Wall Street’s biggest firms are considering the suitability of selling opaque financial products to governments, endowments and not-for-profit institutions after the contracts magnified credit-market losses that plunged the U.S. into a recession. “There is no distinction among very different groups of investors, and this is where things might change,” said Dino Kos, a managing director [...]

goldman, investment banks, investments, structured products, subprime, US Hide

“Questions have been raised that go to the heart of this institution’s most fundamental value: how we treat our clients.” — Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman Sachs’s C.E.O., at the firm’s annual meeting in May As the housing crisis mounted in early 2007, Goldman Sachs was busy selling risky, mortgage-related securities issued by its longtime client, [...]

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As an investment, gold has never been more popular. And, for individual investors, that’s part of the problem. Gold spot prices hit a record of $1,243.10 per ounce in Comex trading on May 12 before slipping $13.90, or 1.1 percent, to $1,230.10 on May 13. In the past three years, the precious metal is up [...]

bubble, inflation, investments Hide

Europe’s spreading debt crisis—combined with an overdue stock pullback and the prospect of the Federal Reserve withdrawing its economic support—added up to one thing Tuesday: Fear. As the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled more than 200 points and safe-haven moves for US Treasurys escalated, investors sought protection with the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index[VIX  23.84   3.65  (+18.08%)   ], which [...]

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Investor Marc Faber said China’s economy will slow and possibly “crash” within a year as declines in stock and commodity prices signal the nation’s property bubble is set to burst. The Shanghai Composite Index has failed to regain its 2009 high while industrial commodities and shares of Australian resource exporters are acting “heavy,” Faber said. The opening [...]

bubble, China, housing, Interest rates, investments, reserves, stock market Hide

Australia’s economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace in almost two years, underscoring the central bank’s decision yesterday to boost borrowing costs for the fourth time in five meetings. Gross domestic product climbed 0.9 percent from the third quarter, when it gained a revised 0.3 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. That [...]

australia, commodity, economic growth, forex, stock market Hide

Private-equity firms tell investors that the years following recessions offer the best opportunity to make money. This time may be different. Prices paid in leveraged buyouts last year, at the tail of the worst financial crisis in more than seven decades, are about 25 percent higher on average than in 2001 after the dot-com bubble [...]

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Royal Bank of Scotland’s deal for ABN Amro is acknowledged as a shocker. But is it the worst ever? Mathieu Robbins counts down the top ten bad deals. Tuesday, 20 January 2009 Is Royal Bank of Scotland’s horrendously damaging acquisition of Dutch rival ABN Amro in 2007 the worst ever M&A deal? According to academics, [...]

financial scandals, investment banks, investments, M&A Hide

NEW YORK: Wall Street shares plunged on Thursday as weak US data combined with heightened fears of debt problems in European Union countries sent shockwaves through the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 268.37 points (2.61 percent) to end at 10,002.18, its lowest level since November, after a brief dip below 10,000 points. The [...]

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The January jobs report could turn the tide for markets Friday, but traders say there’s a lingering global risk aversion that won’t easily fade away. The government’s employment report was supposed to have been the story of the week. That was until markets around the globe started focusing on the idea that sovereign debt risk [...]

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