Europe agrees to prevent a boot stomping of the banks
The key measures announced today are: a pledge to guarantee new bank debt issuance until the end of 2009; permission for governments to shore up banks by buying preferred shares; and a commitment to recapitalize any “systemically” critical banks in distress.
Fed’s Fisher says bank shorts will be flame broiled, shortly
“This morning I am casting that convention aside,” he said. “I speak for all of us when I say that the Federal Reserve will continue to explore every avenue and consider every option to see the credit markets through the credit crisis.”
Financial Crisis may hurt Nextel sale
According to a report on FT.com, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently questioned whether any potential buyer of the Nextel unit could raise the necessary capital to fund the purchase. That means the credit crunch could place any deal in jeopardy. No matter, said Hesse, who has vowed to continue improving the Nextel operation whether a buyer comes along or not.
CHK’s Slide was Not only Due to Stupid Margined Out CEO
Morgan Stanley is Chesapeake’s biggest counterparty. Morgan Stanley shares fell 39 percent, dropping for a fifth straight day, after Moody’s Investors Service said it may cut the investment bank’s credit rating. Allman said that if gas falls to $6 per thousand cubic feet, Chesapeake would have to sell $3.5 billion of assets. “In our view, getting through 2009 is tough, but Chesapeake has a lot of non-producing assets it could sell and discretionary spending it could cut,” Allman said.
Deposit Insurance Varies Amongst Nations
Until the latest statements suggesting unlimited guarantees, legal coverage was highest in Norway, France, Italy and Mexico. In the US the amount covered has been raised temporarily to $250,000 from $100,000 per account.
Luigi Zingales Weighs in on G7 Package
Time has come for the Treasury secretary to listen to some economists. By understanding the causes of the current crisis, we can help solve it without relying on public money. Thus, I feel it is my duty as an economist to provide an alternative: a market-based solution, which does not waste public money and uses the force of the government only to speed up the restructuring. It may not be perfect, but it is a viable avenue that should be explored before acquiescing to the perceived inevitability of Paulson’s proposals.
GM May Merge With Other U.S. Carmakers, Before Going Out of Business
After Ford decided to remain independent amid an increasingly difficult auto market, G. M. turned its attention to Chrysler. For the last month, it has been in preliminary merger talks with Chrysler’s owner, the private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.
Japan May Offer 1 Trillion in FX Reserves to IMF Rescue Plan
Although Asia and other emerging economies have so far avoided largely the worst of the credit crisis sparked by burst of bubble in U.S. housing markets, deepening woes in Western financial markets are now infecting robust growth in many emerging economies.
Europe: No Bank Shall Fail
“The crisis has over the past few days entered into a phase that makes it intolerable to opt for procrastination and a go-it-alone approach.”
Fannie/Freddie Ordered to Buy 40 Billion in Bad Mortgages, Per Month
The purchases would be separate from the U.S. Treasury’s $700 billion bailout plan, which was signed into law earlier this month, Bloomberg noted.
Lehman CDS Settlement May Bankrupt the Entire Banking Industry
“If we see defaults from the standpoint that protection sellers don’t pay up, then we’re going to have a huge problem in the market,” Telpner said. “But we don’t have any explicit evidence indicating that sellers ultimately are not going to be able to pay the amounts owed to buyers.”
Israeli Stocks Pare Losses After Steep Drop
In the first 20 minutes of trading the main index briefly dropped by 8.59 percent to 729.40 points, reflecting falls in world markets that took place over the long Yom Kippur holiday weekend.
Soros: Morgan Stanley Needs Government Rescue
The Treasury should match the Japanese company’s injection by acquiring preferred stock that converts to shares at a price higher than Mitsubishi UFJ’s purchase price, Soros wrote in the column, published today on the Web.
Gas to Drop To $3.00 Per Gallon
Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the nationwide Lundberg Survey of gasoline prices, said the average price for self-serve unleaded across the United States dropped to $3.31 a gallon — the largest drop in the six-decade history of her survey. “This could be one the largest drops in history,” Lundberg said.
Hedge Funds Fell 4.68% in September
The HFRI Weighted Composite Index fell 4.68 percent in September, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline and extending the loss this year to 9.41 percent, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. The worst monthly performance since the firm began tracking the industry in 1990 was an 8.7 percent decline in August 1998.
Democrats Want Another Massive Stimulus Plan
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week said a $150 billion economic stimulus plan was needed to help counteract a faltering economy shaken by a paralyzed banking system and steep stock market falls.
Cramer is an Idiot
The Dow could go as low as 5,886, he said.
Buffett Legging into More BNI
Warren Buffett sells another 1.95 million shares of put options of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) on Oct. 8, two days after he sold 1.3 million shares on Oct. 6, as the latest filings of Berkshire Hathaway shows.
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