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FDIC likely will require banks to prepay $36 billion fees to replenish deposit insurance fund

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Looking to shore up the diminishing fund that insures bank deposits, the FDIC may take the unprecedented step of requiring banks to prepay three years' worth of premiums: about $36 billion.
The insurance fund has been sapped by billions from a rash of bank failures that began in mid-2008. The board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. likely will call for "prepaid" bank insurance premiums at its public meeting Tuesday to discuss the issue, three industry executives and a government official said. The banking industry prefers that option over a special emergency fee -- which would be the second this year.
The executives and the official spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the decision had yet to be made public.
It would be the first time the FDIC has required prepaid insurance fees. Under the plan, banks would have to pay in advance their insurance premiums for 2010-2012, bringing in about $12 billion for each of the three years, two of the executives said. That is the normal amount of insurance fees, though it could vary somewhat according to growth in total insured deposits -- the basis for determining the fees.
Off the table, at least for now, are the options of tapping the agency's $500 billion credit line with the Treasury Department and the agency borrowing billions of dollars from healthy banks by issuing its own debt, the industry executives and the government official said.
A spokesman for the FDIC declined to comment Monday afternoon.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said earlier this month that she was "considering all options, including borrowing from Treasury," to replenish the insurance fund. Yet she is generally perceived as considering that the most unpalatable approach.

Beautiful Examples of Kinetic Photography

When you hear the word ‘kinetic‘ for the first time, probably the first thing that comes to your mind is motion. Kinetic Photography, also known as ‘camera tossing‘, is a technique of shooting photos with the actual physical movement of the camera. However, it does not necessarily involve tossing of the camera — you can also shake, bounce, swing or spin it; the goal of the technique is to obtain unpredictable results which are sometimes fascinating, always abstract and rarely boring.

The main rule of kinetic photography is simple: do not hold your camera stationary! Obviously, it is a quite uncommon and bizarre technique that involves risk of damaging your camera. The concept is extremely simple and really fun to use. Though the outcome is uncertain, kinetic photography sometimes produces beautiful abstract, random and motion blurred images. The results often look like a computer generated graphics.

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Forex Market in India - Rupee seen weaker as Asian shares slip

India Thursday 24 September 2009: Rupee is expected to weaken on Thursday in line with a slide in Asian shares, with a rebound in dollar against the euro from a one-year low also pushing down the local unit. * The dollar index which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six major currencies, was 0.41 percent higher at 76.365 at 0249 GMT. * Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were down 0.6 percent.
The Morgan Stanley index excluding Japan was down 1 percent. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday upgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy, saying growth had returned after a deep recession, while reiterating its promise to hold interest rates very low for a long time. The partially convertible rupee closed at 47.98/48.00 per dollar on Wednesday, slightly weaker than Tuesday’s close of 47.9550/9650. In early deals the rupee rose to 47.85, its highest since Aug. 10, mainly due to a weak dollar overseas.

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Today Eye On Fed Meet :-

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the recession is "very likely over," but the Fed isn't acting like we're in a recovery.
Economists widely believe the central bank will keep interest rates between 0% and 0.25% at the conclusion of its two-day meeting Wednesday. The Fed is also expected to say very little about its plans to wind down more than a trillion dollars in lending and bailout programs, and it will likely stay away from any overly enthusiastic language about the economic outlook.
"This will be one the quietest Fed meetings in quite some time," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. "The last thing they want to do at this stage of the game is to upset the apple cart. They're liking what they're seeing in some of the economic data, so it's just steady as she goes."
The Fed uses its rate-setting tool in an attempt to balance unemployment and inflation, typically lowering rates during a recession to boost economic activity and raising rates coming out of a downturn to stave off rampant inflation.
But experts argue that the recovery from this recession is so tenuous that the Fed is right to keep its finger off the rate-hike button for now.
"The Fed normally anticipates the recovery by raising rates, taking away the punch bowl just as the party gets interesting," said Peter Morici, professor of economics at the University of Maryland. "But this is not a normal recovery. It's tepid and weak."
Unemployment is still rising, retail sales are far from robust, manufacturers' capacity utilization remains at ultra-low levels and wages are still depressed. Home sales and new home construction are making a comeback, but they're coming off of historic lows.
Inflation not an issue for now: As a result of the still shaky economy and low consumer confidence, concerns about inflation have been mostly muted.
"If people aren't spending the money, you can't have inflation," said Morici. "If Bernanke puts a pile of money out on the street, it doesn't count if it doesn't chase goods."