It's content is more along the lines of "Bowling For Columbine."
By Adam Satariano and Beth Jinks
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. may lead companies worldwide to the first profit increases in more than two years this quarter, ending the longest earnings recession on record.
Buoyed by finance and semiconductors, profits at the world’s biggest companies are projected to grow 63 percent in the final three months of 2009, snapping nine straight quarterly declines....
At least JP Morgan Chase knows how to say 'thank you.'
The FDIC is still busy. I thought Bush and Paulson were conducting a Bank Bailout. Why didn't these banks get bailed out?
October 5th, 2009
A Century of Failures: 3 more Banks Fail as number nears 100 (click here)
2009 certainly has not been a good year for banking. The FDIC closed 3 more banks this weekend bringing the total number of bank failures to 98 this year. FDIC projections put the number of failures to reach the 100 mark within a couple of weeks. Continuing bank failures have mirrored the poor health of the country’s financial institutions.
Three more banks joined the list of recent bank failures. The FDIC announced this Friday that it has included Southern Colorado National Bank of Pueblo, Colorado; Jennings State Bank of Spring Grove, Minnesota and Warren Bank of Warren, Michigan in its list of bank closures.
Costs of Failures
The FDIC has estimated that the recent bank failures will be putting a dent in their funds of at least $850 million. This will put an increased strain on the dwindling funds which previous bank failures have cost. The FDIC projects that over the next 5 years losses could reach $70 billion.
In more troubling news, figures also show that problem banks rose to 416 from 305 the previous quarter. Analysts predict that the total bank failures this year could reach 150. This is a turnaround from 2005 – 2006 figures which posted no bank failures....
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
At the Federal Reserve Board Conference on Key Developments in Monetary Policy, Washington, D.C.
October 8, 2009
The Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet: An Update (click here)
...Conclusion
By using our balance sheet, the Federal Reserve has been able to overcome, at least partially, the constraints on policy posed by dysfunctional credit markets and by the zero lower bound on the federal funds rate target. By improving credit market functioning and adding liquidity to the system, our programs have provided critical support to the financial system and the economy. Moreover, we have carried out these programs responsibly, with minimal credit risk and with close attention to the exit strategy. Our activities have resulted in substantial changes to the size and composition of our balance sheet. When the economic outlook has improved sufficiently, we will be prepared to tighten the stance of monetary policy and eventually return our balance sheet to a more normal configuration.
