From her powerful position as Chairman of the FDIC, Sheila C. Bair benefits from superior inside knowledge and a wide-angled view of the world of US banking.  She is also a person with strong views on the future direction she hopes this sector will follow.

As unemployment and business failures have undermined their abilities to meet mortgage payments, hundreds of thousands of Americans have been confronted with the loss of their homes.

Some definite signs that the economy may finally be coming around after its trek into the dismal depths of recession are beginning to show. Certainly, the symptoms are still hazy at best but everything's got to start from somewhere and perhaps this is where the path to recovery starts.

Figures from six continents showed that the confidence in the global economy is finally returning. The outlook that looked hopeless a mere month ago is now at a 100-month high. It was observed that sentiment grew faster in Asia compared to the US and Europe. Many believe that the worst may be over for their economies.