Tag: Markets

The Takeaway

Did Wall Street bonuses spark the economic collapse?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The profits on Wall Street are long gone. This week, Goldman Sachs, a longtime top performer, reported a quarterly loss of more than $2 BILLION, which is its first quarterly loss since going public nine years ago. While you would expect there would be no bonuses to executives at Goldman and other banks, that is not the case. Executives at banks that ran into the ground took home hundreds of millions. Now there are questions about what role those lavish bonuses played in the banks', and the economy's, collapse. Louise Story is covering this story for our partner the New York Times.

For more on this story, read Louise Story's article in the New York Times, On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real .

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The Takeaway

The U.S. dollar takes a hit in the currency market

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Despite the US Federal Reserve slashing rate cuts to almost zero and an enormous stimulus package created by Congress, the economic news in the U.S. is still bleak. Now the dollar has dropped steeply among currencies hitting a 13-year low against the yen. Joining the discussion on The Takeaway is James Hickman, the Managing Director of Caxton FX Foreign Exchange, a firm which specializes in trading and buying foreign currencies.

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The Takeaway

U.S. dollar plunges against the yuan in a volatile market

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Fed cut rates effectively to zero, while OPEC is cutting production and the U.S. Treasury is casting billions about in hopes of stimulating the sagging U.S. economy. Unfortunately none of it seems to be inspiring investors or improving the state of the American economy. In fact, the U.S. dollar plunged against the yuan yesterday and markets remain volatile. Jeremy Stretch, a Senior Currency and Markets Analyst at Rabobank, joins The Takeaway from the trading floor in London.

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The Takeaway

U.S. market reaction to Fed rate cut

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Wall Street is heading for a lower open today after the Dow Jones industrial average 4 percent surge yesterday. The Dow futures are down 109 points as investors' enthusiasm over the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut gives way to concerns about the nation's overall weak economy. Gretchen Morgenson, assistant business and financial editor and a columnist at the New York Times, joins The Takeaway to discuss.

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The Takeaway

World markets react to U.S. interest rate cut

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Yesterday the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed its key interest rate to historic lows in an effort to pull the world's largest economy out of recession. Today the rest of the world's markets react. Justin Urquhart Stewart, a director with Seven Investment Management, joins The Takeaway to discuss.

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The Takeaway

Nonprofits are reeling from the Bernie Madoff fallout

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Last week legendary trader Bernie Madoff was arrested and charged with securities fraud. Today the reverberations of Madoff's historic scheming are being felt far beyond Wall Street. The nonprofits have been hit hard. For a look at what this means for philanthropies and those who benefit from their good works, The Takeaway checks in with Robert Crane, president and CEO of the JEHT Foundation. The foundation, whose funds were managed by Madoff, will close its doors in January.
"When you have such a massive loss of wealth, it doesn't matter if interest rates are zero."
— The Wall Street Journal's Kelly Evans on the fallout of the Madoff scandal

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The Takeaway

The Bernie Madoff fallout hits more than just celebrities

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Last week investor Bernie Madoff became a household name when he was arrested for securities fraud. His victims, including Mort Zuckerman, Steven Spielberg and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), are among the richest and most powerful people in the world. But the Madoff fallout did not only hit society's top tier, but is also crippling nonprofits and everyday investors. For a look at how far the Madoff dominoes have fallen, The Takeaway checks in with Robert Chew. Last Thursday Chew and his wife learned that they had lost everything in a Madoff investment.

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The Takeaway

Big three wait for word of White House bailout

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Congress and the big three automakers are waiting to see if and when the White House will step in with a helping hand for the industry. Congress failed last week to approve an emergency loan package and now the White House says it may use its power to bail out the industry at least temporarily. The Takeaway talks to Todd Zwillich, reporter for Capitol News Connection, in Washington, DC.

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The Takeaway

The biggest scam in Wall Street history

Monday, December 15, 2008

Most Ponzi schemes are short lived. Financial watchdogs, investors or the FBI normally sniff out the crook and the scheme collapses. But that's not the case with Wall Street legend Bernard Madoff, who was arrested late last week and accused of putting on one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in the history of Wall Street. Diana Henriques of The New York Times wrote Sunday's piece, "The 17th Floor, Where Wealth Went to Vanish"
He put the losses at $50 Billion. Forensic accountants are still trying to confirm both the scale of that and how he did it.
— Diana Henriques

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The Takeaway

Next group to be bailed out? Consumers

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said yesterday he would do whatever it takes to lift the economy, including giving his approval to a plan to disburse $800 billion in two new lending programs. This latest rescue move is the first time both the Treasury and Fed have teamed up to lend a helping hand directly to consumers — offering aid to help with student loans, car loans or small business loans.

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The Takeaway

Expanded bailout plan aims to help out little guys

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has announced a new $800 billion rescue plan that includes a commitment of $200 billion to increase the availability of student loans, auto loans and credit cards. Are small and mid-level banks finally getting a bailout of their own? The Takeaway talks to Mike Menzies, President and CEO of Easton Bank and Trust in Easton, Maryland.
"The marketplace has stopped buying those pools of loans. It's constipated."
—Mike Menzies discusses the strength of community banks

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The Takeaway

"Anatomy of a Meltdown:" profiling Ben Bernanke amidst the economic crisis

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The man at the center of the current U.S. financial crisis is Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Takeaway talks to New Yorker Staff writer John Cassidy, who profiled Bernanke for his latest piece, "Anatomy of a Meltdown."
"In a financial crisis, all the old rules go out the window and the only institution which can restore order and prevent a wholesale panic is the government."
— John Cassidy on Ben Bernanke

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The Takeaway

Bailout and stimulus plans in U.S. and U.K.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Faced with the same economic crisis currently gripping the rest of the globe, Britain has unveiled an economic stimulus plan of its own, with some striking similarities and differences compared to the American plan. The U.K. package offers cuts in the sales tax to spur spending among middle and low-income earners and raises the tax rate on the wealthy. The Takeaway also examines the short and long-term implications of President-elect Obama's recently-announced stimulus plan.

"The banks have gotten quite a bailout so far and still been unable to lend."

— Jim Ellis

"It's like a horror film where you're in the car, you're turning the ignition key and the beast is bearing down. You've got to get that engine started."

— Paddy O'Connell on kick-starting the economy

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The Takeaway

European markets up after Thursday plunge

Friday, November 21, 2008

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The Takeaway

Credit care deliquencies rise

Friday, November 21, 2008

Submit your questions about debt for financial consultant Alvin Hall and join us at thetakeaway.org at 1 p.m. Eastern for a live Q&A.

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The Takeaway

Dow, S&P, oil at multi-year lows

Friday, November 21, 2008

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The Takeaway

Bank bellwether Citigroup cuts jobs, loses value

Thursday, November 20, 2008

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The Takeaway

Advertising firms face collapsing economy

Thursday, November 20, 2008

When an economic downturn hits, everyone starts pinching pennies. Advertisers are keenly aware of this fact and quickly start altering their ads to emphasize value, fuel efficiency and economy over taste or style. Cindy Gallop, former chairman of the ad agency BBH now consultant, explains how advertising changes during a recession.

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The Takeaway

Asian markets drop 4-6%

Thursday, November 20, 2008

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The Takeaway

Lisa Margonelli: Spoiler alert! The plot of the oil opera

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

By Lisa Margonelli

I like to think of the oil market as an opera, where big dramas get played out by colorful outsized characters ranging from OPEC, China and Russia to currency hedgers, militias in Nigeria and choruses of American commuters, among others. The opera metaphor also works to explain how the market gets carried away on symphonic swirls of emotion that lead to a price of $145 a barrel in July before falling to below $50 a barrel. (continued ...)
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