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Jargon Watch: Stress Test

In an attempt to find out how banks are handling the current hard times, the government will soon start applying a "stress test," to see if the institutions can remain solvent if the economic situation worsens. What is this stess test? The Times writes today that the government will examine the books..

 Morgan Clendaniel
02.25.09

In an attempt to find out how banks are handling the current hard times, the government will soon start applying a "stress test," to see if the institutions can remain solvent if the economic situation worsens. What is this stess test?The Times writes today that the government will examine the books of the nation's 20 largest banks (which, amazingly, hold 95 percent of all the deposits in the entire country. Can I get a little trust busting from my boys at Justice?) and then run those numbers through a computer simulation. That simulation will attempt to divine what would happen to each bank "under Depression-like conditions, with unemployment surging to 10 or 12 percent, for example, or home prices dropping 20 percent further." That is the stress, in question.Once the government observes how the balance sheets perform, the Treasury department will have some idea if the banks can keep functioning, or if all the toxic assets on their books will eventually weigh them down. What the government does with that information, and what it does with banks determined to have failed the stress test, remains to be seen. A bank that failed is not yet a failed bank, but it's close. We've seen what happens when people even mention the world "nationalization," but if these banks have been deemed too big to fail, something's got to give.Whether or not the banks pass or fail, and even what that means, will be held in secret by the government, until someone leaks it, sending banks' stock prices tumbling even further.
Articles

80 lives were saved because a German synagogue attacker couldn't figure out how to open the door

AFP News Agency / Twitter

A study out of Belgium found that smart people are much less likely to be bigoted. The same study also found that people who are bigoted are more likely to overestimate their own intelligence.

A horrifying story out of Germany is a perfect example of this truth on full display: an anti-Semite was so dumb the was unable to open a door at the temple he tried to attack.

On Wednesday, October 9, congregants gathered at a synagogue in Humboldtstrasse, Germany for a Yom Kippur service, and an anti-Semite armed with explosives and carrying a rifle attempted to barge in through the door.

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Communities

Science just confirmed it — being materialistic makes us less happy and is bad for the planet

via Andi-Graf / Pixabay

The old saying goes something like, "Possessions don't make you happy." A more dire version is, "What you own, ends up owning you."

Are these old adages true or just the empty words of ancient party-poopers challenging you not to buy an iPhone 11? According to a new study of 968 young adults by the University of Arizona, being materialistic only brings us misery.

The study examined how engaging in pro-environmental behaviors affects the well-being of millenials. The study found two ways in which they modify their behaviors to help the environment: they either reduce what they consume or purchase green items.

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Culture

Dick's CEO reveals he destroyed $5 million worth of assault weapons after storewide ban

One of the biggest obstacles to getting assault weapons banned in the United States is the amount of money they generate.

There were around 10 million guns manufactured in the U.S. in 2016 of which around 2 million were semiautomatic, assault-style weapons. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry's trade association, the U.S. industry's total economic impact in 2016 alone was $51 billion.

In 2016, the NRA gave over $50 million to buy support from lawmakers. When one considers the tens of millions of dollars spent on commerce and corruption, it's no wonder gun control advocates have an uphill battle.

That, of course, assumes that money can control just about anyone in the equation. However, there are a few brave souls who actually value human life over profit.

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Health

An ancient tree is the first ever found to have a record of Earth's magnetic field reversal

via Reddit and NASA / Wikimedia Commons

Trees give us a unique glimpse into our past. An examination of tree rings can show us what the climate was like in a given year. Was it a wet winter? Were there hurricanes in the summer? Did a forest fire ravage the area?

An ancient tree in New Zealand is the first to provide evidence of the near reversal of the Earth's magnetic field over 41,000 years ago.

Over the past 83 million years there have been 183 magnetic pole reversals, a process that takes about 7,000 years to complete.

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The Planet

Researchers believe that after death, you know you've died

via Pixabay

The final episode of "The Sopranos" made a lot of people angry because it ends with mob boss Tony Soprano and his family eating at an ice cream parlor while "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey plays in the background … and then, suddenly, the screen turns black.

Some thought the ending was a dirty trick, while others saw it as a stroke of brilliance. A popular theory is that Tony gets shot, but doesn't know it because, as his brother-in-law Bobby Baccala said, "You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?"

So the show gives us all an idea of what it's like to die. We're here and then we're not.

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Health