Articles About Great Recession

The current ultra-low interest rates are hurting profit margins at banks that depend on the gap between what they charge borrowers and pay depositors to make money.   Pension funds also are hurting, because they are under growing pressure to meet their retirees’ obligations.  Meanwhile, some types of insurance are more costly as firms attempt to […]

A small, weathered, blue-gray house in Denmark, ME, set off a national uproar about the foreclosure crisis when its owner, Nicolle Bradbury, lost her job and stopped paying her mortgage two years ago.  The family, which includes Bradbury’s disabled husband and two children, lives on food stamps and welfare. When the bank started to foreclose […]

One unexpected side effect of economic hard times is a sharp decline in birth rates.  In Illinois, for example, the birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1933 – and that was during the darkest days of the Great Depression.  “Many couples are strained and don’t want to take on additional responsibilities,” said […]

Washington, D.C.’s commercial real estate market – including its Virginia and Maryland suburbs – continues to be the nation’s most stable with vacancy rates far below the national average.  The area’s vacancy rate stood at 10.4 percent at the end of the first quarter, far below the 17.3 percent national average, according to Reis, a […]

he nation’s financial system needs significantly more regulation than exists now.  The lack of tough regulatory powers strongly impacted the recent financial crash and the Great Recession that ensued.  The good news is that the Obama administration is moving firmly in this direction with financial reform legislation a critical item on its agenda.  This is […]

As the nation gradually recovers from the Great Recession, several years are likely to pass before lending returns to pre-crisis levels, according to Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke.  The return of credit growth is far slower than during any business cycle of the last four decades with the sole exception of the 1990 – 1991 […]

It’s ironic that — even in the depths of the Great Recession — the number of millionaires around the world grew by 17 percent to 10 million.  Their collective wealth surged 19 percent to $39 trillion, according to the latest world wealth report from Merrill Lynch-Capgemini. “We are already seeing distinct signs of recovery and, […]

Banks are starting to hire again as they return to structuring CMBS, a sign that the financial markets are gradually returning to normal.  “I see lots of friends who used to be employed, and weren’t for a while, and are now being rehired by institutions,” said Jonathan Strain, debt capital markets director at JPMorgan Chase’s […]

Is there something special in the water in Texas?  After surviving the Great Recession in relatively good shape, the Lone Star State can claim that it has more jobs than it did two years ago, as well as the lowest unemployment rate of the 10 largest states at just 8.3 percent.  According to the Texas […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning that – even as the nation struggles to recover from the worst recession in 75 years – Congress must deal with an “unsustainable” level of debt.  “Our nation’s fiscal position has deteriorated appreciably since the onset of the financial crisis and the recession,” Bernanke said in testimony before […]