Timothy Giethner Interview

In an interview on Wednesday night , Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner struck an optimistic tone, saying that none of the 19 banks that experienced government stress tests are insolvent, but he was cautious about upcoming regulatory reform of the financial system, saying that it could take up to three years.

He added that the stress test results, which will be released on Thursday, "will be, on balance, reassuring."

Geithner also acknowledged that the banks were tough negotiators when it came to the results of the stress tests

Read the full transcript of the interview : huffingtonpost.com

Nassim Taleb - current global crisis worse than 1930

Bloomberg -- The current global crisis is “vastly worse” than the 1930s because financial systems and economies worldwide have become more interdependent, “Black Swan” author Nassim Nicholas Taleb said.

“This is the most difficult period of humanity that we’re going through today because governments have no control,” Taleb, 49, told a conference in Singapore today. “Navigating the world is much harder than in the 1930s.”

Full article : Bloomberg.com

News Today - May 07

* Bank stress test day arrives at last ,Investors get some much-needed answers about whether the biggest U.S. banks need more capital and how much. full story

* Large financial institutions undergoing stress tests will have one month to develop plans for how they will raise any required new capital, regulators say.

* Meeting of mutual fund industry group kicks off with a pair of notable strategists saying the S&P 500 Index will top 1,000 by year-end.

* In what could be the automaker's last quarterly update before it descends into bankruptcy, General Motors is expected to post a loss Thursday of almost $7 billion for the first three months of the year.

* In yet another report showing the economic downturn is moderating, private-sector employment in the United States fell by an estimated 491,000 jobs in the April ADP employment index, the smallest decline in six months.

* The novel strain of flu virus that’s been stoking fear of a pandemic appears to be acting a lot like regular flu in the U.S., except that it tends to strike young people.

* Australia's jobless rate stuns markets with a surprise decline in April, despite forecasts for a sizeable rise in unemployment.

IMF's Growth Projections

Rallies & Declines During 1929-1932 Depression period

Did the ongoing 30% rally Excite you ? See this !

News Today - May 06

* Swiss banking giant UBS confirmed a first quarter net loss of two billion Swiss francs ($1.75 billion) Tuesday and warned that the economy had continued to deteriorate despite a rebound in global stocks.

* Three-month Libor (or, the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate), an international benchmark interest rate used to price corporates loans, has slipped below 1% — an indication that banks are more willing to lend.

* Signs of life from the battered consumer and housing sectors raise hope that the severe recession may be bottoming out and that growth could turn positive later this year, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.Read Bernanke's prepared remarks.

* The U.S. Treasury Department will end up owning at least half of General Motors and current common stock holders will be left with roughly 1% of the embattled carmaker if a restructuring plan being currently considered goes through, the company warned in a regulatory filing late Tuesday.

* Bank of America has been deemed to need an additional $34 billion in capital, according to the results of a government stress test, a source familiar with the results said on Tuesday. A Bank of America spokesman declined comment.

* US firms could see 50% rise in the cost of outsourcing biz processes to India if Obama's new tax proposals are accepted

* San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen says recovery is likely to be slow, given the nature of the current slump.