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NEWS ABOUT: subprime crisis

Retirees Hit Hard by Markets

Their money is in riskier investments these days

(Newser) - Among those hardest hit by the financial crisis are retirees, and they have less chance to recover than their younger counterparts, the New York Times reports. As companies have abandoned fixed pensions for 410(k)s, retirees can lose large percentages of their wealth in a short period. And low-risk investments, like... More »

Wrangle Over $700B Bailout Heats Up

Lawmakers seek pay caps, homeowner help, as doubts mount

(Newser) - Congress and the Bush administration are edging closer to an agreement on a bailout for financial firms—but several major sticking points remain, the New York Times reports. Progress has been made on oversight for the $700-billion fund, but lawmakers are pushing for taxpayers to get an equity stake in... More »

Time to Punish Someone for Economic Disaster

Bailout package should penalize those who brought down system, say experts

(Newser) - Economists mostly agree that the financial situation is so dire that a bailout is needed, but many are skeptical about the one proposed. One of the biggest problems is the lack of punitive measures against the reckless, fat-salaried financial bosses who created the mess in the first place, experts tell... More »

Main Street Skeptics Slam Bailout Scheme

Many doubt their tax dollars should cover Wall Street's 'greed'

(Newser) - While Wall Street stands to gain in the federal bailout, many on Main Street are deeply skeptical, the Washington Post finds in a heavily foreclosed-upon Virginia community. “I've been financially responsible with my own money. Why should I now be responsible for the fact that you were not?” wonders... More »

Dems Bristle Over 'Blank Check' Bailout

Lawmakers vow not to rush bill like Sept. 11 legislation

(Newser) - Democratic lawmakers showed concern today over a proposed $700 billion bailout plan that Barack Obama called a "blank check," Politico reports. Sen. Patrick Leahy vowed not to repeat their post-Sept. 11 mistake—of rushing legislation that President Bush used to justify wiretapping—while others said voters may see... More »

Can Their $700B Rescue Plan Do the Trick?

Experts say action is needed, but doubt if it will be enough

(Newser) - Forget white and blue: Uncle Sam is all red these days after swallowing hundreds of billions in bad mortgages and coughing up billions more to save strapped businesses. As the Feds strategize a solution to the mess, experts are unsure if the plan will work and how much it’ll... More »

Tweaked Bailout Bill Opens Aid to Foreign Banks

Revision is first change sparked by Treasury-Congress talks

(Newser) - The Treasury Department has amended its bailout bill to include foreign banks, Politico reports, abandoning an earlier requirement that banks be headquartered in the US to receive money. Now, the banks must have “significant operations in the US” or be approved by Henry Paulson—meaning Barclays, Credit Suisse, and... More »

Market Crunch Spanks UK Nannies

Unemployed mom and dad cut child care costs

(Newser) - British nannies are lining up for jobs alongside the bankers and financiers who once employed them, Reuters reports. Renowned as the world's best, Britain's nannies are losing work to the credit crunch that has wiped out US investment banks and rippled through London's financial district, threatening thousands of jobs. Problems... More »

Wall Street's Falling Stars Burn Hollywood

Studios scale back films, lose capital

(Newser) - When Steven Spielberg is feeling a budget pinch, you know the financial crisis is bad. His hunt for financing on a new studio deal gets tougher with each day of bad news from Wall Street, Time reports. With credit as tough to come by in Hollywood as everywhere else, many... More »

Cheer Up! Total Financial Market Meltdown Isn't All Bad

Five reasons to fiddle while Wall Street burns

(Newser) - For a dedicated silver-lining hunter like Michael Lewis, there are plenty of upsides to the total collapse of the US financial system. “A lot of attractive office space seems to be opening up in midtown Manhattan, for instance,” he writes in Bloomberg. Here are five other reasons to... More »

Forget Arugula: Dems Should Hit GOP on Fiscal Crisis

But they should ignore the arugula and hammer on GOP moves that created this mess

(Newser) - Put aside the arugula and forget "priggish" counter-attacks on Sarah Palin, Thomas Frank advises Democrats. The way to win the culture war being waged by Republicans is to point out what GOP dominance over the last quarter century has done: removed fiscal safeguards and brought us "to the... More »

What Is AIG? (Now That We Own It)

From aircraft leasing arm to wealth management group

(Newser) - For one thing, the insurance behemoth the Federal Reserve just acquired for $85 billion is profitable, explains the New York Times. AIG, which started out insuring assets in Asia, is wildly diversified and sprawling globally. Businesses range from retirement plans in the US to life insurance in the Philippines to... More »

Fed Considers AIG Bailout; Ex-CEO Weighs Proxy Fight

Hank Greenberg, forced out in 2005, among investors mulling options

(Newser) - Reversing course, the Fed is considering a bailout package to help boost the liquidity of suddenly beleaguered AIG, even as the mega-insurer's ex-CEO considers a move to take control through a proxy fight or buyout, Bloomberg reports. In a regulatory filing, Hank Greenberg, who retired under pressure in 2005, says... More »

Denial Exacerbated Meltdown

Banks, like homeowners, refused to believe how bad things really are

(Newser) - 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... More »

Paulson Played Cards Well in High-Stakes Showdown

Paulson, remaining banks struggle to pull the market back together

(Newser) - Cue the Kenny Rogers, suggests Steve Pearlstein in the Washington Post; “Hank Paulson knows when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.” Paulson was so determined not to commit federal dollars to bail out Lehman Bros. that when the banks said they couldn't step in... More »

Goldman Profit Drops 70%, Still Beats Estimates

Revenue cut by half, but firm helped by less mortgage exposure

(Newser) - Amid the financial industry's meltdown, survivor Goldman Sachs reported that third-quarter profit plunged by 70% —the sharpest decline in its history as a public company, but still enough to beat estimates of $1.71 per share. The bank dipped 7% in New York trading, Bloomberg reports, after reporting an... More »

Markdown Sparked Lehman Meltdown; More to Come

Other firms could follow suit, meaning widespread losses

(Newser) - What caused two venerable investment banks to implode this weekend, and how much more damage can we expect? It started when Lehman Bros. surprised markets by slashing the valuation of its mortgage holdings last week, making downward revisions so steep that "even longtime bears on the stock thought the... More »

Get Set for Disorderly Lehman Liquidation

(Newser) - Barclay's dropping out of a Lehman deal means that the Feds lost a game of chicken with the big banks holding Lehman mortgages, and now there will be a disorderly liquidation of Lehman assets, instead of the orderly liquidation that would have been possible with a real buyer, James Cramer... More »

Medvedev Urges Calm in Russian Market Crisis

With stocks off big, bank chief warns of lack of liquidity

(Newser) - The Russian economy is skidding, and its leaders are giving somewhat contradictory messages, the AP reports. Shortly after President Dmitry Medvedev assured the public today that stock-market troubles don’t “reflect the actual state of the economy,” the chairman of the country’s central bank said “as... More »

Lehman: Finding a Buyer Will Be Tough

Experts worry there may be no one that can put the big deal together

(Newser) - Lehman Brothers is in the same bind as home sellers in a tight real estate market: they have a great asset for sale, but nobody has the money to buy, reports Bloomberg. The bank hopes to auction 55% of its asset-management fund, but experts say interested investors may not be... More »

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