Wednesday, April 30, 2008

America Losing Faith in Economy: Confidence Hits 5-Year Low

The lack of confidence in the flagging economy has been spurred on by rising gas and food prices and weakening job prospects. As a result, "a widely watched measure of consumer sentiment [reached] a five-year low, a private research group said Tuesday," according to the AP.

read more | digg story

More Dollar problems

NOW HIRING: Federal, state and local governments employing new workers at fastest pace in 6 years...
FEDS: Economy grows at 0.6% pace in first quarter...

Bush brings back one-year T-bill ...



MORE CASH NEEDED: CITIGROUP to sell $4.5 billion in stock...

EU bails out German bank for $7.8B...

Denver Lights this Weekend.

There will be lights over denver this weekend. Five unidentified light will show up over denver one night this weekend.

Cheney lawyer says congress has no authority over VP

The lawyer for US vice-president Dick Cheney claimed today that the Congress lacks any authority to examine his behavior on the job.

read more | digg story

Fannie Mae chief sees no mortgage recovery until 2010

"We are going to have a period where we move through the trough," Daniel Mudd, Fannie Mae's chief executive officer, told a meeting of business reporters.

read more | digg story

More economic issues


Treasury considers new use of Fed powers...

$17B IN 3 MONTHS; RECORD PROFITS FOR OIL COMPANIES

OPEC says oil could hit $200; Cartel's president blames weak dollar...

Truckers protest high prices...

SURVEY: Gas prices top concerns over jobs, health troubles...


The Lords of Capital Decree Mass Death by Starvation

By Glen Ford

Having crushed the planet's peasants and converted food into just another commodity for global manipulation, the Lord's of Capital have unleashed upon humanity the threat - no, certainty - of mass starvation. Continue

Candidates' plans would increase defict: Plans outlined by the three main U.S. presidential contenders will increase the federal deficit, adding to the national debt significantly, budget experts say.

UK: Bank bail-outs to be kept secret: Ferocious and unprecedented secrecy means taxpayers will never know the names of the banks that have been supported through the special liquidity scheme, which was unveiled by Bank Governor Mervyn King last week.

BP's first-quarter profit jumps 63 percent: The oil company on Tuesday reported a profit of $7.6 billion compared to $4.4 billion in the first quarter of 2007.

Shell profits up 25 pct on record high oil prices: Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell said Tuesday that first-quarter net profits leapt 25 percent to 4.58 billion pounds because of record-breaking crude oil prices.

Housing Prices - No Bottom In Sight

Gasoline May Soon Cost $10 Gal In US

HBOS Asks Shareholders For $8B Bail Out

Number Of UK Homebuyers Hts Record Low

Gasoline May Soon Cost $10 Gal In US

BP/Shell Share $14B Profits - UK Gas Hits $10

Buffett - Recession May Be Worse Than Feared

Don't Sell Gold Or Gold Shares

Opec Chief Warns Of $200 A Barrel Oil

UK Faces 6 Weeks Of Record Fuel Price Hikes

US Federal Budget Deficit Doubles

The Twilight of Irredeemable Debt

US Won't 'Recover' For 2 Yrs - Canada Faces Crisis

UK Biggest Banks Use Astrology To Play Markets

Many States Appear To Be In Recession


1977 Greenspan Doctoral Thesis & Housing Bubbles


Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Consumers Not So Confident, See 80s Style Inflation

Updated economic news on looming US recession

read more | digg story

Ex-Fed Official Says Bear Deal Worst Mistake in a Generation

The Federal Reserve's moves to prop up Bear Stearns Cos. will come to be seen as "the worst policy mistake in a generation," the former head of monetary affairs at the Fed. The Fed's moves "eliminated forever the possibility the Fed could serve as an honest broker," Mr. Reinhart said.

read more | digg story

Buffett: Economy in a recession, will be worse than feared

"Warren Buffett, the world's richest person, said Monday that the U.S. economy is in a recession that will be more severe than most people expect."

read more | digg story

More Dollar problems

OPEC says oil could hit $200; Cartel's president blames weak dollar...

Truckers protest high prices...

PAPER: Gas could go to $10/gal...

Oil prices hit new record high : Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the UK.

Don't Sell Gold Or Gold Shares

Opec Chief Warns Of $200 A Barrel Oil

UK Faces 6 Weeks Of Record Fuel Price Hikes

US Federal Budget Deficit Doubles

The Twilight of Irredeemable Debt

US Won't 'Recover' For 2 Yrs - Canada Faces Crisis

UK Biggest Banks Use Astrology To Play Markets

Many States Appear To Be In Recession

1977 Greenspan Doctoral Thesis & Housing Bubbles

Prosecute The Mortgage Sharks

BoE Choice - Housing Crash Or Soaring Inflation?


Credit Suisse Falls Into Red On $5.2B Loss


Monday, April 28, 2008

One Guy Who Has Seen It All Doesn't Like What He Sees Now

Peter Bernstein has witnessed just about every financial crisis of the past century. Mr. Bernstein says, is worse than he has seen since the Depression and threatens to roil markets into 2009 and beyond -- longer than many people expect.

read more | digg story

Fed Expected to Cut Rates to 2%

Just ahead of a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers this week, the widely shared consensus is that the Fed will most likely cut its benchmark short-term interest rate to 2 percent from 2.25 percent, signaling that while financial markets have stabilized somewhat, concerns about an U.S. economic downturn remain paramount.

read more | digg story

Oil companies make record profits while prices keep rising

On January 31, 2008, oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. posted its 2007 annual profit. It was the largest ever by a U.S. company, $39.5 billion. The U.S.'s second largest oil company, Chevron, had its most profitable year ever in 2007, making $18.7 billion. In 2007, ConocoPhillips, the U.S.'s third largest oil company, recorded its most profitable year ev

read more | digg story

More economic issues

Private-Jet Fuel Taxes Rise 65% in Senate Accord...


Why the U.S. Has Gone Broke

By Chalmers Johnson

Our short tenure as the world's lone superpower has come to an end. Continue

Food Crisis Needs Aid on Scale of Tsunami to Avert Famine

By Ben Russell

Pressure for international action to combat the "silent tsunami" of the global food crisis intensified amid warnings that spiralling prices meant more than 100 million people could be plunged into hunger. Continue

Winners and losers in land of starving billionaires: Over the past week the black-market exchange rate for the Zimbabwe dollar has plummeted against sterling, from about Z$90m to the pound to Z$190m. The largest bank note in the country is worth about 25p. No wonder Zimbabweans call themselves starving billionaires.

Many states appear to be in recession: The finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes.

What Happened?: My Parents Managed to Raise Two Kids on One Salary. That's Impossible Today

US Won't 'Recover' For 2 Yrs - Canada Faces Crisis

UK Biggest Banks Use Astrology To Play Markets

Many States Appear To Be In Recession

1977 Greenspan Doctoral Thesis & Housing Bubbles

Prosecute The Mortgage Sharks

BoE Choice - Housing Crash Or Soaring Inflation?


Credit Suisse Falls Into Red On $5.2B Loss


Friday, April 25, 2008

Sam's Club & Costco Limit RICE Purchases, Cite Rising Prices

The two biggest U.S. warehouse retail chains are limiting how much rice customers can buy because of what Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., called on Wednesday "recent supply and demand trends." The broader chain of Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) stores has no plans to limit food purchases, however.

read more | digg story

More economic issues

UPDATE: MICROSOFT Earnings Decline 11%; Concern about slowdown...

Brazil Oil Finds 'May End Reliance on Middle East'...

STUDY: Oil prices to double in next 4 years...

Gas pumps closed to protest prices...

New home sales plunge to lowest level in 16 1/2 years...

Subsidizing Corporate Crime and Rewarding Constitutional Abuses

By Shahid Buttar

Government handouts to corporations might seem untenable at a time when more and more Americans suffer every day from the impacts of a mounting economic crisis. Yet efforts to bolster the economy have largely taken the form of corporate welfare — much like an appalling effort, in the closing days of the Bush administration, to subsidize corporate violations of the rule of law and individual liberties.
Continue

General Dynamics' Profit Rises 32 Percent: General Dynamics said its earnings were up 32 percent in the first quarter, helped by increased sales in its divisions that make tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment.

Barack Obama still takes in oil money: The Illinois Democrat received $46,000 in donations from executives and workers last month. In a campaign ad, he said he took no money from oil companies.

US new home sales at 16-year-low : The median price of a home was down 13.3% from March 2007, which is the biggest fall since July 1970.

BoE Choice - Housing Crash Or Soaring Inflation?

Credit Suisse Falls Into Red On $5.2B Loss

UK Mortgage Approvals Slump 46%

'Gold Is A Currency That Will Go To $1650'

Gold Extends Losses On 'Stable' Dollar

US Regulator Fear Waves Of Ban Failures

Oil Price Surges Warns Of Global Recession

UK Mortgage Approvals Hit Record Low

Era Of Cheap Food Ends As Prices Surge

BoE $100B Bailout Fails To Unlock Money Markets

In The Eye Of The Housing Hurricane

Saudis Put Oil Production Increase On Hold

No Help Yet For Most Subprime Borrowers

JP Morgan Sees $75B Gap In Big 4 UK banks

RBS Unveils $24B Fundraising Plan

Mortgage Rates Stay High After BoE $100B Rescue

Credit Crisis Turns Into Credit Armageddon

Gas Hits Record $3.50 - Oil Rockets Over $117


77% First Quarter Bank Of America Profit Drop


Thursday, April 24, 2008

Today it starts

Today is the day that World War 3 starts. I don't know how or where but I just feel it is coming.

$100 fill-ups arrive at gas pumps

Noel Bosse's head spins about as fast as the numbers at the gas pump. Her fill-up costs $101. A man driving a hybrid Prius spends 43 bucks to fill up. AAA says the worst is yet to come: $4 a gallon nationwide is expected this summer. "Absolutely ridiculous," Bosse says.

read more | digg story

Oil prices drop to near $118 a barrel as US dollar

Report of the new status of the oil, dollar and crude

read more | digg story

Number/Word wierdness

In english the only four word for numbers between 0 and 10 that have multiple meqanings correspond to single bit binary numbers.

Number Binary Word
1 0001 one - won
2 0010 two - too - to
4 0100 four - for
8 1000 eight - ate

This is just real strange.

More economic issues



OIL NEARS $120...

DELTA/NORTHWEST report combined $10.5B loss on fuel costs...

House GOP Challenges Pelosi for Gas Price Plan...

Comptroller Of Currency Worried About Bank Failures...

PAPER: Americans hoard food...

Grocery Shoppers In Silicon Valley Asked To Limit Rice Purchases...

ERA OF CHEAP FOOD ENDS AS PRICES SURGE...

The New Face Of Hunger

UN Cuts School Children's Meals

By Jeremy Lovell in London

A "SILENT tsunami" unleashed by costlier food is threatening 100 million people, the United Nations has warned, revealing that its World Food Program has begun cutting the provision of school meals to some of the world's poorest children as the global food-price crisis worsens. Continue



The Great Silence

Our Gilded Age and Theirs

By Steve Fraser

The myth of the "ownership society" confronts the reality of the "foreclosure society." The great silence of the second Gilded Age may give way to the great noise of the first. Continue

Food price rises are "mass murder"-UN envoy: Global food price rises are leading to "silent mass murder" and commodities markets have brought "horror" to the world, the United Nations' food envoy told an Austrian newspaper on Sunday.

Chavez says food prices "massacre" of world's poor: Soaring food prices are a "massacre" of the world's poor and are creating a global nutritional crisis, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday, calling it a sign that capitalism is in decline.

The new face of hunger: Last year wheat prices rose 77% and rice 16% (see chart 1). These were some of the sharpest rises in food prices ever. But this year the speed of change has accelerated.

Bolivia's president says biofuels hurting food prices: Bolivian President Evo Morales says biofuels are causing higher food prices in his country and could cause serious problems around the world.

Americans hoard food as industry seeks regs: Farmers and food executives appealed fruitlessly to federal officials yesterday for regulatory steps to limit speculative buying that is helping to drive food prices higher. Meanwhile, some Americans are stocking up on staples such as rice, flour and oil in anticipation of high prices and shortages spreading from overseas.

This is the most dangerous period in more than 40 years : Navy Adm: Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the threats of extremism and changes happening around the world associated with energy and resources make the present day “the most uncertain and potentially the most dangerous time since I’ve been serving,”

California foreclosure "surge": Up 327% from '07 levels: The number of California homes lost to foreclosure in the first quarter surged 327% from year-ago levels -- reaching an average of more than 500 foreclosures per day -- DataQuick said in a report, warning that the widening foreclosure problem could "spread beyond the current categories of dicey mortgages, and into mainstream home loans."

Gold Extends Losses On 'Stable' Dollar

US Regulator Fear Waves Of Ban Failures

Oil Price Surges Warns Of Global Recession

UK Mortgage Approvals Hit Record Low

Era Of Cheap Food Ends As Prices Surge

BoE $100B Bailout Fails To Unlock Money Markets

In The Eye Of The Housing Hurricane

Saudis Put Oil Production Increase On Hold

No Help Yet For Most Subprime Borrowers

JP Morgan Sees $75B Gap In Big 4 UK banks

RBS Unveils $24B Fundraising Plan

Mortgage Rates Stay High After BoE $100B Rescue

Credit Crisis Turns Into Credit Armageddon

Gas Hits Record $3.50 - Oil Rockets Over $117

77% First Quarter Bank Of America Profit Drop

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

More economic issues

Grocery Shoppers In Silicon Valley Asked To Limit Rice Purchases...

ERA OF CHEAP FOOD ENDS AS PRICES SURGE...



OIL NEARS $120...

House GOP Challenges Pelosi for Gas Price Plan...

BIOFUELS RETHINK LOOMS...

CNN: Gas prices climbing 'with no end in sight'...

Summer travel headaches loom as airlines' woes deepen...

Message To Fed Chief Bernanke

"Enough With The Cuts, Already"

By Mike Whitney

The Fed's loose money policies have put the dollar at risk of losing its role as the world's reserve currency. If the dollar falls from its perch, the empire will soon follow. The macroeconomic impact of Greenspan's low interest rates will be seismic.
Continue



The Double Trouble of Taxation

By Ron Paul

Big government is destructive when it takes your money and when it spends it. There is no economic benefit to supporting a government sector as massive as ours. In fact, this country thrived for well over 100 years without an income tax. Continue


No Help Yet For Most Subprime Borrowers

JP Morgan Sees $75B Gap In Big 4 UK banks

RBS Unveils $24B Fundraising Plan

Mortgage Rates Stay High After BoE $100B Rescue

Credit Crisis Turns Into Credit Armageddon

Gas Hits Record $3.50 - Oil Rockets Over $117

77% First Quarter Bank Of America Profit Drop

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Future of Oil

Oil prices rose above $116 a barrel last week, setting another record for the world’s most indispensable energy commodity. What was striking about this latest milestone was what didn’t happen: there was no shortage of oil, no sudden embargo, no exporter turning off its spigot.

read more | digg story

Oil 'getting hot' after OPEC comments

WORLD OIL PRICES threatened to go even higher on Monday after members of the OPEC oil producers' cartel rejected calls to raise output, analysts said."Things are getting hot out there again,'' said the Asia director of global energy information provider Platts.

read more | digg story

More economic issues

UPDATE: BANK OF AMERICA Profit Falls 77% on $6 Billion Bad Debt...
PAPER: America faces food rationing?...

Japan's food crunch becomes dire warning for other nations...

Oil Hits $117...

Saudis put capacity rise on hold...

Russia wants to buy western companies with oil cash...


HOW HIGH?


Dollar falls on Bank of America results; euro up: The dollar fell on Monday after unexpectedly weak profits from Bank of America dampened investors' optimism that U.S. financial companies may escape the pinch of the crisis in global credit markets.

Bush, Harper, Calderon Defend Trade Amid Backlash: President George W. Bush and the leaders of Canada and Mexico are using a summit meeting today in New Orleans to defend free trade and $930 billion in cross-border commerce against a political backlash. It won't be easy.

Credit Crisis Turns Into Credit Armageddon

Gas Hits Record $3.50 - Oil Rockets Over $117


77% First Quarter Bank Of America Profit Drop


Monday, April 21, 2008

Bank of America Net Income Falls and Dollar under pressure

Bank of America Corp., the second- largest U.S. bank, said profit dropped for a third straight quarter as the company set aside $6.01 billion for bad loans.

read more | digg story

Bank of America Net Income Falls and Dollar under pressure

Bank of America Corp., the second- largest U.S. bank, said profit dropped for a third straight quarter as the company set aside $6.01 billion for bad loans.

read more | digg story

The trillion-dollar mortgage time bomb

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's recently placed an estimated price tag on this worst case scenario -- $420 billion to $1.1 trillion of taxpayer's money. This dwarfs how much it cost to help banks during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980's and early 1990's.

read more | digg story

More economic issues

World's rich shrug off credit crunch; 8 million millionaires...

Oil Nears $117...

Saudis put oil capacity rise on hold...
POLL: Oil running out as prime energy source...

Food - The Ultimate Weapon Of The Ruling Elite

By William Bowles

U
sing food as a weapon is as old as the siege but today’s barbarians have upped the anté by several orders of magnitude.
Continue

A new world order as US sinks : HERE'S a big lesson of the first international financial crisis of the 21st century: some old-fashioned economies are weathering the storm better than those that borrowed big to spur growth or those that bet heavily on debt-strapped American consumers.

Authorities lose patience with collapsing dollar: Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU's 'Mr Euro', has given the clearest warning to date that the world authorities may take action to halt the collapse of the dollar and undercut commodity speculation by hedge funds.

A blunt former Fed chairman takes on Bernanke. Take heed of what he says

California home prices fall 26 percent amid foreclosures : A glut of foreclosed homes helped prompt a 26 percent plunge in California home prices in March, highlighting a trend that experts said is likely to continue as low, introductory interest rates expire for people who bought near the height of the housing boom.

China passes US as second-biggest exporter: Global trade growth is expected to slow to a six-year low of 4.5 per cent this year but China has overtaken the US as the world's second-biggest exporter, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said yesterday.

Great American Hypocrites: Glenn Greenwald on the Corporate Media’s Failures in the 2008 Race

US mortgage clock ticking, Dodd warns: Mr Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate banking committee, last month made an aggressive proposal to use public funds to guarantee the refinancing of up to $400bn (€250bn, £200bn) in mortgages at lower values through the Federal Housing Administration, the government-owned mortgage insurer.

Retailers Get Stingy With Data: In American retailing, less is suddenly more — at least when it comes to giving investors the sort of financial information they have long expected from companies.

A Man-Made Famine

By Raj Patel

For anyone who understands the current food crisis, it is hard to listen to the head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, without gagging. Continue



Bailout Bonanza

By Ralph Nader

Is there a larger, more exploited, defenseless group of undifferentiated Americans than the 133 million individual federal income taxpayers? Their dollars are used to subsidize organized corporate interests, giveaway taxpayer assets like minerals under the public lands, and bail out speculative, self-enriching corporations and their crooked bosses. Continue

Dollar Falls to Record Against Euro as EU Inflation Quickens : The currency had its biggest decline versus the euro in three weeks, weakening to $1.5979 as U.S. housing starts dropped more than twice as much as forecast to a 17-year low. The Canadian and Australian dollars and the Norwegian krone increased after crude oil touched a record $114.95 a barrel.

The Madness of Ben Bernanke: The dollar is in a tailspin, the trade deficit is growing and a recession is on the horizon. The American way of life is in serious danger. But the head of the Federal Reserve keeps on pumping easy credit into the system -- a crazy policy that will worsen the crisis.

Oil nears $115 a barrel: Gasoline and oil futures prices rocketed to new records Wednesday, propelled by concerns about how much gas will be available during the peak summer months. Crude futures approached US$115 for the first time.

March Housing Starts Down 36.5% Year-over-Year: New construction of U.S. houses plunged to the lowest level in 17 years in March, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. Starts fell 11.9% in March to a seasonally adjusted 947,000.

The Las Vegas Economic Downturn Has Started : The spillover effect from our national economic downturn has finally started to impact Las Vegas, and casino layoffs have officially begun


Friday, April 18, 2008

WaMu: Sorry We Don't Have Your $4200 In Cash, Want A Check?

Maybe we're crazy but $4200 doesn't seem like too much money to withdraw in cash at a branch bank, especially if you give them 24 hours notice. Apparently, that large of a withdrawal leaves WaMu all tapped out. Is WaMu really that short on capital reserves?

read more | digg story

More economic issues

Oil hits another record high as dollar tumbles to record low...

Oil prices 'headed toward $125/barrel'...

Rice traders hit by panic as prices surge...

US mortgage clock ticking, Dodd warns: Mr Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate banking committee, last month made an aggressive proposal to use public funds to guarantee the refinancing of up to $400bn (€250bn, £200bn) in mortgages at lower values through the Federal Housing Administration, the government-owned mortgage insurer.

Retailers Get Stingy With Data: In American retailing, less is suddenly more — at least when it comes to giving investors the sort of financial information they have long expected from companies.

Another Record Low For Bay Area Home Sales

Merrill Announces A $2B First Quarter Loss

UK Banks Line Up For $80B Taxpayer Bail Out

UK Drivers Face $11 Gallon Gasoline Prices!

Liars, Wall Street And Your Gold

China Dumps Dollar - US Meltdown Underway

UK Home Prices Fall Fastest Since 1978

Merrill Lynch $8B In New Losses, Morgan, Citi Next

Brown To Urge Wall St To Reveal Losses

Banks Must Come Clean Says EU Boss

Ron Paul - The Fed Is Responsible For Credit Crisis

Pound Falls To New Low Against Euro

Central Banking - Why Fix What Doesn't Work?

China Buys $2 Billion Worth Of BP

Wholesale Prices Soared In March

March Inflation Spike Drops T



Thursday, April 17, 2008

More Dollar problems

Oil hits another record high as dollar tumbles to record low...

Oil prices 'headed toward $125/barrel'...

GAS CRIMES: Thieves drill gas tanks to steal fuel...

More economic issues

Bailout Bonanza

By Ralph Nader

Is there a larger, more exploited, defenseless group of undifferentiated Americans than the 133 million individual federal income taxpayers? Their dollars are used to subsidize organized corporate interests, giveaway taxpayer assets like minerals under the public lands, and bail out speculative, self-enriching corporations and their crooked bosses. Continue

Dollar Falls to Record Against Euro as EU Inflation Quickens : The currency had its biggest decline versus the euro in three weeks, weakening to $1.5979 as U.S. housing starts dropped more than twice as much as forecast to a 17-year low. The Canadian and Australian dollars and the Norwegian krone increased after crude oil touched a record $114.95 a barrel.

The Madness of Ben Bernanke: The dollar is in a tailspin, the trade deficit is growing and a recession is on the horizon. The American way of life is in serious danger. But the head of the Federal Reserve keeps on pumping easy credit into the system -- a crazy policy that will worsen the crisis.

Oil nears $115 a barrel: Gasoline and oil futures prices rocketed to new records Wednesday, propelled by concerns about how much gas will be available during the peak summer months. Crude futures approached US$115 for the first time.

March Housing Starts Down 36.5% Year-over-Year: New construction of U.S. houses plunged to the lowest level in 17 years in March, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. Starts fell 11.9% in March to a seasonally adjusted 947,000.

The Las Vegas Economic Downturn Has Started : The spillover effect from our national economic downturn has finally started to impact Las Vegas, and casino layoffs have officially begun

Liars, Wall Street And Your Gold

China Dumps Dollar - US Meltdown Underway

UK Home Prices Fall Fastest Since 1978

Merrill Lynch $8B In New Losses, Morgan, Citi Next

Brown To Urge Wall St To Reveal Losses

Banks Must Come Clean Says EU Boss

Ron Paul - The Fed Is Responsible For Credit Crisis

Pound Falls To New Low Against Euro

Central Banking - Why Fix What Doesn't Work?

China Buys $2 Billion Worth Of BP

Wholesale Prices Soared In March

March Inflation Spike Drops T Bonds - Oil Breaks $113


US Foreclosures Jump 57% As Homeowners Walk


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Madness of Ben Bernanke

The dollar is in a tailspin, the trade deficit is growing and a recession is on the horizon. The American way of life is in serious danger. But the head of the Federal Reserve keeps on pumping easy credit into the system -- a crazy policy that will worsen the crisis.

read more | digg story

More economic issues


FOOD COSTS RISING FASTEST IN 17 YEARS

Oil Rises to Record Above $112...
Wave of bankruptcies in retailing causes alarm...
FOOD CRISIS: Global backlash building against ethanol fuels...


McCain says USA in recession...

Blames 'greedy' Wall Street...

Proposes Break in Gas Taxes...

Saudi King: Leave some oil for future generations...

Barrel rises above record $112...

Financial Collapse Will End The Occupation

And it won't be "A time of our choosing"

By Mike Whitney

The Iraq War signals the end of US interventionism for at least a generation; maybe longer. The ideological foundation for the war (preemption/regime change) has been exposed as a baseless justification for unprovoked aggression. Someone will have to be held accountable. Continue

Money for Iraq war: What else could be done with it? At the low end of estimates of the cost of the war — $120 billion a year — the money would cover the projected cost of Clinton's universal health care plan. It could pay for Obama's less inclusive health care plan and his proposal to bail out homeowners with troubled mortgages.

U.S. business inventories up, sales down: U.S. business inventories rose 0.6 percent to $1.46 trillion in February, but sales fell 1.1 percent to $1.142 trillion, the Commerce Department said Monday.

Fourth-largest US bank resorts to emergency fundraising: America's fourth-largest bank, Wachovia, is raising $7bn (£3.52bn) through emergency fundraising as the subprime mortgage crisis in the US continues to reverberate through the banking sector.

U.S. housing collapse spreads overseas: The collapse of the housing bubble in the United States is mutating into a global phenomenon, with real estate prices down from the Irish countryside and the Spanish coast to Baltic seaports and even in parts of India.

Co-Payments Soar for Drugs With High Prices : Health insurance companies are rapidly adopting a new pricing system for very expensive drugs, asking patients to pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars for prescriptions for medications that may save their lives or slow the progress of serious diseases

US Financial Collapse Will End Bush/Cheney Iraq War

Wachovia Bank Gets $8B In Emergency Funding

The American Middle Class Is Collapsing

Finance Ministers Emphasize Food Over Credit

Brown Calls UK Banks To Crisis Summit

Saving Banking From The Bankers

Citigroup And Merrill Lynch Reveal New $15B Loss

More Turmoil Feared As G7 Ducks Credit Crash

The Black Death Of Financial Collapse

Goldman Fixes WaMu Funding - Recommends Shorting!

Econ Data - Distortions, Deceptions, Outright Lies


Fury As UK Rates Cut But Mtges Still Go Up


Monday, April 14, 2008

35 firms OK 'd to Bid on IRAQ OiL & BUSH's excuse for WAR

And people are still defending "BUSH's War" was not about the OIL. OH Yeah & this headline will get buried so that No ONE will notice it happening. Are the BUSH supporters feeling guilty yet? Are Americans dying over the GREED of OiL?

read more | digg story

More economic issues

Housing bubble 'mutating into global phenomenon'...

BANKS TO REVEAL FRESH $15B LOSS...

Investors fear...

An Economy Built On Lies

By Gary North

In this report, I am going to present an astounding document. You have not heard of it. It is at the heart of the current residential real estate crisis. It has to do with liar loans. Continue


Wanta Save the Economy? Give Workers a Raise

By Mike Whitney

A specter is haunting Wall Street---the specter of insolvency. One major player, Bear Stearns, has already gone under, and from the looks of it, another may be on the way. It's getting ugly out there. Continue


Recession, Depression, Collapse:

What's Fear Got To Do With It?

By Carolyn Baker

The world we wanted to have is not within our reach; the world we deeply dread is upon us. Meanwhile, the world we have known, ugly as it may be but nevertheless familiar, is vanishing before our eyes. Continue


Why Americans Are Bitter

By Mary Pitt

We lose our jobs, we lose our homes, we lose our sons in the war without end, and now many of us are losing our tempers! Some are old enough to remember the miseries of the Great Depression and we feel another one coming on as history is repeating itself. Continue



The U.S. Healthcare System Has Collapsed.

CBS Video Report

Remote Area Medical was founded to bring free medicine to remote parts of the world, but now also helps thousands of Americans who have no health insurance or are underinsured. Scott Pelley reports. Continue


The Black Death of Financial Collapse

By James Cumes

The financial and economic crisis now upon us is by far the most menacing of the past century - even more so than the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is not just a "subprime" crisis; it is systemic - affecting the entire financial system. Continue

Gas, diesel prices hit new record: U.S. retail gas prices extended their record run Thursday, adding to the pain consumers feel every time they fill up. Experts predict prices will rise even higher as peak summer driving season approaches.

The American Middle Class Is Collapsing

Finance Ministers Emphasize Food Over Credit

Brown Calls UK Banks To Crisis Summit

Saving Banking From The Bankers

Citigroup And Merrill Lynch Reveal New $15B Loss

More Turmoil Feared As G7 Ducks Credit Crash

The Black Death Of Financial Collapse

Goldman Fixes WaMu Funding - Recommends Shorting!

Econ Data - Distortions, Deceptions, Outright Lies

Fury As UK Rates Cut But Mtges Still Go Up

Friday, April 11, 2008

More economic issues

Gas Hits $4 In Chicago...

GE Posts Lower 1Q Profit, Cuts Outlook...

Soros envisions future where dollar no longer main currency...

Truckers protest fuel price at Capitol...

Longshoremen to close ports on West Coast to protest war occupation: Amid this political atmosphere, dockworkers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have decided to stop work for eight hours in all U.S. West Coast ports on May 1, International Workers' Day, to call for an end to the war occupation.

IMF says US crisis is 'largest financial shock since Great Depression: America's mortgage crisis has spiralled into "the largest financial shock since the Great Depression" and there is now a one-in-four chance of a full-blown global recession over the next 12 months, the International Monetary Fund warned today.

WaMu gets $7 billion infusion, cuts jobs, sees big loss: Washington Mutual Inc (NYSE:WM - News), the largest U.S. savings and loan, said on Tuesday it obtained a $7 billion capital injection from private equity firm TPG Inc and other investors, but that mortgage problems will lead to a $1.1 billion quarterly loss and the elimination of 3,000 jobs.

US trade deficit jumps to 62.3 billion dollars : The US trade deficit rose to 62.3 billion dollars in February from 59 billion a month earlier, as imports surged despite a weak dollar, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Credit Default Swaps - Derivative Disaster Du Jour

Bernanke Joins G7 To Stem Global Meltdown

Economic Rogues Run Amok

Gold Output Falls 28%

Fed To Issue DEBT When 'Money' Gone

Jim Rogers Sees The Failure Of The Fed

Pound Falls To Record Low Against Euro

IMF - US Crisis Biggest Since Great Depression

Is The Fed Terrified?


Bank Details 'Being Sold For $10 On The Internet'


Thursday, April 10, 2008

More economic issues

GAS, OIL PRICES HIT NEW RECORDS...

The Fading American Economy

Government Is The Largest Employer

By Paul Craig Roberts

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy lost 98,000 private sector jobs in March, half of which were in manufacturing. Today 13,643,000 Americans are employed in manufacturing, of which 9,849,000 are production workers. Continue


In Case You Missed it

Jim Rogers: Abolish The Federal Reserve

10 Minute Video


Somebody at CNBC, billed as "America's business channel," made a mistake. They allowed Jim Rogers, investor and buddy to George Soros, to get on and slam the Federal Reserve. Continue

IMF warns of US recession : The International Monetary Fund has warned that the United States will tip into a "mild recession" later this year, with only a "gradual recovery" in 2009.

IMF Approves Selling 400 Tons Of Gold: he executive board of the International Monetary Fund has approved the sale of some 440.3 tons of its gold supplies in a wide-ranging financial overhaul and to replenish its depleting coffers.

IMF - US Crisis Biggest Since Great Depression

Is The Fed Terrified?

Bank Details 'Being Sold For $10 On The Internet'

IMF Makes Gloomy Forecast For UK Economy

Fed Officials Worried About (DEEP) Recession

Fed Prepares For More Bank Failures

UK House Prices In Steepest Drop Since 1992

Credit Crisis - This Is The Big One

Subprime Crisis Hits 'McMansions' - Vid

Recipe For Catastrophe - Climate, Fuel & Food

The Money Masters - Part 1 - Vid

The Money Masters - Part 2 - Vid

BBC - Credit Crisis Will Cost $1 Trillion

NY Post - Time To Bring Paul Volcker Back

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

NASA Scientist: Big Oil is Hiding a "Planet in Crisis"

Global warming has plunged the planet into a crisis and the fossil fuel industries are trying to hide the extent of the problem from the public, NASA's top climate scientist says.

read more | digg story

More economic issues

IMF PUTS COST OF CREDIT CRISES AT $1 TRILLION...

Greenspan: USA in recession...

Oil prices approach record heights...

Gov't Says Gas Could Reach $4 Gallon...

Rice Jumps to New Record...

Fed Auctions Another $50B to Cash-Strapped Banks...

WAMU gets $7B infusion, cuts jobs, sees big loss...

CITIGROUP, WELLS FARGO May Curtail Lending...

George Soros: The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means

Home Prices Fall in 21 U.S. Cities Amid Foreclosures: The median price of an existing single-family home dropped 8.7 percent in February from a year earlier, the most in four decades of record keeping, the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors said in a March 24 report.

Fed Officials Worried About (DEEP) Recession

Fed Prepares For More Bank Failures

UK House Prices In Steepest Drop Since 1992

Credit Crisis - This Is The Big One

Subprime Crisis Hits 'McMansions' - Vid

Recipe For Catastrophe - Climate, Fuel & Food

The Money Masters - Part 1 - Vid

The Money Masters - Part 2 - Vid

BBC - Credit Crisis Will Cost $1 Trillion

NY Post - Time To Bring Paul Volcker Back


Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Fed Worried About Recession

Even as the Fed battled in almost unprecedented fashion to stem a widening credit and housing slump, some Fed members fretted over the possibility of "prolonged and severe" business downturn. It was in that environment that they vote—with some dissent—to cut this important interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 2.25 percent.

read more | digg story

More Dollar problems

Oil prices approach record heights...

Gov't Says Gas Could Reach $4 Gallon...

Rice Jumps to New Record...

Fed Auctions Another $50B to Cash-Strapped Banks...

WAMU gets $7B infusion, cuts jobs, sees big loss...

CITIGROUP, WELLS FARGO May Curtail Lending...

Greenspan: Credit Crisis Worst in Possibly Over 50 Years

``The current credit crisis is the most wrenching in the last half century and possibly more,'' Greenspan told a conference in Tokyo today via satellite from Washington.

read more | digg story

More economic issues

Batten Down The Hatches: This is the Big One

By Ashley Seager

"Whole cities of pain. A continent of pain," said the great, if eccentric, Wall Street money dealer Jim Cramer recently. He was talking about the economic pain spreading across the United States, of course. Continue



Tax Policy Favors Investors Over Wage Earners

By Gerald E. Scorse

“Investors” do not grow jobs (except in the financial sector). The seed money that nourishes start-ups and expansions comes from a tiny subset of real investors; the rest of us merely place our bets at the tables down on Wall Street. Continue

George Soros: The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means

Home Prices Fall in 21 U.S. Cities Amid Foreclosures: The median price of an existing single-family home dropped 8.7 percent in February from a year earlier, the most in four decades of record keeping, the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors said in a March 24 report.

Oil Hits $107 While Gold Rises

King Of The Financial Thieves

Brokerages Borrowing $38B A DAY From Fed

Brown - World Faces First Global Financial Crisis

Investment Firms Tap Fed For Billions

UK House Prices 'Will Crash Soon'

Fed Pres Yellen - US Economy 'All But Stalled'

Monday, April 07, 2008

Greenspan: The economy is "dropping off a cliff"

in private, for those who pay him huge fees on Wall Street, he is saying that the "economy is dropping off a cliff."

read more | digg story

Bear Stearns employees flood Wall Street rivals with resumes

Bear Stearns employees are flooding Wall Street with their resumes as the firm is acquired by rival JPMorgan Chase, but the job market looks bad, investment bankers and recruiters said. On Friday, JPMorgan...

read more | digg story

More economic issues

OPEC: Market supplied with enough oil...

Iran: Stop Sales in Dollars...

Greenspan endorses McCain, foresees recession...

Fed Up: Bernanke joins G-7 to Stem Global Financial Meltdown

By Mike Whitney

The term “subprime” is a red herring; it is used by the media to minimize what is really going on. The meltdown in financing extends across the entire range of mortgage-security products. No loan-type has been spared. The wholesale market for anything connected to mortgages is frozen and the details are being intentionally withheld from the public. Continue



Buddy, Can You Spare a Billion?

By Dana Milbank

Meet Alan Schwartz, welfare recipient. As the chief executive of Bear Stearns, he's getting rather more public assistance than your typical welfare mom -- specifically, $30 billion in federal loan guarantees to help J.P. Morgan Chase take over his firm. But then, Schwartz has had rather more than his share of suffering of late. Continue


Bankruptcies Jump 30% in March, Led by Housing-Bust States : The jump in March bankruptcy filings is another indication the U.S. economy is in recession, led by states where the housing boom turned to bust. The more than 90,000 bankruptcy filings in March were the highest since insolvency laws became more restrictive in October 2005

Foreclosure Machine Thrives on Woes : A small army of law firms and default servicing companies, who represent mortgage lenders, have been raking in mounting profits. These little-known firms assess legal fees and a host of other charges, calculate what the borrowers owe and draw up the documents required to remove them from their homes.

Skybus Ends Service, Third Airline to Fold This Week: Skybus Airlines Inc., a U.S. low- fare carrier that started operations less than a year ago, stopped service today, the third airline to shut down this week as fuel costs soared and the economy slowed.

The Forbidden Financial Topic: U.S. National Debt : As we wind our way towards an election between the numerous professional liars who have been put forward as candidates for U.S. President, it seems to be a great time to remind us all about the financial issue being routinely ignored by virtually everyone

Wall Street brokerages borrowing $38.1 billion a day from Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve reports Thursday that those firms averaged $38.1 billion in daily borrowing over the past week from the new lending program. That compared with $32.9 billion in the previous week and $13.4 billion in the first week the lending facility opened.

Fed's interest rate games could destroy the dollar: "Helicopter Ben" is living up to the nickname he earned after he remarked in a 2002 speech that he would stave off a recession even if he had to drop money from helicopters to do it.

80,000 Jobs Lost, Recession Feared : The Labor Department on Friday said non-farm employment fell by 80,000 jobs in March, the biggest decline in five years. Financial markets saw the drop as reinforcing the need for further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

Motorola to lay off 2,600 workers: Motorola Inc. is laying off 2,600 employees across the company, resulting in a pretax charge of $104 million for the first quarter, the Schaumburg-based telecommunications equipment-maker disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday.

La-Z-Boy, Whirlpool Moving Hundreds Of Jobs To Mexico: La-Z-Boy employees in Dayton were told today that the cutting and sewing operation is being moved to Mexico.

Rice Jumps to Record, Corn Near High as Demand Outpaces Supply : Rice climbed to a record and corn traded near its highest ever on speculation a 3 percent annual increase in global demand for cereals will outstrip supply as governments curb exports to prevent protests.

Hungry crowds spell trouble for world leaders: "Is it not said 'A hungry man is an angry man'?" commented Simon Nkwenti, head of a teachers' union in Cameroon, after riots that killed dozens of people in the central African country.

Oil Rises, Gasoline Surges to Record on U.S. Fuel-Supply Drop : Crude oil rose more than $3 a barrel and gasoline surged to a record after an Energy Department report showed that U.S. supplies of the motor fuel fell a third week.

Jobless claims shoot up to 2-year high : The number of new people signing up for unemployment benefits last week shot up to the highest level in more than two years, fresh evidence of the damage to a national economy clobbered by housing, credit and financial crises.

King Of The Financial Thieves

Brokerages Borrowing $38B A DAY From Fed

Brown - World Faces First Global Financial Crisis

Investment Firms Tap Fed For Billions

UK House Prices 'Will Crash Soon'

Fed Pres Yellen - US Economy 'All But Stalled'

3-17-2024

Putin says setting up a nuclear power unit in space is a priority for Russia Musk's SpaceX is building spy satellite network for US inte...