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Monthly Archives: December 2008

Every year we look forward to reading PNC Bank’s Wealth Management group’s annual Christmas Price Index based on the cost of buying the swans-a-swimming, the lords-a-leaping and all the other gifts in the holiday classic The Twelve Days of Christmas. The PNC CPI increased by a lavish 8.1 percent over last year, the second biggest leap in the history of the analysis. Continue reading

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Tom Nist, formerly Small Business Segment Manager at PNC and currently a Professor at Duquesne University, has a very informative presentation on the background of the market crisis that he developed for his students. I think you’ll find it of interest.

Market Overview

 

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CFOs are pessimistic about the economy and have fundamental concerns about the health of their banks.

The 51st Quarterly Duke University/CFO Magazine Business Outlook Survey was published today. In the past it has proven highly predictive, so the significant increase in pessimism is an ominous sign. Continue reading

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There is a growing consensus that loss provisioning policies need to change. “It may be one of the few things that Tom Brown and Ken Lewis agree on!

Dynamic provisioning has been credited with helping Spanish banks maintain strong balance sheets despite the collapse of the housing market. Central Bankers and policy makers in the UK and other European countries – and some in the US — are giving serious thought to adopting some form of this model. Will this be part of the new regulatory climate? Continue reading

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