Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

News Sections

Newser Specials

The Big Banks

Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Feb 15, 08 8:07 AM CST by D Lim | View history

Rate it:

Print

E-mail

|

Digg

Seed this on Newsvine

Add this link to Del.icio.us

StumbleUpon

| Edit thread | Notify editors | + Start a new thread

The Big Banks

The financial services giants have taken enormous hits in the subprime mortgage crisis this year, but 2008 is expected to be a very good year for the Street

Stories

Stories 61 - 80 of 138

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next >>

January 2008
- From Rogue Trader to Left-Wing Hero
  
  newser | Guardian (UK) | Jan 27, 08 7:48 AM CST
  
  For a man who nearly sank one of the largest and most venerable banks in France, rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel has certainly won a lot of support, writes the Observer . In a country that remains weary of so-called "Anglo-Saxon" business models, the Société Générale banker now finds himself in the profoundly ironic position of anti-capitalist hero. More »
- Are Foreign Bailouts Good for the Economy?
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 25, 08 11:30 AM CST
  
  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. More »
- Did SocGen Crash the Markets and Dupe the Fed?
  
  newser | Financial Times (UK) | Jan 25, 08 8:55 AM CST
  
  When Société Générale execs uncovered the scale of rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel's fraud last weekend, they had no choice but to unwind his positions. And while they did warn French regulators, SocGen kept the Monday sell-off under wraps, to avoid even bigger losses than the $7 billion hit it took. So did the French bank's trades exacerbate the huge falls in the markets that day, asks the Financial Times, and trick the Fed into a rate cut? More »
- SocGen Fraud Dominates Davos Talks
  
  newser | CNBC | Jan 24, 08 12:43 PM CST
  
  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." More »
- SocGen Fraud: How Did One Man Lose $7B?
  
  newser | Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jan 24, 08 9:12 AM CST
  
  Société Générale has not named the trader responsible for the largest bank fraud in history—which caused the bank to announce a $7.16 billion writedown today—but the Telegraph reports that his responsibilities were modest. He took out "plain vanilla" futures on the European equities markets, betting against other traders to hedge risk. Instead he started to buy his own positions, then constructing fictional transactions to hide losses. More »
- SocGen Admits Biggest Ever Bank Fraud of $7.3B
  
  newser | Financial Times (UK) | Jan 24, 08 4:30 AM CST
  
  One of the world's largest banks has admitted epic-scale fraud by a rogue trader that has led to $7.3 billion in losses. French banking group Société Générale had to issue nearly $8 billion in emergency shares after the announcement of "serious" illegal activity by an "imprudent employee" working in the bank's investment banking division. The SocGen announcement represents a massive blow to already fragile investor confidence in the banking sector, writes the Financial Times. More »
- BoA Writes Down $5.28B; 4Q Net Income Drops 95%
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 22, 08 9:30 AM CST
  
  Bank of America said today its net income plummeted 95% in the fourth quarter, and it wrote down $5.28 billion in collateralized debt obligation. Net income for the largest retail bank and credit-card issuer was $268 million, or 5 cents per share, compared to $5.26 billion, or $1.16 a share, last year. The company had previously estimated write-downs in excess of $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- For Sale: These United States
  
  newser | New York Times | Jan 20, 08 10:41 AM CST
  
  Some Americans are outraged about illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border, but the New York Times' Maureen Dowd thinks that the breech of some financial boundaries are of greater concern. "Who’s going to own the American economy?" she asks, pointing to oil-rich countries taking advantage of the weak dollar to snap up US assets. More »
- Hawks Circling Subprime Carnage
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 17, 08 12:33 PM CST
  
  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. More »
- Merrill: $9.8B Loss on $11.5B Writedown
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jan 17, 08 6:31 AM CST
  
  Merrill Lynch reported a fourth-quarter loss of $9.8 billion, or $12.01 a share, nearly triple the per-share loss most analysts predicted, reports Bloomberg. It was the second straight losing quarter for the nation’s largest broker, and capped the company’s first full-year loss since 1989. Merrill said it took $11.5 billion in writedowns on subprime mortgage-related securities. More »
- For Hurting US Companies, World Supplies Band-Aid
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 16, 08 12:02 PM CST
  
  The subprime collapse has US financial institutions in uncharted waters—asking for help from foreign investors and governments, the Wall Street Journal reports. Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley all have recently sought bailouts, a dramatic switch from a tradition that saw US banks coming to the “rescue of nations and businesses across the world." More »
- JP Morgan Profit Drops 34% in Q4
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jan 16, 08 7:03 AM CST
  
  Subprime mortgage writedowns of $1.3 billion cut deeply into better-than-expected revenue gains at JP Morgan Chase in the fourth quarter, leaving the nation’s third-largest bank with net income of $2.97 billion, or 86 cents per share, a 34% drop from a year ago, reports Bloomberg. The writedown is a pittance compared to Citigroup’s $18.1 billion announced yesterday. More »
- Merrill Hauls in $6.6B Lifeline
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 15, 08 6:05 AM CST
  
  Merrill Lynch has reached into the deep pockets of foreign investors once again, pulling in a $6.6-billion lifeline today from a consortium of investors that include Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group and the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Wall Street Journal reports. In December, Merrill received a $5-billion cash infusion from a fund run by the government of Singapore. More »
- Citi Takes $9.83B Loss, $18B in Writedowns
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jan 15, 08 6:03 AM CST
  
  Citigroup announced $18 billion in writedowns and a $9.83-billion fourth-quarter loss today as a relentless torrent of mortgage defaults has brought the banking giant to its knees. The $1.99-per-share loss is the largest in Citi’s 196-year history, Bloomberg reports. Citi, struggling to recapitalize, also reported US and foreign investors—including Kuwait and Singapore—have agreed to a $14.5-billion cash infusion. More »
- Merrill Probed for 'Front Running' Trades
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 14, 08 8:28 AM CST
  
  Wall Street’s tarnished image is taking another hit as the SEC takes a look at whether Merrill Lynch put its own trades ahead of those from clients, specifically mutual-fund operator Fidelity Investments, a practice known as front-running, reports the Wall Street Journal . The probe is the newest development in a broader look at improper information sharing on Wall Street. More »
- China May Scuttle $2B Citigroup Bailout
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 14, 08 7:28 AM CST
  
  On the eve of Citigroup’s fourth-quarter earnings announcement, the Chinese government appears to have raised objections to China Development Bank's purchase of a $2 billion stake in the struggling financial giant, reports the Wall Street Journal . The proposed deal, reported by the Journal over the weekend, is part of an $8-billion to $10-billion infusion Citi has been trying to put together from a number of foreign investors. More »
- Investigators Ask: Did Banks Withhold Info?
  
  newser | New York Times | Jan 12, 08 4:35 PM CST
  
  Prosecutors are probing Wall Street banks to see if they ever revealed the risky nature of certain subprime mortgage investments, the New York Times reports. Industry experts are accusing the banks of turning high-risk loans, called exceptions, into investments without divulging details to investors and credit-rating agencies. One probe, led by New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, could lead to charges within weeks. More »
- BofA Faces Big Risks With Countrywide
  
  newser | New York Times | Jan 12, 08 1:18 PM CST
  
  For Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, buying beleaguered mortgage lender Countrywide Financial fits into his retail strategy to offer customers full-service banking and, in the process, sell additional services, reports the New York Times. But, whether BofA can cross-sell Countrywide’s customers aggressively enough to offset potential losses from the damaged lender’s mortgage business is a huge unknown. More »
- Saudi Prince, Chinese Bank to Back Citigroup
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jan 11, 08 6:02 PM CST
  
  A Saudi prince and one of China's government banks are expected to invest billions in Citigroup, the Wall Street Journal reports today. The China Development Bank is expected to pump in $2 billion, sources said; the amount billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal would front is yet to be determined, but would need to be below 5% of Citigroup's $140 billion value to avoid regulatory issues. More »
- Bank of America Buys Countrywide for $4B
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jan 11, 08 6:52 AM CST
  
  Bank of America, five months after throwing a $2 billion lifeline to rapidly sinking Countrywide Financial, will pay nearly $4 billion in stock to save the damaged mortgage lender. The deal makes BofA the nation's largest mortgage lender and loan servicer and should help build a bulwark against the still-spreading default crisis, the Wall Street Journal notes. But fund manager Eric Schopf tells Bloomberg: “I hope Bank of America isn’t throwing good money after bad.” More »

Stories 61 - 80 of 138

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next >>

(Index Open (http://www.indexopen.com))

(Index Open (http://www.indexopen.com))

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Related Threads

Subprime Collapse • Credit Market Chaos • Merrill Lynch • The Markets • Bear Stearns • A Billion Here... • Is It Recession? • SocGen Fraud • Mergers & Acquisitions • The Dow

More Recommend Reading

Citigroup
Citigroup
Bank of America
Bank of America
JPMorgan
JPMorgan
Chase
Chase
Wachovia
Wachovia
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.