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Bloomberg
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Jan 28, 08 1:20 PM CST
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Sales of new homes fell to a 12-year low in December, making 2007 the worst year on record for home sales. Economists had predicted November's numbers wouldn't get much worse; instead, sales decreased 4.7% to an annual rate of 604,000, reports Bloomberg. "We are in deep recession lows now in terms of new home sales and housing starts," says an economist.
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Bloomberg
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Jan 28, 08 12:40 PM CST
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The subprime flu that’s laid low Wall Street has infected another victim: IPOs. Because of market volatility, 24 IPOs have been shelved this month—the most in a decade, Bloomberg reports. Tommy Hilfiger Corp. highlights a roster of firms that postponed or canceled going public. The largest was Imperium Renewable, a biodiesel producer that says it abandoned its $345 million sale because of “unfavorable market conditions.''
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Financial Times (UK)
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Jan 28, 08 10:55 AM CST
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With a global recession looming, the head of the IMF has warned bankers meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that lower interest rates alone won’t avert a crisis, the Financial Times reports. Dominique Strauss-Kahn called on governments to follow the US in easing fiscal policies, reversing a quarter-century of emphasis on tight spending. IMF forecasts due this week show a “serious slowdown” globally, he said.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jan 25, 08 11:30 AM CST
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Wall Street firms, battered by the collapsing subprime market, shored by their bottom lines by selling ownership stakes to foreign governments. Although the investments represent a significant change in the US economy, they drew little public criticism and no government intervention. That reaction—or lack thereof—follows years of lobbying by overseas governments and large American financial firms, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Times (UK)
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Jan 25, 08 7:59 AM CST
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An upbeat, optimistic Bill Gates livened up the dour World Economic Forum in Davos with a speech on "creative capitalism" and a pledge of $306 million to support African agriculture. After two days of muttering about the subprime fallout and an American recession, Gates told delegates yesterday to cast off their fear and construct "a new system with the twin mission of making profits and improving lives of those who don’t benefit from market forces."
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CNBC
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Jan 24, 08 12:43 PM CST
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The revelation of enormous fraud by a rogue trader at Société Générale pushed other issues aside today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, CNBC reports. A panel on sovereign wealth funds turned into an impromptu discussion on repercussions of the $7.3 billion cover-up. The market turmoil that the SocGen scandal exacerbates led one delegate to say simply, "investment banks are horrendous."
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Wall Street Journal
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Jan 24, 08 9:29 AM CST
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The Fed’s emergency three-quarter percentage-point cut Tuesday to the short-term interest rate was a boon to US markets, but whether the Fed will go lower in its interest-rate lambada remains to be seen. Most analysts expect a half-point cut, to 3%, at the Fed's meeting Wednesday, reports the Wall Street Journal; some see the possibility of another three-quarters.
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Los Angeles Times
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Jan 23, 08 6:47 PM CST
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Foreclosures in California hit a new high in the final quarter of 2007, more than doubling the previous record. Nearly 32,000 foreclosures in the state in the year's final three months smashed the existing high set in 1996. Experts say that the rise in foreclosures stems at least partially from the sub-prime loan collapse, reports the Los Angeles Times.
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Chicago Tribune
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Jan 22, 08 8:27 PM CST
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America's pets are feeling the subprime fallout these days as more homeowners are foreclosing and abandoning them, the Chicago Tribune reports. A recent spate of deserted animals—including 24 horses on an Oklahoma farm, and 21 Great Danes left to die in Pennsylvania—inspired the national Humane Society to issue a plea: If you can't afford to keep pets, at least take them to a shelter.
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Washington Post
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Jan 22, 08 6:47 PM CST
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President Bush pushed his fiscal stimulus plan with lawmakers today and vowed the bipartisan group will find "common ground," the Washington Post reports. The economic boost—which he set at $150 billion—will not kick in overnight, he warned, but said congressional leaders must reach an accord in 3 weeks. That means checks would reach taxpayers and businesses in 5 or 6 months, analysts say.
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Times (UK)
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Jan 22, 08 10:55 AM CST
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A day after the chancellor of the exchequer announced new plans to accelerate the sale of Northern Rock, the British press sees serious trouble for Gordon Brown's government and no certainty that the taxpayers' $110 billion will be repaid. Anatole Kaletsky, a leading Times columnist who has been sympathetic to Labour in the past, is scathing: "Mr. Brown's career as a serious politician ended yesterday."
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Bloomberg
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Jan 22, 08 10:38 AM CST
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Stock markets around the world continued to hemorrhage today on worries the US would slide into recession, prompting finance ministers to warn that the slump is threatening EU growth. They revised forecasts downward for the 15-member EU, reports Bloomberg. “There is great concern about the financial crisis,” said the Belgian finance minister.
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Times (UK)
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Jan 21, 08 2:21 PM CST
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The British government today unveiled its last-gasp plan to hand off the Northern Rock hot potato and prevent nationalization, the London Times reports. Under the plan, the bank would immediately pay back the £25 billion it owes the government by selling the debt to private investors as bonds. But since the government is backing the bonds, taxpayers are still on the hook if the Rock defaults.
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Reuters
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Jan 18, 08 10:24 AM CST
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FCC head Kevin Martin registered concern this week about the impact of the credit crunch on the government auction of wireless airwaves scheduled to begin Jan. 24, Reuters reports. The auction, which Congress has ordered to go forward, comes at a time when the meltdown of housing and subprime mortgage markets has battered the ability of companies to raise capital.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jan 17, 08 12:33 PM CST
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After largely dodging the subprime bullet that tore through most of Wall Street’s big banks, JP Morgan Chase is looking to make a move, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buoyed by three years of cost cutting and refocusing its business, Morgan has nearly doubled its mortgage market, is flush with cash, and eager to expand through acquisition.
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CNN
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