Economy Watch - Coverage of the financial crisis from The Washington Post and around the Web - August 9, 2009

August 14, 2009

The Washington Post staff share their picks for reading around the Web. The Confidence Game Project Syndicate | Harvard Economist Kenneth Rogoff explains how people have reached the wrong conclusions from the collapse of Lehman Brothers--and argues that the...

By washingtonpost.com Editor | August 14, 2009; 3:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Neil Irwin's Must Reads
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Markets Down on Deflation Worries, Consumer Sentiment

Wall Street is down across the board this morning as traders digest news of falling consumer prices and consumer sentiment. In the first 30 minutes of trading, the Dow is down about 85 points, or almost 1 percent. The broader...

By Frank Ahrens | August 14, 2009; 10:13 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Dow Jones, consumer prices, nasdaq, s&p 500
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Recession Pushes More Into Part-Time Work, Discouragement

Unemployed Americans are so discouraged about the prospect of finding a new job that they're checking out of the labor force at the highest and fastest rate in nearly 10 years. Further, the recession has forced more full-time workers into...

By Frank Ahrens | August 13, 2009; 12:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: unemployment
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Wall Street Opens Flat on Trifecta of Bad News

Wall Street opened up largely flat, as traders digested worse-than-expected retail, foreclosure and jobless claims numbers. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Dow is up about 14 points, or nearly flat. The broader S&P 500 is up about...

By Frank Ahrens | August 13, 2009; 9:48 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Dow Jones, nasdaq, retail, s&p 500, unemployment
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Fed: Rate Unchanged, Economy Stabilizing But Still Weak, Inflation To Remain Low

The Fed Reserve's Open Market Committee policy statement was released moments ago and, as expected, the Fed's key banking lending rate unchanged in the 0 to .25 percent range. The committee said that the economy is showing signs of "leveling...

By Frank Ahrens | August 12, 2009; 2:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: FOMC, Federal Reserve
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Markets Surging To Surprise Pre-Fed Rally

What gives? The markets are supposed to be relatively calm in the hours leading up to a no-news Federal Reserve policy statement of the sort that's due out at 2:15 p.m. today. But that's not the case today. In the...

By Frank Ahrens | August 12, 2009; 10:57 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Dow Jones, Toll Brothers, nasdaq, s&p 500
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Markets Up Slightly, Anticipating No-News Fed Report

Wall Street opened up slightly this morning, as traders await the report on the Fed's two-day meeting due out this afternoon that likely will tell us ... nothing. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Dow was up less...

By Frank Ahrens | August 12, 2009; 9:49 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Dow Jones, nasdaq, s&p 500
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Madoff Co-Conspirator Pleads, Set To Sing

Fleeced investors may have felt a visceral satisfaction earlier this summer when Bernie Madoff began serving his 150-year jail sentence for running a long-time Ponzi scheme. But the guilty plea entered Tuesday afternoon by Madoff's long-time chief financial officer, Frank...

By Frank Ahrens | August 11, 2009; 5:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Bernie Madoff, Frank DiPascali, Ponzi
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PNC Bank CEO: Coming Commercial Real Estate Slump Will Not Rival Residential Crash

Jim Rohr, chief executive and chairman of PNC Financial Services stopped by The Post this morning for a meeting with reporters and editors. PNC has accepted $7.6 billion in government bailout money in the form of warrants and was instructed...

By Frank Ahrens | August 11, 2009; 3:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Jim Rohr, PNC, commercial real estate
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Congressional Report: Financial System Still Wobbly

The financial system is still wobbly and could experience further setbacks if the commercial real estate sector collapses or unemployment rises sharply, a bipartisan congressional watchdog committee reported today. According to the Congressional Oversight Panel, "The financial system [remains] vulnerable...

By Frank Ahrens | August 11, 2009; 11:11 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: financial system
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Markets Off as Fed Meetings Begin

Wall Street opened down as the Fed Reserve began a two-day meeting that might provide some more answers on where the economy is headed. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Dow was down about 60 points, or more...

By Frank Ahrens | August 11, 2009; 9:48 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Dow Jones, Labor Department, nasdaq, productivity, s&p 500
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McDonald's Does It Again: July Sales Rise

So far in this recession, which began in December 2007, McDonald's appears to be the biggest beneficiary. The fast food giant continued its winning streak in July, reporting that same-store sales were up 4.3 percent worldwide compared with July 2008....

By Frank Ahrens | August 10, 2009; 2:53 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: The Ticker | Tags: Dollar General, McDonald's, Wal-Mart
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Economy Watch: August 9, 2009 - August 15, 2009