Financial Markets

Americans have poured record amounts of money into savings accounts even though interest rates are at historic lows, new federal data show, a sign that average people may be missing out on a booming stock market and recovering real estate sector. The total amount in those accounts climbed nearly 5 percent to $6.9 trillion in the spring, the highest level recorded since the Federal Reserve launched its regular reports on the flow of money in the economy in 1945. At the same time, other data show that...

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's central bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in seven months, joining government efforts to boost the export-reliant economy as manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor Co. face tougher competition from Japanese rivals boosted by the weakening yen. The quarter percentage point cut in the official policy rate to 2.5 percent comes after South Korea's parliament earlier this week approved...

Wall Street firms race to fashion a lifeline for American International Group, while investors wait to see if the steep stock market declines will be repeated today. With a warning last night from major credit-rating agencies that the insurer could find it harder to meet its obligations, AIG's fate could become clearer today.

SOUTHERN EUROPE'S economic depression deepens. In Spain, 6.2 million people — a record 27 percent of the labor force — can't find a job . Greece's unemployment rate is even higher, 27.2 percent; in Italy, it's 11.6 percent. For young people, the jobless rates are double or, in the case of Italy, triple that. Clearly, economic growth is urgently needed, lest a generation of Europeans be forced either to emigrate or to waste their prime earning years — to say nothing of a prolonged slump's implications for democracy and...

SECRETARY OF TREASURY HENRY M. PAULSON: Good afternoon, everyone. We had a good meeting of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets with the president. We gave him an update on what's happening in the markets this morning. He was well aware of the actions that took place over the weekend because I had a couple conversations with him and (inaudible) as we went along here. We talked about the markets, emphasized the priority of the orderly function of our capital markets, talked about the strength of our...

BUSH: Good morning. Yesterday, leaders here in Washington reached an extraordinary agreement to deal with an extraordinary problem in our economy. Working closely with my administration, congressional leaders from both parties produced the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act -- a bold bill that will help keep the crisis in our financial system from spreading throughout our economy. This legislation deals with complex issues, and negotiators were asked to address them in a very short period of time.

SECRETARY OF TREASURY HENRY M. PAULSON JR.: Thank you for inviting me to address your Capital Markets Competitiveness Conference. We share a commitment to competitive markets, and Treasury will soon release a Blueprint for Regulatory Reform that proposes a financial regulatory framework which we believe will more effectively promote orderly markets and foster financial sector innovation and competitiveness. As you know, financial market stress began last August and has led to significant de-leveraging and repricing...

The stand-off between congressional Republicans and the Obama administration over raising a legal limit on how much the nation can borrow has been filled with dire warnings about what will happen if the U.S. government fails to pay its debts. In truth, it could be bad for the economy if global investors even begin to doubt the ability or willingness of U.S. officials to reach agreement on the debt ceiling. The U.S. government can borrow money more cheaply than almost any other entity on Earth, and that...

Good morning. I'm joined here by Jim Lockhart, Director of the new independent regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHFA. In July, Congress granted the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and FHFA new authorities with respect to the GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since that time, we have closely monitored financial market and business conditions and have analyzed in great detail the current financial condition of the GSEs ¿ including the...

They say that winners get to write history. Three years after the meltdown of our financial markets, it's clear who is winning and who is losing. Wall Street — arms outstretched in triumph — is racing toward the finish-line tape while millions of American families are struggling to stay on their feet. With victory seemingly in hand, the historical rewrite is in full swing. The contrast in fortunes between those on top of the economic heap and those buried in the rubble couldn't be starker.

The chief executive of the nation's largest life insurance company came to Washington this week with a message: Subjecting large companies to federal oversight could disrupt an entire industry just as the economy is regaining its footing. The remarks by MetLife's Steve Kandarian come as federal regulators say they are near a vote that is likely to put several big firms that play in financial markets — including American International Group, General Electric and Prudential — under the thumb of the...

LONDON — Highly inconclusive Italian election results rekindled fears of more debt troubles in Europe on Tuesday, slamming stock markets and sending fresh jitters through global commodity and bond markets. Italian voters delivered a stinging rebuke to the nation's political class and to the painful economic austerity measures meant to bring down the crushing debt in the euro zone's third-largest economy. With no single political force winning a clear path to a majority in...

Fears that the Federal Reserve will withdraw its massive stimulus have been hanging over financial markets for months. Stocks on Wednesday tumbled on those concerns after minutes of a recent meeting showed growing debate about the initiative within the central bank. But the prevailing sentiment at the Fed , as conveyed by the minutes as well as recent remarks, is that the central bank's efforts to pump tens of billions of dollars into the economy every month should not end...

Before the financial crisis spread from the U.S. housing market to the world, the idea that countries should restrict the flow of money into and out of their economies was considered heresy at the International Monetary Fund. The consensus was that countries were encouraged to set liberal rules so investors could buy and sell assets as freely as possible — and any restrictions or "capital controls" were considered a hindrance to development and better economic performance. But in one of the starker examples of...

Orice Williams Brown Managing director, financial markets and community investment, Government Accountability Office (GAO) Best known for: When members of Congress need information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the GAO and Orice Williams Brown. Initially as the director and now as managing director of the GAO's financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued dozens of reports...

When members of Congress need factual information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Orice Williams Brown. Initially as director and now as managing director of the GAO's financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued dozens of reports examining the flaws and offering recommendations to improve the $700...

ROME — Blue lights flashing, a stream of limousines and security escorts held up Rome's evening traffic and disgorged their occupants — politicians, bankers, Catholic clerics, diplomats, movie stars and, as guest of honor, the professorial figure of Prime Minister Mario Monti. "A display of pure Roman power," was how one guest described the incongruous mix in a rooftop restaurant echoing with techno-style music. The reception was hosted by Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, a publicity-shy billionaire real estate magnate,...

Vice President, Trade Finance, Citi Commercial Bank Peter Moirano's career spans 14 years in both the financial markets and the financial services industries.  Currently Peter is responsible for providing Citi Commercial Bank's international client base with advisory on cross border risk management and international trade finance solutions including the SBA and EXIM Bank Export Working Capital programs. While in high school, Peter began his career in the commodity trading markets at the Chicago Board of Trade.