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The number of U.S. residents and businesses that filed for
bankruptcy rose 28.9% to 976,831 for the year ended June 30,
2008, according to U.S. court data released Wednesday.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that non-
business filings comprised 96.5% of that total…
Mortgage interest rates broke through the gridlock of
the last few weeks and, with the exception of one-year adjustable rates,
moved lower.
Mortgage activity as measured by the volume of loan
applications increased by a marginal 0.5 percent on a seasonally
adjusted basis from a week earlier and decreased by 0.9 percent
unadjusted. Volume was down 31.2 percent compared to the same week in
2007.
Sheila C. Bair, chairman of the FDIC said, "By any
yardstick, it was another rough quarter for bank earnings, but the
results were not unexpected as the industry coped with financial market
disruptions, the housing slump, worsening economic conditions, and the
overall downturn in the credit cycle."
Higher provisions for loan losses were cited as the
primary reason for the drop in industry profit. These provisions
totaled…
German inflation data and comments from ECB's Lucas Papademos will top
the macroeconomic release menu for the European session as U.S. markets
prepare for durable goods, weekly oil inventories and a two-year bond
auction. Canada's main releases for the day include some employment data
followed by a real return bond auction at noon.
