subprime crisis

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Get Set for Disorderly Lehman Liquidation
Get Set for Disorderly Lehman Liquidation
markets
Sep 14, 2008 7:24 PM CDT

Get Set for Disorderly Lehman Liquidation

(Newser) - Barclay's dropping out of a Lehman deal means that the Feds lost a game of chicken with the big banks holding Lehman mortgages, and now there will be a disorderly liquidation of Lehman assets, instead of the orderly liquidation that would have been possible with a real buyer, James Cramer...

Medvedev Urges Calm in Russian Market Crisis

With stocks off big, bank chief warns of lack of liquidity

(Newser) - The Russian economy is skidding, and its leaders are giving somewhat contradictory messages, the AP reports. Shortly after President Dmitry Medvedev assured the public today that stock-market troubles don’t “reflect the actual state of the economy,” the chairman of the country’s central bank said “as...

Lehman: Finding a Buyer Will Be Tough
 Lehman: Finding 
 a Buyer Will Be Tough 
analysis
Sep 11, 2008 8:30 AM CDT

Lehman: Finding a Buyer Will Be Tough

Experts worry there may be no one that can put the big deal together

(Newser) - Lehman Brothers is in the same bind as home sellers in a tight real estate market: they have a great asset for sale, but nobody has the money to buy, reports Bloomberg. The bank hopes to auction 55% of its asset-management fund, but experts say interested investors may not be...

McCain, Obama Both Have Ties to Loan Giants

Both took cash from leaders; McCain's manager is GSEs' ex-lobbyist

(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain are both railing against the excesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the campaign trail, and promising to end the lobbyist culture in Washington that led to their fall. But both candidates and their parties have multiple ties to Fannie and Freddie, the New ...

Battle Lines Drawn in Freddie, Fannie Fight

Making mortgage giants public, breaking them up or nursing them to health seen as options

(Newser) - What Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae look like in the future—and whether they continue to exist in a recognizable form at all—depends on how Washington looks next year, the New York Times reports. The battle already has begun, with the White House and congressional Democrats blaming each other...

In Times of Crisis, Paulson's the 'Decider'
In Times of Crisis, Paulson's the 'Decider'
ANALYSIS
Sep 9, 2008 6:12 AM CDT

In Times of Crisis, Paulson's the 'Decider'

Fannie-Freddie bailout shows Treasury sec enjoys a free hand

(Newser) - Last week, a small group met in the Oval Office to discuss the impending takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But while President Bush convened the meeting, there was no mistaking who was running the show: Hank Paulson, who had first floated public ownership and who oversaw every aspect...

US Must Strike Fine Balance on Mortgage Bailout
US Must Strike Fine Balance on Mortgage Bailout
Analysis
Sep 8, 2008 11:34 AM CDT

US Must Strike Fine Balance on Mortgage Bailout

Deficit makes coordinated response economically, psychologically crucial

(Newser) - A global storm continues to threaten the world’s economies, and the US government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is just one step, albeit a major one, toward recovery. Whether the latest attempt to right the ship succeeds "ultimately boils down to two big issues," writes...

Fannie, Freddie Deal May Ease Rates, Cut Foreclosures

Federal takeover may help refresh housing market as dust settles

(Newser) - How will the government’s seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac affect homeowners and buyers? In the short term, the New York Times says, interest rates may fall some, but probably not enough to stop the slide in home prices. Some facing foreclosure could have a better chance at...

WaMu Cans CEO Killinger

From rapid expansion and growth to rapid decline, WaMu is in deep trouble

(Newser) - The enduring subprime contagion has claimed another victim, as downtrodden Washington Mutual has forced out CEO Kerry Killinger, reports the Wall Street Journal. Killinger, who has led the nation’s largest thrift since 1990, and has taken it from a small Seattle business into one of the nation’s largest...

Lehman Considers 'Good Bank/Bad Bank' Split

Sheltering troubled mortgage debt expected to bolster confidence

(Newser) - Lehman Brothers is considering splitting itself into two banks, a “bad bank” to house its $30 billion in troubled mortgage and real estate holdings, and a “good bank” to carry on with the help of a new investor or two, the New York Times reports. The move, which...

Feds Charge Brokers in $1B Subprime Fraud

Credit Suisse pair told clients debt backed by student loans, not risky mortgages: SEC

(Newser) - Federal regulators today charged two Wall Street brokers with defrauding their customers by making more than $1 billion in unauthorized purchases of securities tied to subprime mortgages. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges the Credit Suisse Securities employees led corporate customers to believe that securities being purchased in their accounts...

Fannie-Freddie Merger: The Math Adds Up
Fannie-Freddie Merger:
The Math Adds Up
OPINION
Sep 2, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

Fannie-Freddie Merger: The Math Adds Up

As both companies plummet, combining them might make sense

(Newser) - With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struggling to stay afloat, arguments for a merger are gathering steam. “Sometimes size can be a strength,” writes Andrew Ross Sorkin in the New York Times. The companies spent $1.825 billion in total overhead in the first half of 2008 doing...

McMahon Home Woes Persist
McMahon Home Woes Persist
Aug 30, 2008 6:16 PM CDT

McMahon Home Woes Persist

Mystery buyer drops out, but Donald Trump may still spring for Beverly Hills mansion

(Newser) - Ed McMahon’s money woes continued this week when the sale of his house fell through. The mystery buyer who had topped Donald Trump's offer "did not perform on a specific point of the contract," McMahon's realtor said—although Trump's bid is apparently still on the table. McMahon's...

Fannie, Freddie Employees Watch Assets Plunge

(Newser) - As the stock prices of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunged 80% this year, employees of the companies helplessly watched their fortunes sink with the ship, the New York Times reports. For instance, Fannie Mae’s workers owned $116 million in company stock at the end of 2006;...

Top Execs Booted at Fannie Mae
 Top Execs Booted at Fannie Mae
Aug 28, 2008 2:48 AM CDT

Top Execs Booted at Fannie Mae

Shake-up aims to boost investor confidence in hemorrhaging firm

(Newser) - Battered mortgage-finance provider Fannie Mae has ousted three top executives in a bid to boost investor confidence, Bloomberg reports. Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd is replacing his chief officers for finance, business and risk management as he struggles to prove that the company has enough capital to ride out the...

Home Sales Up in July; Market Glut Begins to Ease

Inventory still high as monthly declines ease

(Newser) - New home sales rebounded a bit in July, according to Commerce Department data released today, and the glut of properties on the market began to ease, Bloomberg reports. The 2.4% uptick in sales fell short of the pace economists were looking for—hitting a 515,000 annual pace rather...

Korean Bank Warned Off Lehman Bros. Buy

Firm may be too big a risk: official

(Newser) - The Korea Development Bank was warned today of rushing into a bid for Lehman Brothers by South Korea’s top banking official, the Financial Times reports. A Lehman investment may constitute too much risk for a state-owned bank, Jun Kwang-woo warned after last week’s news that, though KDB’s...

Secret Lehman Sale Talks Fail
Secret Lehman Sale Talks Fail
Aug 21, 2008 9:48 AM CDT

Secret Lehman Sale Talks Fail

South Korean, Chinese investors balk at hefty $5B price for half of troubled bank

(Newser) - Secret talks earlier this month to sell up to half of struggling US investment bank Lehman Brothers to South Korean or Chinese buyers fell apart after last-minutes squabbles over details, the Financial Times reports. The bank, which is expected to announce up to $4 billion in writedowns next month, was...

Lehman Shops Key Unit in Quest for Cash

The troubled Wall Street firm is taking offers for its strong fund management wing

(Newser) - Lehman Brothers is shopping a piece of its investment management unit, the Wall Street Journal reports, joining other large banks in shedding strong-performing businesses to offset mortgage meltdown losses. Lehman’s management business, which includes Neuberger Berman and hosts 27 mutual funds managing $22 billion in individual and institutional wealth,...

Fannie, Freddie Take Another Beating on Bailout Fears

Falling market caps raise investor fears of government action

(Newser) - Share prices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took another precipitous plunge yesterday as investors fear the home mortgage giants will not be able to avoid a government bailout, the Wall Street Journal reports. An article in Barron’s stoked smoldering concerns that the companies will not be able to...

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