Color it Red: State Budget Gaps

In “Chart of the Day: State Buget Gaps 2010,” Credit Writedowns points us to a disturbing graphic in a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, entitled  “Policies for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2010 and 2011.”

As CW’s Edward Harrison notes,

this is not just about California. Come summer 2010, the most severe gaps will be closed via budget cuts or tax increases unless the Federal Government can pull a rabbit out of the hat.

MSM: JPMorgan profits surge six fold

(CNN) – JPMorgan Chase’s profits increased more than six fold in the latest quarter, the company said Wednesday, allowing the bank to handily beat Wall Street estimates.

MSM: Insiders Exit Shares at the Fastest Pace in Two Years

(Bloomberg) – Executives at U.S. companies are taking advantage of the biggest stock-market rally in 71 years to sell their shares at the fastest pace since credit markets started to seize up two years ago.

MSM: Global Financial Assets Lost $50 Trillion Last Year

The value of global financial assets including stocks, bonds and currencies probably fell by more than $50 trillion in 2008, equivalent to a year of world gross domestic product, according to an Asian Development Bank report.

MSM: Columbian Bank and Trust of Kansas Closed by U.S. Regulators

Columbian Bank and Trust Co. of Topeka, Kansas, was closed by U.S. regulators, the nation’s ninth bank to collapse this year amid bad real-estate loans and writedowns stemming from a drop in home prices.