-
-
World markets plunge as turmoil spreads
Asian and European stock markets plunged Monday as government bank bailouts in the U.S. and Europe failed to alleviate fears that the global financial crisis would depress world economic growth.
Investors took scant comfort from Washington’s passage of a $700 billion plan to buy bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry on Friday because of the uncertainty still hanging over the details of the deal and the degree to which it will help.
Britain’s benchmark stock index, the FTSE 100, lost 220.11 to 4,760.14 — a 4.42 percent fall. The declines were led by the banking industry, with the mining and oil industries also suffering drops. HBOS PLC’s share price dropped 15.7 percent, while the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC fell 13.6 percent.
Germany’s DAX index fell 4.22 percent to 5,552.27. France’s CAC-40 index dropped 4.85 percent to 3,882.81. In Russia, the RTS stock index tumbled more than 7 percent in first 20 minutes of trading. Asian and European stock markets plunged Monday as government bank bailouts in the U.S. and Europe failed to alleviate fears that the ... more -
Wall Street tumbles after global sell-off
Financial markets around the world had a rocky start Monday after European governments took steps to limit the damage from the growing global financial crisis. U.S. stocks dropped sharply at the opening, and the credit markets remained under strain. The Dow fell more than 200 points.
Investors are realizing the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue plan won't work quickly enough to unfreeze the credit markets, and that many banks are still having difficulties gaining access to cash.
Over the weekend, governments across Europe rushed to prop up failing banks. The German government and financial industry agreed on a $68 billion bailout for commercial-property lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, while France's BNP Paribas agreed to acquire a 75 percent stake in Fortis's Belgium bank after a government rescue failed. Financial markets around the world had a rocky start Monday after European governments took steps to limit the damage from the growing... more -
Obama campaign lauches McCain/Keating 5 website and documentary
It's been the ace up their sleeve all along. McCain's amplified negative strategy marked by Sarah Palin's "Weather Underground" comments looks like the signal the Obama campaign has been waiting for to take the gloves off and go to town on John McCain's connection to the "Keating 5" S&L scandal in the '80's. The timing with regard to the recent economic crisis is especially poignant and timely, as the Keating scandal was all about lack of regulatory oversight and corporate abuse of taxpayer dollars protected by political favoritism and cronyism.
The full documentary is set to debut online at noon eastern time on 10/6 It's been the ace up their sleeve all along. McCain's amplified negative strategy marked by Sarah Palin's "Weath... more -
Steve Jobs Heart Attack Was Bogus - Nasdaq Rebounds After Apple Denial Statement
People have been trying to kill this guy off prior to the latest rumors. On August 28, 2008, Bloomberg erroneously published a 2,500 word obituary for Steve Jobs with his age and cause of death left blank. At Apple’s 2008 Let’s Rock event in September, Jobs started out his keynote speech by quoting Mark Twain, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” People have been trying to kill this guy off prior to the latest rumors. On August 28, 2008, Bloomberg erroneously published a 2,500 ... more
-
Investors Stampede To Alpacas
The investor trend is shifting from stocks to more tangible assets like -comic books, alpacas, champagne and gold.
-
Senate bailout vote puts pressure on House Republicans, aides say
Story Highlights:
Rep. Charles Rangel thinks "sweeteners" will smooth passage in House
Bailout package passed Senate 74-25 on Wednesday with bipartisan support
The bailout failed 228-205 on Monday in the House
President Bush urges the House to pass an "improved" bill Story Highlights: Rep. Charles Rangel thinks "sweeteners" will smooth passage in House ... more -
Buffett's company to buy $3B of GE preferred stock
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is investing $3 billion in General Electric Co., a huge vote of confidence for an iconic American company battered by the financial crisis.
For the second time in just over a week, Berkshire Hathaway has moved to shore up a company long known for its ironclad fiscal health. Buffett's company invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs last week after the famed investment bank's shares had slumped. Investors feared Goldman could face similar funding squeezes as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.
For GE, the cash infusion marks another dramatic turn in a turbulent 2008. The company, which makes everything from light bulbs to jet engines and owns NBC Universal, has cut its earnings forecast twice since April due to problems with its financing unit, GE Capital. It has also announced a reorganization and unveiled plans to spin off or sell its famed appliances unit.
The stock has fallen 42 percent in the past year.
Buffett, after announcing his investment on Wednesday, praised Fairfield, Conn.-based, General Electric.
"GE is the symbol of American business to the world," he said in a statement. "They have strong global brands and businesses ... I am confident that GE will continue to be successful in the years to come."
Analysts said Buffett's endorsement will mean as much or even more than Berkshire's cash.
"He's a smart guy and he wouldn't get involved if he doesn't think it's a great company," said analyst Mike McGarr of Becker Capital in Portland, Ore. "It's a nice endorsement. He doesn't make too many mistakes."
Berkshire, based in Omaha, Neb., is buying $3 billion of preferred shares of GE, which carry a 10 percent dividend. The terms are similar to those Buffett struck with Goldman Sachs. Berkshire also has the option to buy $3 billion worth of GE common shares for $22.25 each at any time over five years. GE's shares closed at $24.50 Wednesday. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is investing $3 billion in General Electric Co., a huge vote of confi... more -
Markets take a dive in Asia
Hong Kong, India hit hard as stocks plummet.
Shares of media and entertainment companies in Asia received a pounding Monday, with those in Hong Kong and India hardest hit, as the progress through Congress of the U.S.' $700 billion rescue plan failed to impress.
Shares in Hong Kong's largest media company, PCCW, fell 11% to a five-year low of HK$3.07 (40¢) compared with the wider Hang Seng index, which was off by 4.3% to a two-year low of 17,880.
Markets across the Asia-Pacific region fell Monday, with the exception of New Zealand, which was little changed, and Taiwan, which was closed following Sunday's powerful typhoon.
Japanese stocks saw relatively gentle trading compared with Hong Kong and India. The wide Topix index dropped by 1.7%, but Japan's movie majors Toho and Shochiku managed small gains. Sony and Toei slipped less than 1%.
PCCW's share performance reflected concern over the proposed $2 billion private equity buyout of its media interests.
Fears are that large, leveraged buyouts of this kind will be blown off track or become impossible if banks are unwilling to lend to buyers. Hong Kong, India hit hard as stocks plummet. ... more -
The Great Depression Checklist: Are we headed for one, you decide!
Now whether or not we are headed for a Second Great Depression has yet to be decided by the market, however, looking to the past of what lead to the first great depression could possibly hint at out fate.
check it out at http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Timeline.htm since the info is more then 4000 charecters. Now whether or not we are headed for a Second Great Depression has yet to be decided by the market, however, looking to the past of wh... more -
House defeats $700B financial markets bailout
WASHINGTON - The House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders to quickly bail out the staggering financial industry.
Stocks plummeted on Wall Street even before the 228-205 vote to reject the bill was announced on the House floor.
When the critical vote was tallied, too few members of the House were willing to support the unpopular measure with elections just five weeks away. Ample no votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle.
Bush and a host of leading congressional figures had implored the lawmakers to pass the legislation despite howls of protest from their constituents back home.
The overriding question for congressional leaders was what to do next. Congress has been trying to adjourn so that its members can go out and campaign. And with only five weeks left until Election Day, there was no clear indication of whether the leadership would keep them in Washington. Leaders were huddling after the vote to figure out their next steps. WASHINGTON - The House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President Bush and bipar... more -
Draft of Rescue Plan Makes It Into Writing
An end to the debates in Washington over the proposed bailout of financial institutions on Wall Street is in sight. Leaders in Congress gave an update on the status of the $700 billion economic-rescue package early Sunday evening.
“The era of Wall Street recklessness is over,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said of the bill, which promises more regulation as well as future limits to be imposed upon executive compensation.
Pelosi, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) each spoke in support of the bill that will be presented to the House for a vote sometime Monday.
Now, even some of the more reluctant House Republicans are supporting the rescue plan.
Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), House Republican Whip, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) gave their support of the revised plan in a press conference Sunday evening.
“When we stood up and blocked the ‘so-called’ deal last week we did so because we thought taxpayers weren’t being protected,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) Sunday evening. “It’s a bill that does entail risk; taxpayer risk. But I think what you see is we’ve reduced the amount of taxpayer risk in this bill considerably.”
If passed by the House, the bill will then move to the Senate, which will likely consider it Wednesday, after the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah ends.
President Bush lent his support to the revised bill in a press release following the press conference, stating, “I appreciate the leadership shown by Members on both sides of the aisle, who came together to write a very good bill. This bill provides the necessary tools and funding to help protect our economy against a system-wide breakdown.”
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson released a similar statement of support, stating that the bill “provides the necessary tools to deploy up to $700 billion to address the urgent needs in our financial system.”
The bill, which is more than 100 pages long and is called the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008,” is meant to resuscitate the U.S. financial system, parts of which have virtually shut down in recent weeks. An end to the debates in Washington over the proposed bailout of financial institutions on Wall Street is in sight. Leaders in Congres... more -
Public support softens as Pelosi Pushes Franks historic bailout Package
WASHINGTON - In the short run, congressional leaders have achieved their goal of producing an agreement Sunday on a federal bailout of banks and other financial institutions holding bad mortgage debts before the world's stock markets reopened.
But in the long run, the scope and still-unknown effects of the greatest government intervention in the financial markets since the Great Depression and the remaining underlying instability of the nation's economy -- will impose a new political challenge for the next president and Congress elected in November. The situation already has reshaped the election campaign debate.
Congressional leaders face another immediate and uncertain challenge this week with the House expected to vote on the plan as soon as Monday, and the Senate as soon as Wednesday in corralling enough votes to both pass it and present the controversial two-stage bailout as a bipartisan response to a national crisis.
While resistant House Republican leaders have agreed to it, many rank and file members still are balking at the unprecedented bailout of the nation's financial institutions, piling as much as $700 billion of new federal debt on the nation's taxpayers.
Congressional leaders are attempting to frame the measure as their own best compromise on a plan that the Bush administration proposed which they are now calling unacceptable.
This means, in part, dividing the bailout into two phases, starting with $350 billion but requiring congressional approval for a second pay-out. And it includes a demand that if the government does not recoup all the money that it invests in reselling mortgage debt that it purchases, it comes up with a plan to get the financial industry to cover any projected taxpayer losses.
"This is the administration's problem,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday, "they sent us their bill, we did our best to improve it, and now we'll see how much support we can get We will have to have bipartisanship to pass it.''
President Bush, who proposed the Treasury Department rescue and has pushed for it with national television and radio addresses, calls it essential to averting "financial panic' in frozen lending and a "long and painful recession. Congressional leaders agree that it is essential in averting a freeze in credit for everything from home loans and car loans to student loans and credit cards.
"Getting this done soon, promptly, is absolutely critical to the confidence of the markets,'' Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), one of the lead negotiators, said Sunday, predicting the votes to approve it this week. "The option of not passing it is not acceptable.'' WASHINGTON - In the short run, congressional leaders have achieved their goal of producing an agreement Sunday on a federal bailout of... more -
GLOBAL MARKETS-US dollar up, stock futures steady, bonds lower
The U.S. dollar rose against the yen and the euro, and US Treasury bond futures slipped on Sunday evening as U.S. lawmakers geared up for a Monday vote on creating a $700 billion government fund to buy bad debt.
U.S. stock futures edged higher, but momentum was held in check as another big U.S. bank appeared in the throes of an emergency takeover and two struggling European banks looked set for nationalization.
And while Washington's bailout package is seen as crucial in tackling the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, doubts remain as to whether it could immediately thaw the money and credit markets.
"What you hope for is a positive reaction in Asia and Europe overnight and stability in the U.S. financial markets, most particularly the credit markets this week," said Jim Awad, Chairman at W.P. Stewart & Co. Ltd in New York.
"I would view any (stock market) rallies as being transitory because now the real work begins," he added.
Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis faced nationalisation on Sunday after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet held emergency talks with Belgian and Dutch ministers on rescuing one of Europe's 20 banks.
Britain's government, meanwhile, will nationalize troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley and were discussing a sale of its savings book and branches, people familiar with the matter said.
In Germany, Hypo Real Estate was in urgent talks with German banking regulator Bafin and the finance ministry about solving a refinancing squeeze at the bank, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The New York Times reported that Citigroup and Wells Fargo were locked in a bidding war over a possible emergency takeover of Wachovia Corp. The U.S. government, led by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, are also involved in the Wachovia talks, the paper said.
S&P 500 stock index futures rose 2.4 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average index futures rose 10 points and Nasdaq 100 index futures were up 3.25 points.
New Zealand's stock market rose 1.1 percent in early trade.
Shortly after 6:30 p.m. New York time (2230 GMT) on Sunday evening, the 10-year Treasury note future opened down about 3/32 in price at 114 and 13/32, as the safe haven bid for government debt faded slightly.
The euro slipped 0.6 percent to $1.4530. Against the yen, the dollar was last up 0.3 percent at 106.26 yen.
Spot gold prices slipped 0.6 percent to $878 an ounce.
Wall Street equities had scratched out a gain Friday as financial stocks rallied late in the session on hope the U.S. Congress could reach agreement on the rescue plan. Still, Friday also featured much the same move to safe-haven assets that have dominated global markets for the past two weeks.
Gold jumped 4.0 percent at one point on Friday and the yen climbed broadly as investors piled into safer assets after news the bailout talks had stalled, while the failure of Washington Mutual, the biggest bank closure in U.S. history on Thursday, eroded confidence.
Oil prices slipped on Sunday night, pressured by concerns the financial market crisis would slow demand. Further pressure came as investors, who flocked into oil and other commodities earlier this year as a hedge against inflation and a weak dollar, shift into safer havens. U.S. crude oil futures settled at $106.89 a barrel on Friday, down $1.13.
Asian stocks ended last week lower. Japan's Nikkei share average shed 0.2 percent for the week, and the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 1.5 percent.
MSCI's main world equity index fell 2.8 percent last week week. Central banks injected fresh liquidity into the global banking system, helping lower soaring inter-bank borrowing rates, but money markets remained mostly paralyzed. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen and the euro, and US Treasury bond futures slipped on Sunday evening as U.S. lawmakers geared up ... more -
Democratic Caucus blames Cox and Bush.... Economy needs Viagra... Proposes Enlarge...
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush and congressional leaders said they had reached agreement on a $700 billion bank-rescue package designed to revive moribund credit markets.
``I am confident Congress will do what is best for our economy by approving this legislation promptly,'' Bush said in a statement today in Washington.
The House may consider the plan as soon as tomorrow, and the Senate will vote at least by Oct. 1, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. House Republican leaders, who had resisted the Bush administration's initial proposal, urged their colleagues to support the plan today in a private meeting, Representative Mark Kirk of Illinois said in an interview.
The support of House Republicans leaders boosts the chances the rescue package will pass Congress.
Bush's comments came during a weekend of talks aimed at reaching agreement before global financial markets reopen today. It would give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson an immediate $250 billion to buy bad loans from financial companies, with the rest to be doled out in stages.
Lawmakers steered a path between voter anger at having to foot the bill for the mistakes of Wall Street bankers and the need to shore up a financial system shaken by the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Washington Mutual Inc. Bush, in a speech yesterday, said the package was needed to prevent a ``deep and painful recession.''
The agreement alters the Bush administration's original request for unchecked authority to purchase distressed debt securities from financial companies reeling from the record number of home foreclosures. Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush and congressional leaders said they had reached agreement on a $700 billion bank-resc... more -
British Bailout is starting..... World Stock Revolution Begins!
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bradford & Bingley Plc, Britain's biggest lender to landlords, may be taken over by another bank or nationalized today under a U.K. government-backed plan to protect 21 billion pounds ($39 billion) of customer deposits.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will announce details of the plan before 8 a.m. today, his office said late yesterday. Treasury officials worked through the night on a partial government takeover, acquisition by a rival bank or a break-up and purchase of assets by several buyers.
``The government is stepping in,'' Yvette Cooper, chief secretary to the Treasury, said yesterday in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. ``Depositors and ordinary savers must be properly protected, and they will be as part of the arrangements we'll set out.'' Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bradford & Bingley Plc, Britain's biggest lender to landlords, may be taken over by another bank or n... more -
Democrat wants Charles Rangel to leave Chairmanship due to Ethics
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Udall used the spotlight of a popular Sunday morning news show this morning to call for powerful House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel to step down from his committee post amid an ongoing ethics investigation.
Udall made the comment in response to a question by Tom Brokaw during a mini Senate debate with Republican Bob Schaffer on NBC's "Meet the Press," becoming one of the first Congressional Democrats to publicly split with Rangel, long a target of Republican ire.
"I think it would be helpful if Charles Rangel steps down," Udall said of the New York congressman, who is being investigated for failure to pay taxes on a condominium he owns in the Dominican Republic even as he presides over the House's main tax policy committee.
Made almost as an aside, the comment may create problems for Udall after he said last week that he wasn't going to return a $12,000 contribution from Rangel's PAC to his campaign.
Udall and Schaffer are running for Colorado's open U.S. Senate seat. Republican Sen. Wayne Allard chose not to run.
Udall voted against a Republican motion this month that would have required Rangel to step aside.
"I think it's his decision if he steps down," said Udall, noting that Rangel is the one who called for the ethics investigation, which is also looking at his use of three rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan. "We need his expertise. I know whatever happens, he will do right by the country."
The debate also touched on who is to blame for the policies that have led to negotiations of a bailout of the financial industry.
Udall accused Schaffer of supporting the policies that have led to the economic crisis, while Schaffer responded that Udall has voted against having more oversight for companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Udall said the slumping economy is the result of Republican leadership, prompting Schaffer, a Republican and former congressman, to respond: "Mark, I've been out of Congress for six years. You've been there for 10. Tell us what you've done."
After leaving Congress, Schaffer lost a 2004 bid for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Ken Salazar.
Udall accused Schaffer of supporting tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.
"The policies you supported have led us to this," Udall said.
Schaffer said the proposed $700 billion bailout is necessary but "essentially a tax." Udall says the plan is not supported by his constituents.
"People are mad," Udall said. "My calls are mixed, between people who say no and people who say hell no." Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Udall used the spotlight of a popular Sunday morning news show this morning to call for powerful House Ways ... more -
Congress expected to pass rescue package
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have released final legislation to create a $700 billion bailout of the financial markets.
The House plans a vote on the rescue bill Monday. The Senate is expected to follow later this week.
The rescue is the largest government intervention in financial markets since the Great Depression. It would let the government take over huge amounts of devalued assets from beleaguered financial companies in hopes of unlocking frozen credit.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders and the White House agreed Sunday to a $700 billion rescue of the ailing financial industry after lawmakers insisted on sharing spending controls with the Bush administration. The biggest U.S. bailout in history won the tentative support of both presidential candidates and goes to the House for a vote Monday.
The plan, bollixed up for days by election-year politics, would give the administration broad power to use taxpayers' money to purchase billions upon billions of home mortgage-related assets held by cash-starved financial firms.
Flexing its political muscle, Congress insisted on a stronger hand in controlling the money than the White House had wanted. Lawmakers had to navigate between angry voters with little regard for Wall Street and administration officials who warned that inaction would cause the economy to seize up and spiral into recession.
The bailout, the largest government intervention in financial markets since the Great Depression, casts Washington's long shadow over Wall Street. The government would take over huge amounts of devalued assets from beleaguered financial companies in hopes of unlocking frozen credit.
"I don't know of anyone here who wants the center of the economic universe to be Washington," said a top negotiator, Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. But, he added, "The center of gravity is here temporarily. ... God forbid it's here any longer than it takes to get credit moving again." WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have released final legislation to create a $700 billion bailout of the financial markets. ... more -
Abortions and Bailouts: Who would you save, the banker or the fetus?
According to the most up to date estimates available from the National Right to Life, there were 1,287,000 abortions performed in the United States in 2004.
I personally found this number to be appalling, especially considering that three-quarters of women who had aborted a fetus stated that the reason they were getting an abortion was because they could not afford a child. This means that money, the lack of financial security, is the reason for 75% of all abortions performed in the United States. For 2004, that’s equivalent to 965,250 lives being extinguished for fear of poverty.
I found this to be absolutely horrific, however, there is a way to save all those lives and prevent millions of innocent souls from being aborted. The solution is simple, instead of giving $700 billion to rich bankers for their crimes, we could provide financial assistance to all expecting mothers. According to the most up to date estimates available from the National Right to Life, there were 1,287,000 abortions performed in the... more -
Once in a Century Rip-Off
Economist Michael Hudson: The bailout is a giveaway that will cause hyperinflation and dollar collapse
-
WaMu Fails, Is Sold Off to J.P. Morgan
In what is by far the largest bank failure in U.S. history, federal regulators seized Washington Mutual Inc. and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The closing represents the demise of what once was the largest U.S. thrift but came to symbolize many of the worst excesses of the mortgage boom. Federal regulators said WaMu has suffered an exodus of $16.7 billion in deposits since Sept. 15, leaving the Seattle thrift "with insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations." As a result, WaMu was in "an unsafe and unsound condition to transact business," according to the Office of Thrift Supervision.
While the exact structure of the transaction wasn't immediately known, J.P. Morgan is expected to acquire Washington Mutual's deposits and branches, as well as other operations. The deal isn't expected to result in any hit to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s bank-insurance fund, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Some analysts have worried that a WaMu failure could cost more than $20 billion.
Federal regulators have been heavily involved in orchestrating the transaction, which comes as WaMu grapples with its bad mortgage loans. Regulators were hoping to fend off a collapse of WaMu, which, with more than $300 billion in assets, would mark by far the largest banking failure in U.S. history.
Under the deal, New York-based J.P. Morgan, which has long coveted WaMu as a way to secure a footprint on the West Coast, will assume most of the thrift's deposits and branches, as well as some other operations.
Unlike many of the 12 bank failures that the FDIC has overseen this year, the J.P. Morgan-WaMu transaction isn't expected to impact the agency's national deposit-insurance fund. It wasn't immediately clear how the transaction would be structured to avoid the insurance fund taking a hit.
With mortgage losses mounting, and its stock price plunging, WaMu has been scrambling over the past month to find a solution; last week it put itself on the auction block. A number of banks -- including Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Banco Santander SA -- pored over WaMu's books, but the bank didn't receive any offers. This week, WaMu's outside bankers approached a group of private-equity funds to gauge their interest in a deal, but that was viewed as a last-ditch effort.
Also this week, the FDIC took the step of reaching out to banks, asking them to express interest in taking over some or all of WaMu, according to people familiar with the matter. Those bids were due at 6 p.m. Wednesday. J.P. Morgan's takeover of WaMu's deposits represents a huge blow for private-equity firm TPG, which led a $7 billion investment into the thrift this spring. The transaction is expected to wipe out WaMu stockholders and holders of the company's senior debt, one person said. A key unknown: the fate of WaMu's bad assets, which include mortgage loans that have soured as housing markets tanked.
...more at link In what is by far the largest bank failure in U.S. history, federal regulators seized Washington Mutual Inc. and struck a deal to sell... more
-
