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Lehman Bros reported earnings today and showed by the credit crunch is only part of the picture. Third quarter net income fell by 3.2% as the wrote off half a billion dollars in fixed income securities. But the company's overall revenue rose 3%, fueled by the firm's equity business. It global diversification also helped to reduce its exposure to the US mortgage melt-down.

The global credit crunch has had perhaps the biggest impact on investment banks and hedge funds. Many investment banks are due to report earnings this week and the extend of the damage will become more clear. But as the stock chart for Goldman Sachs shows, the market has already hit investment banks. Bear Stearns is predicted to take the biggest hit since they had the largest exposure to sub-prime mortgages and mortgage backed securities.

Mr. Kasriel believes that the economy has been propped over the last 10 years and perhaps longer by the massive use of debt. Consumers have borrowed their way to wealth and the bill is now coming due. He has long predicted the type of event seen with the credit crunch and feels it will only get worse. In addition, he does not see many palatable ways of resolving the problem.

It's really hard to fathom how a CEO can be worth 364X that of an average worker at his or her company. I'm sure if 364 people got together they could make better decisions than 1 CEO

It's easy to knock Jim Cramer but maybe some of the advice he gives is actually okay. His resume is more impressive than 99% of the brokers and analysts on the street.

A new term (to me) describing many of the sub-prime loans given over the last five years.

The headlines are screaming today about the credit market catastrophe and its effects on the Street. Ah, sorry but I;m not seeing those effects, are you?

Yale's David Swensen, the best performing university portfolio manager over the last 20 years recommends TIPS as a way to hedge against potential inflation caused by the government's economic recovery spending.

A new report from the US Inspector General says that the Fed failed to adequately supervise two banks in California and Florida that eventually failed.

Edwi

The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee today voted to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4%. In addition, the Fed said it would continue programs to keep mortgage rates low.

"You are evil, thieving bastards," so says Ann Minch in a video in which she blasts Bank of America for raising the rate on her credit card to 30%.

The Labor Department reported today that consumer prices rose .2% in September 09, double the increase in August.

The US Treasury Department today is buying the last of the $300 billion in Treasury bonds, bills, and notes it has purchased over the last seven months to keep rates low. The program, which prevented the yield on the 10-year Treasury bill from going over 4% during this period, helped keep mortgage rates and corporate bond rates low.