This crisis is far from over and there is no bottom in sight so far. I would not buy into any violent, short-term stock market rally in this bear market.
Regulatory reports show 5 biggest banks face huge losses (McClatchy):
WASHINGTON — Five of America’s largest banks, most of which have received $145 billion in taxpayer bailout dollars, still face potentially catastrophic losses from exotic investments if economic conditions substantially worsen, their latest financial reports show.
Citibank, Bank of America, HSBC Bank USA, Wells Fargo Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase reported that their “current” net loss risks from derivatives — insurance-like bets tied to a loan or other underlying asset — surged to $587 billion as of Dec. 31.
And what are those banks doing with the bailout money from the taxpayers?
America’s second-largest bank plans to spend $400 million on work outsourced to India to streamline its IT operations
The second-biggest bank of the US, JP Morgan Chase, which acquired Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns recently, will increase its outsourcing to India by 25% this year to nearly $400 million. It will also manage the integration of the acquired companies from India to bring down the cost of integrating different information technology (IT) systems.
Right now, JP Morgan outsources $250-300 million worth of IT and back-office projects every year to Cognizant, TCS and Accenture, apart from to its own captive centre in Mumbai.