This diary can be used as an open thread for discussing the impending Stock Market Opening tomorrow, as the current one on the Rec List is starting to become a bit bloated with comments.
Relevant Links over the fold.
Latest Update:
Asian Stocks, U.S. Futures, Dollar Tumble on Lehman Bankruptcy
Asian Banks have been open for only an hour or so, and are already losing 1%, 1.5%.
Us Forecasts From Bloomberg:
NAME VALUE CHANGE %Change
Dow 11,157.00 294.00 / 2.57
S&P 500 1,221.20 37.30 / 2.96
NASDAQ 1,737.75 41.75 / 2.35
Link above.
Lehman is filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Bank Of America to buy Merill Lynch at 29$/share
Bank Of America to buy Merill Lynch at 29$/share
"An American Icon is gone" -CNBC.
"Rush is On to Stop A.I.G. from Failing" --NYT
CNBC IS REPORTING THAT A.I.G. is REQUESTING HELP FROM FEDERAL RESERVE...developing
NEXT IN LINE....(h/t Roger Fox)
Banks with huge current writeoffs, over 500 BILLION DOLLARS
# Deutsche Bank - $155.1B # Citigroup - $144.5B # Credit Suisse - $94.5 B # Goldman Sachs - $84.2B # Bank of America - $51.3B # Wachovia - $50.5B
http://bankimplode.com/
The FDIC doesnt have that much, they will turn right to the Treasury, which will print up some new cash.
h/t pluto for the following. tip him please! =)
First...
A trillion dollars? In losses? Strike One.
Nearly $1 Trillion of insured property in Ike's path
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — As Hurricane Ike churns toward the Texas Gulf Coast, nearly $1 trillion of insured commercial and residential property lies in its path, according to firms that specialize in catastrophes.
"Hurricane Ike's large windfield will play a major role in the extent of damage it inflicts both offshore, from winds and waves, and onshore from wind and storm surge," said Christine Ziehmann, director of model management at Risk Management Solutions Inc.
RMS estimates there is more than $70 billion worth of insured exposure bordering Galveston Bay and the outermost Houston Ship Canal. An additional $900 billion of insured properties lies further inland, within Houston's Harris County, the Newark, Calif.-based firm said.
Catastrophe risk-modeling firm AIR Worldwide Corp., based in Boston, said 85 percent of Texas' total coastal exposure lies in Ike's' path, with insured property valued at more than $890 billion.
http://ap.google.com/...
We've run out of gas and Venezuela (and Brazil) doesn't want to sell to the US anymore -- due to its fascist imperialist aggression. Strike Two.
Hurricane Ike: Get Ready For Soaring Gasoline Prices
Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the Texas coast like an eerie reminder of the deadly 1900 storm that mauled Galveston, and represents a perfect-storm scenario of possible damage to vulnerable refining, chemical, and shipping industries.
As Ike’s Category-2 winds start pounding one-quarter of America’s oil-refining capacity, what’s the likely outcome in terms of gasoline prices and shortages? Reuters quotes one breathless meteorologist:
"Hurricane Ike is a gigantic Category 2 monster and is likely to generate a massive and particularly destructive storm surge at key refinery centers," said Jim Rouiller, meteorologist with private weather forecaster Planalytics. "Close to 20 percent of the U.S. refining capability could be lost for a long period of time.
"
http://blogs.wsj.com/...
Our investment banks are failing. We will bail out Lehman Bank. It's happening in secret meetings this weekend.
But guess what?
Merrill Lynch is failing, too. And that will pull the rug out from under the banking system. Strike Three.
Merrill Lynch shares catch Lehman bug
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc's shares fell nearly 17 percent on Thursday as worries over Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's future raised questions on which investment bank may be next to face questions about its survival.
"I think the market's telling you that if Lehman is going to go away, Merrill is probably the next victim," said Malcolm Polley, chief investment officer at Stewart Capital Advisors.
Lehman shares slid 42 percent to $4.22, dragging the entire sector lower. Merrill stock fell was especially hard hit because it is seen as having similar weaknesses, investors said.
http://www.reuters.com/...
And, finally, a snippet of analysis from an unnamed economic wonk:
To the enormous damage being inflicted on the American economy as a result of the American governments continued bailouts of now worthless banks we can read as reported by the CNBC News Service in their report titled "Bailouts Will Push US into Depression", and which says:
"The end result of the global economic slowdown may be the U.S. announcing national bankruptcy as the government cannot afford the bailouts that it promised and the market will not bail out the government, Martin Hennecke, senior manager of private clients at Tyche, told CNBC on Thursday.
"We expect a depression in the United States. We expect a depression, very possibly, also in Europe," Hennecke said on "Worldwide Exchange." The estimated $300 billion cost of the Fannie/Freddie bailout will probably be considered as a loss that the government will have to take, therefore passing it on to taxpayers, he explained.
"We already have $3 trillion of debt, as far as the U.S. government is concerned. These debt figures across the U.S. economy are rising very sharply." When the government can no longer pass the United States' "immense debt" on to taxpayers, it will turn to the holders of U.S. dollars, leading to the eventual downfall of the currency, Hennecke said."
The most tragic consequences, however, of all of these events remains the American peoples continued state of denial as to the forces within their own Nation which have authored their own citizens destruction in order to repossess from these people what was once the most admired country in the World in order to put into the hands of their Fascist corporate masters an entire Nation of economic slaves left with virtually nothing but the clothes on their backs.
A perfect storm, indeed.