Free Republic

Cheap oil is creating headaches for the Wall Street firms that bankrolled America's oil boom. That's because the crash in oil prices is putting energy companies under financial stress. Oil revenue has dried up, yet these companies are still saddled with tons of debt. America's largest banks are now raising red flags about the health of those loans. For the second-straight quarter, the banks have warned investors about an uptick in troubled energy loans. Banks "are going to lose money on the loans they've made. That's pretty evident -- whether oil prices go to $30 or $80 a barrel," said...

There was a time when it was possible to ‘retire’ from investment banking in your 30s. That time has passed. As the the trajectory of banking careers changes, 30 has instead become the age at which you must be positioned at a firm that will see you through to your 40s and beyond. Swapping banks when you’re aged 30+ is increasingly challenging. Headhunters working across business areas bemoan the lack of recruitment beyond vice president (VP) level. “Banks have become incredibly cost-conscious,” says a partner at an M&A search boutique. “They’re not making a 25% return on equity any more...

Liberals all over America are just giddy over the way newly elected Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren blasted bank regulators in a Senate hearing this week. They are singing her praises as the champion of the consumer. The Huffington Post reported on her performance with the headline, “Elizabeth Warren Embarrasses Bank Regulators at First Hearing.” A YouTube video was also posted with the same title. The 4 minute video shows Senator Warren confronting top bank regulators from the FDIC, SEC, OCC, CFTC, Fed, and Treasury. The video is shown below. Another site, Gawker.com, reported the same story with the headline, “Elizabeth...

Both Eric Holder and his boss Barack Obama are clearly enemies of American freedoms. The things they do and don’t do tell us this. Earlier this month Holder ordered his wrecking crew of social vultures in the Department of Justice’s Civil Division to press new and serious attacks against America’s Banking industry. Holder is forcing banks to start lending mortgage money to minorities he imagines have been discriminated against ….. chance at home ownership by “evil banks.” To him and his social parasites the mere fact that a minority applicant has been rejected by a lender is proof that illegal...

Add one more reason to the long list telling us that Chris Simcox needs our support in his primary run at Senator McCain. Undercutting conservatives in his party is McCain's middle name even, apparently, when socialism results. But to avoid the issue of a potential for government control of the banks, everybody agreed that the stock the feds would take back in return for their money would be preferred stock, not common stock. “Preferred” means that these stockholders get the first crack at dividends, but only common stockholders can actually vote on company management or policy. Now, by changing this...

Video of Lindsey Graham coming to terms with Maxine Waters, saying we may have to consider nationalizing the banks. Maxine Waters: "We've come a long way."