It is widely known that the U.S. Treasury is funneling money to commercial banks through what some economists and analysts call a bank nationalization effort. The Treasury has, in some instances, taken an equity stake in an outright takeover and, in other instances, offered an availability of funds in exchange for preferred shares and […]

The failure of American Insurance Group (AIG) and subsequent government rescue has cast a sharp focus on other insurance firms on Wall Street. While much of the public did not initially associate an insurance firm with high-risk securities, it is well know that insurers have a substantial amount of cash generated from premiums that […]

The consolidation in the banking industry continues as Cleveland-based National City Corporation has agreed to be acquired by PNC Financial Services for approximately $5.2 billion. Unique to the situation is that PNC will be utilizing funds from the U.S. Treasury to make the acquisition.

A country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the size of its economy and a means of validating its production ability. When news of the GDP is positive, confidence in a country is strengthened. Business entities are interested in investing in the region, capital and resources are injected, goods and service production […]

On Friday, October 10th, the price of oil fell below $80.00 to $77.85 a barrel. This is the first time, within the last 12 months. that the price has fallen below $80.00 a barrel. The drop was accredited to an expected decline in demand stemming from the world economic crisis, and an expected subsequent drop […]

If there was doubt that we live in a globalized society, the late events of Wall Street which have reverberated around the world, have all but erased them. Reactions from abroad and at home about the U.S. efforts to confront the financial crisis have been in great abundance, both positive and negative. The reactions are built with varying logic– some reactions are shocking and dumbfounding.

As they say, cash is king. At the core of our financial crisis is a lack of liquidity stemming from increasingly over-leveraged banks and large financial firms. They did not have sufficient liquid assets to prevent a decline in their credit ratings, nor cover their non-performing assets, and a run on their stock occurred. […]

While Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and the Bush Administration push its $700 billion financial crisis bailout package, Barrack Obama and John McCain posture, and appear to inject their input. The U.S. Congress wrestles with itself, watches the U.S. credit markets deteriorate, and meets the constituents’ reactions to the wild fluctuation of the stock market. The […]

With Hank Paulson’s $700 million no-strings-attached proposal dead on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Plan B has emerged from the Senate Republicans who have wanted the legislation to be of a more conservative nature. Committee members and leaders of the Senate working diligently over the past two days– since the defeat of the $700 billion House bill– have arrived at what they think will be passable legislation. Subsequently, the House will have to vote again if passage is achieved at the Senate level.