Wall Street Influence Diminishing?
More from Doug Terry: It struck me this weekend that a new, under–the-surface debate may be brewing. I sense Wall Street, once the puppet-master of the government intervention to save the banking system may find itself with diminished influence. Let’s go back 5 months: AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were deemed “too big to .. read more
Markets In Review
Proposal to Tax Securities Transactions
Peter DeFazio (D-OR) has introduced a bill to tax securities transactions to pay for TARP (HT: Doug Terry): Congress finds the following: (1) The Bush Administration allocated the first $350 billion of TARP funds in a manner that has outraged the Nation by failing to provide the most basic oversight of the funds. (2) Congress .. read more
General Electric Cuts Dividend
General Electric decided to cut its dividend today, in a move that will save the company close to $9 billion and bring it a step closer in maintaining its coveted AAA-rating. GE cut will cut its quarterly dividend to 10 cents from 31 cents, the Wall Street Journal reported. The cut comes weeks after the .. read more
GDP Revised Lower
Today’s GDP report highlighted a downwardly-revised 6.2% decline, after an initial estimate of -3.8% just one month ago. That’s a staggering decline – the steepest since 1982, right smack in the middle of the double dip recessions of the Reagan era. Economists were expecting a decline of 5.5%. Sharp drops in consumer spending, business investment, and .. read more
S&P 500 Crosses Intraday Lows
Early in today’s trading session, the S&P 500 broke its intraday lows set when the market bottomed in November. The index hit a 12-year low:
UBS Names New CEO
The Swiss banking giant UBS AG (UBS) announced today that it was replacing current CEO, Marcel Rohner, with the highly regarded ex-Credit Suisse chief Oswald Gruebel. UBS, one of the largest companies in the world, seeks to restore investor confidence after massive losses in the 4th quarter and backlash from the US government. Chairman Peter Kurer said Gruebel has .. read more
Economic Report: New Home Sales
Sales of new homes in the US declined to their lowest levels on record, after a lackluster January in which sales fell by a stomach-wrenching 10.2%. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, the lowest ever since the series began in 1963. The report was below expectations, as economists were predicting a number closer to 320,000. In all of .. read more
