Amid worries of Asia’s rising debt, an HSBC study notes that, based on ratios of bank credit to GDP for the region, …
Financial Crisis
Bankers: Who Needs Them?
Would the world be a happier place if we just got rid of all the bankers? Well, no. The financial sector, for all of its foibles, is as necessary for the economy as blood is for our bodies: it facilitates trade, allocates …
Romney Pal Writes an Ode to Inequality
Mitt Romney no doubt appreciates the million bucks his former Bain Capital protégé Edward Conard has donated to his election SuperPAC. He may not appreciate quite as much the shout-out he gets in the acknowledgements of …
Spain’s Death Spiral and the Hypocrisy of the Euro
Anyone out there who thinks the euro zone debt crisis is over – and you know who you are – should take a good look at what’s going on in Spain. If Italy represented the biggest threat to the euro in 2011, then Spain will be …
Should We Find Comfort in the Fed’s Stress Tests Results?
The Federal Reserve announced late Tuesday the details of its latest “stress test” of major American financial institutions, and the markets greeted the results with qualified optimism. Nineteen banks submitted capital plans to …
Why China Faces a Catch-22 on Financial Reform
Amid all of the aggressive market reform that has taken place in China over the past 30 years, the country’s financial and capital markets are a glaring exception. Capital controls restrict flows of money in and out of the …
Is It Time to Start Worrying About Inflation Again?
The greatest threat to any long-term investor is inflation. It not only erodes the value of stocks and bonds, but also depresses economic growth and misleads policymakers.
The Big Winner of the Great Recession Is …
The recent recession has been the most brutal since the Great Depression and has caused enormous hardship for many American families, as well as immense financial problems for governments around the world. As a result, it’s hard …
Don’t Cry for Goldman Sachs, Despite ‘Bad’ Year and Partner Exits
Has Goldman Sachs lost its lustre? The Wall Street powerhouse is wrapping up its worst financial performance since 2008, with profits down more than 40% so far this year. As a result, end-of-year bonus payouts are sure to be …
Was the Government Bailout of AIG Illegal?
Here’s what we have learned for sure during the past three years: No one likes bailouts. Not even, apparently, the people being bailed out.
In two lawsuits filed on Monday against the government and the Federal Reserve, a …
Could the European Debt Crisis Cause a U.S. bank to Fail?
Depending on how you look at it, U.S. banks could lose as much as $1 trillion if the current money troubles in Europe were to lead to a full blown financial crisis. Or they could lose close to nothing. It depends on who you believe. Understanding why there is a difference of opinion is at the heart of knowing whether U.S. banks are …
$54 Billion Closer to Our Next Financial Crisis
After a couple years of austerity, we’re again racking up credit card debt at an alarming clip.
