Life the Universe and ....: More economic issues

Job Losses and Surge in Oil Spread Gloom on Economy... 'Serious Concern'... Medvedev Says USA 'Economic Egoism' Has Contributed to Global 'Crisis'... GLOBAL FEARS PUSH PRICE TO NEW RECORDSOIL STAGES ITS BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY ADVANCE... Japan Urges Effort to Combat 'Abnormal' Prices... Gold Surges Most in Six Months...

Oil Up $11 Per Barrel, Hits New Record: Crude oil futures prices ended sharply higher and at a new record on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The near-month contract for the benchmark grade rose $10.75 -- closing at $138.54 a barrel.

Consumer anger as oil prices soar : Many goverments have had to cut their fuel subsidies, sparking widespread protest. The rises came amid a report by Morgan Stanley, a financial services company, that crude could reach $150 a barrel by July 4.

From his office in clouded cockoo land; Bush Says Signs Show Stimulus Plan Is Working to Boost Economy: President George W. Bush said the administration is seeing signs that the economic stimulus is beginning to work and urged Congress to make permanent his tax cuts.

U.S. Jobs Fall For Fifth Consecutive Month: May's U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5.5%, up from 5.0% in April--the largest jump in the jobless figure since October 2004 and the fifth straight month of job losses, according to the Labor Department's monthly report Friday.

Americans $1.7 trillion poorer: The amount of equity people have in their homes fell to 46.2%, the lowest level on record.

Despite Interest Rate Cuts, Foreclosures Hit Record High: Foreclosures continue to reach new heights as more than 1 million homeowners face losing their home, according to industry figures released yesterday.

Think the Economy Is Bad? Wait Till the States Cut Back: Struggling as we are with the housing bust, the credit crunch, shrinking consumption, rising unemployment and faltering business investment, we can be forgiven for thinking that all the big shoes have dropped. There is another one up there, however, and it is about to come down.

Next Phase Of The Financial Crisis - CDS Defaults

The Sub Prime Meltdown Is Tip Of The Iceberg

Wall St Freaks Out - DOW Dives Almost 400 Points

Credit Crunch Will Stall US Economy

Euro Banks Hit Harder Than US Banks

European Economy Risks Hitting Brick Wall

Barclays Uses Patriot Act To Close UK Citizen Accts

UK House Price Bear Market Only Beginning

Obama Will Install The Carbon Tax

UK Housing Sliding Faster Than 90s Recession

Subprime Crash May Yield 2 Yr Credit Recession

Bernanke To Defend Dollar Vs Commodities