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Somber Wall Street Anniversary

President Obama decided to go to Wall Street to mark the week in September when, the year prior, the U.S. financial system broke down. The week when the collapse of Lehman Brothers threatened to drag the U.S. and the world economy into a depression.

Leveling Out: Economy Showing Stability

The central bank of the United States, known as the Federal Reserve, declared that economic activity is leveling out. In other words, the steep fall in production and employment, experienced by the economy since the recession started in December 2007, has been stopped.

Another Positive Sign

For the second consecutive week, the U.S. economy has exhibited an indicator of positive performance. Two weeks ago, it was the surprising negative 1 percent in economic growth for the second quarter, which ended in June. This past week, it was the unemployment figure for July, which was also less than expected. At 247,000 jobs lost in July, unemployment went down to 9.4 percent, from 9.5 percent in June.

Has the Economy Really Hit Bottom?

There is increasing evidence that the U.S. economy has hit bottom. True, there still remain some significant laggards. But there may be ground for moderate optimism.

Venture Capital Activity Hits Six-Year Low

Venture capitalists are the latest addition to the long list of interest groups feeling the sting of the down economy. Venture capital firms raised $1.7 billion in the second quarter of 2009, hitting a six-year, according to a report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association.

Fed's Moves Indicate No Major Changes Foreseen in Economy

The Federal Reserve decided last week to leave monetary policy unchanged. The central bank also said the federal funds interest bank will remain at "exceptionally low levels ... for an extended period." The news signals that the central bank does not anticipate, in the immediate future, major changes in economic conditions.

Financial Crisis Met, Inevitably, By Regulation

It is almost fatal: every crisis generates an impetus for more regulation, because the crisis reveals errors, shortcomings, loopholes and negligence, which were not so obvious during the times of abundance, or of exuberance, as some say. President Obama has presented a proposal to regulate the financial sector and the expectation is that Congress will approve the set of measures by the end of the year.

Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition Protests Bank of America's Lending Practices

Florida activist Al Pina has launched a community campaign against Bank of America over its the minority-lending record and practices. Pina, founder and chairman of the Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition, is staging a hunger strike in protest of what he views to be Bank of America's lack of transparency toward low-income minorities.

CDFIs: Financing Opportunity in Underserved Communities

Slightly beyond the borders of where conventional financial institutions will go sits a valuable resource jewel. Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFI's, venture into unconventional market territory to finance affordable housing, small businesses, community facilities and nonprofits. For more than two decades, CDFI's have expended billions of dollars to create jobs, build affordable housing, and provide vital community services ranging from child care to charter school education in urban and rural communities across the country.

Unemployment Down; 'Fragile Signs' that Recession Abating

In May, 345,000 jobs were eliminated in the U.S. economy, pushing the unemployment rate to 9.4 percent, the highest rate in 25 years. Still, analysts almost unanimously saw this as a positive sign, because the job loss in May was much less than the average monthly loss of 700,000 jobs during the first quarter, or the 504,000 jobs lost in April.

Bank of America Loses Two More Board Directors

Two more Bank of America Corp. board members have resigned, bringing to five the number of directors who have left the banking institution since late April. Patricia Mitchell and Jackie Ward stepped down last week.

Why Economists Failed to Predict the Financial Crisis

There is a long list of professions that failed to see the financial crisis brewing. Wall Street bankers and deal-makers top it, but banking regulators are on it as well, along with the Federal Reserve. Politicians and journalists have shared the blame, as have mortgage lenders and even real estate agents. But what about economists? Of all the experts, weren't they the best equipped to see around the corners and warn of impending disaster?

Senate Confirmation of Wolin For Treasury's No. 2 Spot Raises Some Eyebrows

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Neal S. Wolin, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's pick for a No. 2 man. During the Clinton administration, Wolin served as the Treasury's Department's top lawyer, and supervised the team of colleagues that drafted a banking deregulation bill that many experts -- and President Obama himself -- say contributed significantly to the global economic meltdown.

Stressed by the Test

Until now, to deal with the recession, the Obama administration has obtained approval of a huge public spending increase and has reduced somewhat the amount of foreclosures. By contrast, the third leg of the government Economic Reactivation Plan is taking a bit longer, because it has to do with rescuing the banks, to reactivate credit and therefore demand.

Case-Shiller Again Shows Steep Drop, But Not Another Record

The decline of the housing market in 20 major cities continued through February, but there's a shred of good news: for the first time in nearly 18 months, the overall drop for that month failed to set a record, according to the latest Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a closely watched index.

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