Credit Writedowns

The Europeans have no idea what is about to hit them. Their banking system is collapsing and European politicians are fighting amongst themselves. At French President Nicolas Sarkozy's crisis summit, the politicians were unable to craft a…

A week into the European leg of the meltdown of the global financial system, Germany has hit major turbulence. Hypo Real Estate, a member of the DAX-30, Germany's equivalent of the Dow Jones Industrial Average looks to be on the verge of…

Yesterday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to warn him that California was suffering a liquidity problem and needed federal assistance in order to avoid insolvency. Below is the text of…

It sure seems like California is insolvent. Just today we heard that Arnold Schwarzenegger contacted Hank Paulson to let him know that the State is having liquidity problems (see pdf) and needs help. California ranks as the world's 9th…

The deed is done. Despite huge voter disquiet about the terms of the bailout package, Congress has passed the bill and it awaits the U.S. President's signature. The house vote was 263 to 171, with a huge number of Congress members moving…

Marshall Auerback here. I have a quick thought regarding the credit crisis and bank lending in the US. If the real purpose of the Paulson Plan is recapitalization more than reliquification, and if the Scandinavian public recaps of their…

The deal everyone first expected to happen is now likely to proceed. Wells Fargo is set to buy Wachovia. Earlier this week, we heard that Wachovia was to be acquired by Citigroup, the beleaguered corporate behemoth that has written down…

The unemployment data came out for the month of September 2008 in the U.S. Payrolls fell by 159,000, but the unemployment rate remained the same at 6.1%. The data are consistent with recent weekly unemployment claims data, which point to…

If you don't think this credit crunch is a Main Street event, you must see this video. When a lack of credit availability stops people from getting an education, you have to do something. For those of you watching the equity markets as a…

Below is a link to the Library of Congress (LOC) website and a few links to the Senate Banking Committee site which have the details on the 'Economic Stabilization' Bill which passed the Senate by a vote of 74-25.The Bill, called H.R.1424…