The official results of the banking sector stress test have not yet been released. But the Wall Street Journal is reporting today that two potential casualties will be Citigroup and Bank of America. Specifically, the Journal says the feds want both institutions to raise billions of dollars more in capital, though the banks are reportedly [...]
From the monthly archives:
April 2009
In its report issued today regarding the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program (SCAP),” the Federal Reserve admits that the economy has deteriorated since it announced the program in late February.1
However, there is no recognition of the primary failing of SCAP — that its stress tests are based on premises that are blatantly milder than those traditionally [...]
March existing home sales figures were released this morning. Here’s what the data showed:
* Existing home sales fell 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units from 4.71 million in February. That was slightly below the forecast for a reading of 4.65 million. Single-family sales dipped 2.8%, while condo and cooperative sales [...]
Key News
*UK Deficit Largest Since WWII; Unemployment Reaches 12-Year High (Bloomberg)
* Deflation bites UK as RPI goes negative (FT)
*Soaring US Budget Deficit Will Mean Billions in Bond Sales (Bloomberg)
*China’s Economy May Expand Faster Than Expected on Stimulus (Bloomberg)
The Event Agenda
The Morning Run-Down
As the New York session begins the markets are reflecting more of the risk [...]
Many of us here at Weiss have been warning about a bubble in long-term Treasuries so I just wanted to drop you a quick statistic that supports the idea …
Foreigners sold a net $146.8 billion in U.S. assets in January and another $97 billion in February!
If international investors are becoming more cautious on U.S. bonds, [...]
While there have been some “green shoots” emerging in the residential real estate market in select areas, there is nothing of the sort happening in the commercial real estate (CRE) market. Commercial lags residential during declines and recoveries, and I believe we are still deeply mired in a CRE cesspool. Of course, some of us [...]
On December 16, 2002, we submitted a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to end serious conflicts of interest at Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations (NRSROs), particularly at the three leading rating agencies, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch.
Since that time, these conflicts have, unfortunately, played a major role in [...]
The International Monetary Fund just released its latest Global Financial Stability Report. You can download the entire, mammoth 237-page PDF here if you’re so inclined. But the headline is that the IMF has increased its estimate of the ultimate cost of the credit crisis. The organization now says the crisis could ultimately cost $4.1 trillion [...]
Key News
*German Recession Deepened in First Quarter, Bundesbank Says (Bloomberg)
* Emerging-Market Stocks, bonds Fall on Oil, Deepening Recession
(Bloomberg)
* Roth Says SNB to Buy Currencies as Long as Needed (Bloomberg)
*Euro falls vs dollar, yen on ECB uncertainty (Reuters)
The Event Agenda
The Morning Run-Down
Risk aversion is back on track this morning and it appears that the short term [...]
Don’t miss this most recent press release from Weiss Research, Inc.:
Author of new Wall Street Journal bestseller,
“The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide,” donates
all royalties to Campaign to End Child Homelessnessby Elizabeth Kelley Grace
Jupiter, Fla., April 20, 2009 — Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D, president of Weiss Research, Inc. and [...]
