'Over the last year, the federal government has injected over $200 billion into approximately 600 financial institutions, and guaranteed over $300 billion of their troubled assets. Given the rapidly rising US budget deficit, what was the justification for such large bailouts, and what should be the rationale for bailouts in future financial crises?,' writes Pozen. Read More
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that the Obama administration will end some of the TARP programs by the New Year. What does this mean for the financial sector? Mark Lane, equity research analyst at William Blair & Co. and Fred Cannon, co-director of research and chief equity strategist at KBW shared their insights. Read More
Camden Fine, CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said the 1,200 to 1,500 community banks that deal directly with agriculture could be the next to struggle, due to inflated commodities and farmland prices. Read More
AIG’s share price has now advanced more than 100% during the week. While it was a short squeeze that contributed the bulk of that move, today’s upward tide is due to a belief that AIG has found some stability in its business. Read More
The Dow advanced Tuesday before dropping back, as a slew of components beat earnings expectations. But there were pockets of weakness throughout the market, including chips, hardware, banks and retail. Between the double-decker day of earnings, Fed Chairman Bernanke is delivering his semi-annual testimony on the state of the economy before the House, which he will repeat tomorrow morning before the Senate. Read More