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Stock market doesn't reflect economy
The stock market is not the economy. The market's painful slide downward may be ending. The economy's suffering has a long way to go.
ALL BUSINESS: Bank bailouts could spur risk-taking
Now that U.S. banks have access to $250 billion worth of taxpayer money, they'll lend it wisely, the markets will rejoice and all will be well again. If only.
ALL BUSINESS: Another fix for the financial crisis
Three weeks ago, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called the notion that the government would buy stakes in banks to save them a "failure." What a difference 21 days and $2.4 trillion dollars in lost value from pension funds, college funds and 401(k)s makes.
ALL BUSINESS: Possible profits from bailout
Two things rule the financial world: Making money and figuring out ways to make more of it. That's why some on Wall Street are sure to figure out how to profit from the U.S. government's $700 billion financial bailout plan.
Leisure Living: Prices holding up in ski areas
Ski season's coming, and with it the traditional flurry of sales in second-home markets in mountain resort towns in the West. Locals are hoping this season reverses the downhill slide in sales caused by the national housing recession and tight credit markets, which mean even higher interest rates for buyers who don't use a home year-round.
ALL BUSINESS: Bailout won't cure economic stress
Now that the government has decided it will spend $700 billion to get the economy started again, don't expect immediate results. It's a little bit like those ads for protein drinks that show skinny milquetoasts turning into Schwarzeneggers in 60 days--you want it to be true, but you know in your heart it will take months or years of sweating in the gym to pack on that kind of muscle.
ALL BUSINESS: Fair-value accounting rules a must
How can lawmakers make the financial crisis disappear--without a $700 billion taxpayer bailout and all those pesky political ramifications? Suspend accounting rules that are forcing financial firms to give a fair-market value to their assets even when there's not a buyer in sight. That's one idea being considered to rescue the bailout bill that lawmakers defeated Monday.
ALL BUSINESS: Transparency key to bailout success
If the U.S. government wants to use taxpayer dollars to get financial markets functioning smoothly again, then it better be prepared to let Americans see exactly how this effort is going to work.
ALL BUSINESS: Uncle Sam's books could be strapped
These are momentous times in the financial markets. That's why the Federal Reserve has been taking extraordinary steps to stabilize financial conditions--even to the point of stretching its own finances.
ALL BUSINESS: Lehman shows few are too big to fail
It's hard to talk about good news when a major investment bank files for bankruptcy and financial markets reel. This feels like the worst of times. But the U.S. government had to broadcast to the world that the buck stops here, and that's why its decision not to bailout Lehman Brothers is so important to the long-term health of the financial system.