Retirement Savings in the Dark
For most of the 20th century, there was a clear wall between working people’s pension funds and the riskier corners of financial markets. This wasn’t accidental—it was the law.
The FDIC reports that 252 US banks were on its list of troubled at the end of 2008, meaning they are at high risk of failure. This is the highest number since 1994. The total value of the assets of the banks on the watch list are $159 billion.
Fourteen banks have failed so far this year, or an average of nearly two every week.
From CNN: