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China's National Bureau of Statistics revealed data on August 13th that the nation’s credit plunged by a dramatic and wildly unexpected 86% plunge in July, down to the slowest pace since the 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the start of the global financial crisis. With a collapsing housing sector and falling exports, China now faces a brutal credit crunch.  The collapse in Chinese credit from $320 billion in June to $44.3 billion in July is causing panic across the nation as anecdotal stories from local officials indicate the credit contraction is being “policy-driven”. This would mean that the Chinese...

Here’s a guy you want to bet on– Li Ka-Shing. Li is reportedly the richest person in Asia with a net worth well in excess of $30 billion, much of which he made being a shrewd property investor. Li Ka-Shing was investing in mainland China back in the early 90s, way back before it became the trendy thing to do. Now, Li wants out of China. All of it. Since August of last year, he’s dumped billions of dollars worth of his Chinese holdings. The latest is the $928 million sale of the Pacific Place shopping center in Beijing– this...

It's been two years since Lehman Bros. failed (Sept. 15, 2008) and we still can't conclusively answer this question: What if the government had saved Lehman? Its bankruptcy was pivotal. Until then, deteriorating housing and mortgage markets had triggered what seemed a serious — but not unprecedented — recession. Once Lehman failed, the economy went into a frenzied free fall. It's hard not to wonder whether some of the ensuing turmoil could have been avoided. Consider what happened after Lehman: • Credit tightened. Banks wouldn't lend to each other, except at exorbitant interest rates. Rates on high-quality corporate bonds went...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Your next credit card statement is going to contain an ugly truth: how much that card really costs to use. Now, thanks to a long-awaited law that goes into effect Monday, you'll know that if you pay the minimum on a $3,000 balance with a 14 percent interest rate, it could take you 10 years to pay off. "Jaws will drop," said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report, a newsletter that tracks the industry. "I don't doubt for a nanosecond that it's going to give a lot of people a sinking feeling in their stomachs."...

SIXTEEN months ago, our financial system teetered on the brink of collapse. The Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took actions that were unpopular and previously unthinkable — but absolutely necessary to stave off an economic catastrophe in which unemployment could have exceeded the 25 percent level of the Great Depression. These temporary actions have ended or will end. And our financial system is much more stable. But it is critical that we learn from the financial crisis and put in place reforms to avert a repeat of 2008 or something even worse. Congress must pass...

As Credit Crunch II looms, we must learn to escape risk of moral hazard For all those people belly aching about bank bonuses and dodgy mortgage lending in recent days, a speech by the Governor of the Bank of England addressing reform of the banking system ought to have been a highlight of the week. By Damian Reece Published: 9:57PM BST 20 Oct 2009 Comments 2 | Comment on this article But as Mervyn King told his Scottish business audience last night: "If our response to the crisis focuses only on the symptoms rather than the underlying causes of the...

Amongst the other topics for discussion on his daily talk radio show (The Good Day Show) on Tuesday morning this week, Doug Stephan and one of his co-hosts, Roberta Facinelli, highlighted the benefits of putting MBE-barter to good use. Featured ‘live via phone’ was Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE) founder and President, Steve Bolles, as a guest and expert on barter.

The Ascent of Money Episode 3: Risky Business ASCENT OF MONEY In “Risky Business,” episode three of the four-part THE ASCENT OF MONEY, economist and historian Niall Ferguson examines the roots of the insurance industry in Europe; how disasters like Hurricane Katrina expose problems in risk management; how countries like Japan and Chile manage risk for their citizens; and the great rewards that can be accumulated through risk with hedge funds. http://video.pbs.org/video/1173188365

I am an amateur economist. But, one doesn't need years of schooling to be a better "economist" than Ben Bernanke. One merely needs to take the blinders off and release common sense. A broad background in law, economics and history helps, but it is not absolutely necessary. Economics is the study of human nature as it applies to money. So, it is precisely those who are narrowly educated, like some professional economists who don't study enough history, take an intensely academic viewpoint on things, and who don't understand fundamental human nature, who get things wrong. A narrowness of outlook and...

Though some economic measures are improving, the financial crisis "is far from over" and "appears to be taking root in the larger economy." This, despite the government's commitment to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars on a massive bailout of the financial system. These were the findings released in a report today by the Congressional Oversight Panel, the body charged with overseeing the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion plan aimed at bailing out the country's financial sector. "We still have a long way to go. A very long way," Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law School professor who chairs...

Credit Crunch, Global Recession Encourages Rent Of Cost-Effective Virtual Office Space By Monique Lester and Joel LeydenUnited Kingdom News Agency London --- March 2, 2009...... As the worlds financial markets collapse, owners and renters of virtual office space are looking at a brighter, healthier future. While world governments from London, New York and Tokyo to Toronto, Paris and Jerusalem stream billions into the financial and banking systems to avoid a financial catastrophe and with all the uncertainty, doom and gloom surrounding the markets, Simeon Howard, sales manager of City Office remains confident about the future. “The world is more connected...

Governmental price controls are problematic in two ways. For one, prices of goods reached naturally in the marketplace are essential signals that producers rely on in order to give consumers what they want. When governments seek to block out the message of the market, future scarcity is a certainty due to the inability of producers to achieve the profits that would normally prevail, and which give them the incentive to produce what we want to begin with. Worse, when governments seek to control prices during periods of crisis, there’s a certain misallocation of goods that similarly leaves the consumer worse...

Note: Start at the bottom and read up. The Credit Crisis Timeline 27 Jan 2009 This timeline provides a daily update on who's buying who, collapses within the global financial markets as well as national and international rescue plans. The information here is based on news sources including the BBC website and the Financial Times.27 JanuaryIceland’s government collapsed following political turmoil prompted by the global financial crisis. The Japanese government threw a US$16.7bn lifeline to companies threatened by the global financial crisis, to try to shield the shrinking economy from more job losses and bankruptcies. ING, the Dutch banking and...

With the inauguration of Barack Obama imminent, all eyes are focused on Washington. Questions abound. Will there be enough security at the inaugural? How will he handle the Gaza situation, the war on terror? What about the Supreme Court nominations? All of these are important, but of more immediate impact is, what will his approach be towards the economy? To answer this, let us look at what has been done so far. We have the TARP program -- the vote that is widely credited with sinking John McCain in the polls and giving Obama the Presidency. This bill, rushed through...

‘The story that I have to tell is marked all the way through by a persistent tension between those who assert that the best decisions are based on quantification and numbers, determined by the patterns of the past, and those who base their decisions on more subjective degrees of belief about the uncertain future. This is a controversy that has never been resolved.’ — FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO ‘‘AGAINST THE GODS: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF RISK,’’ BY PETER L. BERNSTEIN THERE AREN’T MANY widely told anecdotes about the current financial crisis, at least not yet, but there’s one that made...

Only full disclosure of toxic debts will get the West moving again It has been a year of financial explosions. By Liam Halligan Last Updated: 5:44AM GMT 29 Dec 2008 Comments 24 | Comment on this article The commercial pillars holding up the Western world - banking prudence and sound credit - have been smashed to smithereens The "advanced" nations are now flirting with economic collapse. The emerging economies have also suffered "collateral damage" – the West's "sub-prime" debt bombs now threatening the stability of global commerce. The developed world is on course to contract by 1.1pc during 2009. That...

The run up to Christmas, 2008 has seen e-commerce become the focus for retailers across the UK. In the light of rising costs and consumers reigning in their spending to save money, the Internet is now seen as the place of choice for consumers, for comparisons and significant savings. Internet marketing for e-commerce sites has become the chosen method of promoting retail businesses. “With Internet marketing and digital advertising budgets increasing, traditional advertising is being replaced by cost-effective, targeted, digital advertising and marketing campaigns”, states Joel Leyden, President of London SEO Marketing. Leyden, who has provided commercial, non-profit and governmental...

Video link: Many banks don't have enough money to survive in 2009, but mergers will keep their brands alive, said Ralph Silva of TowerGroup.

Gulf's woes bode ill for the oil and gas we need Carl Mortished: World briefing Alistair Darling's Pre-Budget Report on Monday contained at least one item that raised not a flicker of attention at Westminster but which will have been keenly noticed far away in the Gulf: he has decided that Islamic bonds will not form part of the Government's borrowing programme in the near future. The scrapping of Britain's first sukuk (a loan instrument that complies with Islamic strictures on the immorality of interest) will be seen as a slap in the face, a cold shoulder at a time...

More customers resume using old-fashioned cash By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO – 1 day ago NEW YORK (AP) — Cash or credit? For more Americans, who have already maxed out their credit cards or are just trying to manage their spending better in the tough economy, the answer is increasingly the old-fashioned one. Retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. are noticing a marked shift away from credit cards in favor of cash and debit cards. A big factor is less credit available as major card issuers cut spending limits and raise fees even for customers who pay...