Credit default swaps - more bank trouble looming?

annie42

From what I have read there could more trouble ahead for the banks. Amazingly it is possible to insure against companies with whom there is no business connection defaulting so bankers and hedge fund managers have been betting on companies going under. As with mortgage debts swapping has taken place and no-one knows who will be liable for what now that so many companies are in fact defaulting. If it's true hang on to your hats! All my money is in boring but safe building societies now.

cdss

annie42 wrote: »

From what I have read there could more trouble ahead for the banks. Amazingly it is possible to insure against companies with whom there is no business connection defaulting so bankers and hedge fund managers have been betting on companies going under. As with mortgage debts swapping has taken place and no-one knows who will be liable for what now that so many companies are in fact defaulting. If it's true hang on to your hats! All my money is in boring but safe building societies now.

where can we follow the quotes of CDSs ?
I.e. country-CDSs, e.g. for USA ?

I had found this:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/30/markets/varchaver_swaps.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008100109

but it's not being updated

opinions4u

annie42 wrote: »

All my money is in boring but safe building societies now.

How do you know they are safe?

They are totally exposed to the housing market.

Most of them raise money on the wholesale markets.

No 'early warning' system of problems reflected in a share price.

Nationwide with a funding issue looming over their high exposure to one year fixed rate accounts (rate tarts who will move their money - to retain them will damage profitability massively, to lose them will mean need wholesale funding which will have to come from HM Government).

Cheshire, Derbyshire, Barnsley "rescued". Britannia in merger talks.

Not saying you will lose money with them - you won't. But any suggestion that they are safer than any bank is misleading.