WaMu customers included in measure to avoid foreclosures

Bloomberg Oct 31, 08 2:22 PM CDT
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JPMorgan Chase will help distressed homeowners by reducing interest rates or principal balances for $110 billion in mortgages, Bloomberg reports. The restructuring applies to clients of Washington Mutual, which JPMorgan agreed to buy last month. Foreclosures will be suspended on all loans for the next 90 days while the relief efforts are implemented.
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Panic pushed FDIC to use unprecedented authority in Citigroup merger

Charlotte Observer Oct 2, 08 4:32 PM CDT
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Customers made a “silent run” on Wachovia as the North Carolina bank negotiated a buyout from Citigroup last week, the Charlotte Observer reports. Wachovia execs noticed customers withdrawing money from large accounts following Washington Mutual’s failure, lowering their balances to below the federally insured limit.
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MARKETS
But indices see big losses for September

Wall Street Journal Sep 30, 08 3:37 PM CDT
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Stocks surged toward the end of today’s session to recover much of yesterday’s losses, but still finished September down, the Wall Street Journa l reports. The markets rallied on confidence that lawmakers would reach agreement on a bailout plan by week’s end, with the Dow up 485.21 at 10,850.66. The Nasdaq climbed 98.60 to 2,082.33, and the S&P 500 gained 58.35 to close at 1,164.74.
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MARKETS
WaMu spooks markets, but optimism over bailout remains strong

MarketWatch Sep 26, 08 3:47 PM CDT
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Stocks lost value for most of today’s session as progress slowed on the Wall Street bailout plan, but turned sharply higher in the last few trading hours, MarketWatch reports. Despite mixed gains today, all indices saw losses during a tumultuous week. The Dow gained 121.07 to 11,143.13. The Nasdaq lost 3.23, closing at 2,183.34, while the S&P 500 gained 4.09 points to close at 1,213.27.
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MARKETS
Poor housing, durable goods goods data don't deter market's optimism

MarketWatch Sep 25, 08 3:15 PM CDT
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Stocks rallied this afternoon on news that lawmakers had reached a consensus on the Wall Street bailout plan, MarketWatch reports. Optimism proved infectious as GE rose 6.26% despite cutting an earnings estimate earlier today. The Dow climbed 196.89 points to 11,022.06. The Nasdaq gained 30.89 points, settling at 2,186.57, while the S&P 500 rose 23.31 points to close at 1,209.18.
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Blackstone, Carlyle in talks after overtures to other banks flop

Wall Street Journal Sep 25, 08 8:52 AM CDT
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Washington Mutual is hoping private equity will save the bank after its efforts to broker a sale to another financial institution came to nothing. Both the Carlyle Group and Blackstone are considering a takeover of WaMu, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal , although a deal is not yet assured. Many banks, from Santander in Spain to JPMorgan Chase and Citibank, have been reluctant to take on WaMu's troubled loans.
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MARKETS
Fed may have plan to quarantine bad debt; banks see gains

Wall Street Journal Sep 18, 08 3:25 PM CDT
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The markets rallied late in today’s rollercoaster session, keying on a $360 billion plan to shore up money markets and reports that the Fed might form a government body to absorb firms’ bad credit bets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow gained 410.03 to close at 11,019.69. The Nasdaq closed up 100.25 at 2,199.10, while the S&P 500 rose 50.01, settling at 1,206.40.
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From rapid expansion and growth to rapid decline, WaMu is in deep trouble

Wall Street Journal Sep 8, 08 5:38 AM CDT
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The enduring subprime contagion has claimed another victim, as downtrodden Washington Mutual has forced out CEO Kerry Killinger, reports the Wall Street Journal. Killinger, who has led the nation’s largest thrift since 1990, and has taken it from a small Seattle business into one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, will be replaced by Meridian Capital Group chairman Alan Fishman.
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MARKETS
Bleak economic reports and some poor earnings make for steady losses

Wall Street Journal Jul 24, 08 3:29 PM CDT
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Stocks saw big losses today as bad news on housing and employment soured investors’ hopes of a looming economic turnaround, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 283.10—a 2.43% drop—to close at 11,349.28; the Nasdaq shed 45.77, to 2,280.11; and the S&P 500 lost 29.65, closing at 1,252.54.
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MARKETS
Dow ticks up as oil falls, but financials, tech cast shadow

MarketWatch Jun 9, 08 3:47 PM CDT
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Markets were mixed today, with financials and tech stock prices falling while blue chips enjoyed a bounce after Friday’s precipitous drop, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 70.51, closing at 12,280.32. The Nasdaq fell 15.10 to close at 2,459.46, while the S&P 500 gained 1.08, settling at 1,361.76.
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MARKETS
Executive shuffles at WaMu, Wachovia give market jitters

MarketWatch Jun 2, 08 3:38 PM CDT
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Financials keyed major market losses as high-level personnel shuffles at Wachovia and Washington Mutual, plus a report by Standard and Poor that downgraded the ratings of several prominent banks, disconcerted investors, MarketWatch notes. The Dow lost 134.50 to settle at 12,503.82, and the Nasdaq lost 31.13, closing at 2,491.53. The S&P 500 lost 14.71, ending the day at 1,385.67.
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MARKETS
Housing data, WaMu bailout not helping investor confidence

Wall Street Journal Apr 8, 08 3:38 PM CDT
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Stocks fell today as the first-quarter earnings report season began with dismal results and a grim new report confirmed that the housing slump hasn't bottomed out, Bloomberg reports. Washington Mutual, freshly bailed out by TPG, led financials lower after it slashed its dividend 93%. The Dow fell 35.99 to close at 12,576.44, the Nasdaq 16.07 to 2,348.76, and the S&P 500 7.00 to 1,365.54.
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Bank's board of directors extracts subprime losses from bonus formula

Wall Street Journal Mar 5, 08 8:53 AM CST
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Washington Mutual’s directors have decided to limit the hit its executive management team can take from the subprime credit fiasco, setting cash bonus targets that exclude costs from foreclosures and mortgage-related losses, reports the Wall Street Journal. The move angered some shareholders who’ve seen their investment shrink as WaMu’s stock plunged 70% in the past year.
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Investigators focus on charges that appraisals were inflated

Wall Street Journal Dec 21, 07 4:06 AM CST
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Washington Mutual, one of America's largest mortgage lenders and the biggest savings and loan in the nation, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, reports the Wall Street Journal . Regulators suspect some WaMu mortgages were based on inflated appraisals. WaMu, bloodied by the subprime mortgage crisis, lost $348 million on home loans in the third quarter.
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