Citibank ending operations in Kuwait? October 15, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: banking, Bankruptcy, Banks, Citi, Citibank, economy, global, Rumor, Sub-prime, subprime, Systemic Risk, US
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Lehman Brothers Fate September 14, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in rumors, sovereign funds.Tags: American International Group, banking, Citigroup, Collapse, economy, FED, John A. Thain, John Mack, Lehman Bros, Lehman Brothers, Long-term Capital Management, LTCM, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, NYC, subprime, US, Vikram S. Pandit, Washington Mutual
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Just like a scene from a movie top banking executives meet at the New York Fed to discuss Lehman Brothers fate. Exactly 10 years ago the same meeting occured to discuss Long Term Capital Managment (LTCM) a hedgefund which collapsed in 1998 and sent the market tumbling.
“I’m hoping that some big firm will want them more than the Fed wants them… The government right now, the Treasury and the Fed among others, they’re trying to work the deal with no government money, as they should.”
- Senator Richard Shelby, Senate Banking Committee
The current roster consists of the following attendees:
- Citigroup Vikram S. Pandit
- Merrill Lynch John A. Thain
- American International Group
- Washington Mutual
- Morgan Stanley John Mack
- Goldman Sachs Lloyd C. Blankfein
- JPMorgan Chase James Dimon
- Credit Suisse Brady Dougan
- Bank of New York Mellon Robert Kelly
- UBS Robert Wolf
- Barclays Bert E. Diamond
Including Henry M. Paulson, Treasury Secretary, & Timothy Geithner, New York Fed president.
Warren Buffett to remain bearish August 25, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: Berkshire Hathaway, economy, inflation, investment, recession, US, Warren Buffett
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In a recent article Warren Buffett claimed that the expects a few more bank failures and claims the housing market to remain ‘tough’ over the next 18-24 months. He anticipates a slow recovery in the US economy and does not expect any improvement prior to 2009. Buffett added, Berkshire Hathaway has no bets right now on currencies but is calling the stock markets ‘more attractive’ than a year ago.
This week Warren Buffett toured Canada’s oil sands with his friend Bill Gates this week to understand how the resources are developed, but the billionaire investor said he had no plan to buy into the sector.
“No, no. I go to the movies, but I don’t buy movie companies. I mean, I’m always interested in understanding the math of things and understanding as much as I can about all aspects of business… And what I learn today may be useful to me two years from now. I mean, if I understand the tar sands today and oil prices change or whatever may happen, I’ve got that filed away and I can use it at some later date.”
- Warren Buffett
George W. Bush on the economy July 24, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: economy, George Bush, Housing, President, random, subprime, Texas, US
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Henry “Hank” Paulson and Ben Bernanke have been in the news all week trying to explain the current situation in the United States. The words chosen during interviews and conferences are extremely important especially during a recession since people are anxiously awaiting your next move.
Apparently George W. Bush thought he could explain the economy in a much simpler way so that the average joe could understand the situation,
“There’s no question about it. Wall Street got drunk, it got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. The question is, how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?”
- George W Bush speaking at a private event in Houston
I really hoped he would have stopped there, but no. He decides to explain the Texan housing market and continues by saying,
“We’ve got a housing issue not in Houston, evidently not in Dallas, because Laura’s over there trying to buy a house today.”
Bush’s comments were recorded on video by a cellphone and posted on YouTube. I will be sharing the link shortly.
KWD at record high against US Dollar June 8, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: Dollar, High, KD, Kuwaiti Dinar, KWD, Record, US
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The Kuwaiti Dinar reaches a record high against US Dollar to .26480 fils per US Dollar (or $3.7764 per KD).
Dollar peg will not help inflation June 2, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis, qatar, rumors, saudi arabia.Tags: Abu Dhabi, currency, Dirham, Doha, Dollar, Gulf, Henry Paulson, inflation, Pegs, qatar, Riyal, Treasury Secretary, uae, US
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According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson abandoning the Gulf’s currency pegs to the dollar will not solve their vexing inflation problems. Speaking to reporters on his plane from Qatar to UAE, Paulson said the Gulf rulers in the region have… “quite an awareness that the peg does not influence inflation to a significant degree… They recognize that inflation is the overriding issue. Ending the peg is not the solution to the inflation problem.”
Economic policy is not a politcal decision that can be altered via public relations, it is a sovereign matter. Paulson stated that he could not rule out any moves by Gulf states to abandon their peg’s.
Gulf currencies collapse 40% April 8, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis, bahrain, qatar, rumors, saudi arabia.Tags: AED, bahrain, BHD, Central Banks, Currencies, Dirham, Dollar, Dubai, gcc, Gulf, kuwait, KWD, oman, OMR, qatar, Revaluation, saudi arabia, Saudi Riyal, US
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Many have called for a revaluation of Gulf currencies from the historical dollar peg. The flood of liquidity and rapid inflation has been hailed as a warning to the falling interest rates, decline of the US Dollar, and record high oil. The loss in value of the Gulf currencies has been partially responsible in the rise of inflation. The inflationary pressures, which should govern an increase in rates by the central banks, have created markets so liquid that deposits are being quoted at negative rates. The list below shows the Gulf currencies depreciation, in value, due to the Dollars decline.
Global Markets Vs. Kuwait Stock Exchange March 26, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis, random.Tags: Correlation, Dealer, Dow Jones, Fear, Greed, Gulf, Important factors, KSE, kuwait, Kuwait Stock Exchange, KWSE, Nasdaq, New York, NYSE, Psychology, S&P, Stock Exchange, Trader, Trading, US
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The usual remarks i often hear from traders in Kuwait are that the Kuwait Stock Exchange is ‘unique,’ ‘uncorrelated,’ or ‘irrational’ are usually unproven and baseless statements. During stressful times in the financial markets many traders in Kuwait presume that the Kuwait Stock Exchange is not correlated to world markets and that events happening abroad do not effect the outcome of the local economic system, these are false accusations.
This ideology is felt across Kuwait, and the Gulf, as the US Dollar tumbles to new lows and global markets experience the credit crunch local traders just shrug off the news and claim that “it wont effect us.”
Traders MUST acknowledge that ALL markets are controlled by the same 2 simple factors, greed and fear. These two simple factors control every economic market cycle. The insight that emotion (greed and fear) can override rational thought during decision making is the main component, among others, in the psychological barriers moving the markets.
US Fed slashes rates, Gulf to follow March 19, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis, bahrain, qatar, saudi arabia.Tags: bahrain, Bahrain Central Bank, Benchmark, Central Bank, Dinar, Federal Reserve, Gulf, oman, qatar, Rate cuts, Riyal, saudi arabia, Saudi Arabian Monetary Policy Agency (SAMA), Stagflation, uae, United States, US
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US Fed lowers interest rates by 75 basis points (.75%). Gulf countries pegged to the US dollar must follow the Feds cuts. As of now Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have lowered their rates by the same points. news from UAE, Qatar, and Oman is still pending. (more…)
