By Martin Hutchinson Contributing Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report Commentators are tripping over one another to declare this country or that country's stimulus package as a primary reason to pour money into its stock market. Yet if you look at the highly damaging long-term effects of such loose monetary and fiscal policies, an investor […]
Archives for January 2009
January 2009 - Page 8 of 12 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
Bernanke Casts Doubt on Stimulus, Says Fed May Buy Toxic Assets to Loosen Credit
By Don MillerContributing WriterMoney Morning Warning that the timing of an economic recovery is "highly uncertain," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday (Tuesday) that an economic stimulus program might not be enough to do the job. Bernanke went on to say that the government might have to buy or guarantee banks' toxic assets […]
U.S. Trade Deficit Narrowed by Spending Slump and Plunging Oil Prices
By Jason SimpkinsManaging EditorMoney Morning A sharp decrease in consumer spending and plunging oil prices drove the U.S. trade deficit to a five-year low in November. But even though a shrinking trade deficit, at face value, is good news for the United States, it is still evidence of an economy in dire straits. The monetary […]
How Deregulation Eviscerated the Banking Sector Safety Net and Spawned the U.S. Financial Crisis
No one person is responsible for the credit crisis, the failure of investment banks, the insolvency of commercial banks world-wide, the implosion of the world's stock markets, or for leading us to the precipice of another great depression.
The truth is there were many.
Fundamental and pragmatic banking regulations, which arose from the devastating financial collapses of the Great Depression, for decades strengthened U.S. banks and capital markets, making them the twin engines of American growth and the envy of the world.
Obama Requests Release of Second Half of $350 Billion TARP
By William Patalon IIIExecutive EditorMoney Morning/The Money Map Report President-elect Barack Obama yesterday (Monday) asked Congress to release the remaining $350 billion in bank bailout money that's part of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In a letter addressed to the leadership of both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, top […]
Global Investment News Roundups
Rio Tinto Slows Expansion; Foreign Real Estate Investors Bullish; Abbott Laboratories Buys Advanced Medical Optics; Congo Jacks Primary Rate to 55%; Ford May Need TARP; LG Chem Gets a Charge from GM With steel demand falling, Rio Tinto Group PLC (ADR: RTP) said it will postpone its $2.15 billion expansion of the Brazil's Corumba iron-ore […]
How Subprime Borrowing Fueled the Credit Crisis
By Shah Gilani Contributing Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report Once upon a time, generous-minded social engineering resulted in the Community Reinvestment Act, which forced banks to lend to disadvantaged borrowers who otherwise couldn't get mortgages to buy homes. But because these potential borrowers were financially disadvantaged, they also represented a bigger credit risk. Banks […]
How Wall Street Manufactures Financial Services Products
By Shah Gilani Contributing Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report Wall Street bankers create products like any other manufacturer seeking to sell goods or services for a profit. The products those bankers create are financial instruments and the services they sell include advisory services, which they provide to investors and use to sell their financial […]
Fed Pressure Factors into Morgan Stanley/Citigroup Venture
By Don MillerContributing WriterMoney Morning Morgan Stanley (MS) and Citigroup Inc. (C) are about to launch a joint venture of their brokerage units in a move that may be motivated as much by a desire to placate impatient government overseers as by financial imperatives. The deal's no surprise to Wall Street, since Citigroup has chalked […]
GM, Ford Antsy to Unload Saab and Volvo Sale
By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Money Morning Cash-strapped and facing falling sales, automakers General Motors Corp. (GM) and Ford Motor Co. (F) said they are actively trying to sell their non-profitable Swedish brands Saab and Volvo. Ford's chief executive Alan Mulally said the company has been in talks with a handful of potential bidders for […]