Today?s Top (Financial Crisis) Ten
Published: Oct 15, 2008
9. Lehman bigwigs are still on top at Barclays—the bank unveils its groups' new heads and most bios contain the words Lehman Brothers.
8. Despite getting hammered this year, taking billions in write-downs, UBS says its model is a winner. Who knew?
7. Wells Fargo, the soon to be parent of a bank called Wachovia, reports a tough third quarter (profit fell 25 percent), sending its shares down ever so slightly, making a minor dent in the pocket of its largest shareholder, Mr. Warren Buffett.
6. JPMorgan Chase had good news and bad news. The good news was its third quarter earnings were above zero. The bad news was earnings fell 84 percent versus last year. In other JPMorgan news, CEO Jamie Dimon said this about yesterday’s (forced) bailout initiative: “We hope it will work.” (We are glad to hear it, Jamie.)
5. Stop the insanity! Or at least the spending, says New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo in a letter to AIG.
4. Whew, that was a close one: looks like CEOs’ fat paychecks will not be affected, after all, even after nine chiefs signed a sheet of paper last night agreeing that executive compensation will be curtailed at their firms. (Apparently, the phrasing of that document is just a little bit vague … can you say window dressing?)
3. The Times unveils the drama behind yesterday’s bailout, and apparently, Hank Paulson gave the CEOs of the largest recipients of the $250 billion capital infusion an option: My way or the highway.
2. Do-w! Another several-hundred point plummet for the granddaddy of all indices. Hey, wasn’t there some big capital infusion thing announced last night? I guess retail sales figures trump the Fed’s plans.
1. McCain’s Last Stand: during the third and final presidential debate, expect plenty of “and this, my friends, is why my economic plan will work” beginning at 9 p.m. EST, from the campus of New York’s Hofstra University.