Dear Jim,
The key word is Manageable?
Regards,
CIGA Ed.
PRESS RELEASE: Fitch: Eurozone Contagion Poses Threat to U.S. Bank Rating Outlook
Wed Nov 16 15:06:38 2011 EST
The following is a press release from Fitch Ratings:
Fitch Ratings-New York-16 November 2011: U.S. banks have manageable direct exposures to the stressed European markets (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain), but further contagion poses a serious risk, according to a Fitch Ratings report.
Fitch believes that unless the Eurozone debt crisis is resolved in a timely and orderly manner, the broad credit outlook for the U.S. banking industry could worsen. Fitch’s current outlook for the industry is stable, reflecting improved fundamentals at most banks combined with ratings lower than at pre-crisis levels. However, risks of a negative shock are rising and could alter this outlook.
U.S. banks have reduced direct exposure to stressed European markets considerably over the past year in Fitch’s view. Direct exposures appear manageable in the context of banks’ capital positions and diverse earnings streams. Public disclosure of direct exposures has generally improved recently but varies from bank to bank.
The full report ‘U.S. Banks – European Exposure’ is available on the Fitch web site ‘www.fitchratings.com’. Specific country exposures for the large U.S. banks are provided in the report.
Greetings Jim,
This is a really sad commentary on the plight of the American homeowner.
The American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare.
Best regards,
CIGA Black Swan
Mortgage rates lowest in decades, but few qualify
By DEREK KRAVITZ – AP Economics Writer | AP – Thu, Sep 8, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage rates have reached their lowest levels in six decades, making this the best time in most Americans’ lives to buy or refinance a home. For people who qualify, today’s rates could save thousands of dollars a year.
Yet most people can’t take advantage. Half of would-be buyers say they’ll never save enough for the 20 percent down payment now usually required. And shrunken home values have erased much of the equity people need to refinance.
“Low rates are great, but the real issue is that the pool of people who can get a loan or refinance is small,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst.
This week, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.12 percent. It’s the lowest for a 30-year fixed loan since mortgage buyer Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The last time rates were cheaper was in 1951, when most long-term home loans lasted just 20 or 25 years.
For first time, nations mull Greek exit from euro
CIGA Eric
If Greece goes, others are certain to follow. European politicians have begun to alter their discussions and tactics to allow weaker members to exit the Euro zone. The market (wolf pack) will likely force the weaker members to return to their own currencies much sooner than expected. Any decay in the EU membership increase the odds of economic isolationism (restrictive trade practices) returning to Europe.
Headline: For first time, nations mull Greek exit from euro
LONDON (AP) — Maybe it’s not the Hotel California after all.
Ever since the idea of the euro currency really took off in the late 1980s, it has been accepted wisdom that entry was forever. But now, with no less than the leaders of France and Germany conceding that Greece could leave the euro, everyone is scrambling to figure out exactly what would happen.
The stakes couldn’t be higher: many economists say it could plunge the global economy into another crisis on the scale of what ensued following the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008. Others say it would spell the beginning of the end of the dream of building a unified Europe from the ashes of World War II.
Yet some are saying it’s the least bad of all possible outcomes, part of the only remedy available for a currency whose design flaws have led to three countries requiring rescue. The crisis is now threatening Italy — the eurozone’s third-biggest economy — and is showing alarming signs of infecting France — its second-biggest.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
