Showing posts with label crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crisis. Show all posts

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Global stocks slide of the euro on the euro-zone debt crisis

London- global stocks fell while the euro that moves towards a minimum of two months, on Wednesday on concerns about the debt crisis spread the euro area and the potential for a further reduction of positions in risky assets.


Oil prices fell as the dollar rebounded against the euro and according to industry data showed U.S. crude fell inventories less forecast last week. Euro-zone debt problems drove the price of oil down more than 2% Monday.


Asian shares followed European and Wall Street shares lower as persistent concerns on the Economic Outlook for the United States and woes of euro weighed on sentiment.


Policy options for Europe to avoid a default value of Greek debt appear to be fast, dwindling casting a pall over the single currency and fueling fears of a chain reaction in other very indebted in the 17-nation euro zone countries.


The euro, which had rallied after better than expected German business confidence data Tuesday edged toward a minimum of two months of $1.3968 was hit earlier this week. He has lost about 5 percent since early May.


"The market does not know what to expect next in Greece and clearly there was a change in sentiment towards the euro and speculators are preferring to play the short side, said friend Gavin, nabCapital currency analyst.".


Speculative selling of the euro has intensified on vague market talk that the Greece can call an election early and investors trimmed positions risky, with a fall in the futures of stock index U.S. adding to pressure on the euro.


The euro has been the last fell by 0.6% to $1.4021, well below the previous session of the top of $1.4134.


THREAT OF CONTAGION


Global stocks are measured by the MSCI hangar 0.4% with European actions (.)(FTEU3) decline of 0.3% as line investors venerate yet on the potential for contagion Greek spread of major economies such as the Italy.


"Concern about Spain and the Italy may be exaggerated, but the question of the Greece goes no further, and if the Greece restructures, which may open the door of the Ireland and Portugal.", said Brian Dolan, Chief Strategist at Forex.com.


A default value of Greek debt would adversely affect other peripheral States of the eurozone and could push Portuguese debt and Irish into junk territory, Moody said Tuesday, warning he would classify most forms of restructuring by default.


Index of the MSCI Asia Pacific off Japan in stocks fell by 0.7% while the Nikkei (.)(N225) closed 0.6%.


Treasury us and German bunds advanced as investors a reduced exposure to risky assets and sought refuge in sanctuary of the debt. The performance of the 10-year Bund was perched just above the psychologically important level of 3% and could violate in the short term, in view of the debt crisis unresolved.


Oil slipped as the dollar rebounded against the euro, giving part of his rise from 2 percent of the day after Goldman Sachs raised its forecast of Brent crude price overnight. Brent crude for July delivery did not $112 a barrel.


However dug downwards after having rallied to its highest level in three weeks at the previous session, but the bullion price in euro hit a record on concerns about the impact of a defect of possible debt by the Greece on other economies in the euro area.


Spot Gold fell to $1,521.86 an ounce after rising as high as $1,527.45 Tuesday, its strong since May 4.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Obama warns of worst crisis if no debt ceiling increase

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has warned Congress that the failure to raise the debt limit could result in a worse financial crisis and economic recession that 2008-09 if investors began to doubt the solvency of the U.S..


In remarks recorded last week and broadcast by CBS News Sunday, Obama reiterated his position that Republicans should not link the decision to limit debt reduction of expenditure measures deficit reduction.


"If investors around the world thought that the full faith and credit of the United States was not to be saved, if they thought that we could return to our ious, it could unravel the whole of the financial system," Obama said at a meeting of Town Hall of CBS News.


"We may have a worse recession that we already had a worse financial crisis that he already had us."


The White House and Republicans in Congress are locked in a debate about the deficit and the debt ceiling.


The Treasury Department should its 14.3 billion of borrowing limit Monday, making it unable to access to bond markets.


Republican leaders, who said that they agreed that the limit should be raised, say that they will not approve a further increase of power without steps to keep debt under the control of borrowing.


A party may not emerge for several months.


The Department of the Treasury, said that he could delay by default until 2 August by relying on other sources of money to pay its bills.


Obama said that he was committed to the reduction of the deficit, but discouraged a link between this and the debt limit.


"Let's not have the type of relationship where we are talking about even not to raise the debt ceiling." That will do, "he says. "But let's get serious reduction of the deficit."


A report by the think tank published Monday the third way supports the warnings of the Obama. He said that the United States could plunge into recession if inaction in Washington forced a default value of the debt, with some 640,000 us jobs being lost, stocks fall and tightening of lending.


Vice President Joe Biden is leading talks between the White House and lawmakers on ways to reduce massive U.S. budget deficits and to increase the credit limit. He told journalists Thursday that has progressed, but it was too early to be a deal with optimism.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Why little finished in jail after the financial crisis (Motley Fool)

While accepting the Oscar for best documentary earlier this year, Inside Job Director Charles Ferguson came out with a bang.

"Excuse me, I must begin by noting that three years after our horrible financial crisis due to the financial fraud, not a single financial Executive was imprisoned, and it is wrong," he said.

Now at least a. Lee Farkas, former President of the mortgage lender Taylor Bean, has been found guilty of the week last on 14 counts of fraud and conspiracy. He could spend the rest of his life in prison.

There is therefore a.

But why not others? After a financial crisis which has doubled the rate of unemployment and slaughtered the wealth in the world, person think an Executive and a little heard talk of - was the only one to blame. Or how these things usually work out. After the beginning of the 1990s loan crisis and economies, 800 financial executives went to prison. Not only most executives of the Bank have avoided prosecution this time, but many are still paid by the banks which took place in the economy into the ground.

Why is a difficult question. I think it can be divided into three parts.

1. The ground troops were charged.
The most disgusting, pure and simplefraudulent parties the bubble years took place on Wall Street. It took place on the ground in areas such as Orange County and Las Vegas, where mortgage brokers, real estate agents and borrowers mentis through their teeth, ready documents forged and actively pursues screwing on anyone within reach. The sale of the mortgage industry was a magnet for some of the sketchiest of society characters. As the Commission of inquiry of financial crisis noted in January, "at least 10 500 people with a record between the field [mortgage broker]in Florida, including high which had previously been recognized guilty of such crimes as fraud."", bank robbery, racketeering and extortion.

Thousands of mortgage brokers and borrowers from the scam have indeed been laid and in many cases imprisoned. In June 2008, before the financial crisis unraveled, the FBI busted 400 brokers a single sting. Sting last introduced a borrower has was found guilty of defrauding Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News) by "" recruitment 'straw buyers' to apply for a mortgage for a House that it itself had the intention to occupy and inflated la value of this House to increase the amount of the loan. "") These guys did the same with loans from jpmorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM - News). These people of loan documents submitted to the financial areas counterfeit (NYSE: RF - News). All were captured. All have been charged. The public had not heard their stories because they do not involve the executive suite.

2 Saving the regulators, the detectives strapped
Some executives were indicted does not mean that they are all innocent, of course.

Fraud level of high-are usually called the Department of Justice by industry regulators. The Department of Health and Human Services, for example, works in tandem with the Ministry of Justice in fraud medical coil. Even for the Department of Agriculture. And the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The bank regulators are different. Since 2000, the Office control of savings does not return a single case of fraud in the Ministry of Justice, according to the New York Times. The Office of the Comptroller of the currency within just three cases.

There could be several reasons for this. Two regulatory bodies, however, have a long history of hatching the banks they supervise. They have every reason to do so: existence of regulators depend on banks or "clients", as the OCC refers to them as – since the fees paid by banks to finance their operations. In some cases, banks can shop for the lightest regulator with the key.

This is what made Countrywide in 2007. Then–CEO Angelo Mozilo was frustrated by the requirements of OCC regulators. were getting in his hair. Easy solution: Countrywide changed charters to fall under the blow of a more gentle regulator, the OTS. As noted by Connie Bruck of The New Yorker, the OTS did pressure Countrywide to make the switch.

Not that the OCC is a bull pit regulation itself. When the intended Virginia pursue A Capital (NYSE: COF - News) for abuse of credit card in 2005, the company has applied for a national Charter with the ABC. In so doing, Capital escaped jurisdiction of Virginia, and any lost State power to pursue his case. It was not an isolated incident. The ABC ceased Georgia when he tried to enforce the predatory loans laws. New York regulators were is intervened while pursuing discriminatory ready investigations. The head of the financial crisis Inquiry Commission said former Chief OCC John Dugan, "you linked to the hands of the States and then sitting on your hands."

If regulators have enough hard step, the FBI has seen a radical cut in the number of available agents to investigate financial crimes. Enforcement focus began changing fraud of health in the 1990s, and to terrorism after the attacks of September 11. During the crisis of loan and savings, 1,000 agents the FBI worked to financial crime scene. Today, 240 just do.

3. Stupid is not illegal
Crime deserves to be incarcerated. Idiocy is another matter.

This is what explains why if few major financial executives are behind bars. Explode your business not necessarily a crime. 30 - To-1 leverage effect is not illegal. Or bought securities backed by owners unable to repay. Neither ignores signs of caution. Or without taking account of the history. A large part of which has brought the financial system to its knees was incredibly stupid and unethical, but perfectly legal.

Investors have been shocked, for example, after the discovery of Lehman Brothers has used an accounting trick called repo 105 to hide the health of its balance sheet. Yet, as noted by the Wall Street Journal, "SEC officials have grown more concerned that they might lose a legal battle if they civil charges alleging investor Lehman have been deceived by the leaders of the company." The stone of stumbling block key: the move of accounting, although that controversial is not necessarily illegal. ?

Was this thing not only legal, but lucrative. For many executives markets away rich. Filthy rich. It was heads they win, tails you lose, and in both cases, the prison remains difficult to achieve. You can almost hear them laugh now.

Return every Tuesday and Friday for Morgan Housel columns on economics and finance.

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