Like consumers, companies can take on too much debt. The debt-to-equity ratio offers one way to tell whether a leveraged business is taking on too much. Here's how you can do the simple math before you invest.
Hedge funds, which experienced sharp drops in assets during the credit crisis, now hold an all-time high of more than $2 trillion in capital, according to a new survey by Hedge Fund Research Inc. The figure is 50% higher than crisis-driven lows reached in the first quarter of 2009.
The investment world's love affair with ETFs continued in 2010, as more than 1,000 funds managed assets of $940 billion. Here's a review of the best and the worst performers, and a few reminders about how to use these investment vehicles safely.
Grocery chain Supervalu reported a net income of 31 cents per share this morning for the last quarter, which ended May 10, a 40% decline year-over-year. An after-tax charge of 12 cents per share that brought the figure down, but the quarter was still a disappointment.
In the late '80s and early '90, more than 1,000 savings & loans failed in a financial crisis that cost the government $220 billion to resolve. By contrast, it looks like TARP will only cost the government $105 billion. So is the current financial crisis only half as bad? Not bloody likely.
Let's not forget that unprecedented government intervention is the only thing keeping the the housing and mortgage markets afloat. This level of support is so massive that many are wondering what will happen when the government finally pulls the plug.
