When Wrekin Construction went into administration last week, it blamed the Royal Bank of Scotland for demanding repayment of an overdraft. However, the 2007 accounts show that among the assets of the company is a ruby it called the "Gem of Tanzania". Wrekin had bought the stone off one of its shareholders for £11m worth of shares - more than four times the record for a single ruby at auction. [more inside]
posted by Electric Dragon on Mar 16, 2009 - 20 comments

Vizualizations and infographics to help you understand the financial crisis
posted by desjardins on Mar 14, 2009 - 14 comments

Robots ruined the economy. But even robots are affected by bad financial times. Nonetheless, robots help relieve the stress of financial worries. There are worse things than a financial crisis.
posted by twoleftfeet on Mar 14, 2009 - 20 comments

Bleed The World
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 11, 2008 - 20 comments

How will the financial mess affect you? Will you still have a job? Will your mortgage go up or down? Will your bank account pay more or less? What if you want to buy a house? Or a car? Or have a child? College? Insurance? What if you are dying?What about Religion? And what if you want to get a credit card? First time things get hard? If it is tough, there is always bartering. So, who is winning? [more inside]
posted by bystander on Oct 12, 2008 - 54 comments

Fannie and Freddie have now been placed under conservatorship. [more inside]
posted by SeizeTheDay on Sep 5, 2008 - 93 comments

Upclose and personal on the man, Nouriel Roubini, who predicted the subprime crisis. Apparently we're in for a long long haul out of this mess. Oh, and it may be the end of America (reg req'd) as we know it. [more inside]
posted by blahblah on Aug 16, 2008 - 99 comments

Bringing Down Bear Stearns, from Vanity Fair's August issue.
posted by SeizeTheDay on Jul 1, 2008 - 17 comments

The Financial Crisis: An Interview with George Soros. "We are in the midst of a financial crisis the likes of which we haven't seen since the Great Depression." (video, April 4)
posted by stbalbach on Apr 28, 2008 - 56 comments

Fasten your seatbelts. Late Sunday Evening, JPMorgan announced it would be buying Bear Stearns for $2 per share, less than 1/10th the traded value on Friday. The move was backed by the Fed, which assumed most of the risk, and simultaneously cut the rate for borrowing by a quarter percent. According to Alan Greenspan, the US now faces the worst financial crisis since WWII. Monday looks like a wild ride.
posted by unSane on Mar 16, 2008 - 321 comments

Humor so dry, at times you might not be entirely sure. The Long Johns mull over the sub-prime mortgage mess. [more inside]
posted by From Bklyn on Nov 29, 2007 - 34 comments

Government error in contemporary British history is the stuff of legend and when it comes to the 2012 Olympics can I be on my own in forecasting financial disaster? This morning's announcement that "little can be built until the site's 50 electric pylons are removed" in 2008 comes hot on the heels of an understated Olympics budget which, four days ago, is revealed to be 'short by £2bn.' I am v.fortunate to live in the UK and there is no doubt this government is v.good at bookkeeping; but grandstanding a world event? Not a chance. Discussed in these parts last year, Britain is not good at world class marketing or brand .. management; Britain is not good at capital projects, and Politicians, bureaucrats ... milking the Olympic Games, says London's mayor. I understand but two Olypics have seen modest profit and Britain badly needs Hollywood or Coca-Cola^® to make a success of this.
posted by Schroder on Apr 6, 2006 - 28 comments

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, a Mass. newspaper which shares a computer system with the Boston Globe (both of whom are owned by the New York Times), has inadvertently released close to 240,000 Globe and T&G subscriber credit card and bank routing records. The records, accidently printed by employees on two separate occasions, were apparently placed into the recycling bin at the T&R, which then used that paper to bundle the Sunday edition prior to distribution.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow on Feb 1, 2006 - 49 comments

Oh, the tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive... Two traders with Estonias most prestigious financial firm spider the Business Wire website and manage to read headlines of impending news stories effectively enabling them to time the market to the tune of 7.8 million in profit...
posted by Muirwylde on Nov 3, 2005 - 9 comments

UAL reported an industry record $2.1 billion net loss in 2001 and a net loss of $510 million ... Come on, $15 billion to 'bail out' the airlines? I know this subject has been hashed over before, but it seems every other week I read stories about how hard the airlines are struggling for business after 9/11. I fly on business every week - every flight is full, every airport is packed. I'm starting to think we're all being suckered...
posted by matty on Jun 15, 2002 - 20 comments

London Stock Exchange left in lurch Here in the UK, it's the final day of the financial year (tax year), so isn't it a coincidence that the London Stock Exchange computer system went down for seven hours?
posted by williamtry on Apr 5, 2000 - 2 comments