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Roll up. Roll up. Roll up.
Wall Street and the City of London - the world's two major financial centres - declare it is "business as usual" again... They are hiring, poaching each other's staff and their profits are soaring.
"Even the Bank of America's investment banking arm, which includes the once very sick Merrill Lynch, is expected to make good money this year," reports the Wall Street Journal this week.

And, of course, bonuses are back. Even at the supposedly UK government-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland; the bonus is back with a vengeance........

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009 ... 10179.html

^^^It’s started to feel that the financial crisis was just a staged drama.

Crisis is hardly over for Dubai...


Money isn't excatly going to come pouring in tomorrow.

To the survivors the spoils. Lots of these banks are making profits, simply thanks to their well stocked war chest(capital).

Goldman claims that most of its profit came not from “proprietary” trading, or punting its own money, but by acting as a middleman, making markets for clients in everything from bonds and shares to currencies and commodities. Such business, barely profitable in the boom years, has become a gold mine as competition has dwindled and bid-ask spreads (the money dealers pocket on trades) have ballooned. A bank with the capital and cojones to deal mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can earn 10-15 times more than before the crisis.

Big profits mean big payouts. For the year to date Goldman has set aside $11.4 billion for compensation and benefits, more even than in the halcyon first half of 2007. Its ratio of pay to revenues continues to hover near the dizzying 50% level that was the norm on Wall Street before the meltdown

And although a few on Wall Street are reaching for the champagne, most Main Street lenders are more inclined to drown their sorrows. Credit-card losses, fuelled by rising rates of unemployment, are at a record high. Mortgage delinquencies have yet to stabilise, with supposedly high-quality “prime” loans now also souring fast and loan-modification schemes having little impact.

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.c ... d=14034883

Merryl Lynch will be selling of assets in Asia. That's the reason for the expected big bucks. The economy is still far from recovering

Today on GN
UK economy contracts by 3.2% this year.

http://www.gulfnews.com/business/General/10334433.html

We ain't out of the woods yet my friend. Ask the many many unemployed on the lookout for jobs and the many who've already left!

I'm not saying that the crisis is over already. My point is that there's something fishy about what’s been happening. Could it be a well-orchestrated plot to inflect a certain change in the world financial situation? Small banks have disappeared while big banks are getting bigger and stronger. Banking monopoly?! Small and growing economies got hit the hardest, like here in Dubai.

Remember, the US govt encouraged the sub-prime mortgages which led to the crisis in the first place.

Like when you read the book "Currency Wars", at first it looks full of BS. But as events unfold it starts making some sense.

It’s very confusing

Metaphor79 wrote:I'm not saying that the crisis is over already. My point is that there's something fishy about what’s been happening. Could it be a well-orchestrated plot to inflect a certain change in the world financial situation? Small banks have disappeared while big banks are getting bigger and stronger. Banking monopoly?! Small and growing economies got hit the hardest, like here in Dubai.

Remember, the US govt encouraged the sub-prime mortgages which led to the crisis in the first place.

Like when you read the book "Currency Wars", at first it looks full of BS. But as events unfold it starts making some sense.

It’s very confusing

This is just about the biggest conspiracy theory that I have heard!!!!

sage & onion wrote:

Metaphor79 wrote:I'm not saying that the crisis is over already. My point is that there's something fishy about what’s been happening. Could it be a well-orchestrated plot to inflect a certain change in the world financial situation? Small banks have disappeared while big banks are getting bigger and stronger. Banking monopoly?! Small and growing economies got hit the hardest, like here in Dubai.

Remember, the US govt encouraged the sub-prime mortgages which led to the crisis in the first place.

Like when you read the book "Currency Wars", at first it looks full of BS. But as events unfold it starts making some sense.

It’s very confusing

This is just about the biggest conspiracy theory that I have heard!!!!

Nothing is impossible. Let's wait and see what the coming years will unfold.

Metaphor79 wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

Metaphor79 wrote:I'm not saying that the crisis is over already. My point is that there's something fishy about what’s been happening. Could it be a well-orchestrated plot to inflect a certain change in the world financial situation? Small banks have disappeared while big banks are getting bigger and stronger. Banking monopoly?! Small and growing economies got hit the hardest, like here in Dubai.

Remember, the US govt encouraged the sub-prime mortgages which led to the crisis in the first place.

Like when you read the book "Currency Wars", at first it looks full of BS. But as events unfold it starts making some sense.

It’s very confusing

This is just about the biggest conspiracy theory that I have heard!!!!

Nothing is impossible. Let's wait and see what the coming years will unfold.

Future will tell. Just look at these video's of 9-11 NYC. New footage from Danish TV/investigators from April 2009.

They found unreacted nanotechnological explosives in the crunched concrete. Nano-thermitic explosives.



Thats what I thought also. Never heard of it. Well now you do

Metaphor79 wrote:I'm not saying that the crisis is over already. My point is that there's something fishy about what’s been happening. Could it be a well-orchestrated plot to inflect a certain change in the world financial situation? Small banks have disappeared while big banks are getting bigger and stronger. Banking monopoly?! Small and growing economies got hit the hardest, like here in Dubai.

Remember, the US govt encouraged the sub-prime mortgages which led to the crisis in the first place.

Like when you read the book "Currency Wars", at first it looks full of BS. But as events unfold it starts making some sense.

It’s very confusing

Oh that's what you meant?
One can't say the course of events was planned. But ultimately big banks have lobbying power.
America has around 8000 small banks. At most around 37 have failed and not many more will. That said yea smaller banks will come out of this crisis weakened owing to FDIC stipulations where reserve requirements have increased 5 fold.
Post this cris the big banks are only getting bigger!

If you have time read these lengthy articles, it may shock you!

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/st ... _machine/1

Misery Called Life wrote:

Metaphor79 wrote:I'm not saying that the crisis is over already. My point is that there's something fishy about what’s been happening. Could it be a well-orchestrated plot to inflect a certain change in the world financial situation? Small banks have disappeared while big banks are getting bigger and stronger. Banking monopoly?! Small and growing economies got hit the hardest, like here in Dubai.

Remember, the US govt encouraged the sub-prime mortgages which led to the crisis in the first place.

Like when you read the book "Currency Wars", at first it looks full of BS. But as events unfold it starts making some sense.

It’s very confusing

Oh that's what you meant?
One can't say the course of events was planned. But ultimately big banks have lobbying power.
America has around 8000 small banks. At most around 37 have failed and not many more will. That said yea smaller banks will come out of this crisis weakened owing to FDIC stipulations where reserve requirements have increased 5 fold.
Post this cris the big banks are only getting bigger!

If you have time read these lengthy articles, it may shock you!

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/st ... _machine/1

Very interesting articles!

Simon Johnson is a (former) IMF economist and has a very exciting blog with daily news about the crisis. Its named: The Baseline Scenario.

A little correction MCL. Currently there are 64 bank failures in the States and they continue to add more to the list on a weekly basis... http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/ ... orgia.html

RobbyG wrote:

Misery Called Life wrote:

Metaphor79 wrote:I'm not saying that the crisis is over already. My point is that there's something fishy about what’s been happening. Could it be a well-orchestrated plot to inflect a certain change in the world financial situation? Small banks have disappeared while big banks are getting bigger and stronger. Banking monopoly?! Small and growing economies got hit the hardest, like here in Dubai.

Remember, the US govt encouraged the sub-prime mortgages which led to the crisis in the first place.

Like when you read the book "Currency Wars", at first it looks full of BS. But as events unfold it starts making some sense.

It’s very confusing

Oh that's what you meant?
One can't say the course of events was planned. But ultimately big banks have lobbying power.
America has around 8000 small banks. At most around 37 have failed and not many more will. That said yea smaller banks will come out of this crisis weakened owing to FDIC stipulations where reserve requirements have increased 5 fold.
Post this cris the big banks are only getting bigger!

If you have time read these lengthy articles, it may shock you!

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/st ... _machine/1

Very interesting articles!

Simon Johnson is a (former) IMF economist and has a very exciting blog with daily news about the crisis. Its named: The Baseline Scenario.

A little correction MCL. Currently there are 64 bank failures in the States and they continue to add more to the list on a weekly basis... http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/ ... orgia.html

Actually in addition to the 37 that I had mentioned as failed another 54 were on the FDIC watchlist.
Nice update there though!