Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Citigroup CEO Resigns, Replaced by Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin
November 5th, 2007“Such a tight relationship between politicians and business in the making of policy has probably not existed in the United States since the time of the “robber barons” in the late nineteenth century.” —The Democratic Facade by Daniel Hellinger and Dennis R. Judd Brooks To understand the nature of power in the United States, one […]
New Zealand: Geneva Finance Hits the Wall
November 5th, 2007Via: National Business Review: Geneva Finance has secured a moratorium on capital withdrawals for the next six months at a shareholder meeting in Auckland today. The moratorium resolution passed by an “overwhelming majority,” the company said in a statement. During the moratorium investors will receive interest payments monthly. Geneva will continue to trade and lend […]
Gold Closes Above $800 at Highest Level Since 1980
November 3rd, 2007Via: MarketWatch: Gold futures rallied Friday to close above $800 at their highest level in nearly 28 years, boosted by rallying crude-oil prices and the dollar’s tumble to a new record low against the euro. Gold for December delivery rallied $14.80 to finish at $808.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the […]
CITI FACING LIQUIDITY CRISIS
November 2nd, 2007Via: Business Week: For all its financial might, Citigroup (C) is undercapitalized according to some Wall Street analysts sounding fresh alarms about the banking behemoth’s balance sheet. Citigroup shares tumbled nearly 7% on Nov. 1 after three analysts downgraded the company’s stock. Citigroup’s tangible capital is 2.8% of assets, just over half the industry average […]
Unloading Toxic Waste Mortgage Backed Securities: “We Americans Were Very Clever”
November 2nd, 2007We’ll see how clever they are when the Good Fellas show up to collect. At some point, this thing is going to start looking less like a financial crisis and more like a mob war. How do I know? Because I got a job that resulted from a decapitation strike against the computer systems of […]
New York Attorney General Sues First American Corp. for Allegedly Colluding with Washington Mutual Inc. to Use a List of Preferred Appraisers to Inflate Mortgage Appraisals
November 2nd, 2007Note this passage from the story below: Washington Mutual isn’t listed as a defendant. At the press conference, Cuomo said his office chose not to pursue Washington Mutual as a defendant because of jurisdictional issues since the company is a chartered federal financial institution. Washington Mutual executives should expect a visit from the feds at […]
LARGEST FED INTERVENTION IN FINANCIAL SYSTEM SINCE 9/11 AFTERMATH
November 2nd, 2007Who needs trading curbs with the Plunge Protection Team on the job? I wonder if They’re going to run out of zeros in the computers that “print” the “money”? Via: AP: The Federal Reserve pumped $41 billion into the U.S. financial system Thursday, the largest cash infusion since September 2001, to help companies get through […]
Loonie at All Time High vs. Dollar
November 1st, 2007Ay? Via: Globe and Mail: The seemingly unstoppable Canadian dollar surged to its highest level yet Wednesday, topping 106.17 cents (U.S.). The record came just after 4 p.m., when official trading ended for the day. Officially, the dollar closed at 105.85 cents, up nearly a cent from Tuesday’s close, but trading continues virtually around the […]
Gold Rises on Fed Rate Cut
November 1st, 2007Here’s my take on this from several days ago. If any of you were waiting to hedge with some put options at higher strikes… Here they are. Thank you. I’ll be here all week. Tip your waitress. To those of you who trade options on futures (not options on equities), which firms are good these […]
NYC’s ‘Realtor to the Stars’ Found Murdered
November 1st, 2007Fuggetaboutit. Via: CBS News: CBS 2 News has learned that Linda Stein, the former manager of the Ramones and “realtor to the stars,” was found dead, lying in a pool of blood in her multi-million-dollar Fifth Ave. apartment on Manhattans’ Upper East Side. Police confirm she suffered blunt impact trauma to the head and neck. […]
