[Farknight]

Okay, bets on who is first? Ex-IMF Chief says big US bank to fail

Better watch your CDs, IRAs and savings accounts.

[Tyler_JC]

All of which are insured.

[Ronin]

All of which are insured.

The things you own end up owning you.

Masterless

[Cashmere]

WaMu/Leh/Wach

in that order.

[Forney2008]

Cashmere, those avatars just crack me up!! I love em.. I especially liked the one with the hot fat women in bikinis!

[skeptik]

All of which are insured.

Only up to a certain amount per bank. As in the Uk. Cant remember how much. If you have 2 accounts in the same bank you don't get twice the insurance.

FDIC will probably run out of money before this is all over. Tax payer will have to pony up some more. Everybody - except the large corporations which arrange matters so they dont pay any corporation tax, and the ultra rich who employ clever lawyers and accountants to keep the tax man at bay - will end up losing.

[joeltrout]

Correct me if I am wrong.

$100,000 is insured and I have also heard if you have a joint account then $200,000. Individual Retirement Accounts are insured up to $250,000.

You can also spread you money out over several banks. 100K at BOA, 100K at WaMu, 100K at Wells Fargo, etc...

[americandream]

Wath this pan put ok. China, Russia, Iran...one of those places top heavy with money earned in this sad world of con the commoners will step into the breach. I've stopped taking the wars or posturings of these back scratching elites seriously a long time ago. America is not going to collapse anytime soon. If you're waiting for the event to happen, you are going to be dying one very puzzled person.

[careinke]

My bet is WAMU, which sucks since that is where I bank from. But I have less than $100K in it and have assets in other places. I just like there online banking and other services.

Cliff (Start a rEVOLution, grow a garden)

[Daniel_Plainview]

My bet is WAMU, which sucks since that is where I bank from. But I have less than $100K in it and have assets in other places. I just like there online banking and other services.

Cliff (Start a rEVOLution, grow a garden)

Yeah, WaMu or Wachovia ......

[DantesPeak]

Correct me if I am wrong.
$100,000 is insured and I have also heard if you have a joint account then $200,000. Individual Retirement Accounts are insured up to $250,000.
You can also spread you money out over several banks. 100K at BOA, 100K at WaMu, 100K at Wells Fargo, etc...

The limits are per person, per bank. Otherwise you are correct.

Keep in mind interest over the limit could be lost, so maybe put a little less than the maximum for accuring interest.

[kublikhan]

large gif
Let's spin the wheel and see where it stops....

[Farknight]

Wachovia keeps popping up as a fiscal basket case in intensive care:

Wachovia and Merrill on Life Support

Not a good sign. I'd check those accounts to make sure the FDIC limits are not an issue. Of course, I'd also check to make sure the FDIC had some of that freshly printed Bernanke funny money to cover the insurance.

[Snowrunner]

I am just curious, can you actually bet on this? I mean those London bookies seems to accept bets on pretty much anything?

[alokin]

Why do all these f****** newspapers not write what banks they are talking about? They are paid for giving decent information not to help banks in trouble.
Everybody seems to find it quite normal that we have riddles just about everything.

[threadbear]

The fdic can't do much if there is a synchronized failure of more than a few medium to large size banks. FDIC would have to be bailed out itself. The govt will be up to it's eyeballs in debt bailing out FMac and FMae, so count them out. I KNOW--The IMF.

You know the truly terrible thing about all of this? Say the treasury or some other govt related institution bails you out, or the govt. itself. You just end up having your taxes raised to pay for it all. So Joe and Jane Average, may be delighted that their $100,000.remains safe, but their taxes go from 30% to 50% over the next few years, as their income in US dollars depreciates, and their wages remain stagnant. A real stealth wealth grab, if you ask me.

[Ferretlover]

Why do all these f****** newspapers not write what banks they are talking about?

Because they mustn't start a bank run before THEY get their money out.

[Tyler_JC]

I am just curious, can you actually bet on this? I mean those London bookies seems to accept bets on pretty much anything?

Of course you can bet on this! Intrade Prediction Markets

Here are some of the current numbers:

The likelihood of Bank United Financial failing before the end of the year? Bid: 35, Ask: 55

National City? Bid: 20, Ask:30

Wachovia? Bid: 10, Ask: 22

WaMu? Bid 10, Ask 30

The spreads are huge because these are lightly traded but if you think you know which ones are safe and which are doomed...there's a fortune to be made.

[pedalling_faster]

FDIC will probably run out of money before this is all over.

no sh*t. sometimes i wonder if it's better to be with one of the first banks to fail, so that you're first in line for FDIC insurance funds.

then i think about how stressful it is or was for the Indymac customers.

i have to think the stock market knows SOMETHING and if you look at the valuations

Wamu, $7 billion

Lehman, $9 billion

Wachovia, $31 billion

as far as the FDIC being bailed out, the US government / Fed (OK, not the sam thing) have put up a lot more than the $50+ billion insurance the FDIC has, since banks started having air bubbles in their arteries last August (2007).

[DantesPeak]

While the FDIC would technically be bankrupt with a major bank failure, being an agency of the US government, it could borrow money directly from the Treasury in an emergency.