November 17, 2008

Banks and brokerages worldwide have shed almost 160,000 jobs since the subprime mortgage market collapsed last year, sparking a credit crisis

For the first time, Prudential Financial Inc. of Newark, N.J., has cut its shareholder dividend for 2008 - down by about 50% from the dividend paid out in 2007.

The Department of the Treasury’s decision not to use part of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program to repurchase bad mortgage assets is an improvement on the original plan, he said, noting that it is “extremely hard” to find a mechanism that would work.

All VIX related:

The number of workers who filed for first-time unemployment benefits increased by 32,000 to 516,000 for the one-week period ended Nov. 8 — marking the highest level since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to the Department of Labor.
Jobless claims above 400,000 are considered to be a sign of a recession.