Credit Writedowns

We should expect a very negative open to the markets today. The Dow Futures are pointing to an open under 7000, with key support levels to be tested. As usual, the reason is the financial sector with AIG and HSBC making headlines. AIG…

A massive $61.7 billion loss for AIG - that is the quarterly loss for the insurance giant, a record for the world. That comes to a loss of $465 $465,000 every minute of every day in that quarter. The full-year loss comes in over $100…

This is in via Reuters: American International Group Inc is close to a deal with the U.S. government that would ease the terms of its bailout, provide a further equity commitment and help it pay down debt, a person familiar with the matter…

This news comes via Reuters: Bank of America Corp is carrying loans on its balance sheet marked at more than $44 billion above their fair value, the company said in its annual report filed with U.S. regulators on Friday. The bank said it…

Two more Friday night specials - story via Reuters U.S. regulators closed Security Savings Bank in Henderson, Nevada, and Heritage Community Bank in Glenwood, Illinois, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Friday. Heritage,…

Now GE has finally cut, but will they be able to maintain their AAA rating?

Marshall Auerback here. As Ed lucidly suggested to me by e-mail: "We see the Fed giving a loan for assets at the price as reported on the institutions' books. Otherwise, you have to take a write-down just to get the loan. That's a…

The big news other than GDP falling off a cliff is the confirmation that the Obama Administration is going to bail out Citigroup for a third time.  The market reaction this morning was quite negative, causing index futures to sell off even…

Eminem's latest day in court likely to be felt far and wide - NZ Herald (this concerns a lawsuit on how much royalties artists should get fordigital music.  Steve Jobs is testifying.  It's a very big deal) A bruised Warren Buffett to look…

In my post TALF: A bailout if one reads the fine print, I did not make any comments about the quality of the assets to be used as collateral or the mechanics of the operation. While much of this information has already been supplied by the…