This Blog is also available as an RSS Feed

• Stock Markets Dive As Investor Anxiety Grows Over State Of Global Economy, U.S. Automakers and Oil Prices - Editor, 20 November 2008 - No Comments yet

As anticipated by many analysts, stock market volatility is far from over. U.S. stock markets dropped dramatically on Wednesday as concerns relating to the economy, highlighted by the uncertainty of the future of the U.S. auto industry, caused investors to dump stock near close of trade, erasing Tuesday’s gains. The Dow Jones industrial average closed below the 8,000 mark, a state of affairs which has not been seen since March 2003. The Dow was down 5.1 percent, with all 30 Dow components ending the session lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index sank 6 percent, also its lowest level since March 2003, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 6.5 percent, settling at it lowest level since April 2003.

• Fannie Mae Faces Possible De-Listing From NYSE - Editor, 19 November 2008 - No Comments yet

Embattled mortgage backer, Fannie Mae, revealed on Tuesday that it had received notification from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that its shares currently fail to fulfill price-related requirements for listing on the exchange. One of the NYSE requirements for continued listing is that the average closing price of a stock remains above $1 per share. Fannie Mae stock was trading at levels as high as $40.45 around a year ago, but on Tuesday closed at 47 cents, underscoring just how dire the once mighty mortgage backer’s circumstances have become.

• U.S. Automakers Dilemma And Citigroup Job Cuts Negatively Impact Markets - Editor, 18 November 2008 - No Comments yet

The uncertainty regarding the future of U.S. automakers, reservations about key economic reports to be released later this week, the reality of weak manufacturing data, and Citigroup’s announcement of planned drastic job cuts are all being cited as reasons behind the U.S. stock market’s dismal performance on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 2.63 percent, or 223.73 points, at 8,273.58. Standard & Poor’s 500 index was also down 2.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite dropped 2.3 percent. Markets in Europe didn’t fare any better, with London’s FTSE 100 falling 2.4 percent, while Germany’s DAX dropped 3.3 percent and France’s CAC-40 index recorded a 3.3 percent decline.

• G-20 Summit Agrees On Direction For Dealing With Global Financial Crisis - Editor, 17 November 2008 - No Comments yet

While acknowledging that plenty of work lies ahead for world leaders, the two-day G-20 summit held in Washington, D.C., over the weekend is being hailed by the majority as a success. The presidents and prime ministers of the G-20 countries managed to find common ground on the root causes of the crisis, as well as identifying areas that need to be tightened up. A meeting has been set for the end of April 2009 for a review of progress on the various aspects of the game plan agreed to on the weekend.

• G20 Summit Aims For Agreement On Global Finance Regulations - Editor, 14 November 2008 - No Comments yet

Ahead of the much publicized G20 economic crisis summit to take place in Washington tomorrow, 15 November, President George W. Bush has come out strongly in defense of U.S.-style free enterprise, more commonly referred to as capitalism, and cautioned foreign leaders against crushing global growth by implementing restrictive rules. He is reported as saying that the aim of the summit should not be to put additional government in place, but rather that government should be smarter. Why did Bush feel the need to defend capitalism so vehemently? It appears that many of the countries that will be participating in tomorrow’s summit are laying the blame for the current crisis squarely at the feet of capitalism – and by extension the United States.

• U.S. Stocks Slump As Treasury Bailout Plan Changes Direction - Editor, 13 November 2008 - No Comments yet

U.S. stocks fell for the third consecutive day with a number of reasons being cited for the continuing decline. For one thing, the U.S. Treasury has shifted the goalposts on the much debated $700 billion bailout plan. Instead of buying up troubled assets from mortgage lenders as originally planned, the focus has moved to consumer credit and shoring up consumer lending. Additionally, news of American Express changing its status to commercial banking in order to avail itself of government aid (see Tuesday November 11 article), sent its shares tumbling by 10 percent. Other factors include the largest electronics retailer in the United States, Best Buy Inc., lost 8 percent after revealing that it anticipates future profits to decrease in the difficult economic climate, and Occidental Petroleum Corporation declined 11 percent due to the price of crude dropping below $57 a barrel.

• New Mortgage-Related Assistance May Bring Relief To U.S. Homeowners - Editor, 12 November 2008 - No Comments yet

On Tuesday, the Bush administration made public a new program aiming to modify mortgages and set back on track the U.S. real estate market. However, experts in the financial sector have been quick to point out that the program is flawed and does not benefit homeowners to the extent that it should, given the current economic crisis.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 >

Bookmark/Search this post with: