Welcome to one of the most exciting beats in business—at least at the moment. We've asked Heather Landy, editor in chief of American Banker Magazine, to help explain the beat's basics.
Even as fallout from the mortgage market meltdown still reverberates throughout the economy, ominous rumblings suggest that a similar bust in the student loan market could be the next big financial crisis. According to a just-out report by the National Association of Consumer Bankrtupcy Attorneys, for example, 80 percent of respondents report a surge in [...]
By Pam Luecke Nearly every day, in board rooms all over America, executives and their investor relations staff huddle around a speaker phone and put their best collective face on the financial figures they have just filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the advent of earnings season, when dozens of such calls are [...]
After years of covering a beat, earnings stories can lose their appeal for some reporters. Many reporters fall into a “plug and play” role. But that’s not what Scott Malone of Reuters did in his piece about Oshkosh Corp. Here the numbers aren’t as important as company investor Carl Icahn’s influence. He writes: “Icahn, who [...]
We may know by Friday if state attorneys general have reached a deal - reportedly worth up to $25 billion – with five major banks accused of deceptive practices that exacerbated foreclosure problems for struggling homeowners. The banks involved are Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup and Ally Financial Inc. The [...]
The Federal Reserve last week told the world it’s in a long-term relationship with ultra-low interest rates. In the process it laid the groundwork for a lot of good stories. The Fed: “The committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent … low rates of [...]
Hard to believe it’s been 18 months since President Obama signed financial regulatory overhaul into the law that was prompted by the collapse and/or near collapse of what’s now known as America’s too-big-to-fail financial institutions. Pundits, critics and observers differ on the need for such legislation and now, whether it’s made our economy safer from [...]
Susan Berfield of Bloomberg Businessweek produced a well-researched and -written piece covering a “tale of economic desperation” in Moberly, Mo. She details the town’s relationship with “a short, chubby, well-dressed executive from Beverly Hills named Bruce Cole.” His company, Mamtek, planned to build an artificial-sweetener plant that would employ 612. Excited city officials dove into the deal within three weeks of meeting him and approved $39 million in municipal bonds for the company.
When ING Direct bank decided to open a San Francisco “café,” Aaron Glantz of The Bay Citizen didn’t just focus on the “13 flat-screen televisions; beanbag chairs; a deli counter that sells coffee, cookies and sandwiches; and plenty of tables and outlets for customers using the free wireless Internet access.”
Word on Wednesday that Bank of America would pay $335 million to settle discrimination claims against its Countrywide mortgage lending unit likely has some people in your audience wondering if they qualify for part of the payout.
Little information on would-be claimants is available.
