Economy

With IndyMac having gone bust, bank shares tanking, and speculation rampant about who's next, it's time to consider what and how much the FDIC actually insures. This information is available at the FDIC website and I have added a blurb and…

George W. Bush certainly has chutzpah. Ever the opportunist, he has taken advantage of high oil prices to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling. Americans continue to allow this President free reign and Congress as allowed him creeping…

Looking at today's selling wave, a number of bank shares are down over 10% including Washington Mutual (WM), National City (NCC), Wachovia (WB), Zion (ZION). Many other shares are trading well into negative territory with share prices…

Given the fact that the FDIC lost a massive $10.7 billion on the IndyMac transaction, I am re-posting this blurb from July. I said then, I still believe, the FDIC needs a lot more money or it will be bust. Sheila Bair has already requested…

The global economy is gripped by its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. People are losing their homes and their jobs, banks are going bankrupt, and stock markets in the U.S. and elsewhere have fallen significantly from…

On the heels of a story about Spanish giant Santander buying Alliance & Leicester in the UK, it comes as good news in the marketplace that another Spanish giant, BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria), is on the prowl as well.After…

Banco Santander of Spain is using the down market to snap up some UK assets on the cheap. It has announced the acquisition of Alliance & Leicester, the former building society which demutualised in 1997, for £1.3 billion ($2.6 billion)…

I am here on my computer in anticipation of the morning market sessions in Asian trading. Certainly, this will set the tone for an important week. While I was looking for more news on the GSEs, I was reminded of the slowing economies…

According to the Irish Independent, the recent fall in Irish bank shares is due to a loss of faith in their bad debt provisions. On Tuesday, Bank of Ireland fell 14%, the largest amount in 20 years.After last week's dive in their share…

For a complete list of prior news on writedowns see my Credit Crisis Timeline. Also look at the new list of Bankrupt Global Financial Institutions for information on large global financial institutions that have gone to the wall.2008 06 30…