Weak Retail Sales As Mortgage Crisis Puts Freeze On Consumers

It is amazing how what started out as a subprime mortgage crisis has morphed into such an enormous economic mess around the world.

On Tuesday alone, the three major U.S. stock indexes went south by more than 2 percent.

Citicorp, the nation’s largest bank, had to write down $18.1 Billion for loses—loses stemming from the subprime crisis.

Tighter credit, also a byproduct of the mortgage mess, is apparently responsible for retailers now reporting their worst showing in five years.

Fears of an impending recession mount; some experts say it is already here.

On CBS radio before, I heard a really scary fact–that the total Citicorp loss is larger than anything any bank in the U.S. has experienced since the Great Depression!.

Wow. That is truly something.

Banks and brokerage houses here are increasingly looking for foreign investments to bail them out. They seem to be getting that help. For now. And, at what political as well as economic cost?

subprime mortgage crisis, economic mess, Citicorp, subprime, mortgage mess, recession, Depression, Banks

Article Author: Charles Feldman

Charles has written 149 articles for us.
Visit Charles's Website: http://www.thefeldmanblog.com

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Charles is currently reporting for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, is the co-author of the book No Time To Think, and can be found commenting about the news on his blog, The Feldman Blog.

Tagged as: citigroup, stock indexes, subprime mortgage, Wall-Street