Things aren’t quite as dire in the hedge-fund industry as money managers originally believed. At least that’s the latest message from financial research departments, which are concluding that although the hedge fund industry has shrunk some $400 million in the past year, it still represents a colossal $1 trillion plus pool of investment capital. Largely, that’s because the...
Financial Services Industry Archive
March 2009
Amid the hoopola over a pile-in to equities last week, two pieces of news went relatively unnoticed. Japanese “megabank” Mitsubishi UFJ laid off 1,000 domestic employees, and almost in the same breath, agreed to merge its Japanese investment banking business with Morgan Stanley’s operations there. You’ll remember that late last year Mitsubishi UFJ saved Morgan...
A Los Angeles Times story today focused on the expanding American International Group (AIG) crisis, and then went on to say that “its problems extend across most of its business lines, including its massive life insurance…operations.” The Times story goes on to say that other insurers may also be in trouble and have asked for federal (read TARP) assistance. That is no surprise...
There’s a reason why convicted criminals can’t vote. If they were allowed to choose the sheriff, who would be elected? The result would look like Dickens’ London, with Fagin running the show. Yet this is exactly how major financial institutions have been allowed to game the system: by choosing their own regulator, state or federal, and in some cases playing musical chairs...
Europe may have taken a recent rhetorical drubbing for not shouldering its weight in support of the global economy. But the Old World is pouring just as much money into its shaky financial institutions as the U.S. — and sometimes more. Critics like Paul Krugman have accused Europe of shirking when it comes to economic-stimulus measures; some even complain that Europe is taking advantage...
As female college students head out on the highway for spring break, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is red-flagging them with a sobering statistic. California drivers aged 21 to 24 involved in alcohol-related crashes, where someone is killed or hurt, have risen more than 50 percent in recent years. And for women in this group, the rate has more than doubled, he says, up 116...
The 51 state regulators of our creaking insurance system should listen closely to the noise coming out of Washington, and particularly the House Financial Services Committee hearing today. The bell may not toll their demise, but they are being relegated to a pew in the back of the church. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is proposing “a vast expansion of federal authority over the...
Textron, the maker of Cessna jets, may be getting fresh liquidity with the new version of the federal Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility, a Federal Reserve lending program. Oddly enough, it can thank the boating industry for that. Textron’s financing arm, Textron Financial, provides leases for a variety of consumer and commercial products. Its captive business offers financing...
In the wake of the American International Group (AIG) disaster, insurers are not winning any congeniality contests. And it doesn’t help when they start whining and blaming, of all people, the American taxpayers for their problems. But that’s exactly what’s happening in Washington. According to the Wall Street Journal, companies that compete with AIG have complained to Federal...
Neal Wolin, President Obama’s choice as deputy treasury secretary, may be the ideal man to help his boss, Timothy Geithner, and Congress unravel the mess at American International Group (AIG), the world’s largest insurance company. Wolin is the former president and chief operating officer of Hartford Financial Services’ property and casualty unit. Hartford is one of the...
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- AIG's Earnings: The 'Benmosche Bloom' Is Off the Rose
- Eugene Fama Drinks His Own Brand of Kool-Aid
- Analyst Says Bank Losses are Moderating
- World Bank Warning About New Bubble is Overblown
- How Not to Solve the Too Big to Fail Problem
- Regulators Face Pressure To Act After CIT Bankruptcy
- U.K. to Break Up Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds
- CRE Prices Tick up for First Time Since '07
- Unsexy U.S. Bancorp Knocks Investors and Customers Dead
- FBOP Shuttered, as U.S. Bancorp Swoops in
- Buffett Sells More Moody's Stake As Credit Ratings Agencies Face Revenue Growth Challenges
- As Fourth Quarter Gets Underway, Real-Life Stress Tests Begin
- While CIT Group Announces More "Restructuring," Bankruptcy Still Unclear
- As Income Mobility Falls, American Dream Fades
- Lawmakers Push Bill to Monitor Fed Lending Programs
- Roubini Warns of New Financial Crisis
- Ex-Wells Fargo Loan Officer Details Shady Practices
- Bank Overdraft Fees on the Rise
- Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase are too Late in Moving to Curb Overdraft Fees
- Civil Rights Group Teams With Wells Fargo Despite Charges of Predatory Lending
- As Loans Sour, Pace of Bank Failures Likely to Rise
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- As Income Mobility Falls, American Dream Fades
- Creative Destruction and the new Money Trust
- Ron Paul Wants to Shine More Light on the Fed
- Civil Rights Group Teams With Wells Fargo Despite Charges of Predatory Lending
- Geithner Deal With Wall Street Over AIG Swaps Cost Taxpayers $13 Billion
- A House Divided: Fractured Financial Regulation Threatens Reform
- Financial Reform Effort in Danger of Splintering
- FDIC Chief Sheila Bair to Treasury Brat Geithner: Nyah!
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The financial industry meltdown has been the worst since the great depression. BNET Financial provides daily industry trends and news coverage with insights for managers and executives about the major financial services companies in the banking and finance sector. In addition to detailed company profiles, we bring you industry analysis on new mergers, partnerships, financial products, rates, investments, capital, and a host of other critical factors of success in the finance business.