The FDIC is hitting its stride. They closed four banks tonight. Here is the list with links to the relevant details. Pinnacle Bank, Beaverton, OR Corn Belt Bank and Trust Company, Pittsfield, IL Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral, FL Sherman County Bank, Loup City, Nebraska Not a bad days work. […]
Archive for February 13th, 2009
Friday Failures
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 13th, 2009
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Does This Mean You’re First In Line For Nationalization?
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 13th, 2009
Here are two headlines that appeared in my reader, one underneath the other. Do you think this might get Maxine Waters upset? Morgan Stanley, Citigroup to Give Brokers Big Retention Fees Bankers Face Strict New Pay Cap more: here and here
Any Ideas On What To Take From This Graph?
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 13th, 2009
The graph to the left is from the Wall Street Journal. It shows the trend for earnings among those companies included in the S&P since 1990. As you can see earnings have tended to grow, on average, at 6% a year. There’s little surprise in the decline since about the beginning of the recession but […]
The New Ethanol
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 13th, 2009
Does this sound familiar? The Congress of the United States decides that what the country needs is more energy from alternative sources and so embarks on a program to encourage via subsidies the development of that energy source. If you’re thinking “oh yeah, ethanol” well that’s yesterdays news. The new kid on the subsidy block is […]
Europe’s Economy Spirals Downward
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 13th, 2009
The financial crisis in Europe is getting deeper. For the fourth quarter output fell 1.5%. Forecasts now are for a 3% decline for 2009. Virtually no country within the Eurozone escaped from the ravages but Germany seems to have been particularly hard hit. Its economy contracted by 2.1% during the quarter. The German economy relies […]
Blog Recommendation
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 13th, 2009
I’ve been casting about looking for a blog that had some believable financial information on China. Too much of what I read is analysis of data generated by the Chinese government which I trust not at all. I ran across one today called China Financial Markets. It’s written by a business school professor at Peking University. […]
Reconciling The Paradox Of Thrift
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 13th, 2009
Justin Fox has written a truly fine article about the “Paradox of Thrift” and the conundrum that presents right now. Take a look at it. His last paragraph is perfect. “He’s right. Virtually all economists agree that there is no paradox of thrift in the long run. Saving stimulates investment. Careful stewardship of resources brings prosperity. […]
