Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Banks' losses from the U.S. subprime crisis and the ensuing credit crunch crossed the $500 billion mark as writedowns spread to more asset types.
The writedowns and credit losses at more than 100 of the world's biggest banks and securities firms exceeded $501 billion after UBS AG reported second-quarter earnings today, which included $6 billion of marks on subprime-related assets.
The International Monetary Fund in an April report estimated banks' losses at $510 billion, about half the total for all companies. Predictions have crept up since then, with New York University economist Nouriel Roubini forecasting losses to reach $2 trillion.
"It just keeps spreading from one asset to another, so it's hard to know when these writedowns will stop," said Makeem Asif, an analyst at KBC Financial Products in London. "The U.S. economy needs to stabilize first. But even then, Europe could lag and recover later. There's still a lot more downside."
Emphasis added by me.
Whoa! The ante has been upped to two trillion dollars!
Regular readers will recall trillion-dollar-plus totals here and here and here and here and here and here.
Expect more.
Citizens, go back to sleep.
Where is your money today?
Educate yourself!
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