All Posts Tagged With: "Rbs"

Fear of Bank Failures Mean No Fed Rate Hikes

Claims that the worst of the financial crisis is over have been rubbished by ex-IMF Chief Economist , who yesterday warned that a major U.S. bank is likely to collapse within months.

Money Morning’s William Patalon III says dire warnings like this are becoming more frequent. And the slump in shares for Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) this week is generating more fear among investors.

William says the financial meltdown will keep the Fed from raising interest rates anytime soon. But at a time when inflation is accelerating, this will create more problems down the line…

Dollar Surges vs. Euro- Poor Outlook for European Economy

In currency news, the dollar continued its gains against the euro. Late Thursday, the euro was trading at $1.5413 vs. $1.5473 on Wednesday.

And Then There’s This…Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Both gold and silver had smallish rallies starting with the open of Globex trading in the Far East on Wednesday. However, all was for naught, because part of the price gains were sold off on the Comex open…and the rest once London had closed for the day.

Turbulent Credit Markets and Inflation Undermine Attempts by Paulson and Bernanke to Bolster Investor Confidence

Both U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke were called to the carpet yesterday (Tuesday) to explain to Congress how continued turbulence in U.S. credit markets will affect the economy in coming months.

A ‘Systematic Crash’ in US Banking Now a Distinct Possibility

Editor’s Note: John Williams at ShadowStats.com warns that major foreign dollar holders could be about to dump the dollar. Meanwhile, a systematic crash in the threadbare US banking system is a distinct possibility thanks to the $391 billion in losses already suffered by US banks as a result of mortgage-related writedowns. All this, says The Mogambo Guru, means good news for gold and silver and a potential meltdown for US stocks, bonds and, of course, the dollar…

ECB’s Tough Stance on Inflation Hurts European Stocks

European stocks were gutted yesterday (Thursday) as banks took heavy losses in the face of more hawkish inflation comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet that put pressure on already struggling financials.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 closed down 2.6% to 288.48, the worst finish for the Eurozone index since October 2005.

The FTSEurofirst 300 had a 2.5% drop, to close at 1,197.02 points, its largest one-day percentage drop since mid-March, Reuters reported.

Barclays To Raise $8.9 Billion With Help From Sovereign Wealth Funds

Starving for capital and hell-bent on retaining its handsome dividend, Barclays PLC (ADR: BCS) plans to raise $8.9 billion (4.5 billion pounds) by selling shares to investment banks and sovereign wealth funds around the world.

As much as 1.58 million shares will be sold to existing investors China Investment Bank and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., as well as new investors Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Qatar Investment Authority and Challenger - a fund that represents “the beneficial interests” of Qatar’s royal family.

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Keeps Options Open

Citing the risk of high inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve voted to hold the Federal Funds rate steady at 2.0% yesterday (Wednesday).

“Although downside risks to growth remain, they appear to have diminished somewhat, and the upside risks to inflation and inflation expectations have increased,” the accompanying Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement read.

How Likely Is a Fed Rate Hike?

The Fed’s policy meeting looms large today. And it looks likely that, with the inflation cat out of the bag, that the feds will hold off on more rate cuts.

In fact, every one of the 101 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said that they thought the Fed would leave rates unchanged.

Money Morning’s Jennifer Yousfi examines why the likelihood of further rate cuts has fallen in recent days…

Moody’s Downgrades Renew Financial Concerns

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday downgraded the debt rating of key bond insurers MBIA Inc. (MBI) and Ambac Financial Group Inc. (ABK), increasing expectations that more write-downs are in the offing for the U.S. financial-services sector, which has already written off nearly $400 billion in losses.

Moody’s Investors Service, subsidiary of Moody’s Corp. (MCO), downgraded MBIA to A2 from Aaa, and Ambac from Aaa to Aa. The downgrade caused MBIA shares to shed more than 13% of their value, with an 86-cent decline to close at $5.59 on Friday. Ambac shares fared a bit better, gaining 2 cents to close at $2.05.

Moody’s downgrades follow similar reductions from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings Inc.

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