Economics Update (Yesterdays)

Not much going on, it was labor day, so most of the markets and regulatory announcements didn't happen.

That being said, it looks like we may have a couple new candidates for bank failure Fridays, with the Federal Reserve imposing restrictions on two correspondent banks, Nebraska Bankers' Bank of Lincoln, NE, and Midwest Independent Bank of Jefferson City, MO.

Correspondent banks are "banks for banks", they provide clearing services, participate in large loans, etc. Silverton Bank was a correspondent bank.

We are also seeing more clouds on the horizon with insurance, with the cost of reinsurance increasing.

Reinsurance is basically insurance of the insurance companies, they sell risk to each other in order to spread the risk, and revenues, around.

As an aside, while I have been ranting about how the next crash is CRE, it might be insurance.

We are seeing more optimism among manufacturers, with the Price Waterhouse Coopers survey showing a 27% improvement, which may mean that people are going to start restocking inventories.

In energy, oil was basically flat at $68.05/bbl, while in currency, the Yen rose against both the Euro and the dollar.