financial crisis News

Analysis: EU’s Spain Bank Rescue May Bring only Brief Respite

Euro zone finance ministers rushed Spain into an EU-funded rescue for its debt-stricken banks to pre-empt the threat of a bank run if Greece’s debt crisis flares again but any respite for Madrid and the euro may be short-lived. After …

Best Announces Further Rating Actions on Euro Zone Insurers

A bulletin from A.M. Best notes that the rating agency has “been actively monitoring the financial crisis and its effects on European countries, stress-testing the balance sheets of (re)insurers against their exposure to euro zone debt, equities, real estate and …

U.S. SEC Dealt Blow in Financial Crisis Case

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was dealt a setback in its cases tied to the financial collapse when a federal judge dismissed large parts of its case against former executives at failed mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp. In a verbal …

OECD Sees Euro Zone Crisis Threatening Global Economic Recovery

The United States and Japan are leading a fragile economic recovery among developed countries that could yet be blown off course if the euro zone fails to contain its flaring growth crisis, the OECD said on Tuesday. In its twice-yearly …

Tackling Euro Zone Crisis is Top Priority for G8 Leaders

Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common currency. President Barack Obama, the …

Maybe Europe Should Abandon the Euro Says Canada’s Finance Minister

If European countries are not prepared to bail out fellow euro zone members, maybe they should just abandon the whole concept of a common currency, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday in some of his most direct remarks …

Fed Chairman Bernanke Defends AIG, Bear Stearns Bailouts

Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the Federal Reserve was left with few good options when it stepped in to shore up the largest U.S. financial institutions during the 2008 crisis. Bernanke defended the central bank’s actions to support insurance …

Allianz Seeking ‘Takeover Gems’ in Post-crisis Financial Wreckage

Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, will proceed with caution as it searches for takeover gems among the jetsam washed up by the financial market storm. The German group has said it is ready to come out of its shell to …

Financial Stability Tops List of Insurers’ Concerns: Geneva Association

A newly published study from insurance think tank the Geneva Association analyzes the principle concerns facing the industry in 2012. The current global financial instability tops the list. It’s closely followed by concerns over governmental management of natural catastrophe risk …

Judge Allows Suit Alleging GE Misled Investors

A federal judge refused on Thursday to throw out a lawsuit accusing General Electric Co and its chief executive of misleading investors about the conglomerate’s financial health and exposure to risky debt during the 2008 financial crisis. The decision by …