Banking, finance, and taxes Articles

Letting Banks Use TARP Money To Make Profits On Other Banks

A lot of people and members of Congress are upset that banks that took TARP money may buy toxic assets…

Credit Card Interest Rates Keep Rising

If you have been expecting that all of the lower rates and all of the government bailout money was going…

FASB Bring Sense, and Cents, To Banks & Mark-to-Market (C, WFC, BAC, JPM)

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, has voted to loosen its rules for the (now dreaded) balance sheet act…

Geithner Says He Can Fire Bank CEOs

Secretary Geithner has been late to every party he has attended since talking over Treasury. His plans have often been…

NiSource Buying Back Debt (NI)

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) looks to be tendering some of its debt.  The company announced a tender offer after yesterday’s close…

S&P Cuts Ireland; Financial Potato Famine (IRE, AIB, IRL, ELN)

It is not very frequent that you see an English-speaking country take a sovereign credit ratings agency downgrade.  That would …

UBS (UBS) Signal: Bank Losses To Heat Up Again

Will The World’s Hedge Funds Move Off-Shore?

What will hedge funds do if large governments start to regulate their activities, tax them at higher rates, and make…

Wall St. To Move To Socialism

It looks like Treasury Secretary Geithner wants to completely socialize Wall St. and set up a level of regulation that…

Commercial Real Estate Is Snake In The Grass For Banks

The price of bank stocks is some indication that Wall St. believes that the industry is coming out of the woods.…

Will Wells Fargo Become Solar Lender of Choice? (WFC)

There has been an interesting ride in the solar sector that was almost identical to what was seen in the…

Short Sellers Lighten Up On Online Brokers (ETFC, AMTD, SCHW)

We noticed how short sellers had increased their bets against banks and financials, even if this was right at the…

New Plan To Buy Bank Toxic Assets Could Ruin Bank Balance Sheets

A troubling wrinkle about how the Treasury’s plan to buy toxic asset from banks could cause huge losses and the…

How Treasury Secretary Geithner Became The Most Powerful Man In The World

The transformation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be remembered for its speed and unexpectedness. Just four weeks ago, on…

S&P Puts Eagle Eye On Buffett & Berkshire (BRK-A, GE)

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services is putting Mr. Buffett on Watch.  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) has had its ratings…