credit crisis

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More Fed Help on the Way for Homeowners

More FHA-insured mortgages to be available for strapped consumers

(Newser) - Homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure are about to get a boost from the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA commissioner is expected to announce plans to expand an aid program that will allow borrowers saddled with negative equity to write down part of their mortgages and refinance their homes with cheaper...

Opposition Finally Backs New Chief for Bank of Japan

Shirakawa to fill critical spot as stalemate ends

(Newser) - The Democratic Party of Japan has accepted a new central banker just in time for the crucial meeting of G7 finance leaders in Washington on Friday, reports the International Business Times. The top spot has been vacant since March 19, leaving the bank vulnerable during an unsteady economic time. Masaaki...

Vulture Investors Circle Wall Street

Many hope to cash in on the chaos of the credit crunch

(Newser) - Like shoppers stalking deals at Filene’s Basement, savvy Wall Street vulture investors are swooping in to find deals among the carcasses of companies and investments felled by the subprime contagion, reports the New York Times. They're betting big—Blackstone Group just raised $10.9 billion from investors to buy...

Rogue Trader to Sue SocGen
 Rogue Trader to Sue SocGen 
Apr 3, 2008 8:49 AM CDT

Rogue Trader to Sue SocGen

Kerviel claims his accounts were in the black

(Newser) - The rogue trader whose $7.8 billion in transactions nearly sank Société Générale has filed papers in preparation for a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, the Times of London reports. Jérôme Kerviel will claim the French bank has failed to prove he did anything wrong. He was...

Agents Use 'Cash for Keys' to Stem Owner Vandalism

Foreclosed properties bear marks of parting shots

(Newser) - Banks and mortgage companies are hoping a “cash for keys” policy will stem a growing problem for lenders taking possession of foreclosed homes: dispossessed homeowners trashing their houses on the way out the door. Cheaper and faster than eviction proceedings, the policy is "win-win for both parties,"...

GDP Growth Weakest Since '02
 GDP Growth Weakest Since '02 
Mar 27, 2008 12:46 PM CDT

GDP Growth Weakest Since '02

0.6% increase matches estimates; markets still focused on credit issues

(Newser) - The US economy sputtered—as expected—in the fourth quarter of 2007, growing at the slowest rate since 2002, MarketWatch reports. Estimated growth of the US gross domestic product was 0.6% for the last three months of 2007, matching economists' forecasts. Consumer spending grew 2.3%, and exports increased...

Feds Must Ward Off Stagnation, Clinton Says

Says buying mortgages might be necessary to avoid prolonged skid

(Newser) - The government should step into the mortgage mess on a broader scale, Hillary Clinton told the Wall Street Journal yesterday, suggesting monetary policy alone can’t ignite a recovery and warning that procrastination could lead to stagnation similar to Japan’s weary economy. Clinton said the Federal Housing Administration should...

Bankrupt Lender's Audit Lapses 'Mind Boggling'

Bankrupt subprime lender, auditor ripped in report on business practices

(Newser) - Auditors at now-bankrupt New Century Financial—once one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders and one of the earliest to fail—were accused of “mind boggling” lapses in a Justice Department report on the debacle released yesterday. Partners at accounting firm KPMG are said to have ignored “...

Stocks Fall on Recession Fears
  Stocks Fall on Recession Fears 
MARKETS
Mar 26, 2008 3:39 PM CDT

Stocks Fall on Recession Fears

Citigroup's big drop keys bad day for financials

(Newser) - Stocks fell today amid a new wave of recession concerns, Bloomberg reports. A big drop by Citigroup led financials to their worst plunge in almost two weeks, and oil prices jumped back up after inventory showed supply unchanged from last week. The Dow ended down 109.74 to 12,422....

Could the Credit Crunch Sink a Whole Country?

Iceland frets about collapse as interest rates spike to 15%

(Newser) - The global credit crisis has spelled disaster for banks and hedge funds, but now worry is mounting that an entire country could go under. Yesterday the central bank of Iceland was forced to raise its interest rate 1.25 percentage points to 15% at an emergency meeting, reports the Financial ...

The Great Depression It's Not
 The Great Depression It's Not 
Analysis
Mar 25, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

The Great Depression It's Not

What if the end isn't near for the global economy?

(Newser) - Certainly, the 8-month-old credit crisis is serious, but the market turmoil is unlikely to kick off the next Great Depression, financial markets editor Mike Dolan writes for Reuters. "You could be forgiven for thinking we will all soon be hoarding food and reverting to a barter economy," he...

Bad Credit News Means Good Tidings for Analysts

Demand for financial insight buoys Breaking Views, other sites

(Newser) - The Bear Stearns crisis was bad news for many, but it was good news—or at least good business—for financial analysts at London-based Breaking Views. The credit crunch is increasing demand for the company’s financial insights, offered online and, through various partnerships, in print. Breaking Views is seizing...

'Regulation' No Longer a Dirty Word in DC

Wall St. woes, toy and food scares have pols of all stripes on board

(Newser) - "Regulation" is becoming less of a dirty word in Washington in the wake of the mortgage meltdown, woes on Wall Street, and scares over tainted food and toys. Many Democrats and even some Republicans want a shift from voluntary industry standards in vogue since the Reagan administration. "We're...

Wall Street Sneezes; Heartland Catches Cold

Worries about a recession are hitting home with Americans

(Newser) - The high-profile economic woes plaguing Wall Street and previously hot housing markets are spreading, raising the possibility of the worst recession Americans have faced in years. The New York Times crisscrosses the country, assembling anecdotal evidence—suddenly thrifty brides, unsold construction equipment, sinking earnings at FedEx—that suggests the slowdown...

Japan Faces Credit Crisis With No Central Bank Governor

Political standoff leaves BoJ top job vacant

(Newser) - When markets are in chaos and currencies are fluctuating wildly, central bankers jump in to try to provide stability, as Ben Bernanke has done at the Fed. But in Tokyo a political standoff has left the Bank of Japan without a leader at the worst possible moment, reports the AFP....

Northern Rock: Post Mortem of a Spectacular Fall

Reckless play on global stage brought 'Northern Wreck' to its knees

(Newser) - The collapse of Northern Rock, Britains third-largest lender, was "the messiest banking crisis in the Western world resulting from the global credit crunch,'' a UK lawmaker tells Bloomberg in a post mortem of the disaster. “They really screwed it up,” said one analyst of the bank’...

Rogue Traders Bag $200M in Credit Hysteria

False emails drive down stock of UK mortgage lender

(Newser) - The UK's financial regulator is probing whether malicious traders attacked the share price of the country's largest mortgage lender yesterday by spreading rumors it faced a major liquidity crisis. The Telegraph reports that HBOS saw its shares plunge 20% as an email circulated suggesting the firm was facing trouble. The...

Bear Stearns Hires Trauma Counselors

Bank's employees facing loss of savings, jobs after buyout

(Newser) - Bear Stearns will provide grief counseling for employees facing decimated stock holdings, and the possible loss of their jobs, after the bank's sale to JP Morgan, ABC News reports. "Anything that effects human behavior or emotions at work are the areas where we focus," says one such professional....

Crisis Is More of Confidence Than Credit
Crisis Is More
of Confidence Than Credit
ANALYSIS
Mar 19, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

Crisis Is More of Confidence Than Credit

Times scribe connects dots from housing boom to Bear Stearns

(Newser) - The credit crisis that’s roiled financial markets has its genesis in the housing boom that began in 1998, David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times. The boom led lenders to create new financing options—including subprime loans—as investors saw potential for huge returns. Low interest rates encouraged...

Interest Soars Sky-High in Visa's $18B IPO

Record-breaking debut could mark turning point for markets

(Newser) - Visa pulled in almost $18 billion in its initial public offering yesterday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The credit card company's IPO was the biggest by far in US history and the second biggest ever. The $44-per-share price investors paid was $2 higher than the company's highest estimate, and the...

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