Articles About Financing

Warren Buffett’s loyal followers are wondering what got into the Oracle of Omaha when he told CNBC  that this is “a great time to be in banking”, praised Wells Fargo’s massive earning power, and said that the government doesn’t need to provide capital to or nationalize banks. Although some critics dismissed Buffett’s statements as biased because […]

It’s been a long, strange ride, but the nation’s financial system is finally starting what is certain to be an extended healing process. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner believes that “the financial system is starting to heal” as he promised to move returned bail-out funds to community banks that need help. Improved lending circumstances are tempering […]

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have been closely watching the credit crisis evolve, according to a Deloitte LLP report.  The good news is that they haven’t entirely lost their taste for American commercial real estate. Consider that two of 2008’s highest profile transactions were the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s $800 million acquisition of the iconic Chrysler […]

Encouraging data on home and auto sales, homebuilding and consumer spending is seen by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as “tentative signs” that the recession may be moderating.  Still, he cautions that lasting recovery depends on the government’s success in stabilizing the reeling financial markets and unfreezing credit. In remarks to faculty and students at […]

It seems that we just can’t escape the bad financial news.  Now, mortgage loans made to supposedly better-off Americans are also heading south at an alarming rate.  This time around, the loans in question are Alternative-A (Alt-A) mortgages,which are used by borrowers such as the self-employed who have reasonable credit standings but unpredictable incomes. Right […]

The Obama administration has proposed the most comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s financial industry since the Great Depression.  The measures, as outlined by Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, will require regulation of hedge funds for the first time and give government wide-ranging powers to seize and take apart companies that are perceived as threats […]

To sweeten the pot after luring brewing giant MillerCoors LLC to the Windy City, the City of Chicago has agreed to create a $6 million tax-increment financing deal for the firm’s new corporate headquarters at 250 South Wacker Drive.  Even with a budget shortfall nudging $500 million, the City is kicking in significant funds to bring […]

The Wells Fargo wagon delivered good news to Wall Street when the San Francisco-based bank announced a record first-quarter profit of approximately $3 billion, or 55 percent per common share.  Contrast these numbers with the fourth quarter of 2008, when Wells Fargo reported a $2.6 billion loss. The news sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average […]

The CMBS market is anything but rotten in the state of Denmark. While the American mortgage securitization system crumbles, the Danes are successfully securitizing commercial and residential loans exactly as they have since 1797.  That’s when Nykredit Realkredit – Denmark’s largest mortgage bank – was established.  And, there hasn’t been a single Danish mortgage bond […]

Iceland’s economic collapse, the result of a reckless government and a lack of financial regulation, is an object lesson to Americans who fear increased — but necessary – markets oversight. Icelandic debt is 10 times the country’s GDP!  In the United States, our debt would have to be close to $100 trillion to put us […]