November 2008

Ronald Reagan once said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" Keep those words in mind as the government bailout grows to about $7 tn, and federal officials improvise on the run. We are still seeing the running (away) of the bulls, as shares in the financial sector continue to resemble a gigantic turkey ... read more

Despite the gushing fire hydrant of liquidity that the US government has pointed at banks, a new wave of bank writedowns could cause a wipe out of these funds. In the fourth quarter alone, banks are expected to incur $44 bn in write-downs and loss provisions, says Meredith Whitney, Wall Street's top analyst on the banking and brokerage sector at Oppenheimer Equity Research. On top of ... read more

The Federal Reserve, the US Treasury Dept. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have agreed to help bail out $306 bn in risky loans and securities backed by residential and commercial real estate assets at Citigroup, in an unprecedented intervention to rescue what was once the country's largest bank. Insiders say the bank may have no choice but to break itself up in a dramatic ... read more

The Big Three automakers' chief executives testified before Congress today, blaming the credit crisis for their downfall.  But Richard Wagoner, CEO of General Motors (GM) did not use the credit crisis as an excuse for the company's poor profits when he wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal in December 2005.  In his opinion piece, which came amidst record sales, he blamed not the ... read more

Dear Dazed and Confused, Why not declare to the Federal Reserve that you and your family now face "unusual and exigent circumstances" and that you would now like to register with the government as "Home Sweet Home Bank"? You deserve a break, you deserve some government money just like every other sector now holding out a tin cup to the government, right?  Why not, as the government's ... read more