Morning Fizz
The Common Theme is Overexposure
1. A new report
published at Calculated Risk—a finance and economics site—shows that Washington State has the second most failed or shaky banks, with 45.4 percent of the state's banks fitting the bill.
Arizona was first (at 45.6) and Nevada was third (at 43 percent.)
2. At PubliCola's legislative preview last Thursday night, state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36, Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia) and sate Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-34, W. Seattle, Burien, Vashon) said state employees and illegal immigrants were going to come under attack as angst about the recession and the budget defined this year's session.
This weekend, the New York Times published two must-read articles—"Political Battle on Illegal Immigration Shifts to States" and "Public Workers Face Outrage as Budget Crises Grow"—making the same observation.
The articles didn't cite Washington State, but they certainly could have .
3. The Tacoma News Tribune kept the buzz going this weekend on David Meinert's controversial PubliCola editorial calling for later hours and more gambling at bars.
4. Speaking of expanding access to alcohol: State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles has a bill on tap this session to allow farmers markets to have wine and beer tasting.
Arizona was first (at 45.6) and Nevada was third (at 43 percent.)
At year-end 2007, there were 8,536 insured institutions headquartered in the 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Since that time, 1,340 or 15.7 percent have either failed or made an appearance on the Unofficial Problem Bank List (see table below).
When ranking markets with a minimum of 15 institutions at year-end 2007, Arizona has experienced the most stress with 45.6 percent of its institutions having failed or being identified as a problem. Washington is a close second at 45.4 percent.
The common theme among these is overexposure to commercial real estate lending, particularly residential construction & development loans, and the collapse of real estate markets.
2. At PubliCola's legislative preview last Thursday night, state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36, Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia) and sate Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-34, W. Seattle, Burien, Vashon) said state employees and illegal immigrants were going to come under attack as angst about the recession and the budget defined this year's session.
This weekend, the New York Times published two must-read articles—"Political Battle on Illegal Immigration Shifts to States" and "Public Workers Face Outrage as Budget Crises Grow"—making the same observation.
The articles didn't cite Washington State, but they certainly could have .
3. The Tacoma News Tribune kept the buzz going this weekend on David Meinert's controversial PubliCola editorial calling for later hours and more gambling at bars.
4. Speaking of expanding access to alcohol: State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles has a bill on tap this session to allow farmers markets to have wine and beer tasting.
