Posts belonging to Category Economy



Are the Traditional Safe Haven Investments Still Safe?

 

In the wake of the financial crisis, investors have flocked to so-called safe haven investments like U.S. treasuries and debt of Germany and the United Kingdom. The price for that safety is too high, however, according to some experts. Those experts claim that the debt of those safe havens has been bid up into bubbles […]

Stockton Bankruptcy Rattles Municipal Markets

 

In the national news and on the minds of municipal bondholders across the country is the bankruptcy of Stockton, CA. On June 28 the town of Stockton, CA, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. This is not the first town to file for bankruptcy with outstanding bonds however its aggressive attitude toward bondholders has those […]

Stockton, California Files for Bankruptcy

 

Warren Buffett, billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., has continued to express concerns about the number of municipal bankruptcies happening around the nation. In testimony before the U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in June 2010, Buffett predicted a “terrible problem” for municipal bonds in coming years. A portion of that prediction came true on June […]

How Problems in Europe are Likely to Impact Investors

 

While the results of the election in Greece have given a sense of relief, it may only be temporary. The revolutionary party, which is seen as favoring a Greek exit from the Euro rather than accepting the austere terms of a bailout, almost won and may well win in the next election. By the time […]

Repression of Middle Class Fosters Discord in America

 

“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” That seems to describe the general feeling among people as diverse as Tea Party members and Occupy Wall Street types. It also captures the mood of a vast middle class of America that is fed up with our institutions of finance and government […]

Layoffs Loom for More Senior Level Securities Professionals

 

More Wall Street jobs cuts are expected as deal-making, capital-raising and lending have been severely crimped by the global economic downturn. The resulting lower revenues are making a new round of layoffs increasingly likely (“On Wall St., few places to hide as jobs ax hovers,” Reuters). As the article implies, the cuts have reportedly even […]

Layoffs at Wall Street Firms Begin to Reach Senior Levels

 

It is widely known that Wall Street firms have been cutting jobs since the financial crisis. Recently, Goldman Sachs began laying off upper middle-tier personnel, such as managing directors. Managing directors are compensated at levels below “partnership managing directors” at Goldman (the equivalent of “senior managing directors” at other firms), but above the junior vice […]

Why Europe Matters to Investors

 

Is the U.S. economy in the calm before the storm? Even with unemployment around 8 percent, the U.S. economy appears to be chugging along in a slow-growth mode, and, according to some, stocks are not overpriced. According to David Wessell of the Wall Street Journal, however, “Euro Woes Will Cross the Pond,” disrupting the U.S. […]

Europe Poses a Dangerous Threat to Many Investments

 

Many so-called experts believe that the huge financial problems developing across Europe could fuel another worldwide financial crisis. The media has recently been focusing on the European bailouts and existing austerity measures are being debated by the European Union. A new buzzword “Grexit”, has entered into this conversation now that some experts believe Greece could […]

Wall Street Firms Apparently Planning Massive Job Cuts

 

Wall Street banks could soon cut as many as 21,000 jobs in New York alone, say Wall Street consultants and recruiters. Worldwide cuts could be even larger (“Large layoffs loom on Wall Street,” Stephen Gandel, CNN Money). While the stock market is up this year, and many smaller investment banks have been hiring, and the […]