Bank failures: 13 in 2009, Friday the13th

Bank failures: 13 in 2009, Friday the 13th

Bank failures: 13 in 2009, Friday the13th

Closures in Nebraska, Florida, Illinois and Oregon bring the number of bank failures to 13 this year as the financial crisis continues to roll.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Four banks folded Friday, bringing the total number of banks to fail this year to 13.
Deposits at Sherman County Bank, based in Loup City, Neb., the first bank in the state to fail since 1990, will be taken over by Heritage Bank, based in Wood River, Neb., according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Meanwhile, accounts held by Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast based in Cape Coral, Fla., will be assumed by TIB Bank based in Naples, Fla., the FDIC said. It is the second bank to fail in Florida this year and the fourth to go under in that state since the economic crisis unfurled.
Corn Belt Bank and Trust Company, based in Pittsfield, Ill., the third bank to fail in the state since January 2008, was also shuttered by state regulators, and its deposits were turned over to The Carlinville National Bank out of Carlinville, Ill.
Pinnacle Bank, Beaverton, Oregon, was closed by the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. The FDIC entered into an agreement with Washington Trust Bank, Spokane, Washington, to assume all of the deposits of Pinnacle Bank.
Customers who banked with Sherman County Bank, Riverside, Corn Belt Bank, or Pinnacle Bank will automatically become customers of the new owners, and will retain their account protection under the FDIC, which insures single accounts up to $250,000, and joint accounts up to $500,000, the government agency said. Read Article...

Quantitative easing is next?

Quantitative easing is next?

In short, the printing of money. To unclog the system?
We are beginning to hear the 'D' word, ... Depression!

What is quantitative easing?

Quantitative easing has begun.
Quietly, without fanfare, the Federal Reserve has turned on the printing presses. The central bank is flooding the market with enough excess liquidity to refloat the banking system — and hopes to generate an upturn in both economic activity and inflation in the next 12-18 months to prevent the economy falling into a prolonged slump.
Since the banking crisis intensified in September, the Fed has been rapidly expanding the credit side of its balance sheet, providing an ever-increasing array of facilities to support the financial system (repos, term auction credit, primary discount credit, broker-dealer credit, commercial paper funding, money market mutual fund liquidity and term securities lending).

This link could be interesting as well but it's a bit wilder and more speculative.
Quantitative Easing: The Kick Start Of Gold’s Move To $1200 and $1650...

Wall Street's year in turmoil

Wall Street's year in turmoil (Reuters Video, 03:47 Report)
Dec 30 - 2008 was a roller coaster ride of bad news leaving investors bracing themselves for what's next.
2008 went from bad to worse. The housing crisis led to a devastating credit freeze that spread to the banks and eventually infected the entire U.S. financial system, crushing confidence in the U.S. economy.

"The Blame Game"

Hypocrisy, Sour Grapes and Political Gain for Dummies, "The Blame Game"

(From Reuters) QUOTES: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the West for the global financial crisis on Saturday, saying other countries were being dragged in to help resolve Western problems.
The Iranian president, who often rails against the West, said the capitalist era had come to an end and said the world should adopt a new system based on "religious, spiritual and non-usury" principles.
"The capitalist bloc imposes its standards unilaterally on others," he said. "While it prices its goods by itself, it determines the prices for the commodities of other nations to secure its own interests by using deceptive economic ploys"...

Shalva Chigirinsky (New Russian Billionaire and owner of what was to be the tallest building in Europe). His firm had run out of money, he admitted.
"Say thanks to [former US federal reserve chairman] Alan Greenspan and George Bush," Chigirinsky told Reuters last night, adding that since the financial crisis in the US it was impossible to get any credit".

(Editors Comment: I guess they're a bit pissed off, with the oil price down from $160,- to $55,-. Anyway it's a wake-up call for the oil junkies to look for some other kind of speed.)