There is a choice to be made: Either regulate the Banks, or leave it to the vagaries of the free markets to punish those who trade with, or place their assets in the wrong institutions. But for God’s sake, do not give us the worst of both worlds — do not allow banks the freedom to make horrific but preventable mistakes (i.e., only lending money to those who can pay it back), but then expect the taxpayers to foot the trillion dollar bill. That’s not capitalism, its not socialism, its not regulation, and its sure as hell isn’t what free markets are. Our language is insufficient to describe this hodge-podge system, other than to call it a random patchwork of quasi-capitalism, quadrennial-socialism, and politics as usual. Ideological idiocy is the only phrase I can muster that has any resonance with the daily insanity. Preach it, Barry!

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Its £4bn rights issue closes on Friday. With the new stock being offered at 275p it is safe to assume there will not be many takers. In fact the only acceptances are likely to be from those (mainly retail) shareholders who have already sent in their forms. What’s the likely take-up? On Tuesday, JPMorgan Cazenove suggested a figure of 60-80 per cent - a projection the house might want to revisit. Also see this piece about the likely overhang.

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A forklift operator who provided key information early enough for authorities to track down the ringleaders of a $6.7 million imaginative insider trading scheme will not have to go to prison, a judge said …

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The latest victim of the mortgage meltdown is California bank IndyMac. The bank was closed last Friday (July 11, 2008) by Federal regulators after increasing defaults and bank withdrawals….

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“In his new book, author and ex-lender Richard Bitner owns up to some of his worst mistakes, offering an inside look at how his firm issued bad mortgages.”

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The title of the report says it all: “Issues Identified in the Commission Staff’s Examinations of Select Credit Rating Agencies” Issues? Really? We had NO clue…

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IPO Analysis: BK Modi is back in the deal street. However, this time they are not cashing out.

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Investment giant Lehman Brothers and other US banks are being roiled by falling confidence in the banking sector which has been spurred in part by hefty mortgage-related losses, analysts said.

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Reverse mortgages are available in two main flavors: FHA conforming and non-conforming, the latter is also known as a Jumbo Reverse Mortgage. An FHA conforming loan limit is the maximum amount of home value that is recognized in calculating the amount of money that will be lent on the home. Jumbos are considered by senior […]

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Investors bailed out of investment bank stocks Monday as concerns about the credit crisis prompted one analyst to call for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

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