Red ink flows… Japan suggests diversification for their reserves… Commodity currencies rebound… Data galore for the rest of the week… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!
While everyone else has been focused on the banks’ stress tests and how much government is spending to bail out troubled “too big to fails,” a disturbing trend on the other side of the equation is now emerging: how much (or rather, how little) the U.S. government is receiving in tax revenues.
Despite efforts by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to thaw the credit markets, normal lending remains hamstrung. This is a both a significant problem and an enormous opportunity.
Why wait for Tim Geithner’s rigged stress test results for banks when the underground can help you separate the winners from the losers? Thanks to research carried out by Money Morning’s Martin Hutchinson, we can pre-empt the Treasury Department and reveal which are the strongest banks are which are most poisonous.
General Motors Corp. (GM) will meet with the U.S. Treasury department’s automotive task force as soon as this week to work on a plan to return the automaker to viability. But while company executives assert that bankruptcy is far from inevitable GM is accelerating preparations for a court filing.
President-elect Barack Obama yesterday (Monday) asked Congress to release the remaining $350 billion in bank bailout money that’s part of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In a letter addressed to the leadership of both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, top Obama economic aide Lawrence H. “Larry” Summers highlighted five key reasons the incoming president is seeking use of what remains of the U.S. Treasury Department’s $700 billion TARP.
Currencies trade in a tight range… Another new plan to help homeowners… RBNZ and Riksbank slash interest rates! The Governorator speaks!… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!
The board of directors of Citigroup Inc. (C) will meet today to look at beleaguered banking giant’s options after its shares hit a 15-year low, and speculation is escalating that it will have to look at a break-up, spin-off or sale of at least part of the bank.
When the Treasury finally abandons its bailout programs and/or the executives at the cash-hemorrhaging finance companies finally exhibit more humility than chutzpah, the economy and the stock market will have reached the bottom.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson yesterday (Wednesday) announced a reshaping of the government’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Instead of purchasing troubled assets directly from banks, Paulson said the majority of the funds allotted to the Treasury Department would be used to purchase equity stakes in financial institutions and bolster the consumer credit market.