Free Republic

Let's call this what it is: A new bull market in stocks has emerged from the ashes of the financial meltdown and the deep recession that followed. And it's signaling the onset of economic recovery. Free-market capitalism is more durable, resilient and self-correcting than its detractors would have us believe. This is not just a summer rally — although a 12% market rise since July 10 is absolutely splendid. There's a lot more going on here. Over the last five months, since March 9, the broad-based S&P 500 is up 46%. If I'm not mistaken, a 20% rally that is...

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Citigroup chief executive officer Vikram Pandit is nothing if not an optimist. Shares of his big bank soared as much as 27% early Tuesday after reports circulated about a memo Pandit sent employees Monday night that extolled Citi's virtues. In the memo, obtained by CNN Tuesday, Pandit said the troubled bank, which has already received $45 billion in government assistance, was profitable during the first two months of 2009. Investors have been wondering if surging loan losses will lead to a fourth round of federal aid that could wipe out common shareholders and perhaps lead to...

The U.S. Financial System Is Effectively Insolvent Nouriel Roubini 03.05.09, 12:01 AM ET For those who argue that the rate of growth of economic activity is turning positive--that economies are contracting but at a slower rate than in the fourth quarter of 2008--the latest data don't confirm this relative optimism. In 2008's fourth quarter, gross domestic product fell by about 6% in the U.S., 6% in the euro zone, 8% in Germany, 12% in Japan, 16% in Singapore and 20% in South Korea. So things are even more awful in Europe and Asia than in the U.S. There is, in...

European central banks have opened the floodgates with promises of unlimited dollar funding in a coordinated action with the US Federal Reserve. The European Central Bank, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank said they were ready to inject as much as needed into the markets for dollars funding covering periods of seven days, a month and 84 days. Banks would “be able to borrow any amount they wish against the appropriate collateral in each jurisdiction,” the central banks said in a statement. In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan said it was considering a similar step. The joint move marks...