Maybe he will be right. Maybe this downturn will resemble Japan’s multiple recessions over the last two decades. Or maybe it will be a single, deeper and longer lasting slump – like the one in the early ’30s. We don’t know. Either way, it should be thought of as a depression…
August 19th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "banks"
Banks or BHP?
Are Australian banks going to be able to sustain their dividends? Over the last ten years, bank fee income has become a big driver of bank profitability (and the source of the dividends paid by banks). The credit crunch has crunched the amount of money banks make lending money.
August 13th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 3 comments | Continued
The FDIC Is in Trouble
As we all know, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guarantees depositors that they’ll get their money back if a bank fails, at least up to a certain amount. To fund its operations, the FDIC collects small fees from the banks…
August 6th, 2009 | Bud Conrad | 4 comments | Continued
Does Bernanke Really Not Understand His Fate?
Mr. Bernanke defended himself and the Fed against suggestions that he was too eager to aid large financial institutions last fall and winter, while sacrificing the interests of small businesses and everyday American citizens.
July 31st, 2009 | Byron King | 13 comments | Continued
Investors in China Have Learned Nothing From the Crash of ’07-’08
With no barriers to entry, profit margins are always squeezed by competition. And growth is limited too – other builders are always starting up. If the investor paid 40 times earnings, he can only get 2.5% on his money…
July 31st, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
What’s Good for Goldman is Generally Bad for the Country
Goldman makes money by separating investors from their money. Nothing wrong with that; someone has to do it. But the big banks are most profitable when speculation is rampant and debt is growing. That is, when people are going further and further into debt…
July 27th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | Continued
Federal Reserve and the Huge Tsunamis of Money
Then, to add that essential touch of surreal whimsy that seems to permeate all things fiscal and monetary these days, I additionally note that not only did Total Reserves go down in the banks by $48 billion to $848 billion, but I will note that Total Reserves one year ago were a miniscule $41 billion! Hahahaha!
July 7th, 2009 | Mogambo Guru | 3 comments | Continued
Iran Suffering from Own Version of Peak Oil
What’s going on in Iran? When the old guard starts shooting the young people, that’s not a favorable sign for the long term.
Last time Iran had a revolution, in 1979, it ushered in turmoil in the oil (and gold) markets for several years. Of course, the invasion by Iraq in 1980, and subsequent war, had something to do with it as well.
Hyper-Deflation on the Streets of Paris
Scarcely a block from our office in Paris is a monetary phenomenon that has escaped the financial press. In one of the highest-cost economies in the world, you can buy a woman’s shirt for 2 euros. A dress? Four euros. A man’s jacket can be had for the price of a cup of coffee.
June 29th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 20 comments | Continued
Bank Stress Test Not Stressful Enough
Forecasting loan losses at banks is inherently speculative. Forecasting future cash flow from existing loans is also speculative. Both estimates lie at the core of this week’s leaked (and eventually announced) stress test.
May 13th, 2009 | Dan Amoss | 0 comments | Continued
What Happens to Gold When High Inflation, Excess Cash, and Falling Dollar Jolts Economy?
We’re about eight years into the bull market, and gold has breached the $1,000 level twice and has spent weeks trading above the old high of $850. Some observers are now saying that gold’s pretty much had its day…
May 8th, 2009 | Jeff Clark | 9 comments | Continued
Need money? Just Take it From Accounts in the Country’s Banks
Need money? Just take it directly from accounts in the country’s banks. Of course, thanks to Mr. Gono and his friends there isn’t a lot of money in Zimbabwe’s banks…
April 29th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Downfall of the American Consumer
Not surprisingly, consumers are in trouble…so are the banks than lent them money…and so are the countries where they live. Nine of these nations – an Eastern European bloc – got together and asked the European governing council for help. They said they needed $380 billion to get through this crisis. Angela Merkel, speaking for the French and Germans, said no.
March 5th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 3 comments | Continued
Marking the Beginning of the End
Truer words have never been spoken, certainly not by this President. Wall Street listened up…and then despaired. The Dow closed down 300 points to 7,552. Its 52-week low is 7,392. You have to figure with GM asking for another US$16 billion from the American government, this could be the quarter of lower lows and lower highs.
February 18th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 15 comments | Continued
The Collapse of Complex Asset Values
In the name of “stimulus” and “recovery” and to supposedly correct the excesses of the market, none of the normal free market mechanisms to punish the excesses are being allowed to function. Instead of acknowledging that markets work in boom/bust cycles of progress, excess, and consolidation, today’s generation of policy leaders want to eliminate cycles to preserve their fictitious wealth and power!…
January 29th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 7 comments | Continued
