Archives: October 2008

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 31, Categories: weekend

Consumers Are Pinching Pennies As if to fortify its report yesterday that GDP declined in the third quarter, the Commerce Dept. today said that consumer spending dropped by 0.3%...

Bank of Japan Cuts Key Rate to 0.3%

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 31, Categories: early

The Bank of Japan cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in seven years, joining the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks in efforts to ease...

The U.S. Economy Is Shrinking

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 30, Categories: late

U.S. gross domestic product shrank in the third quarter at a 0.3% annual rate, the Commerce Dept. reported. That’s a smaller dip than economists had predicted but still further...

U.S. Banks to Continue Paying Dividends

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 30, Categories: early

U.S. banks are receiving more than $163 billion from the Treasury Department for new lending. But they are also expected to dole out more than half of that sum...

The Fed Cuts Its Benchmark to 1%

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 29, Categories: late

It came as no surprise, and Wall Street had already celebrated in advance, but the Fed cut its benchmark rate from 1.5% to 1% in a bid to alleviate...

Fed Likely to Announce Big Rate Cut

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 29, Categories: early

All eyes are on Washington today as the Fed is likely to announce at 2:15 this afternoon a big interest rate cut. The Fed "will be very aggressive," predicted...

Consumer Confidence Caves In

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 28, Categories: late

The Conference Board’s measure of U.S. consumer confidence plunged to an all-time low in October. The overall confidence rating fell as astonishing 23.4 points, from 61.4 to 38, the...

Obama and McCain Vie Over Four Key States

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 28, Categories: early

With just one week to go before the presidential election on November 4, Barack Obama and John McCain are pitching their economic plans in four key battleground states. McCain...

U.S. Stocks Stage a Modest Rally

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 27, Categories: late

U.S. stocks had another bumpy day on Monday. American markets slumped on the morning of Oct. 27 , as investors took their cue from selloffs in Asia and Europe....

Nikkei hits 26-Year Low, Hong Kong down 12.9%

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 27, Categories: early

Asian stock markets suffered severe body blows on Monday on rising fears of a deep global recession and continued selling by foreign investors pulling their money out of the...

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 24, Categories: weekend

Another Ugly Day on the Bourses Just when you think the financial crisis might be easing, it gets worse again, this time mostly provoked by the spreading shockwaves around...

Automakers Stung By Falling Global Economy

Posted by: Mark Scott on October 24, Categories: early

The outlook for automakers from Europe to Asia looks grim as most now forecast a deeper global downturn in auto sales. U.S. carmakers also are feeling the pinch --...

Global Stock Markets Continue Downward Spiral

Posted by: Mark Scott on October 23, Categories: early

Weak corporate earnings have combined with worries about the global economy to send global stock markets down despite government attempts worldwide to prop up the economy. Asian stocks fell...

Bush Fixes Date for Global Summit

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 22, Categories: late

World leaders, mark your calendars. The Bush Administration announced today that it had set Nov. 15 as the date for a summit meeting on the global financial crisis. The...

Attention Turns Towards Fallout From Financial Crisis

Posted by: Mark Scott on October 22, Categories: early

Fears of global recession now appear to be overshadowing government attempts worldwide to end the current global financial crisis. Countries have promised nearly $4 trillion to guarantee bank deposits...

Kerkorian Bailing Out of Ford

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 21, Categories: late

”It was an investment that made no sense,” says one analyst, and now even the investor, Kirk Kerkorian, seems to agree. The gambling mogul’s Tracinda holding company sold 7.3...

Governments & IMF Inject More Money Into Financial System

Posted by: Mark Scott on October 21, Categories: early

Governments around the world have stepped up their efforts to strength the financial sector after politicians from France to Pakistan sought to inject billions of dollars into their domestic...

Bernanke Stumps for More Stimulus

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 20, Categories: late

In testimony before the House Budget Committee, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke came out strongly in favor of a second round of fiscal stimulus to get the economy going again....

U.S. Economy Faces Recession, Bush Announces Global Economic Summit

Posted by: Mark Scott on October 20, Categories: early

The U.S. economy may plunge into what experts believe could be its worst recession since 1982. Focus has shifted from the dangerously stressed financial markets to the wider economy...

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 17, Categories: weekend

Homebuilders Aren't Building The Commerce Dept. reported that housing starts fell 6.3% in September, to a 17-year low. And starts of single-family homes dropped even more steeply, by 12%,...

Google Q3 Earnings Beat Expectations

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 17, Categories: early

Google defied the global economic downturn and reported a 26% jump in third-quarter profits to $1.35 billion, significantly higher than Wall Street expected. Google's focus on highly targeted online...

Factories Are Slowing Down

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 16, Categories: late

Wall Street traders probably didn’t need any more bad news to persuade them that the country is headed for a sharp recession, but they got some anyway, and that...

Nikkei drops 11.4%, worst since 1987

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 15, Categories: early

Stocks plunged in Asia after huge losses on Wall St. and fears that the impact from the global slowdown on regional economies will intensify. The Nikkei 225 index fell...

Washington Takes a Stake in the Banks

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 14, Categories: late

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced a deal on the next stage of the massive package to rescue the financial sector and get the frozen credit markets working again....

Treasury's $250 Billion Bank Buy-In

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 14, Categories: early

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appeared close to completing a deal on the next stage of the massive package to rescue the financial sector and get the frozen credit...

Is the Worst Over?

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 13, Categories: late

Wild volatility turned positive around the globe as investors took heart at the concerted moves in the U.S., Europe, and Asia to ease the financial crisis. After stocks rallied...

IMF and G7 Say: No More Lehmans

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 13, Categories: early

Financial leaders sought to assure panicky bankers and money managers that all measures needed to halt a worldwide meltdown are in motion. The broad brushstrokes of forceful, coordinated action...

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 10, Categories: weekend

Panic Still Reigns on the Bourses Fear in the markets is ricocheting from the U.S. to Asia to Europe, feeding on itself and picking up momentum. After dizzying drops...

Asian Stocks Tank After Wall Street Rout

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 09, Categories: early

Asian stock markets plunged in the wake of the bloodbath overnight on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock averge was the worst hit, falling more than 9.65%. The Philippines...

Central Banks Cut Rates Worldwide

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 08, Categories: late

In an unprecedented coordinated global action, central banks from the Americas to Europe cut their key lending rates early Oct. 8 in a bid to kickstart economic growth and...

Lehman Managers Portrayed as Irresponsible

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 07, Categories: early

Richard S. Fuld Jr. blamed the news media. He blamed the short-sellers. He blamed the government, as well as what he characterized as an "extraordinary run on the bank."...

Carnage on the Street

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 06, Categories: late

The bailout plan passed Friday sure doesn’t seem to have reassured investors. As the financial crisis worsened in Europe (see items below), stocks got hammered around the world. Japanese...

Citi, Wells Fargo Begin Talks to Halt Wachovia Battle

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on October 06, Categories: early

The fight for control of Wachovia Corp. took a new twist on Sunday night as Citigroup and Well Fargo began talks in New York aimed at splitting the Charlotte-based...

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 03, Categories: weekend

The House Comes Around In the end, it wasn’t even close. The House of Representatives passed the $700 billion financial rescue package by a vote of 263-171, as many...

A Bleak Economic Picture

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on October 03, Categories: early

U.S. factory orders fell in August by the largest amount in nearly two years and the number of workers filing unemployment claims last week grew to a seven-year high--ominous...

Fear Still Stalks the Street

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 02, Categories: late

Despite the Senate’s passing the bailout bill, U.S. stocks sank again today. At 3:45 p.m., the Dow was down well over 300 points, and the S&P 500 had dropped...

Senate Approves Bailout Bill

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on October 02, Categories: early

By a 74-25 margin, the U.S. Senate approved a revised version of the $700 billion financial rescue package rejected earlier in the week by the House of Representatives. The...

Revised Bailout Bill Heads for Senate Vote

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 01, Categories: late

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote tonight on a revamped $700 billion financial-rescue plan. The House of Representatives will likely take up the legislation on Friday. The current...

Revised Bailout Bill Heads for Senate Vote

Posted by: Harry Maurer on October 01, Categories: late

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote tonight on a revamped $700 billion financial-rescue plan. The House of Representatives will likely take up the legislation on Friday. The current...

Banking's Crisis of Confidence Continues

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on October 01, Categories: early

Wall Street bounced back on Sept. 30, with the Dow up 485 points, or 4.7%. But deep unease continued to grip global banking--worsened by Monday's rejection of the $700...