After taking billions of dollars of taxpayer money as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Bank of America has now positioned itself to repay the money to the federal government as part of the agreement. However, Bank of America’s plans to repay the funds have been halted over a disagreement concerning how much additional capital the bank must raise to satisfy regulators.
The timing of the disagreement is difficult for the bank, as President Obama’s so-called “pay czar” has just set a variety of restrictions on executive compensation that has lowered compensation for the top employees of Bank of America …read more

For the first time since 1992, federal regulators have closed over 100 banks across the United States, a sign that the financial crisis is not yet over for financial institutions that have suffered heavy losses from the weakness of the real estate market. Seven banks were closed just yesterday, which brings this year’s total to 106.
While the situation is far from reaching 1992’s levels of bank closures, which topped 179 as the result of a savings-and-loan crisis, the fact that 106 banks have been closed spells a lot of trouble for the employees of the banks and the communities which …read more

To Americans that are struggling to make a living, the outrageous amounts of money that Wall Street executives receive in the form of salaries and bonuses seem excessive and unnecessary. However, Brian Griffiths, an international adviser for Goldman Sachs, has stated that such high executive compensation is helpful to all Americans.
Goldman Sachs is getting ready for a year that will see the company set aside an almost record-setting amount of money for the compensation of its executives. $16.7 billion will go to Goldman employees, an amount that increased 46 percent from a year earlier and one that is enough for …read more

Small businesses are all but starving for cash after the financial crisis has left many of the largest banks unwilling to lend money. President Obama hopes to reverse this trend by introducing a series of initiatives that will hopefully increase bank lending to small businesses, the cornerstone of the American economy.
Among the programs that Obama plans to incorporate is a program that would increase the maximum amount of money that businesses can borrow through the Small Business Administration’s main loan program, which currently stands at $2 million.
The Federal Reserve will also allow wider access to the TARP program, which will …read more

General Electric has posted a quarterly decrease in profit of 42 percent, a result that, while disappointing in and of itself, actually marks an improvement from what analysts predicted for the massive company. In fact, GE’s results showed that its important industrial business is showing signs of recovery, hitting a record $174 billion backlog of equipment and services orders.
The company’s quarterly revenue was smaller than analysts expected, but the strong performance of its industrial and media businesses helped to stave off GE’s current main weakness, its GE Capital financial division. GE’s results sent its shares down 5.5 percent, or 92 …read more

According to the Reuters/University of Michigan index, consumer sentiment fell sharply in October, plunging from 73.5 to 69.4 throughout the course of the month. The result is worse than analysts expected, as the average analyst estimate for the state of consumer sentiment this month was 72.0, signaling that the economy might be more difficult to predict than would be hoped.
September’s consumer sentiment level marked an 8 point jump to its highest level since January 2008 and a moderate decline from that number was expected as a natural part of economic recovery. Analysts say that the drop indicates that the U.S. …read more

Struggling lender CIT Group made headlines when it announced a little more than a month ago that it would extend the contract of CEO Jeffrey Peek until September 2, 2010. Today, the company, a commercial lender that gives funding to around 1 million small and medium-sized businesses, announced that Peek will resign from his post as chief executive at the end of the year.
The news comes two weeks after the company announced a massive restructuring plan that will most likely involve either a pre-packaged bankruptcy or an enormous debt swap effort in order to get the lender back on its feet …read more

Financial giant Goldman Sachs has gotten plenty flak from the public outrage over its role in initiating the financial crisis that has made life difficult for so many Americans. For the most part, Goldman Sachs has taken the criticisms of its greed and recklessness in stride.
However, chief executive Lloyd Bankfein has asserted that Goldman Sachs did not get any special treatment by the government to counter several suggestions that it did.
A variety of Goldman Sachs executives have gone on to hold top-tier positions in the United States government, such as Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who was once a Goldman CEO. …read more

At a time when a withering recession and the shadow of the financial meltdown weigh on America’s economy, it seems almost implausible that the initial public offering market is doing exceedingly well. However, a report released today by PricewaterhouseCooper’s Transaction Services showed that the third quarter’s of 2009’s 20 offerings raised a total of $5.8 billion, compared to the first quarter’s five offerings raising $967 million.
The report shows that the IPO market has gone from what many analysts call rock bottom in the first quarter of the year to the IPO market’s strongest showing since early 2008. Throughout 2009, the IPO …read more

While the entire country continues to struggle due to the various negative effects of the economic recession, even the nation’s most wealthy individuals have had their share of financial loss. The collective worth of the country’s 400 wealthiest people has fallen by $300 billion to $1.27 trillion, according to Forbes magazine.
 
This loss of wealth among the super rich has also lowered the threshold for the “super rich” designation to $950 million from $1.3 billion in assets. Forbes has reported that most of the financial loss comes from tumultuous capital markets and plunging real estate values, but a fair share of …read more