Commodities like wheat go back up. (Press Association via AP Images)
Business
Regrowing commodities, Wall Street’s end
With the big Wall Street bailout coming, commodities are climbing back up. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley opt to become better-regulated banks, ending the gilded investment banking era. And if you’re not seeing enough Hurricane Ike on TV, check the Web.
Best columns: Boring banks, Blaming shorts
In the 1970s, banks were “boring, but they were safe,” says Irwin Kellner in MarketWatch. With all these “financial convulsions,” we’re looking for someone to blame, says James S. Chanos in The Wall Street Journal, and we’ve have landed on short sellers.
Good day, Bad day
Rolling the credits, Good help
The bottom line
Recently ousted AIG CEO Robert Willumstad has reportedly turned down his $22 million severance package, saying that in his three months at the helm he had not completed a turnaround plan.
Shorting out shorts, Mopping up a mess
The SEC and U.K. regulators ban short-selling, and the markets rejoice. The U.S. starts work on a big plan to mop up toxic mortgage-backed assets. And Folgers makes a play for the budget gourmands.
Best columns: Value surfing, Retirement trust
Calling “the bottom in a stock market crash is a fool’s game,” says Brett Arends in The Wall Street Journal, but there’s “value out there in the market” now. I bet you’re relieved that Lehman Brothers and the other “financial wizards of Wall Street” aren’t handling your Social Security, says Chris Farrell in BusinessWeek online.
Good day, Bad day
Capitalist gloating, Landing in hot water
The bottom line
Dow Jones & Co. said that Kraft Foods will replace AIG in the Dow Jones Industrial Average starting Monday.
Global cash flood, British bank wedding
Central banks make a coordinated push to grease the wheels of finance, with $180 billion in extra liquidity. Britain’s Lloyds TBS buys mortgage lender HBOS for $22 billion. And gold rises; jewelers aren’t happy.
Best columns: AIG anger, Regulation rout
The AIG bailout, says John Gapper in Financial Times, was a study in moods: bafflement, fear, and finally, anger. Jimmy Carter started a 30-year period of deregulation with the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, says Michael Mandel in BusinessWeek.com, and the Federal Reserve ended it Tuesday night.
Good day, Bad day
Changing business models, Consensus
