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Entire sectors of the Canadian economy are cracking under the strain of the global recession. Things are bad at Canadian pulp and paper industry while the steel industry and the oilfield services sectors have also been clobbered by the recession. Prospects are not any brighter in Canada's auto industry.

Basic pay levels for executives have been rising faster than the rate of increase for other employees around the world. The executive pay trends in 2008 and 2009 are discussed together with the effects of the global economic downturn to executive pay levels.

The bank failures following the 2008 financial crisis are analyzed. Bankers and regulators will forget the consequences of this period and there&;will likely be another banking crisis in 15 to 20 years that is comparable to the periodic banking disasters in the past 150 years.

It is found that mortgage origination fees vary from 0.3% to 2.5% of the property value while the housing purchasing costs vary from 1.6% to 14.7% of the property value. The study is done amidst the background of the financial crisis that was brought on by US sub prime mortgage problems.

The combination of low interest rates, falling investments, and the implementation of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 is threatening the retirement system. The consequences of the financial downturn on defined contribution and defined benefit plans are discussed along with the processes needed to be taken to change investment strategies for these plans.

The laissez-faire capitalism or the poor oversight at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the causes of the financial crisis in the United States depending on either the Democrat's or the Republican's viewpoint. The events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis are discussed.

The implosion of the American real estate bubble triggered the subprime crisis that unfolded in 2007 and 2008. The flaws in the international monetary, financial, and regulatory systems contributed to the speed at which the crisis spread throughout the world. Remedial measures for this crisis are discussed aside from the factors that contributed to the crisis.

The easy-money mortgages to unqualified borrowers had the legacy of a prolonged credit crunch when it combined with the crash of the housing market in the United States. Real estate agent Mark Dziedzic played a role in this crisis as he was part of the system that turned the pricing of risk upside down in the housing market.

The continued rally in the U.S. stock market is cyclical and within a longer-term bear market. The financial crisis' narrative may be colored by a poor judgement of history or is being manipulated by some with questionable agendas.

Many people have noted that the proposed massive government bailout of Wall Street is socialistic. Problem is, says Creators Syndicate columnist David Sirota, the bailout is America's latest example of [...]

A review of the regulatory and government responses to the financial crisis of 2008 on banks is presented. These include the restriction of banking activities and rules on bank supervision.

Economics and law professor William Black says that the financial crisis will cost a multiple of the $150 billion that was used to mop up the savings and loan crisis. Black says that the plan for the government to purchase toxic assets is worse than a lie and that Tim Geithner is pandering to the interests of a select group of banks.

The high level of debt in some countries in Eastern Europe such as Estonia, Croatia, and Hungary is another bomb that is about to blow up during the global financial crisis. It is said that the Eastern European crisis is driving the E.U. into catastrophe and it is expected to affect South Korean companies that operate in the region.

The National Bureau of Economic Research reported belatedly that the U.S. has been in a recession for a year. November 2008 payrolls shrunk by 533,000 jobs and unemployment rate moved up to 6.7 percent. Economist Henry Kaufman cites ballooning debt as the cause of the global credit crisis.

The problems in the markets reveal that investors have lost confidence but what makes this crisis unique is its unprecedented scale and the threat that it poses to capitalism. The use of computers in financial transactions and the economic policies that assumed that markets are self-correcting are some of the developments that have created this crisis.

Economist Anna Schwartz says that disclosure is a problem with the government's handling of the bailouts of Bear Stearns and the failure of Lehman Brothers. Schwartz adds that the $700 billion that Hank Paulson plan presents further problem because of the ad hoc way it was put together.

The market for commercial paper tightened noticeably when the Wall Street financial crisis occurred. The apparent improvement in the financial markets mood may indicate that the commercial paper market will eventually open back up.

The billions spent on bailing out ailing banks failed to calm the frantic credit markets or rekindle investor confidence. Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke's policies to control the credit crisis sparked only a brief moment of exhiliration among investors. Christopher Cox also deserves credit for the brief rally for his policy on banning short selling.

The September 15 2008 meltdown in Wall Street is likened to a 'financial tsunami' by the CEO of First Niagara Financial Group Inc. and that it could take two or three more years to sort things out. One economist says that the traditional banking industry is in good shape because of its strong capital base and that the problem is confined to Wall Street.

A deeper look into the Global Economic Crisis of 2008 reveals that this is a monetary crisis rooted in lending money created out of thin air. The Fed must stop putting newly created money into the economy and move to a system free of government caused booms and busts.

One study found that companies around the world that have completed mergers or acquisitions since the start of the global economic downturn are outperforming their non-acquisitive peers by 6.3 percent. Those who acquired companies picked up bargains and seen better returns than those not doing deals at all.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on the financial crisis noted signs of a slowdown in the sharp decline in economic activity as shown by higher but still negative retail sales data in March 2009 over the previous month. Bernanke's speech neglects to mention how banks can function in providing loans from savings in an unfettered market.

One panel session at the National Association of Pension Funds' annual investment conference discussed what steps to be taken after the question of whether pension funds could have done more to prevent the financial crisis was raised. There is consensus that the financial turmoil had many causes and that a focus on addressing systemic risk is what really mattered.

The Chinese economy is not big enough to save the world from the global financial crisis since the country account for only 6 percent of the global gross domestic product. The country might not even be able to save itself given the 25.7 percent decline in exports for February 2009 over the previous year. China must move its economy from capital spending to private consumption.

A report from the Essential Information and Consumer Education Foundation argues that legal bribes from the financial sector worth over $5 billion to congresspersons and U.S. Presidents are partly responsible for the financial mess. These bribes caused massive deregulation of the industry.

Economist John B. Taylor's book 'Getting Off Track: How Government Actions and Interventions Caused, Prolonged, and Worsened the Financial Crisis' shows how counterparty was the real cause of the global financial crisis. The book also argues that the policy of the Federal Reserve of keeping the short-term interest rates too low contributed to the housing bubble.