More downgrades are hitting Europe today by the credit ratings agencies. Today’s downgrades are not in the PIIGS as we have become so accustomed to. Instead of bashing Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, or Spain,…
The Conference Board this morning released its Employment Trends Index for June. Compared with June 2011, the index is up 5.6%, but compared with a revised May index the reading is down by about…
Manipulation in setting the London Inter Bank Offered Rate (Libor) has already cost the CEO of Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS) his job and cost the bank about $450 million in fines. Now the German…
Markets widely interpreted Germany’s recent agreement permitting the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to purchase Eurozone sovereign debt as a major step on the road to Eurozone economic…
The European Central Bank (ECB) today lowered its main policy rate to 0.75% in a move that was widely anticipated by the market. The rate cut sets the bank’s lending rate below 1% for…
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, announced a surprise cut to its benchmark interest rates today. This is the second cut in a month, and underscores just how concerned Chinese…
In a sign that the Bank of England believe that the economic situation in the U.K. is not entirely dire, it kept interest rates at .5%. However: The Committee also voted to increase the…
In a shocking turn of events, CEO Bob Diamond has resigned as head of Barclays (NYSE: BCS). Marcus Agius, who resigned yesterday as chairman, was reappointed and will take on additional duties. The bank…
If you thought that the latest market-moving news out of Europe where the European Central Bank could directly lend and offer aid to troubled banks in Europe sounded a bit like a prelude to…
Inaccurate submissions of Libor interest rate data, which first cost Barclays (NYSE: BCS) $453 million in fines to U.S. and UK regulators, has cost the chairman of the bank, Marcus Agius. As he left,…
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was up with the rest of the banks at the open on Friday, but something happened along the way and the bank ended up being the only one…
European leaders are taking the aid directly to the banks to stave off any added crisis. The futures in the U.S. are soaring and the markets in Europe are up big. This will sound…
Jamie Dimon is probably glad to hear that Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is more prominently in the news over LIBOR manipulation. The reaction in shares of Barclays has been similar to the multi-billion losses seen…
The low-rate environment is going to continue taking a toll on bank earnings. Credit Suisse has a report this Thursday showing some ongoing caution in the regional banking sector. The firm is maintaining an…
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is weak this morning on word that the bank’s trading losses will be much wider than originally reported. The market knew that the loss would be at…