Source:
America, 2018
David Horsey
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
May 20, 2008

Source:
America, 2018
David Horsey
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
May 20, 2008

Bloomberg reports:

Dell Inc. rose the most in five years in Nasdaq trading after profit and sales beat projections, signaling that Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell’s turnaround strategy is making progress.

The shares climbed as much as 9.8 percent after the second- largest personal-computer maker said sales advanced to $16.1 billion, exceeding the $15.7 billion average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Interestingly, however, the AP reported earlier this week:

A New York judge concluded Tuesday that the computer retailer Dell engaged in repeated false and deceptive advertising of its promotional credit financing and warranties.

Justice Joseph C. Teresi of State Supreme Court ordered Dell to disclose more clearly that most customers do not qualify for free financing or get “next day” repair service.

The New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, sued Dell last year.

“For too long at Dell the promise of customer service was a bait and switch that left thousands of people paying for essentially no service at all,” Mr. Cuomo said.

Amen.

Sources:
Dell Surges Most in Five Years on Turnaround Progress
Melita Marie Garza
Bloomberg
May 30, 2008

New York Judge Rules Against Dell in Suit Over Marketing
The Associated Press
May 28, 2008

The Financial Times reports:

Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, said it was likely loan-loss provisions and bank failures would rise in coming quarters as the fallout from market turmoil hits the real economy…

…one worrying trend was the declining “coverage ratio”, which compares bank reserves with the level of loans that are 90 days past due. This ratio fell for the eighth consecutive quarter, to 89 cents in reserves for every $1 of noncurrent loans, the lowest level since the first quarter of 1993.

“This is the kind of thing that gives regulators heartburn,” said Ms Bair. “We also want them to beef up their capital cushions beyond regulatory minimums given uncertainty about the housing markets and the economy . . . It’s only prudent to be building up capital at a time like this.”

Source:
US banks likely to fail as bad loans soar
Joanna Chung and Saskia Scholtes
Financial Times
May 29, 2005

Bloomberg reports:

Dell Inc. rose the most in five years in Nasdaq trading after profit and sales beat projections, signaling that Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell’s turnaround strategy is making progress.

The shares climbed as much as 9.8 percent after the second- largest personal-computer maker said sales advanced to $16.1 billion, exceeding the $15.7 billion average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Interestingly, however, the AP reported earlier this week:

A New York judge concluded Tuesday that the computer retailer Dell engaged in repeated false and deceptive advertising of its promotional credit financing and warranties.

Justice Joseph C. Teresi of State Supreme Court ordered Dell to disclose more clearly that most customers do not qualify for free financing or get “next day” repair service.

The New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, sued Dell last year.

“For too long at Dell the promise of customer service was a bait and switch that left thousands of people paying for essentially no service at all,” Mr. Cuomo said.

Amen.

Sources:
Dell Surges Most in Five Years on Turnaround Progress
Melita Marie Garza
Bloomberg
May 30, 2008

New York Judge Rules Against Dell in Suit Over Marketing
The Associated Press
May 28, 2008

The Financial Times reports:

Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, said it was likely loan-loss provisions and bank failures would rise in coming quarters as the fallout from market turmoil hits the real economy…

…one worrying trend was the declining “coverage ratio”, which compares bank reserves with the level of loans that are 90 days past due. This ratio fell for the eighth consecutive quarter, to 89 cents in reserves for every $1 of noncurrent loans, the lowest level since the first quarter of 1993.

“This is the kind of thing that gives regulators heartburn,” said Ms Bair. “We also want them to beef up their capital cushions beyond regulatory minimums given uncertainty about the housing markets and the economy . . . It’s only prudent to be building up capital at a time like this.”

Source:
US banks likely to fail as bad loans soar
Joanna Chung and Saskia Scholtes
Financial Times
May 29, 2005

Source:
Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
Nick Anderson
Houston Chronicle
May 28, 2008

Source:
Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
Nick Anderson
Houston Chronicle
May 28, 2008

From The Economist:

As house prices in America continue their rapid descent, market-watchers are having to cast back ever further for gloomy comparisons. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller national house-price index, published this week, showed a slump of 14.1% in the year to the first quarter, the worst since the index began 20 years ago. Now Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale University and co-inventor of the index, has compiled a version that stretches back over a century. This shows that the latest fall in nominal prices is already much bigger than the 10.5% drop in 1932, the worst point of the Depression. [Emphasis mine.] And things are even worse than they look. In the deflationary 1930s house prices declined less in real terms. Today inflation is running at a brisk pace, so property prices have fallen by a staggering 18% in real terms over the past year.

The bigger they come…

Source:
Through the floor
The Economist
May 29th 2008

From The Economist:

As house prices in America continue their rapid descent, market-watchers are having to cast back ever further for gloomy comparisons. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller national house-price index, published this week, showed a slump of 14.1% in the year to the first quarter, the worst since the index began 20 years ago. Now Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale University and co-inventor of the index, has compiled a version that stretches back over a century. This shows that the latest fall in nominal prices is already much bigger than the 10.5% drop in 1932, the worst point of the Depression. [Emphasis mine.] And things are even worse than they look. In the deflationary 1930s house prices declined less in real terms. Today inflation is running at a brisk pace, so property prices have fallen by a staggering 18% in real terms over the past year.

The bigger they come…

Source:
Through the floor
The Economist
May 29th 2008