into savings for house payments
Wall Street Journal Sep 19, 08 10:54 AM CDT
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Wall Street’s crisis has prompted a variety of reactions in everyday lives as Americans rush to decide where to put their faith and their dollars—and try to avoid the pain, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some are pulling their money out of the markets as conditions worsen, while others plan to stick it out. Still others see investment in the tangible, like gold—or even cows—as the safest way forward. Those without investments are paying with their jobs.
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ANALYSIS
Banks, like homeowners, refused to believe how bad things really are
New York Times Sep 16, 08 1:04 PM CDT
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The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the fire sale of Merrill Lynch are stunning developments, Joe Nocera writes in the New York Times , as is the fact Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the only big investment banks standing. But the turmoil isn’t simply the result of complex trading instruments gone awry, Nocera writes; “what’s going on is something we are all familiar with: denial.”
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Banks hike mortgage payments despite interest rate cuts
Daily Mail (UK) Aug 23, 08 7:19 PM CDT
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Britain's big banks are being accused of hoisting nearly £3 billion in interest payments on customers to make up for bad bank investments, the Daily Mail reports. Seeking to recoup huge losses from assets linked to subprime US mortgages, the banks have hiked mortgage rates and fees despite interest rate cuts that make it easier for banks to borrow.
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Western banks sold to Mutual of Omaha
Reuters Jul 26, 08 6:07 AM CDT
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The housing bust and credit crunch have toppled two more banks, Reuters reports. Federal regulators have taken over First National Bank of Nevada and California's First Heritage Bank and sold them to Mutual Bank of Omaha. The undercapitalized institutions were the sixth and seventh to go under in the US this year, and banking regulators warn more are likely to follow.
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But banking remains 'safe and sound'
Reuters Jul 20, 08 5:42 PM CDT
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Henry Paulson sought to reassure Americans today that US banking is "sound" despite a growing list of troubled banks, Reuters reports. He also said the economy will stay slow for months, but expressed confidence that Congress will shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before summer recess. "Congress understands how important these institutions are," he said on Face the Nation .
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