12 Giant U.S. Banks Vulnerable to Disaster!

Imagine this scenario …

The largest economy in the world is on the brink of a financial meltdown that could make the debt debacle of 2008 seem small by comparison.

Its giant banks are buried in bad loans and vulnerable to failure.

Its central government is paralyzed.

Chaos looms.

A Desperate Meeting

One weekend, in a last-ditch attempt to avoid disaster, top finance officials — representing 117 countries and six billion souls — come together and meet.

The officials engage in intense — sometimes frantic — debate. They explore every possible solution known to modern man, plus some that are still not known.

But they’re stumped. They come up with no new ideas.

That’s when the highest finance official of the world’s second-largest economy speaks.

He can barely mask his frustration — and fear — as he calls for massive, unprecedented steps to stem a domino-like series of defaults.

He cites wo

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Markets rally, but for how long is anybody’s guess

Dead-cat bounce or start of sustainable growth? Markets rallied on Tuesday but after the volatility of recent months observers weren’t making any firm pronouncements about what was behind it or how long it might last.

“It’s nice to see these bounces,” Gavin Graham, president at Graham Investment Strategy, told Reuters. “The problem is it’s all based on hope rather than reality.”

Global markets rose Tuesday on renewed optimism that European leaders were committed to taking action to stem eurozone debt contagion.

“European leaders continue to differ about final resolutions but . . . it seems likely that Greece will receive its next eight-billion-euro aid tranche, which could well defer the next stages of the crisis for another few weeks,” wrote analyst Michael Hewson of CMC Markets U.K. in an afternoon note.

His Canadian colleague, Colin Cieszynski, pointed out that the crisis to date has been more political than strictly financial, and what has been needed all along is for policy-makers to have the political will to make the unpopular moves necessary to bring in revenues to pay for the necessary programs.

“The bottom line is that politicians want themselves and their parties to get re-elected and to be able to afford to deliver on their promises,” writes Cieszynski of CMC Markets Canada. “This provides a powe

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Did You Really Think People Would Buy $225,000 College Football Tickets?

Dear University,

With football season just around the corner, I’m still shaking my head at you.

I was there when it all went down. In the middle of the worst fiscal crisis in your history, the ax came down on every side. To make up for a huge budget deficit, your decision-makers imposed furloughs on great professors, ceased funding to championship athletic teams, and brought on steep tuition hikes. It was the ultimate belt-tightening. But hard choices and sacrifices are made when dealing with debt, and as a personal finance writer, I get that.

Then, it seemed like that ax turned to gold. You moved forward with borrowing $321 million for a massive renovation project of the old football stadium.

I have to be honest; those so-called sacrifices are looking a little sketchy.

As a Credit Advisor, I wouldn’t tell someone in bankruptcy to liquidate their assets so they can buy a bright and shiny Maserati. When dealing with debt and severe budgets, you shave necessary costs—the vacations, premium cable bill, or gym membership—in order to sustain what matters—the mortgage, utility bills, and groceries. I mean, e

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Sri Lanka is the top destination where travel money goes further

Brits travelling long haul should consider heading to destinations including Sri Lanka and Thailand, the latest research revealing the best priced countries for travel money shows.

The new ‘Long Haul Report’ by Post Office Travel Money published the conclusions of its latest survey on prices across leading holiday destinations worldwide.

According to its figures, currently the cheapest long haul destination is Sri Lanka, with prices down by a third. The drop in prices has made Sri Lanka 38% cheaper than Thailand, which is its nearest rival on the list of long haul value.

These two Asian countries are closely followed by Vietnam and Mexico, also considered ideal destinations for budget-conscious travellers.

Further drops in value include South Africa’s prices, where prices fell by 27% after the World Cup; and Orlando in the US, which is 29% cheaper than Miami.

European bargain destinations

On top of this, a recently published version of the ‘Fastest Growing Currencies’ report (also from Post Office Travel Money), showed that Croatia has trumped its European rivals for the third year running in the race to attract UK tourists.

Along with Iceland and Switzerland, Croatia’s currency was one of only three ‘hotspot’ European destinations to feature in the June-August 2011 growth top ten.

As the report reveals, the Croatian Kuna sales for June-August 2011 were 54% higher than purchases of the Bulgarian Lev. As a result, Cr

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Direxion Shifts 10 ETFs To 3X Exposure

Direxion, the Newton-Mass.-based purveyor of leveraged and inverse funds, is shifting leverage on 10 of its existing ETFs to three times their underlying indexes from two, in a move effective Dec. 1 that’s aimed at aligning the funds with the company’s reputation as the premier sponsor of triple-leveraged ETFs.

The announcement comes in the same week that Direxion announced that next month it plans on  shuttering its plain-vanilla, single long exposure Direxion Airline ETF (NYSEArca: FLYX), which has amassed less than $3 million in assets since its December 2010 launch. Together the two moves tell the tale of a company that’s deciding to stick to its knitting to gather assets more effectively.

“It’s feedback,” Andy O’Rourke, Direxion’s director of marketing, said in a telephone interview, explaining the reasons for the move. “If you look at

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You can be free with debt relief, just do it!

Debt ReliefMany people do not realize they could actually be the cause of all their debt problems. While they are in debt they do not take the time to ask this question. Why am I in debt? How do I put myself in debt? To be in debt could be positive or negative, whatever the cause is, you should consider it clearly in your mind.

Maybe you need a debt relief because you are a poor wastrel so you spend most of your money and if you happen to have a decline in your income, you still do not control your spending to the balance with your income. Then you’re in a debt crisis that you could have avoided. The best solution is to change your spending habits and stay away from monies due. Also learn about your personal financial habits so that you’ll be able to balance your income and expenses.

Another reason that may contribute to the debt crisis was inevitable that every event has attracted ignore you. Read all post…