Trounced in last year’s financial crisis, Asian stocks helped lead 2009’s global rally as unprecedented government stimulus measures and economic recovery sent investors back to the region’s markets en masse. Link

Consider for a moment the analysis of a hypothetical motorway pile-up. Investigation revealed that the accident started when the driver of a sports car lost control on an elevated section. The car had, in fact, been modified by the dealer so that it could go faster than the manufacturer originally intended. Link

“The turnaround in home prices seen in the spring and summer has faded,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, in a statement. “Coming after a series of solid gains, these data are likely to spark worries that home prices are about to take a second dip,” he said. Link

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday pressed ahead toward the creation of a new mechanism it says could be used to withdraw money from the banking system once policymakers decide to tighten monetary policy. Link

While employers with defined benefit plans have experienced the most immediate consequences of the financial crisis, those with defined contribution plans may also be facing a problem that is far greater than they realize, according to research on retirement plans. Link

The college town, located in the Finger Lakes Region about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northwest of New York City, plans to auction $18.9 million of tax-exempt and taxable bonds. Proceeds of the issue, backed by property taxes, will be used to finance capital improvements, including a parking garage. Chautauqua County, along the state’s Pennsylvania border, [...]

The approaching withdrawal of Fed support in the form of the mortgage-bond purchases risks “a very, very scary situation,” said Meredith Whitney, founder of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group LLC in New York. Mortgage rates would soar, endangering the economic recovery, if private buyers failed to step in to buy the companies’ debt, she said. Link

He was also one of the most accomplished, courageous and influential leaders in our history: an anti-imperialist, a passionate supporter of the underdog, a parliamentary reformer and a tax-cutter, who served four terms as Prime Minister and is synonymous with the Victorian age.  Link

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has directed much of the government’s response to the financial crisis, and while the emergency may have passed, he still has a lot of work ahead as the world deals with fallout from the meltdown. In this interview, Geithner discusses the size of the financial system, the credit crunch, communication issues [...]