Worldwide banking sector hit by $4 trillion write-downs
Since the onset of the credit crunch and worldwide recession the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that some $4 trillion has been written off by banks around the world. While the news at this moment in time is one of increased confidence in worldwide economies there is no doubt that a write-down of this magnitude will take time to work through the system and time to rebuild. There may be a clearing ahead but we are nowhere near out of the woods yet!
The Bank of America announcement yesterday, which included $13 billion of bad debt cover, together with the IMF forecast today has given many investors and many observers a reality check. The next few days in UK will be dominated by the budget although we are unlikely to see the fine detail of the headline grabbing announcements until later in the week. Historically all budgets of the past have been launched in a blaze of glory only for the small print and conditions to be announced at a later stage.
However, with the Labour Party struggling in the polls Gordon Brown will need to be sure that what Alistair Darling announces he is able to deliver, on time and on budget.
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