financial crisis

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EU Signs New Fiscal Treaty
EU Signs New Fiscal Treaty 
Mar 2, 2012 3:14 AM CST

EU Signs New Fiscal Treaty

It's an attempt to prevent euro countries from running up huge debts

(Newser) - The leaders of 25 European states today signed a new treaty designed to prevent the 17 euro countries from living beyond their means and prevent a repeat of the currency union's crippling debt crisis. The leaders hope the accord, known as the fiscal compact, will also lead the way...

Eurozone Economy Shrinks
 Eurozone Economy Shrinks 
Feb 15, 2012 9:11 AM CST

Eurozone Economy Shrinks

Nine of 17 member states post a fall

(Newser) - For the first time since 2009, the eurozone economy contracted last quarter. The fourth quarter of 2011 saw the GDP shrink 0.3% compared to the third quarter; the last quarterly contraction occurred during the second quarter of 2009 when the GDP dropped 0.2%. Meanwhile, the GDP grew just...

Hey, Wall Street: Shut Up About Bonuses
 Hey, Wall Street: 
 Shut Up About Bonuses 
Matt Taibbi
Feb 9, 2012 1:06 PM CST

Hey, Wall Street: Shut Up About Bonuses

Matt Taibbi says bankers are still overpaid

(Newser) - Matt Taibbi was incredulous when he read a recent New York piece in which Wall Street denizens whined that Dodd-Frank was limiting their bonuses. "I watch what I spend," one banker lamented, "but my girlfriend likes to eat good food," which adds up fast. "Quelle ...

Students Revolt Against Big Bank Recruiting

Protests spread across Ivy League campuses

(Newser) - Half of those surveyed in Harvard's class of 2010 went into finance or consulting; at the University of Pennsylvania, the figure was even higher—and some students are fed up with the "brain drain." Inspired in part by the Occupy movement, students have launched protests against recruiting...

Feds to Charge Crooked Bond Traders

Ex-Credit Suisse traders accused of bonus-boosting fraud

(Newser) - Looks like it's payback week: Federal prosecutors are planning to file fraud charges against four former Credit Suisse traders accused of overstating the value of mortgage securities in order to boost their bonuses, the Wall Street Journal reports. The alleged fraud happened in early 2008 as problems with complex...

Greece Hires Out Ancient Ruins to Raise Cash

The Acropolis, the temple of Delphi, and Parthenon going for $2,070 a day

(Newser) - Debt-stricken Greece is taking an unprecedented step and exploiting its own magnificent history to raise cash and help its crippled economy. The Guardian reports that Greece is offering up its architectural masterpieces, including the Acropolis, the temple of Delphi, and the Parthenon, as backdrops for movies, commercials, and photo shoots—...

How Iceland Got Its Groove Back

Letting its banks perish worked out for island nation

(Newser) - Don't look now, but Iceland's economy is growing. Tourism is up, the standard of living remains high, and unemployment is down to 7%. "For a country whose entire financial system collapsed, Iceland is doing remarkably well," the IMF's mission chief there tells the Washington Post...

Too Many Skyscrapers Often Spells Doom: Barclays

So look out India and China

(Newser) - Barclays Capital fears impending financial crises in China and India, based on ... skyscrapers. The tall buildings are linked to such crises, and China and India are building a lot of them, the investment bank explains in its annual Skyscraper Index. A "skyscraper building boom" often reflects "a widespread...

Lehman Lives on— and It's Getting Bigger

Financial giants refuse to die, Steven Davidoff explains

(Newser) - You might remember Lehman Brothers from its starring role in kicking off 2008's financial crisis by declaring bankruptcy, and hence, you might think it is dead and buried. But you'd be wrong, writes Steven Davidoff in the New York Times : Lehman is actually still shambling around, zombie-like, and...

ECB Makes Massive $639B Loan to Banks

For a period of three years

(Newser) - The European Central Bank loaned a massive $639 billion to 523 banks for an exceptionally long period of three years to steady a financial system that is under pressure from the euro zone debt crisis. It is the biggest ECB infusion of credit into the banking system in the 13-year...

4 House Members Scored Countrywide VIP Deals

Issa calls for ethics probe of lawmakers who received discounted loans

(Newser) - At least four current members of the House of Representatives received discounted loans under Countrywide Financial's VIP program, according to Rep. Darrell Issa. The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee did not name the lawmakers who received sweetened deals from the now defunct lender—whose subprime mortgages were...

S&P to Put Euro Zone on Credit Watch

Announcement likely after markets close

(Newser) - A person familiar with the matter says Standard & Poor's is examining the credit rating of all 17 euro zone countries for a possible downgrade as the continent's debt crisis lingers. The person said today that S&P is likely to make an announcement on putting the euro...

Ex-Banker: Yeah, Collapse Was Our Fault
Ex-Banker: Yeah, Collapse Was Our Fault
Nicholas Kristof
Dec 1, 2011 10:08 AM CST

Ex-Banker: Yeah, Collapse Was Our Fault

So why haven't homeowners been bailed out?

(Newser) - If you were trying to get a loan in southern Florida in 2007, bankers like James Theckston were there to help. "If you had some old bag lady walking down the street and she had a decent credit score, she got a loan," Chase's then-regional VP of...

More Than 2 Years Later, Secrets of Bailout Emerge

Banks took in billions of dollars, even as they claimed to be healthy

(Newser) - For more than two years, the Fed and the banks it bailed out during the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis have kept many of the details of the massive, multi-trillion-dollar bailout a secret. But, thanks to Freedom of Information Act requests, 29,000 pages of bailout details are pouring out...

Ex-AIG CEO Sues US Over Bailout

They say takeover violated investors' fifth amendment rights

(Newser) - Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg is suing the US government for $25 million for having the effrontery to bail out the dying insurer. Greenberg was ousted in 2005 after allegedly cooking AIG’s books to inflate its value, but still had a keen interest in the company during the bailout,...

Berlusconi Quits; Hecklers Shout, 'Buffoon!'

Musicians perform chorus of Handel's 'Alleluia'

(Newser) - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned today after parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis. A chorus of Handel's "Alleluia," performed by a few dozen...

As Vote Looms, Strike Shutters Greece 2nd Day

Austerity measures likely to pass despite enraged public

(Newser) - A general strike paralyzed Greece a second day as outraged protesters gathered by the tens of thousands outside parliament today, where lawmakers prepared to vote on intensely unpopular austerity measures needed to secure the next $11 billion installment from the international rescue loans that have so far prevented the country...

Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy Hammer Out Deal to Recapitalize Banks
 Merkel, Sarko Reach Bank Deal 
Oct 9, 2011 11:50 AM CDT

Merkel, Sarko Reach Bank Deal

Mum on details, will pitch to EU leaders this month

(Newser) - The leaders of Germany and France, the eurozone's two biggest economies, say they have reached agreement on strengthening Europe's shaky banking sector. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she and French President Nicolas Sarkozy "are determined to do the necessary to ensure the recapitalization of Europe's banks....

Moody's Also Drops Italy's Credit Rating

Cites woes with the euro, not Italy itself

(Newser) - Moody’s followed Standard & Poor’s lead and downgraded Italy’s credit rating yesterday, slashing it from Aa2 to A2 and setting its outlook to “negative,” meaning it envisions more cuts to come. Moody’s said its decision wasn’t based on Italy’s government finances, but...

As Default Looms, Strike Paralyzes Greece

'We've lost everything,' says striker as thousands protest austerity measures

(Newser) - The biggest strike in months has brought Greece to a standstill and tens of thousands of workers are taking to the streets of Athens. The strike, organized by the country's two biggest unions, is in response to the tough austerity measures unveiled earlier this week , reports the Los Angeles ...

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