Financial Armageddon

FIMALAC (FIM) - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

Even talking about this action will invite an inquiry from Fitch Ratings, the company said in a report published Jan 27 "The more bankruptcy is publicly discussed as an option for financial relief, the more its tarnish wears off, increasing the likelihood of its actual use," Fitch said The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression is squeezing municipalities across the country 

Fitch Ratings Inc. - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

Even talking about this action will invite an inquiry from Fitch Ratings, the company said in a report published Jan 27 "The more bankruptcy is publicly discussed as an option for financial relief, the more its tarnish wears off, increasing the likelihood of its actual use," Fitch said The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression is squeezing municipalities across the country 

TransUnion, LLC - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

The percentage of consumers delinquent on mortgages, but current on credit cards rose to 66 percent in the third quarter of 2009 from 63 percent in the previous quarter and 49 percent in the same quarter a year earlier, a new study developed by TransUnion showed The trend first emerged in the first quarter of 2008 when it was at 43 percent, Chicago based TransUnion said Less emphasis on mortgage payments could portend higher delinquency rates and perhaps even more foreclosures 

Rockwood Holdings Inc. (ROC) - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

The percentage of consumers delinquent on mortgages, but current on credit cards rose to 66 percent in the third quarter of 2009 from 63 percent in the previous quarter and 49 percent in the same quarter a year earlier, a new study developed by TransUnion showed The trend first emerged in the first quarter of 2008 when it was at 43 percent, Chicago based TransUnion said Less emphasis on mortgage payments could portend higher delinquency rates and perhaps even more foreclosures 

LPL Holdings Inc - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

In Will Stocks' 'Lost Decade' Usher In Another Bull Market?" USA Today's Adam Shell polled a group of marketwatchers. including Sam Stovall, S&P's chief strategist; Bob Doll, Global chief investment officer of equities at BlackRock; Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at the Wharton School of business and author of Stocks for the Long Run; Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial; Francis Kinniry, a principal at Vanguard's Investment Strategy Group; Jim Paulsen, a strategist at Wells Capital Management; Tony Crescenzi, strategist and portfolio manager at Pimco; Axel Merk, president and chief investment officer of Merk Mutual Funds; Michael Farr, manager of the Touchstone Capital Appreciation fund; and, yours truly about what to expect in the period ahead, Here's what I had to say: Investors who see much better returns ahead are making the same mistake as those who expect a V shaped recovery, says Michael Panzner, who writes a blog, Financial Armageddon, and is the author of When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era "They fail to grasp that the crisis led downturn was not a cyclical event, but the first stage of a secular recalibration," he says 

The Vanguard Group, Inc. - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

In Will Stocks' 'Lost Decade' Usher In Another Bull Market?" USA Today's Adam Shell polled a group of marketwatchers. including Sam Stovall, S&P's chief strategist; Bob Doll, Global chief investment officer of equities at BlackRock; Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at the Wharton School of business and author of Stocks for the Long Run; Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial; Francis Kinniry, a principal at Vanguard's Investment Strategy Group; Jim Paulsen, a strategist at Wells Capital Management; Tony Crescenzi, strategist and portfolio manager at Pimco; Axel Merk, president and chief investment officer of Merk Mutual Funds; Michael Farr, manager of the Touchstone Capital Appreciation fund; and, yours truly about what to expect in the period ahead, Here's what I had to say: Investors who see much better returns ahead are making the same mistake as those who expect a V shaped recovery, says Michael Panzner, who writes a blog, Financial Armageddon, and is the author of When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era "They fail to grasp that the crisis led downturn was not a cyclical event, but the first stage of a secular recalibration," he says 

Dubai World - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

I was a guest on two shows, BBC News ' "World News Today" and Fox Business News ' "Cavuto," where I discussed the fallout from news that Dubai will delay repayments on $60 billion of debt from its investment company, Dubai World (videos embedded below). As I see it, the turmoil that has occurred in global markets over the past 48 hours essentially confirms that investors in risky asset classes have not made allowances for surprises. or even predictable events. 

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

Unrealistic assumptions, layers of investors, sky high prices, and possible fraud will make it hard to clean up the mess in commercial real estate When Goldman Sachs (GS) sold complex bonds backed by the Arizona Grand Resort and other commercial properties in 2006, it suggested the returns would be strong. The 164 acre luxury Arizona Grand, set against the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix, boasted an award winning golf course, deluxe spa, and several swank restaurants. The on site water park was named one of the best in the country by the Travel Channel. 

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

And let us not forget the famous bailout of AIG. Unlike TARP, AIG doesn't need to pay back the $85 billion that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York provided to pay off the insurer's credit default swap trades at 100 cents on the dollar. As Bloomberg pointed out on Tuesday , Goldman received $14 billion when AIG canceled its trades. 

Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

That is why, as the following press release, "U.S. Employers Face Huge Pension Funding Tabs Without Relief, Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds," suggests, corporate America is on the hunt for another bailout. Despite recent increases in asset values and regulatory relief from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S employers will be required to contribute $89 billion into their defined benefit (DB) plans in 2010 and more than $146 billion in 2011 unless they receive funding relief from the federal government, according to an analysis by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm. "The combination of a deep recession and new pension law has landed employers in extraordinary circumstances, and they need temporary funding relief to lessen the enormous pension contributions required in the next few years," said Mark Warshawsky, director of retirement research at Watson Wyatt, who testified on these points at an House Ways and Means Committee hearing. 

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe - Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon

Neither does every recession feature zero percent Treasury bill yields, a coast to coast bear market in residential real estate or a Federal Reserve balance sheet beginning to resemble that of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Yet these things have come to pass. Americans are blessedly out of practice at bearing up under economic adversity.