assets, dodd-frank, financial crisis, interest rates, wall street
It's been a year since the Dodd-Frank bill was signed into law, putting a whole new perspective on the term "too big to fail" and putting the brakes on taxpayer bailouts for failing financial institutions. With the downgrading of the credit ratings of three major banks – Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup – on Wednesday, it appears that the time has come to test the effectiveness of the Dodd-Frank bill. Commenting on the downgrade of Wells Fargo's stock, Moody's noted that, because the risks of...
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commerce, eurozone, federal reserve, financial crisis, investors, quantitative easing
Rumors that Greece is likely to default on its enormous debt caused ripples of apprehension around the financial world, resulting in investors selling off stocks, and US markets dropping sharply on Friday. Speculation is rife that the country may very well not get the next installment of bailout funds allocated by the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – at least until the so-called troika is assured that austerity measures in Greece are going to achieve what they have set out to do, reduce the government’s debt. All seventeen...
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analysts, economic data, financial crisis, investors, nyse, recession
Investors face a new week on Wall Street with Europe's financial crisis and non-existent job growth fuelling fears of a double-dip recession. While some analysts are of the opinion that the United States is likely to avoid a recession, even if only by a narrow margin, others feel that it is only a matter of time before the economy slips into recession territory. Last week’s report of zero job growth, among other factors, resulted in consumer confidence falling to its lowest level since August 2009. With consumers fearful of job losses, the majority of consumers...
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financial crisis, nyse, quantitative easing, share price, stock exchanges
Wall Street investors are hopeful that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will provide some light at the end of the tunnel when he delivers his keynote speech at the annual Kansas City Federal Reserve retreat tomorrow, although analysts caution that expectations of further quantitative easing and other bailout-style measures are unlikely to be met. As double-dip fears continue, the ongoing woes in the US economy are impacting on stock market listed companies to the extent that many no longer meet the criteria for being listed on Read more »
credit ratings, european union, financial crisis, global markets, investors
There has long been controversy over the influence credit rating agencies have on stock markets, with European Union members expressing concern that credit ratings can sometimes be biased. This could become self-fulfilling prophecies by influencing decision making processes of investors. Back in May 2010, Greece's credit rating was downgraded to 'junk' by credit rating agencies, with both Spain and Portugal being downgraded to just above junk rating. The downgraded rating had an almost immediate impact on worldwide markets, with investors selling bonds that had been issued by...
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financial crisis, hedge funds, investors, private equity, vulture investing
Individual investors, or investment funds, who take advantage of the misfortune of others to buy up assets at drastically reduced prices are often referred to as 'vultures' with their activities branded as 'vulture investing', or being a 'vulture fund'. Although the comparison may seem unflattering, even vultures serve a constructive purpose, clearing away the debris of disaster. The financial crisis that started in 2008 has provided more than its fair share of opportunities for vulture investing, and the flood of housing foreclosures caught the attention of investors who never anticipated that the crisis would...
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financial crisis, financial system, investors, united states, wall street
Many would agree with the sentiment that hindsight is the only exact science, or that hindsight is 20/20, and while some may go with the cliché of 'no use crying over spilt milk', there are times when analyzing exactly what went wrong is a valuable exercise, particularly when wanting to avoid a repeat performance. In the United States, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) was given the weighty task of investigating the causes, both domestic and global, of the 2007-2010 financial crisis, with the primary goal of correcting flaws in the system to prevent this...
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credit rating, due diligence, fcic, financial crisis, financial industry
While a number of indicators suggest that the US economy is on the road to recovery, albeit a long and rocky road, the probe into what caused the financial crisis in the fist place continues. Recently it was suggested that credit rating agencies such as Moody's, Fitch and S&P, may be wielding too much power as Greece's credit was cut to junk status, and both Spain and Portugal were downgraded, with a negative impact on international markets. Relating to the global financial crisis, it has been suggested that these same credit rating agencies gave troubled...
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