Economy & Markets
The important economic and stock market news that advisors need to know.
Moody's Downgrades 2 French Banks
By Marlene Y. SatterMoody's Investors Service cut the ratings of two French banks on Wednesday, citing their holdings of Greek sovereign debt as the reason. Crdit Agricole and Socit Gnrale were both downgraded a single notch.
September 14, 2011
DoubleLine: Greece Remains 'Biggest Problem' in Emerging MarketsJeffrey Gundlach's firm's take on emerging markets: growth projections down, but still higher than developed markets. Markets increasingly concerned on Greek liquidity.
September 14, 2011
What’s Behind the U.S. Suing Big Banks Over Mortgage-Backed Securities?More bank stock declines and less lending could be in store as financial institutions face another massive round of lawsuits. The Federal Housing Finance Agency sued 17 banks on Sept. 2, alleging that the financial institutions committed securities violations in the lead-up to the recent financial crisis.
September 13, 2011
CBO Chief Warns Deficit Committee: Tax Policy on Road to RuinCBO Director Douglas Elmendorf testified before the congressional super committee on deficit reduction, saying the economy will not be able to sustain its current level of spending with the tax cuts now in place as the population ages and health-care costs grow.
September 13, 2011
PIMCO’s Kashkari: Buy Equities on Dividends and EarningsNeel Kashkari, the new head of global equities for PIMCO, said investors should turn to equities as an attractive asset class, and three factors made the class a winner: multiples, earnings, and dividends.
September 13, 2011
Women Hit Harder by Public Sector Job LossesThe public sector has shed 581,000 jobs since December 2008, and women account for 81% of those who lost their positions, according to a new analysis released Friday by the Institute for Womens Policy Research.
September 13, 2011
Greece Teeters as Default Worries GrowThe odds of Greece defaulting on its sovereign debt within the next five years stood at 98% on Tuesday, as additional measures taken by its government failed to reassure investors and the cost of insuring the obligations climbed again.
September 13, 2011
China in Talks With Italy as LenderAs Greece nears default and Italy struggles to keep from losing control over its own debt problems, the latter has been engaged in talks with China over the possibility of asset sales to the Asian nation.