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TOP NEWS: Economy: June 12, 2012
Excerpts and more top stories
Family Net Worth Drops to Level of Early 90s, Fed Says
Binyamin Appelbaum, NY Times – The recent economic crisis left the median American family in 2010 with no more wealth than in the early 1990s, erasing almost two decades of accumulated prosperity, the Federal Reserve said Monday.
How Banks Could Return the Favor
Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times – Like millions of homeowners, shrewd state and local governments are looking to refinance. Interest rates have hit rock bottom. So why not save some public money by replacing old debts with new ones at lower rates?
As State Revenues Recover, Health Costs Remain A Burden
Michael A. Fletcher, Washington Post – State revenues are finally returning to pre-recession levels, but the growing cost of providing health care for the poor is leaving most governments in dire fiscal straits, according to a report to be released Tuesday.
Wall Street’s Hidden Europe Risk
Stephen Gandel, CNN – Big banks are betting that Europe’s largest nations will avert crisis. Wall Street firms have been trying to stay one step ahead of the European crisis. That might not be far enough.
The Grilling Congress Should Give Jaime Dimon
Noam Scheiber, The New Republic – When Jamie Dimon testifies in the Senate on Wednesday about JP Morgan’s $3 billion trading loss, the focus will almost certainly be on the speculative aspect of the trade. [...] The congressional scrutiny would be more properly trained on the conventional part of the JP Morgan trade—the part that was garden-variety hedging, which the Volcker Rule allows, and whose praises mega-bankers never tire of singing.
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Treasuries Fall Before US Sells $66 Billion of Debt
Susanne Walker & David Goodman, Bloomberg – Treasury 10-year notes fell for the first time in four days as the U.S. prepared to auction $66 billion in notes and bonds this week.
Shocking Predictions About Retirement in America
Blaire Brody, The Fiscal Times – Last week, AIG’s CEO Robert Benmosche told a Bloomberg reporter that in light of the Euro crisis, retirement ages in Europe would have to move to 70 or 80 years old to make pensions and health care affordable for the youth.
US, European Efforts to Steady Economies Remain Mired in Political Tangles
Zachary A. Goldfarb, Washington Post – Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic, facing sharp political divisions, are failing to take the ambitious steps that economists say are vital for stabilizing Europe’s economy and assuring healthy growth in the United States.
Foreigners Snap Up Properties in US
Nick Timiraos, WSJ – The six-year slide in U.S. home prices and the dollar’s weakness against some currencies are driving a property-buying binge by Asians, Canadians, Europeans and Latin Americans eager to own a piece of America.
Wells Fargo Bankers Toting Guns Aim at 40% of Market: Mortgages
Dakin Campbell, Bloomberg – In mid-January, sales managers in Wells Fargo & Co.’s mortgage unit, the largest in the U.S., gathered at a hotel south of San Francisco dressed as cowboys, six shooters strapped to their hips. The goal: A bigger share of the business than they already control — about 34 percent of all U.S. home lending and 13 percent of mortgages for purchases in the first quarter.
