Economists and market experts are wary of problems lying ahead with a new type of credit crisis about to blow that could affect everything from consumers to businesses and exchange traded funds (ETFs).
The recent write-down by Lehman Brothers of $2.8 million is merely the latest sign bad mortgage loans continue to be a problem for the economy, reports Chris Isidore for CNN Money.
Most analysts feel we have only seen the beginning of the credit problems, which will bog financial markets well into 2009, with a possible $170 billion in future losses. Several kinds of loans are a concern, such as a prime loan, which is predicted to be the "next shoe to drop on Wall Street."
Anything from prime mortgage loans to credit cards have been packaged into securities trading on Wall Street and they are showing a rising default rate and delinquencies just as the subprime mortgages have been.
Will these ETFs ever be able to rise up?
- iShares Dow Jones US Financial Services (IYG), down 21.6% year-to-date
- Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF), down 19.6% year-to-date
Good news from one company, National City (NCC), boosted several of the financial ETFs in trading yesterday. The Regional Bank HOLDRs (RKH) and the SPDR KBW Bank Fund (KBE) rose. National City announced it had entered a Memoranda of Understanding with the Federal Reserve over issues about its capital management and asset quality, Rob Wherry for Smart Money reports. RKH and KBE are down 21.1% and 21.4% year-to-date, respectively.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.