The weak housing market has affected virtually every industry in the economy, from home builders, to banks financing them, to auto companies and even entertainment. A housing rebound is a necessary ingredient for any lasting economic recovery, but will that happen in 2012? According to many economists, it seems the chances are remote. Consensus estimates seem to show housing prices reaching the bottom... 

While much of the news surrounding the world’s banking giants tends to be negative, there is also a clear track record of many of the firms giving back to their communities and making significant contributions in the process. The latest news comes out of sunny Palm Beach County Florida, where Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) has helped the local school district through the Adopt-A-Classroom organization.... 

Mergers and acquisitions are a key source of revenue for the investment banks, and while New York and London remain the world’s largest financial markets, they are followed closely by Japan. While the competition has been immense for merger and acquisition advisory work during the past two months in Japan, the final data shows that Nomura Holdings Inc. (NYSE: NMR) edged out Goldman Sachs Group Inc.... 

AIG (NYSE: AIG) has been embroiled in litigation for much of the past three years, and final approval was finally granted by a federal judge on one of their biggest exposures – a $450 million settlement to resolve claims that it cheated a workers’ compensation program. AIG was accused of underreporting the premiums it collected on workers’ compensation policies to reduce payments to an industry... 

CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) announced that it will redeem $2 billion of 7% Series A Second Lien Notes. These notes include $1.6 billion of Series A Second Lien Notes (maturing in 2015) and nearly $400 million of Series A Second Lien Notes (maturing in 2016). As the interest rate environment continues to trade low, many firms are taking advantage of the opportunity to refinance their capital structure, and... 

Citigroup (NYSE: C), the New York based banking behemoth has been on a selling spree for the past few years, shedding assets to trim a business model once referred to as a banking supermarket. Most recently this week, news hit that Citi will be selling its Belgian consumer business to French bank Credit Mutuel Nord Europe as the New York bank continues to sell off operations that it deems are outside... 

The credit card businesses typically see a surge in balances in the fourth quarter each year, as shoppers spend furiously in the run up to the holidays. With new regulatory rules on interest rates and fees, the cash flow may slow a bit, and competition is continuing to rise. Coupling the competition with the lost fees is creating problematic conditions for many of the nations largest banks, as credit... 

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) may soon need to adopt the strategy currently in place at rival Citigroup (NYSE: C): shedding assets to survive in the new environment. BofA is lagging behind its major competitors, and with new capital rules on the horizon the bank may need to start selling assets to raise capital. Since January of 2010, the bank has sold nearly $50 billion of assets, which include most... 

Citigroup (NYSE: C) approached the abyss multiple times in the past three years, and although the stock may have been battered, there may finally be a light at the end of the tunnel. Citi managed to step into every financial mess of the last few decades, first lagging behind rivals during the boom, then facing an enormous bust losing tens of billions of dollars on mortgages (leading to a double government... 

“BRIC” the acronym we’ve come to know as the abbreviation for Brazil, Russia, India and China was first coined by economist Jim O’Neill, an Economists at the Goldman Sachs Groups Inc. (NYSE: GS). O’Neill has a new book out, titled ‘The Growth Map’, which shows rosy prospects for the BRIC nations, though the timing of his book release may be bad. New economic growth data out of these countries...