| Is it time to panic?
After Northern Rock and sub-prime loans, the consequences of global financial uncertainty are about to hit Britons in the pocket. Anushka Asthana and Ned Temko report on the dramatic effect on prices in the high street: from groceries and petrol to luxury goods, and new mortgages to credit cards
Sunday November 18, 2007
The Observer
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Local unit of HSBC hits bank's 3Q profit
(AP) � HSBC Holdings PLC plans to take a $3.4-billion charge against third-quarter profits because of accelerating losses in its HSBC Finance Corp. mortgage business in the United States, the company said Wednesday. The bank said this was $1.4 billion higher than would have been expected based on first-half trends, and it was shutting another 260 branches in the U.S. consumer finance division. HSBC Finance Corp., formerly Household International Inc., is based in Prospect Heights. The charge follows last year's $10.6-billion bad debt exposure, which led to HSBC's first-ever profits warning. But HSBC said the losses were "more than offset by revenue growth in the group" as a whole and that third-quarter operating income was up compared with a year ago. .
Benny Kass: Couples buying condo together should put everything in writing
Dear Benny: My wife and I and another couple are in the middle of buying a condo together and should be closing this month. The other couple has already been preapproved for 100 percent financing. We've been told that since they are already approved that they should go ahead and buy the condo and then amend the title while we're in escrow and add my wife and me to the title. I was curious as to whether this would work. — Josh Dear Josh: I don't think so. Your friends have been approved for a loan, but you have not. At closing (you call it escrow), the lender will give specific instructions that will include that your friends will have to sign the promissory note and deed of trust. I seriously doubt that the escrow company will permit you and your wife to be added without the approval of the lender.
The Dark Side Of The Mogambo
Total Fed Credit was up only $1.7 billion last week, and foreigners only bought up only $311 million in US government and agency securities, which seems odd that interest rates mostly fell, and the rate on 3-month T-bills dropped to 3.6%, almost a full percentage point below the Fed Funds rate. And the link at 321Gold.com showed $43 billion in repos last Thursday. A new record for the slimy banking system! And it is not just us moron Americans that are acting like corrupt scumbags, but the European Central Bank is just as shallow, as we learn from Mr. Gonzalez-Paramo, the ECB's "market operations" top dog. According to the Financial Times headline, he says that the ECB is "ready to take emergency action 'for as long as needed'". Apparently, my scathing email message ("What in the hell is 'for as long as is needed' supposed to mean?") got through, because later in the article he "clarifies" things by explaining that "To the extent that money markets remain subject to tension, we will stay there as long as necessary".
The dark side of the Mogambo
Total Fed Credit was up only $1.7 billion last week, and foreigners bought up only $311 million in US government and agency securities, which seems odd because interest rates mostly fell, and the rate on 3-month Treasury bills dropped to 3.6%, almost a full percentage point below the Fed Funds rate.
And the link at 321Gold.com showed $43 billion in repos last Thursday. A new record for the slimy banking system!
And it is not just us moron Americans who are acting like corrupt
scumbags, but the European Central Bank (ECB) is just as shallow, as we learn from Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, the ECB's "market operations" top dog. According to the Financial Times headline, he says that the ECB is "ready to take emergency action 'for as long as needed'".
Treasurys Up Again on Credit Worries
NEW YORK -- Treasurys rose slightly Monday as investors once more turned to the safety of government-backed bonds amid to worries that the capital markets will suffer a new bout of serious mortgage-related problems. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Monday placed Citigroup Inc. on its "sell" list, and predicted the bank may have to write off $15 billion more in bad assets backed by poor-quality mortgages. In addition, Swiss Re, the world' largest seller of backup insurance to other insurers, reported an $878 million loss related to subprime home loan contagion. .
We'll use rate cuts to fight off threat of a recession, says Bank of England
The Bank of England yesterday signalled it is preparing to cut interest rates in an attempt to ward off a recession. Issuing its most gloomy outlook for five years, the Bank said the economy could go into a sharp downturn that would hit over-inflated property prices. And in a dramatic warning that alarmed the City, Bank governor Mervyn King said that the stock market may be teetering on the edge of a precipice. Scroll down for more... .
Banks' Loan Losses Mounting
U.S. stocks tumbled to a two-month low last week after banks reported mounting losses from bad home loans and Cisco Systems said corporate spending on computer equipment may falter. Citigroup shares fell to the lowest since March 2003. The biggest U.S. bank said its mortgage-backed bonds and related securities may have lost $11 billion in value. Morgan Stanley also disclosed losses, while the New York attorney general expanded a probe into home-loan appraisals linked to Washington Mutual. .
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