World The Economy of Fail - The Latest Financial Crisis News Thread

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U.S. bank stocks soar on optimism but retreat on Amex

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. bank stocks, which had their best week on record last week, powered higher amid optimism they can soon return to profitability, only to give back their gains after American Express Co (AXP.N) said more credit card customers are missing payments.

The KBW Bank Index .BKX of large lenders, which rose 37.4 percent last week, gave back all of their early 8.1 percent gain, and finished down 0.2 percent.

American Express said its "net write-off" rate rose to 8.7 percent as of the end of February from 8.3 percent a month earlier, while its percentage of loans at least 30 days past due rose to 5.3 percent from 5.1 percent.

The credit card and travel services company has long focused on wealthier clients, but in recent years reached out to less affluent borrowers. This strategy paid off earlier this decade as credit availability expanded, but has since resulted in growing credit losses.

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Nokia to cut 1,700 jobs in sinking phone market

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia Oyj will slash 1,700 jobs globally over the coming few months because of falling demand, the world's top cellphone maker said on Tuesday.

Nokia said in January it aimed to cut annual costs at its key handset unit alone by more than 700 million euros ($909.3 million) to counter the plunging demand.

Nokia said on Tuesday that, in addition to its handset unit, it would also cut jobs in its marketing unit, corporate development office and global support functions.

Up to 700 jobs would be cut in Finland.

 

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Senator suggests AIG execs should kill themselves

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley suggested that AIG executives should take a Japanese approach toward accepting responsibility for the collapse of the insurance giant by resigning or killing themselves.

The Republican lawmaker's harsh comments came during an interview with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, radio station WMT on Monday. They echo remarks he has made in the past about corporate executives and public apologies, but went further in suggesting suicide.

"I suggest, you know, obviously, maybe they ought to be removed," Grassley said. "But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.

"And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology."

 

[The Helper]

Caterpillar lays off 2,454 workers in 3 states

PITTSBURGH – Caterpillar Inc. announced a fresh round of job cuts Tuesday, laying off more than 2,400 employees at five plants in Illinois, Indiana and Georgia as the heavy equipment maker continues to cut costs amid the global economic downturn.

Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment, has seen its sales wither as the sluggish world economy and credit crises weaken demand for its products used to build everything from houses to highways. The company had expanded dramatically in recent years, helped by a building boom in developing countries.

In response to the worsening conditions, Caterpillar in January announced job cuts that will ultimately eliminate 20,000 positions. It also said it would slash executive compensation by up to 50 percent and offer buyouts to about 25,000 U.S.-based employees. Caterpillar, which employs about 112,000 people worldwide, said it had imposed a global hiring freeze.

In the latest cuts, the Peoria, Ill.-based company said 2,365 support and management workers had been laid off for at least six months and 89 workers had been let go permanently. Some 245 of the 2,365 layoffs had been announced previously.

 

[The Helper]

U.S. housing starts surge, inflation slower

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly rebounded in February, according to data on Tuesday that provided a rare dose of good news for the recession-hit economy and fractured housing market.

The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped 22.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units from 477,000 units in January. That was the biggest percentage rise since January 1990 and also marked the first increase since last April.

"That is an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy. It is good signal of what is to come. With the rally in equities we hopefully have seen a bottom for the economy here," said Matt Esteve, foreign exchange trader at Tempus Consulting in Washington.

U.S. stocks have been on the rise over the last several days and the major indexes opened flat on Tuesday. U.S. government bond prices trimmed gains after the data and the U.S. dollar fell against the euro as risk aversion eased.

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[The Helper]

FedEx 3Q earnings tumble on weak global economy

NEW YORK (AP) -- FedEx said Thursday its fiscal third-quarter profit tumbled 75 percent as severe weakness in the global economy offset the benefit of lower fuel prices. The company said it will eliminate more jobs and make other cutbacks to deal with the ongoing economic slowdown.

The Memphis, Tenn.-based company, often seen as a bellwether for the U.S. economy, said it earned $97 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $393 million, or $1.26 a year earlier.

Revenue fell 14 percent to $8.14 billion, from $9.44 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 46 cents per share on revenue of $8.65 billion.

 

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US stock rally fades as investors assess Fed moves

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors doused a two-week-old stock rally Thursday as concerns emerged that the Federal Reserve's new bond-buying campaign could wind up hurting the dollar and causing inflation.

Banking and other financial shares pulled the market lower, but energy stocks got a boost from soaring crude oil prices.

The retreat came a day after stocks surged in reaction to the Fed's aggressive plans to pump more than $1 trillion into the financial system by buying Treasury bonds and stepping up its purchases of other debt securities. The aim is to lower borrowing rates and stimulate lending.

On Thursday, investors began to digest the possible downsides of the Fed's program such as a potentially weaker dollar. That can lead to higher prices for commodities such as oil and grains, and eventually everyday products like gas and food.

 

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China calls for new reserve currency

China’s central bank on Monday proposed replacing the US dollar as the international reserve currency with a new global system controlled by the International Monetary Fund.

In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank’s governor, said the goal would be to create a reserve currency “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies”.

Analysts said the proposal was an indication of Beijing’s fears that actions being taken to save the domestic US economy would have a negative impact on China.

“This is a clear sign that China, as the largest holder of US dollar financial assets, is concerned about the potential inflationary risk of the US Federal Reserve printing money,” said Qu Hongbin, chief China economist for HSBC.

Read the news here.

 

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U.S. Markets Wrap: S&P 500 Caps Biggest 10-Day Gain Since 1938

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied, capping the market’s steepest two-week gain since 1938, as investors speculated the Obama administration’s plan to rid banks of toxic assets will spur growth and investor Mark Mobius said a new bull market has begun. Treasuries and the dollar fell.

Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. both soared at least 19 percent as the U.S. Treasury said it will finance as much as $1 trillion in purchases of distressed assets. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. jumped more than 6.7 percent after oil rose to an almost four-month high. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index extended its rebound from a 12-year closing low on March 9 to 22 percent as all 10 of its main industry groups advanced.

“You have to be careful not to miss the opportunity,” said Mobius, who helps oversee about $20 billion of emerging- market assets as executive chairman at San Mateo, California- based Templeton Asset Management Ltd. “With all the negative news, there is a tendency to hold back,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Hong Kong.

The S&P 500 gained 7.1 percent to 822.92, its biggest increase since Oct. 28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 497.48 points, or 6.8 percent, to a five-week high of 7,775.86. The MSCI World Index climbed for the ninth time in 10 days, adding 5.4 percent. Twenty-one stocks rose for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, the broadest rally since at least July 2004.

 

[The Helper]

Oil climbs above $54 on stock market rally

HOUSTON (AP) - Oil prices topped $54 a barrel Monday, getting a boost from stock investors who seemed hopeful a new plan to resolve the nation's banking crisis would spur economic growth. Better-than-expected housing news helped too.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.73 to settle at $53.80 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, continuing its upward momentum. Prices climbed as high as $54.05 earlier in the session.

 

[The Helper]

World markets surge as US data boost recovery hope

HONG KONG (AP) - World stock markets soared Thursday, with Hong Kong's benchmark vaulting more than 7 percent, as stronger-than-expected U.S. economic figures boosted confidence the world's largest economy is on the mend.

Huge gains in Asia and a strong open in Europe followed an overnight surge on Wall Street and extended last month's rebound in world equity markets amid tentative signs of stabilization in the hard-hit global economy and banking industry. It came as Group of 20 leaders met in London for a summit that aims to hammer out policies to combat the economic slump and reform the global financial system.

Nearly every sector in Asia charged higher, with carmakers like Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) rallying on U.S. auto figures that were less dismal than feared. Exporters such as Sony Corp. (SNE) were lifted by the weakening yen.

Investors were encouraged after U.S. car sales jumped by nearly 25 percent last month from February, beating the typical rise and underpinning hopes of a turnaround in the American auto market - critical for Asia's giant auto companies.

 

[The Helper]

Unemployment Rate Hits Highest Level Since 1983

Despite better-than-expected reports on everything from housing to manufacturing this week, recession-wary U.S. companies are still shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs. The government reported that the nation's employers cut 663,000 workers in March, pushing the unemployment rate up to 8.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years.

Since the recession began in December, 2007, 5.1 million jobs have been lost, with almost two-thirds of the decrease -- 3.3 million job cuts -- occurring in the last five months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

"The ramifications of the financial crisis have been broadly spread across the whole country, wherever you are, whatever industry, whatever kind of job you have," said Steve Cochrane, managing director of Moody's Economy.com.

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[The Helper]

GM Said to Speed Bankruptcy Plans as Board Crafts Savings Goals

April 6 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. is speeding up preparations for a possible bankruptcy filing even as directors seek deeper savings this week to avoid that outcome, people familiar with the plans said.

The bankruptcy readiness focuses on forming a new company from GM’s best assets if necessary, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. The cost-cut discussions center on how to go beyond GM’s proposal to slash debt by 46 percent and shed 47,000 jobs in 2009, and will include talks with Treasury officials, the people said.

The moves are a response to President Barack Obama’s March 30 rejection of GM’s bid to keep $13.4 billion in federal loans. With bondholders and the United Auto Workers balking at concessions, a push for more savings makes bankruptcy more “probable,” Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson has said.

GM’s board met today and yesterday, and more discussions are planned inside GM and with the Obama administration, the people said. Obama gave the biggest U.S. automaker 60 days to restructure, without specifying what steps were needed to stem $82 billion in losses since 2004.

 

[The Helper]

China auto sales surpass US for 3rd month

SHANGHAI (AP) - Preliminary figures show auto sales in China reached about 1.03 million in March, exceeding U.S. sales for the third month in a row, state media reports said Wednesday.

Data from 14 major auto makers, accounting for roughly 90 percent of total sales, totaled 1.026 million, the Shanghai Securities News and other state-run newspapers said, citing Chen Bin, head of the Department of Industry at China's main economic planning agency.

Full industry data due to be released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers in coming days could push March auto sales in China, the world's second-largest auto market, to a monthly record, the reports said.

China's industrywide auto sales in March 2008 totaled 1.06 million, it said.

 

[The Helper]

Govt. May Spend More than $4 Trillion but Economy Faces 'Prolonged Weakness,'

Though some economic measures are improving, the financial crisis "is far from over" and "appears to be taking root in the larger economy."

On the six month anniversary of the passage of the bill that created the Treasury Department's $700 billion to bail out the financial sector, the congressional panel charged with overseeing the bailout released a report predicting prolonged weakness for the U.S. economy.

This, despite the government's commitment to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars on a massive bailout of the financial system.

These were the findings released in a report today by the Congressional Oversight Panel, the body charged with overseeing the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion plan aimed at bailing out the country's financial sector.

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Wells Fargo projects record $3 billion 1Q profit

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wells Fargo & Co. said Thursday it expects record first-quarter earnings of $3 billion, easily surpassing analysts' estimates and providing an encouraging sign for the banking industry.

Wells Fargo is the first major bank to give an indication of how the first-quarter looked, and the unexpectedly upbeat news gave an immediate boost to stock futures. Several pessimistic forecasts about potential loan losses have jolted the market in recent days, and investors have been anxious as Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all report next week.

Wells Fargo's stock rose $4.87, or 32.7 percent, to $19.76 in electronic premarket trading, while stock futures also surged on the announcement.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which has receive $25 billion in funds as part of the government's bank bailout plan, anticipates earnings after preferred dividends of about 55 cents per share. Revenue for the period ended March 31 is expected to climb 16 percent to $20 billion.

 

[The Helper]

Wall Street slides as investors dump financials

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are having doubts about banks' recent profit reports and wondering whether the better-than-expected performance masks larger problems with bad debt.

Stocks fell sharply Monday as investors sold financial stocks and locked in profits after a six-week rally. The major indexes tumbled 2-3 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which fell 230 points.

Worries about the financial industry overshadowed Oracle Corp.'s announcement that it would acquire Sun Microsystems Inc. for $7.4 billion and a $6 billion bid by PepsiCo Inc. to buy its two biggest bottlers.

Drops in commodities like oil weighed on energy and materials stocks.

 

[The Helper]

Obama calling on Cabinet to cut spending 100 mil from multi-trillion dollar budget

WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior administration officials says President Barack Obama is ready to ask federal department and agency chiefs to find $100 million to cut from the budget when he holds his first formal Cabinet meeting.

The official previewed Topic A for Monday's Cabinet meeting on grounds of anonymity because it will be a private session. He said Obama will be reminding Cabinet members that financially-pressed families are looking to the government to spend their money wisely.

The president's first formal Cabinet meeting is being held just days after a series of "Tea Party" demonstrations across the country in which protesters challenged the administration over it's massive spending. A cut of $100 million in a multitrillion-dollar federal budget likely will be criticized by Obama's opponents as inadequate.

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Sounds like busy work to me. 100 million is a lot of money but nothing compared to multtrillion budget.

 

[The Helper]

Obama calling on Cabinet to cut spending 100 mil from multi-trillion dollar budget

WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior administration officials says President Barack Obama is ready to ask federal department and agency chiefs to find $100 million to cut from the budget when he holds his first formal Cabinet meeting.

The official previewed Topic A for Monday's Cabinet meeting on grounds of anonymity because it will be a private session. He said Obama will be reminding Cabinet members that financially-pressed families are looking to the government to spend their money wisely.

The president's first formal Cabinet meeting is being held just days after a series of "Tea Party" demonstrations across the country in which protesters challenged the administration over it's massive spending. A cut of $100 million in a multi-trillion dollar federal budget likely will be criticized by Obama's opponents as inadequate.

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Sounds like busy work to me. 100 million is a lot of money but nothing compared to mult-trillion.

 

[The Helper]

I have been trying to clear dead links from the past posts in the forum and this thread has shown an alarming trend. Almost all the articles here have been removed. It is almost like someone is trying to erase this stuff from history. Very odd, because I have been seeing the ratio of old news that is still there after all these years and the ratio is way off on these posts. Very odd and looks like the Internet news is being manipulated. Hmmm.....