Old (expensive) habits die hard

 

The new Dassault Falcon 7X which was purchased by Citi

Citi execs decided to give the American taxpayers a slap in the face as they announced that their company, which was bailed out by the US government with $45 billion, will buy a new plush private jet costing $50 million, the Huffington Post reports.

Now this is a case which exposes the crass ignorance of some executives who fail to assign value and meaning to their decisions. Stupid.

Obama fails to warm Wall Street stocks

Obama’s inauguration did not manage to prevent Wall Street index S&P 500 from falling 8.7%, reaching its lowest levels in fourteen years.

The worst performers in the United States markets today were banks where doubts were raised on the results Wells Fargo is expected to issue tomorrow. Wells Fargo was one of the better managed banks during the financial crisis.

Banks, or rather, the duration of their bailout, was also a cause of concern in Britain where The Guardian reports that banks in Britain may be nationalised for as much as ten years. 

This shows us that all that long-lasting change needs is a signature on a piece of paper. If it’s for the better, then that’s a different question.

Britain’s economic fall is deepest since 1931 – experts argue

Britain may be experiencing the worst economic decline in peaceful times since 1931, argues a report to be released by Ernst & Young Item club next week which was seen by The Times today.

Unemployment in Britian is expected to hit the 3.25m mark, the same report says.

Meanwhile, the British government prepares to bail out its banks with a further £100 billion, The Times says. 

The past hour in news was not, however, all doom and gloom.

Barclays is in fact set to report a £6 billion pre-tax profit next month, The Telegraph says. The bank had announced 2,100 layoffs earlier this week.

Bailout becomes gaming phenomenon

Bailout, originally meant to save banks from collapse, is now a free online game.

Test your skills and see if you can handle the situation better than Henry Paulson, current Treasury Secretary in the United States.

The Huffington Post says:

The game provides an amusing, multimedia retrospective of the measures that the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve have taken in response to the economic crisis.

The game was developed by Minnesota based company Blue Earth LLC, bailoutsleuth.com reports.