Tag archive for ‘Depositors’
Stock Market Meltdown, Bank Failures, and Recession! Oh my!
Last week, the stock market shredded almost 20% of its value, and briefly looked as if the Dow Jones Industrial Average would march to 7000, a number that would bring the market’s value down to almost 50% from its high a year ago. Panicked investors continue to be frenzied as they worry about the value of their 401K’s, IRA’s, and government savings plans, selling in droves and fleeing for the safety of US Treasury Bonds; bonds which are almost worthless in their yields at the moment as demand for bonds far outstrips supply. In the time of market panic - cash is king. Many Americans are asking, however, why this is happening? They were told the Bail Out “rescue” plan would avoid Financial Armageddon! Why then does the market continue to be driven downward, and the credit market continue to be seized?
Bail out on the bailout
Put simply - the problem with the bailout is this - who are we bailing out, exactly, with the current Bill (HR 1424)? The now 420+ paged monstrosity includes things such as tax breaks for employers who encourage their workers to take bicycles to work, a 2500+ dollar tax for electric vehichle purchases, an alternative fuel tax credit, credits for biodesiel and alternative fuels, credits for carbon dioxide sequestration, credits for geothermal heat pumps, tax breaks for the steel industry, changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax system, oh and among my personal favorites, a seven year amortization table for the expenses associated with development and running a motocycle racing track. Yes, you heard me - motocross racing tax provisions.
Unwinding Mess - IndyMac, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae
On Friday, the first unavoidable evidence that the credit crunch continues burst forth to center stage. The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation (FDIC) were forced to take control of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. IndyMac’s failure marks one of the largest bank failures in history, and is the largest bank failure [...]
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