financial crisis

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Battered Markets Crawl Into 2009
 Battered Markets
 Crawl Into 2009 
ANALYSIS
Jan 1, 2009 9:22 AM CST

Battered Markets Crawl Into 2009

2008 finishes as the worst year for the Dow since 1931

(Newser) - Weary relief that 2008 was finally over greeted the final bell at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, but shaken investors worry about what 2009 holds, the New York Times reports. The final tally confirmed that the year was the worst for stockholders since the Great Depression. Stock plunges across...

Bailout Success Will Teach Wrong Lesson
Bailout Success Will Teach Wrong Lesson
OPINION
Jan 1, 2009 5:03 AM CST

Bailout Success Will Teach Wrong Lesson

Rescuing firms from mess they created will send message that bills don't need to be paid

(Newser) - America needs to learn some hard lessons that a $700 billion bailout of the economy isn't going to teach, David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post. If the the country manages to dodge a depression, the message will be that irresponsible behavior brings a rescue, and that bills don't need...

Dumbest Gaffes on the Economy

Instead of predicting financial crisis, they hid it

(Newser) - The men who should have been warning us about the impending financial crisis were a wee bit off the mark at times. MSNBC rounds up some of the dumbest things said:
  • "Subprime market problems seem likely to be contained."—Ben Bernanke, March 28, 2007
  • "The fundamentals
...

Obama to Market Stimulus Plan

Republicans hoping to delay bill may filibuster

(Newser) - The incoming Obama administration plans to launch a nationwide political push for a quick passage of his $775 billion economic stimulus plan, the Los Angeles Times reports. Says adviser David Axelrod: “There shouldn't be endless debate about it.” Republicans acknowledge that they can’t stop his plan, but...

All New York Will Feel Wall Street's Pain

Mayor rolls out plans to hike taxes, cut services and ax 20,000 city jobs

(Newser) - All American cities are facing budget shortfalls because of the recession, but Wall Street's meltdown has decimated New York City's tax base, Michael Bloomberg said yesterday in announcing plans to slash 20,000 city jobs, cut services and raise taxes.  The aim is to reduce an expected $4 billion...

AIG's Downfall, Part 2: 'Almost Free Money'

Credit default swaps change the game

(Newser) - According to the computer models, credit default swaps almost couldn’t fail. They were the latest derivative contract in 1998, and AIG Financial Products decided to get on board, the Washington Post reports, in the second part of its series on the insurer’s self-destruction. When AIG struck its first...

Liz Claiborne CEO Flies Coach to Cut Costs

And he may soon have company

(Newser) - Like most CEOs, William McComb is a jet-setter, flying 200,000 miles a year, give or take. But unlike most CEOs, he does it in the cheap seats, flying exclusively on commercial jets, and almost always in coach. “Every penny counts,” he reasons, given that his company, Liz...

Pawn Shops Attract Upscale Clientele

(Newser) - Pawn shops are turning from the shady realm of the lower class to a place for rich people to get loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The typical household income of a pawn shop customer is $29,000, but new middle- and upper-class clients are surging. One such client pawned...

Housing Bust Makes Divorce Too Costly for Many Couples

Couples stick it out as tough market makes splitting too expensive

(Newser) - Breaking up is hard to do, but in a housing bust it can be well nigh impossible. With one in six homes worth less than the mortgage owed on it, couples on the skids are finding divorce plans scuttled by an inability to sell the marital home. And with job...

Home Prices Take Another Nose-Dive

Fall record 18% in year to October

(Newser) - Home prices in 20 US cities plunged 18% in October over the previous year, a record-breaking rate, Bloomberg reports. The S&P/Case-Shiller index, which has declined every month since January 2007, dropped 17.2% in September. "The bear market continues; home prices are back to their March 2004 levels,...

The Pride of Russia, Tanking Gazprom Seeks Bailout

A symbol of Moscow's resurgence a year ago, the natural gas giant is foundering

(Newser) - Just a year ago, Russian natural gas titan Gazprom was burning through global competition on its way to becoming the world's largest corporation. Now the state-owned darling of investors worldwide is deep in debt and flirting with a government bailout. A symbol of Russia’s resurgence as a global economic...

GMAC Grabs $6B Federal Lifeline

Government uses bailout funds used to buy stake in auto finance giant

(Newser) - The federal government is dishing out a $6 billion bailout to keep auto financing giant GMAC afloat, the New York Times reports. The Treasury Department will spend $5 billion to buy a stake in the former General Motors subsidiary, and will loan GM a further billion so the company can...

Recession Shutters Famed Yale Club

Mory's has closed until further notice

(Newser) - Mory's, a legendary Yale University eating and drinking club that traces its roots to the Civil War—and whose membership includes two presidents named Bush—is the latest victim of the recession. A list of patrons that has included the likes of Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, and Jodie Foster hasn't...

How AIG Destroyed Itself (Part I)

Part 1

(Newser) - The roots of the current financial crisis can be traced back to a series of lunches and late-night dinners between two relatively unknown junk-bond traders 20 years ago. Howard Sosin and Randy Rackson had a plan to change the way the financial world did business, provided they could find a...

Sloppy Lehman Bankruptcy Killed Billions in Value

Speedy process leaves creditors hanging

(Newser) - Had Lehman Brothers been more careful in its bankruptcy filing, it could have held on to as much as $75 billion that was destroyed in the process, the firm’s head restructuring agents say. A better-planned filing would have allowed the sale of some assets outside of court proceedings and...

Keep State's Woes From Dragging Down Economy
Keep State's Woes From Dragging Down Economy
OPINION
Dec 29, 2008 10:13 AM CST

Keep State's Woes From Dragging Down Economy

Now is no time to require balanced budgets

(Newser) - When the economy goes south, the government has no business aiming for a balanced budget. But all 50 governors are faced with slashing spending to do so, and “at the expense both of their most vulnerable constituents and of the nation’s economic future,” Paul Krugman writes in...

Lawyers Are Big Winners in Bailout
Lawyers Are
Big Winners
in Bailout
Dec 29, 2008 8:00 AM CST

Lawyers Are Big Winners in Bailout

Veterans of S&L bailouts in catbird seat in current crisis

(Newser) - For a tight-knit group of former top government officials, the current financial crisis is a golden opportunity. Veterans of the savings and loan bailout of the 1990s, these operatives, now mostly lawyers and bank advisers, are doing a brisk business telling clients how to profit from the meltdown, the New ...

No Revival in Sight for Battered Broadway

Economic downturn makes investors nervous and theatergoers thrifty

(Newser) - The economic crisis has produced plenty of drama, but it means a bust for Broadway, the Los Angeles Times reports. Investors are jittery about backing just about anything, theaters are cutting costs, and some shows are shutting down early or canceling their openings. "What we had was a small...

US Schools Need Finance 101
 US Schools Need Finance 101 
OPINION
Dec 28, 2008 10:55 AM CST

US Schools Need Finance 101

Kids should learn basics to help avert crises

(Newser) - There are complex reasons behind the financial crisis, but one is key: When it comes to money, we’re idiots, Peter Applebome writes in the New York Times. “Insofar as there is a lesson in history,” says an analyst, “it’s that human beings are not very...

Struggling Ohio Gets in Line for Federal Help

Governor seeks $5B from stimulus, says he's not 'crying wolf'

(Newser) - Ted Strickland recently put in a call to Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s incoming chief of staff. “Rahm, it’s Ted,” the Ohio governor said. “You’ve never failed me, and I need $5 billion.” Such is the desperation in Ohio, one of many states seeking...

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