Most Banks Have Needed Capital: Geithner
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that most U.S. banks have enough capital to keep lending but a pile of bad debts is fostering doubts about their health and slowing a recovery. Testifying before the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors the Treasury’s efforts to bail out troubled banks, he said toxic assets were “congesting” the U.S. financial system and hindering efforts to get credit flowing normally. More
More US cash for GM and Chrysler
General Motors (GM) and Chrysler are to get more loans from the US treasury as the troubled carmakers work on plans to try and make themselves viable. The two Detroit, Michigan-based giants are seeking to stave off bankruptcy and GM will receive a further 60-day, $5bn loan while Chrysler is to get $500m. The firms have already received a combined $17.4bn in aid since December. More
No quick fix to financial crisis, IMF says
There is no end in sight for the global financial crisis, and it will force writedowns amounting to $4-trillion (U.S.) by next year, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest assessment of stability in the world’s financial systems.
“The global financial system remains under severe stress as the crisis broadens to include households, corporations and the banking sectors in both advanced and emerging market countries,†says the IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report, released in advance of this weekend’s top-level meetings in Washington.More
Dollar mixed on positive European data
The dollar was mixed Tuesday as the euro rebounded from a one-month low on a report that showed a much-bigger-than-expected increase in German investor confidence in April.
At 10:15 a.m. ET, the dollar was down 0.29% against the 16-nation euro, which was trading at $1.2959.
Germany’s April ZEW economic sentiment index, a forward-looking indicator, posted its sixth straight gain. It soared to positive 13% from negative 3.5%, the first time the index turned positive since July 2007. More
