Merrill Lynch has shocked the market by announcing it plans to clean up its toxic balance sheet by raising $8.5 billion through a public share offering. That's after revealing another $5.7...

Last week, I did a blog entry attacking the Securities and Exchange Commission for its stunt cracking down on "naked" short selling. At the time, I said it would do nothing to stop market...

Some worrying news coming out of China.The Chinese economic juggernaut is slowing down and although it is still maintaining double digit growth, there is a problem with inflation and global setbacks...

The bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Max continue to raise questions.The US government's plan to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got the initial tick. The big investors supported a $US3...

With Delta Air Line shareholders to vote in September on the prospective merger with Northwest Airlines, creating America's biggest airline, concerns are being raised about how anti-competitive...

An alarming survey from credit insurance giant Atradius.The 14-country survey found that a vast majority of companies, particularly those in the US, were expecting an impact down the track than what...

Those ratings agencies have been bad.According to a Securities and Exchange Commission study, reported here, the agencies were assigning top ratings to junk investments, and the analysts knew exactly...

This interview with financier George Soros in Stern magazine makes depressing reading.We are not only in the midst of the worst financial crisis in 30 years, says Soros. It's going to get a lot...

Let's take yesterday's expected announcement by Lehman Brothers of a $2.8 billion loss and $6 billion capital raising in context.It coincides with the Bank of International Settlements...

Friday's bleak US payroll data showing another drop in jobs and rising unemployment, combined with this long-term chart of US gross firing and hiring, is not just another sign of the unfolding US...

All eyes are on Lehman Brothers tanking with its shares falling nearly 10 per cent on speculation that the company intended to raise $4 billion in fresh capital and word that it's about to report...

Oil prices have dropped slightly but it's not over yet. The oil price will continue to rise simply because there is an issue of supply constraints biting against soaring global demand.Certainly...

US soldiers have put their lives in Iraq. Their reward: foreclosure.Foreclosures in US towns where soldiers live are increasing at almost four times the national average, according to data compiled...

Interesting insights into the global food crisis from London-based consultants Independent Strategy.The World Bank says global food prices have nearly doubled in three years. The crisis has been...

Green investment is all the rage. But does it deliver? Does it pay off and produce strong profits for the investor.This piece in the latest edition of The Economist, Backing greens with greenbacks,...

The problem with the crisis now is that we have this illusion of market fundamentalism, that the markets are ultimately perfect and self-correcting. But that's a religion built on false premises,...

What to make of the good economic news? Is the lower unemployment rate cause for celebration? And what of the improving productivity figures and shrinking trade deficit? Don't pop the champagne...

AIG, in combination with the soaring oil price, managed to drag down the US market after it posted a first quarter loss of $7.8 billion on the back of the mortgage-related downturn. And the reality...

It's been a bad bad week for Swiss bank UBS.First it announces it's on the way to cutting 5500 jobs after losing $11 billion in the first quarter as a result of the US subprime crisis. Most...

No substance has held as much allure over the centuries as gold. And that allure still seems to hold with gold prices going up to as much as $1000 an ounce in March. The price has dropped back...