Banking system fragility: A regional perspective

By Simon Johnson Speaking to the American Enterprise Institute, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner had some good lines yesterday, “The magnitude of the financial shock [in fall 2008] was in some ways greater than that which caused the Great Depression.  The damage has been catastrophic, causing more damage to the livelihoods and economic security of Americans and, in particular, the middle class, than any financial crisis in three generations.”

Editor’s Note: S.P. Kothari is a Professor of Accounting at the MIT Sloan School of Management. The recent financial crisis and the ensuing economic slowdown have heightened the importance of better understanding the interconnectedness between the industrial and banking sectors.

By Ron Paul The Great Cyprus Bank Robbery

Richard Suttmeier submits: I am back in Land O’ Lakes, Florida after a week on the road -- the bottom line is that the housing market and banking system are not out of the woods, and strength in community and regional banks is a selling opportunity for those with SELL and STRONG SELL ratings. Market wise, I predict Dow 8,500 before Dow 11,500.

This is the third post on today's release by the IMF of the 2013 Financial System Stability Assessment Report for European Union report.The first post - summarising top-line conclusion from the Technical Note on Progress with Bank Restructuring and Resolution in Europe is available here: http://trueeconomics.blogspot.ie/2013/03/1532013-imf-assessment-of-euro-area.html

OTTAWA — Canadian businesses are upset over a little-known 13-year-old policy that allows border guards to “waive through” travellers without charging them duty, particularly at peak cross-border shopping periods like the Black Friday long weekend.