Friday, May 29, 2009

More Dollar issues


GOV'T OWES RECORD $63.8 TRILLION...

OIL: $66

Government will now own 72.5% of 'New GM'...

Deal Reached With Bondholders...

Germany calls on Clinton to resolve GM fight...

California wants federal government to back its loans...

Cities Face Bankruptcy Curbs...

Grim forecasts for British economy: It forecast that the UK economy would shrink by 4.1 percent this year, the biggest peace time contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and 0.4 percent in 2010.

GM reaches swap deal, but bankruptcy still lies ahead: General Motors Corp. said Thursday that it reached a new debt-swap deal with bondholders that likely won't save the automaker from imminent bankruptcy but should help speed the process.

Change... What change .. Delinquent Mortgages, Foreclosures Hit Record High: About 12.07 percent of mortgage loans were delinquent or in the foreclosure process during the quarter, according to the survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, an industry group. That is the highest ever recorded by the survey, which dates back to 1972. The figure reflects an 8 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Americans' credit scores fall as they struggle to pay bills: From the third quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009 — the latest data available — the average TransUnion credit score dropped 6 points to 651, the credit bureau says. Scores fell more dramatically in states hardest hit by the housing bust: California saw a 10-point drop, for example, and Arizona, 11.

1 Of 8 US Homeowners Late Or In Foreclosure

Coming Dollar Bust - All But A Few Have NO Clue

US Troubled Mortgages Hit Record High

Dollar Is Dirt, Treasuries Are Toast, AAA Is Gone

BoE - Banks Should Be Taxed For Bailouts

Euro Poised To Inflict New Wounds On Europe

Visteon Files For Bankruptcy Protection

Rise In Gas Tax Not Feasible

World Income Seen To Decline By 3.7%

Watchdog To Hide UK Bank 'Stress Test' Results

Silver More Enticing Than Gold

China Now Firmly Controls US Debt Markets

Dow Sinks 173 As Treasury Bond Prices Fall

Dallas Federal Reserve - $99T In Unfunded Liabilities!

PetroChina Now World's Biggest Firm

US Glutton Must Crawl To World Economic Table

Oil Price Hits Six Month High

China In Race To Buy GM Euro Operations

Shell Restructuring Puts 24,000 Jobs At Risk

Asian Shares Buoyed By US Consumer Confidence

Exploding Debt Threatens America

US Stocks Up On Confidence Boost

Sterling Breaks $1.60 Mark

Why 'Too Big To Fail' Is Too Much To Take

Thousands Of Brits Rely On Food Handouts

Treasury Warns Of £70B Hole In Budget Forecasts

Banks Accused Of Exploiting Mortgage Customers

Russian Gold Output Up 38% Jan-Apr '09

US Bonds Sales Finding Market Resistance

CA's Day Of Reckoning Is Warning For Europe

Tumbling Towards A Sovereign Debt Crisis?

British Banks Revolt Against Obama Tax Plan

Record Rate Of Decline In Economic Growth

70% 1st Buyers Lose Hope Of Ever Having Home

Beware False Dawns - Downturn Still Early

Saudi Warn Of $150 Oil Within 3 Years

Tokyo Aims To Halt 'Farmland Grabbing'

Porsche On The Financial Brink

Thursday, May 28, 2009

More economic issues


Obama Fundraising Trips Leave Taxpayers With Hefty Tab...

Bondholders Push GM To Brink of Chapter 11...

Anger over German role...

POLL: Obama car involvement gets mixed grade...

GOVERNMENT WILL OWN 'UP TO 69% OF GM'...

TREASURY SELLOFF SPIKING INTEREST RATES...
Roubini: U.S. economy may dip again next year...

California wants federal government to back its loans...

Cities Face Bankruptcy Curbs...

Faber: Inflation to 'Approach Zimbabwe Level'...

OPEC SETS SIGHTS ON $80 OIL...

...prices hit six-month high near

Chevron, Shell and the True Cost of Oil

By Amy Goodman

The economy is a shambles, unemployment is soaring, the auto industry is collapsing. But profits are higher than ever at oil companies Chevron and Shell. Yet across the globe, from the Ecuadorian jungle, to the Niger Delta in Nigeria, to the courtrooms and streets of New York and San Ramon, Calif., people are fighting back against the world's oil giants. Continue


China warns Federal Reserve Over 'Printing Money'

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

China has warned a top member of the US Federal Reserve that it is increasingly disturbed by the Fed's direct purchase of US Treasury bonds. Continue


Exploding Debt Threatens America

By John Taylor

Standard and Poor’s decision to downgrade its outlook for British sovereign debt from “stable” to “negative” should be a wake-up call for the US Congress and administration. Let us hope they wake up. Continue

China Is Now in Firm Control of U.S. Debt Market: It is hilarious listening to the propagandists try to “spin” the events in bond and currency markets to make it sound like the U.S. government is still operating from a position of strength.

GM bankruptcy 'inevitable': General Motors, the US car manufacturer, is facing bankruptcy after creditors rejected a proposal to swap $27bn in debt for 10 per cent of the company's stock.

Home prices fall at record pace in first quarter: The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price index reported home prices tumbled by 19.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the first quarter last year, the largest drop in its 21-year history. Home prices have fallen 32.2 percent since peaking in the second quarter of 2006.

China Now Firmly Controls US Debt Markets

Dow Sinks 173 As Treasury Bond Prices Fall

Dallas Federal Reserve - $99T In Unfunded Liabilities!

PetroChina Now World's Biggest Firm

US Glutton Must Crawl To World Economic Table

Oil Price Hits Six Month High

China In Race To Buy GM Euro Operations

Shell Restructuring Puts 24,000 Jobs At Risk

Asian Shares Buoyed By US Consumer Confidence

Exploding Debt Threatens America

US Stocks Up On Confidence Boost

Sterling Breaks $1.60 Mark

Why 'Too Big To Fail' Is Too Much To Take

Thousands Of Brits Rely On Food Handouts

Treasury Warns Of £70B Hole In Budget Forecasts

Banks Accused Of Exploiting Mortgage Customers

Russian Gold Output Up 38% Jan-Apr '09

US Bonds Sales Finding Market Resistance

CA's Day Of Reckoning Is Warning For Europe

Tumbling Towards A Sovereign Debt Crisis?

British Banks Revolt Against Obama Tax Plan

Record Rate Of Decline In Economic Growth

70% 1st Buyers Lose Hope Of Ever Having Home

Beware False Dawns - Downturn Still Early

Saudi Warn Of $150 Oil Within 3 Years

Tokyo Aims To Halt 'Farmland Grabbing'

Porsche On The Financial Brink

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

More economic issues

IRS tax revenue plunges 34%...
China warns Fed over 'printing money'...

Moody's affirms US AAA rating despite rising debt...

Americans' credit scores fall as they struggle to pay bills...
Toledo police layoffs leading to gun buying...
COLUMBUS SCARE: Police chief warns of deep cuts without tax increase...

Police officers saved by stimulus may still lose jobs...

Sacramento's main psychiatric hospital closes...
France reports sharp drop in wine, champagne sales...

More economic issues

IRS tax revenue plunges 34%...
China warns Fed over 'printing money'...
Americans' credit scores fall as they struggle to pay bills...
COLUMBUS SCARE: Police chief warns of deep cuts without tax increase...

Police officers saved by stimulus may still lose jobs...

OPEC SETS SIGHTS ON $75-$80 OIL...

More economic issues


The Next Leg Down

By Mike Whitney

Collapsing home prices and credit markets continue to put downward pressure on consumer spending, forcing the Federal Reserve to take even more radical action to revive the economy. Last week, Fed chief Ben Bernanke raised the prospect of further monetizing the debt by purchasing more than the $1.75 trillion of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) already committed. Continue


The Greatest Swindle Ever Sold

By Andy Kroll

How the Financial Bailout Scams Taxpayers, Subsidizes Wall Street, and Props Up Our Broken Financial System. Continue

Russian Gold Output Up 38% Jan-Apr '09

US Bonds Sales Finding Market Resistance

CA's Day Of Reckoning Is Warning For Europe

Tumbling Towards A Sovereign Debt Crisis?

British Banks Revolt Against Obama Tax Plan

Record Rate Of Decline In Economic Growth

70% 1st Buyers Lose Hope Of Ever Having Home

Beware False Dawns - Downturn Still Early

Saudi Warn Of $150 Oil Within 3 Years

Tokyo Aims To Halt 'Farmland Grabbing'

Porsche On The Financial Brink

German Exports Plunge

World Economy Stabilising Says Krugman (Huh?)

Mexico Oil Exports Plummet

China Warns Federal Reserve Over Printing Money

China Stuck In 'Dollar Trap'

Chill Wind Blows For AAA Rated Nations

Cold, Hunger, Job Losses - Unhappy Russians

Mass Firing Of Hollywood Agents As Recession Hits

UK Commercial Rents In Grip Of Recession

Africa Almost Giving Land Away

Obama Govt Borrowing 50 Cents Of Every $1 It Spends

Two Illinois Banks Seized - 36 On The Year

RBS Chiefs Handed £5m In Bonuses

West Facing Rising Oil Prices

Gold Bugs Have Their Perfect Trinity

US Grandma Offer Depression Era Recipes

Federal Reserve Cannot Account For $9 Trillion

Dollar's Demise Greatly Exaggerated

Loud Paradigm Shift Rumblings

Fear For US AAA Rating Pressure Dollar

British Airways Drops First Class In New Planes

Warning Britain May Suffer A Double Recession

Congress Attacks GM Revamp

Rising Debt Clouds Market Optimism

Economy Down, But Cost Of Living Is Going Up

Warning - Shocking Debt Information

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

More economic issues

Beijing is caught in 'trap' over dollar...

British banks revolt against Obama tax plan; May refuse American clients...


'WE'RE OUT OF MONEY'...

Early retirement claims rise sharply...

Crisis spurs spike in 'suburban survivalists'...

Carmakers' Woes 'May Cost Six Million Jobs'...

Capitalism Produces Rich Bankers, Socialism Produces Happiness

By Phillip Bannowsky

When you consider that virtually no newspaper, broadcaster, well-funded think tank, teacher, or anybody's boss or commander ever said something nice about socialism, it's remarkable that only 53 percent of us still favor rule by the moneyed class. Perhaps folks are learning how capitalism sacrifices happiness for individual gain. Continue

America 'getting tired of footing the bill' for wars in Iraq, Afghanistan :: Disapproval ratings for military efforts in Afghanistan are rapidly rising. In a March USA Today/Gallup poll, 42 percent of respondents said the United States made a mistake in sending military forces to Afghanistan, up from 30 percent in February.

World Bank warns of social unrest: "If we do no take measures, there is a risk of a serious human and social crisis with very serious political implications," Robert Zoellick said.

US bonds sale faces market resistance: The US Treasury is facing an ordeal by fire this week as it tries to sell $100bn (£62bn) of bonds to a deeply sceptical market amid growing fears of a sovereign bond crisis in the Anglo-Saxon world.

China stuck in ‘dollar trap’: China’s official foreign exchange manager is still buying record amounts of US government bonds, in spite of Beijing’s increasingly vocal fear of a dollar collapse, according to officials and analysts.

Mexico Oil Exports Plummet

China Warns Federal Reserve Over Printing Money

China Stuck In 'Dollar Trap'

Chill Wind Blows For AAA Rated Nations

Cold, Hunger, Job Losses - Unhappy Russians

Mass Firing Of Hollywood Agents As Recession Hits

UK Commercial Rents In Grip Of Recession

Africa Almost Giving Land Away

Obama Govt Borrowing 50 Cents Of Every $1 It Spends

Two Illinois Banks Seized - 36 On The Year

RBS Chiefs Handed £5m In Bonuses

West Facing Rising Oil Prices

Gold Bugs Have Their Perfect Trinity

US Grandma Offer Depression Era Recipes

Federal Reserve Cannot Account For $9 Trillion

Dollar's Demise Greatly Exaggerated

Loud Paradigm Shift Rumblings

Fear For US AAA Rating Pressure Dollar

British Airways Drops First Class In New Planes

Warning Britain May Suffer A Double Recession

Congress Attacks GM Revamp

Rising Debt Clouds Market Optimism

Economy Down, But Cost Of Living Is Going Up

Warning - Shocking Debt Information




Monday, May 25, 2009

Get Out Of The Dollar And Into Commodities - Jim Rogers

The credit and liquidity droughts of 2008 and early 2009 merely interrupted the grander narrative of the global economy--the building of infrastructures throughout the world and the demand for commodities that goes along with that.Raw materials prices are on the rise. The Rogers International Commodity Index, which represents the value of a ba

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More Economic Issues

'Oil to Reach $75'...



'WE'RE OUT OF MONEY'...

Early retirement claims rise sharply...


DOLLAR PLUNGE; FEAR OVER DEBT...

US Military chief: Iran wants nuclear weapons...
Farms downsize with miniature cows...

US Dollar Skids to New Lows, Expect it to Continue

By Jennifer Shotts

This week so far, the dollar has fallen 4% against the British pound reaching a new low for 2009, 3% against the euro and Japanese yen, and also against the Canadian dollar. With major price levels being broken, many banks are reevaluating year end predictions for the euro vs. the dollar to reach $1.50 or higher. Is this going to be the new trend of 2009, dollar's death spiral? Here's some reasons why many say its time to chuck the buck Continue


Are Investors in the US and Abroad Losing Faith in the Dollar?

By Mark Trumbull

Are US debtors, from the federal government to the cash-strapped state of California, going to default? Will the Federal Reserve resort to inflation — debasing the value of dollar assets — in its efforts to lift a debt-bound economy back to growth? Continue


Credit Default Swaps

The Poison in the System

By Mike Whitney

The question now is whether Congress will pull their heads out of the sand long enough to do the people's work and pass the laws that will re-regulate the system. There is a remedy, but it requires action, and fast. Without course-correction, the prospect of a derivatives meltdown gets bigger by the day.Continue

Obama Govt Borrowing 50 Cents Of Every $1 It Spends

Two Illinois Banks Seized - 36 On The Year

RBS Chiefs Handed £5m In Bonuses

West Facing Rising Oil Prices

Gold Bugs Have Their Perfect Trinity

US Grandma Offer Depression Era Recipes

Federal Reserve Cannot Account For $9 Trillion

Dollar's Demise Greatly Exaggerated

Loud Paradigm Shift Rumblings

Fear For US AAA Rating Pressure Dollar

British Airways Drops First Class In New Planes

Warning Britain May Suffer A Double Recession

Congress Attacks GM Revamp

Rising Debt Clouds Market Optimism

Economy Down, But Cost Of Living Is Going Up

Warning - Shocking Debt Information



Sunday, May 24, 2009

More Economic Issues


'WE'RE OUT OF MONEY'

'Oil to Reach $75'...


Two Illinois Banks Seized, Bringing Tally This Year to 36...



DOLLAR PLUNGE; FEAR OVER DEBT...

GM revamp under attack; Feds to cancel debts, inject aid...

FIAT already concerned for 'deteriorating' CHRYSLER...

Lawmakers want Obama to slow down on autos...

Farms downsize with miniature cows...

Day of Reckoning for the U.S. Dollar

Alia McMullen

"By many measures, the U.S. appears just a few short steps away from losing its coveted triple-A status"
Continue


Fear of Crime and Things to Come

By William John Cox

Can we expect President Obama to be more respectful of individual rights than President Bush was? An answer can be found in his recent request for the Supreme Court to reverse its own 23-year-old decision prohibiting police from questioning a represented defendant until his lawyer is present.
Continue


Who is to Blame for the Tent People?

By Garda Ghista

This is America today. It is "poverty amidst plenty." That phrase is from the 1929 Great Depression. And in 1929 the police conducted the same sweeps that they are doing today across America. Is it not heartbreaking?
Continue


Over The Rainbow

By Stephen Lendman

The original Oz book conceals an unsuspected depth....(Although) a children's story, (it) delineated a Midwesterner's vibrant and ironic portrait of (America) as it entered the twentieth century," beset with serious flaws.
Continue

GM might still be headed toward Chapter 11: Despite a tentative pact with the United Auto Workers, Obama administration officials continue to signal that bankruptcy might be the best option.

Trouble Ahead: Millions of Mortgages Will Ratchet Upward Soon: "If the equity in your house is gone and your monthly mortgage payment suddenly jumps from $2000 per month to over $3000 per month, what do you think is going to happen?

Federal Reserve Cannot Account For $9 Trillion

Dollar's Demise Greatly Exaggerated

Loud Paradigm Shift Rumblings

Fear For US AAA Rating Pressure Dollar

British Airways Drops First Class In New Planes

Warning Britain May Suffer A Double Recession

Congress Attacks GM Revamp

Rising Debt Clouds Market Optimism

Economy Down, But Cost Of Living Is Going Up

Warning - Shocking Debt Information

Saturday, May 23, 2009

$300bn Federal Foreclosure Program Helps ONE Homeowner

Half a year in, the Hope for Homeowners program, a $300 billion program to bailout homeowners whose mortgages are underwater, has helped exactly one person.

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FDIC Looks to Replenish Reserve Through Fees To Banks

U.S. regulators will assess banks a special fee to help restore the fund that insures consumers' deposits, and could come back for more later this year.This effectively forces the responsible small banks to bail out the criminal banksters in New York.

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US Treasuries tumble, investors fear UK style downgrade

U.S. Treasuries tumbled on Thursday, giving yields their biggest single-day jump in two weeks, when U.S. assets came under pressure due to concerns about the U.S. government's indebtedness.The anxiety came from Standard & Poor's announcement earlier that it could downgrade Britain's triple-A credit rating, which reminded investors that Britain

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More Economic Issues


GM revamp under attack; Feds to cancel debts, inject aid...
FIAT already concerned for 'deteriorating' CHRYSLER...
Lawmakers want Obama to slow down on autos...


DOLLAR PLUNGE; FEAR OVER DEBT

USA TO LOSE AAA RATING?


California faces its day of fiscal reckoning...

Florida's BANKUNITED Goes Bust; Year's Biggest...

Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns...

Fed President Says Inflation to Increase...

Day of Reckoning for the U.S. Dollar

Alia McMullen

"By many measures, the U.S. appears just a few short steps away from losing its coveted triple-A status"
Continue


Fear of Crime and Things to Come

By William John Cox

Can we expect President Obama to be more respectful of individual rights than President Bush was? An answer can be found in his recent request for the Supreme Court to reverse its own 23-year-old decision prohibiting police from questioning a represented defendant until his lawyer is present.
Continue


Who is to Blame for the Tent People?

By Garda Ghista

This is America today. It is "poverty amidst plenty." That phrase is from the 1929 Great Depression. And in 1929 the police conducted the same sweeps that they are doing today across America. Is it not heartbreaking?
Continue


Over The Rainbow

By Stephen Lendman

The original Oz book conceals an unsuspected depth....(Although) a children's story, (it) delineated a Midwesterner's vibrant and ironic portrait of (America) as it entered the twentieth century," beset with serious flaws.
Continue


GM might still be headed toward Chapter 11: Despite a tentative pact with the United Auto Workers, Obama administration officials continue to signal that bankruptcy might be the best option.

Trouble Ahead: Millions of Mortgages Will Ratchet Upward Soon: "If the equity in your house is gone and your monthly mortgage payment suddenly jumps from $2000 per month to over $3000 per month, what do you think is going to happen?

Economy Down, But Cost Of Living Is Going Up

Warning - Shocking Debt Information

World Financial Steps Outside 60 Yr Cycle

Greenspan's Fears True - FL BankUnited Collapses

Libor's Plunge Could Trap Banks

China Faces Long Path To Dislodge Dollar

British Airways Hit By Record Loss

Emirates Airline Profits Plunge

US To Steer GM Into Bankruptcy Next Week

UK Car Production Dives 55% In April

UK GDP - Inventories Drop At Record Pace

Liddy To Stop Down From AIG

Burien - The Eureka Moment

Russia Dumps US Dollar As Basic Reserve Currency

GM Dealership To Fight Back - 'We Aren't Closing'

Gulf Currency Plan On Brink Of Failure

Japan Economic Decline An Awesome Warning

Asian Shares Fall - Fears Of Worse US Recession


Friday, May 22, 2009

More Dollar issues


Florida's BANKUNITED Goes Bust; Year's Biggest...
California Cities Irked by Borrowing Plan...
Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns...
Fed President Says Inflation to Increase...
GM Bankruptcy: As Early As Next Week...
*Republican lawmakers slam restructuring plan...


DOLLAR PLUNGE; FEAR OVER DEBT

USA TO LOSE AAA RATING?


More economic issues



California Cities Irked by Borrowing Plan...
Florida's BANKUNITED; Year's Biggest Bust...
Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns...
Dollar Falls...
Fed President Says Inflation to Increase...
GM Bankruptcy: As Early As Next Week...


USA TO LOSE AAA RATING?

More economic issues

WSJ: THE CLIMATE-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX...

GE's Jeff Immelt: Global Warming 'Compelling'; Cap-and-Trade Most 'Effective' Way to Go...

China says rich nations must cut emissions by 40 pct...

Jobless Claims Set Another Record...

CBO: Unemployment will keep rising through 2010...

Michigan rate reaches 12.9%...

Feds give $50M in aid to towns hit by auto layoffs...

Michael Moore targeting economic crisis...

Britain's debt outlook lowered to negative...
Day of reckoning for US dollar...

GMAC to Get $7 Billion From Gov't, Surrender Control...
Funds move to halt CHRYSLER restructuring; Indiana pension takes court action...

Fed Could Buy More Debt; Central bankers consider adding to Treasury, mortgage red...

Greenspan: Crisis Yet to End...

Walesa: no global crisis, only faulty banking...

PAPER: Stimulus Spending transparency not what promised...

Orwell Rolls in His Grave

Video

"Could a media system, controlled by a few global corporations with the ability to overwhelm all competing voices, be able to turn lies into truth?..."
Continue


Frauds R' Us: The Scams and Crimes of Wall Street

By Danny Schechter

Its clear that, like on the war, government officials did mislead us. From original deregulators in the Carter-Reagan years to the financial "modernizers of the Clinton-Bush 2 era with their refusal to accept responsibility for the consequences of their free market fantasies, the gutting of rules and regulations, and their embrace of a phony "ownership society." Continue


Bail Out Your Own Damn Self!

Time for a Tax and Mortgage Strike

By Ted Rall

It's not too late to get back our money. We need it a hell of lot more than AIG. We should withhold our taxes, mortgage checks and credit card payments until the banks, insurance companies and other assorted Wall Street dirtbags who stole it give it back. Continue

Dollar stops being Russia's basic reserve currency: The US dollar is not Russia’s basic reserve currency anymore. The euro-based share of reserve assets of Russia’s Central Bank increased to the level of 47.5 percent as of January 1, 2009 and exceeded the investments in dollar assets, which made up 41.5 percent

S&P Lowers Britain's Debt Outlook: Ratings agency Standard & Poor's shocked investors Thursday with a formal warning that the U.K. must get its finances in order or lose its coveted triple-A credit rating, underscoring the monumental challenges the country faces as it seeks to dig its economy out from under the wreckage of the financial crisis.

Stocks Fall on Jobless Claims Report: Initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 last week to 631,000, according to the Labor Department. That was a higher total number of claims than analysts were expecting and the overall level of claims remains high by historical standards.


Burien - The Eureka Moment

Russia Dumps US Dollar As Basic Reserve Currency

GM Dealership To Fight Back - 'We Aren't Closing'

Gulf Currency Plan On Brink Of Failure

Japan Economic Decline An Awesome Warning

Asian Shares Fall - Fears Of Worse US Recession



Thursday, May 21, 2009

Dollar stops being Russia's basic reserve currency

The US dollar is not Russia’s basic reserve currency anymore. The euro-based share of reserve assets of Russia’s Central Bank increased to the level of 47.5 percent as of January 1, 2009 and exceeded the investments in dollar assets, which made up 41.5 percent,

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GM, auto workers union reach tentative deal

The agreement modifies the United Auto Workers' labor deal and GM's obligations to fund a trust to pay retiree healthcare benefits and removes a hurdle to the carmaker's mandated restructuring.

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Momentum Builds For Ron Paul's "Fed Transparency" Act HR1207

Paul is the sponsor of the Federal Reserve Transparency act of 2009, which demands a GAO audit of the Fed, and a full report to Congress sometime next year. And it's gaining steam. It already has 175 co-sponsors in the House, and now a major Democrat, Rep. Alan Grayson

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CBS News: Is California 'Too Big To Fail,' Too?

California, the state that gave us wheatgrass, the microprocessor and the summer of love, is about to provide us with another first: a bailout of a failing state government. Preliminary returns on Tuesday night show that voters soundly rejected ballot measures calling for higher taxes, meaning state politicians are likely to beg D.C. for a bailout.

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Ron Paul: Current Conditions or Just a Bad Dream?

Ron Paul speech from the House Floor on 05/19/2009

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Ron Paul: Current Conditions or Just a Bad Dream?

Ron Paul speech from the House Floor on 05/19/2009

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Gold investment hits record as recession triggers demand

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold investment demand in the first quarter more than tripled from a year ago to a record level as investors piled into gold exchange-traded funds to hedge against the global economic downturn, according a report released early Wednesday by an industry group.

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Tax Revenues Are Tanking - Monetize More Debt

In 2007 and 2008, government tax revenues averaged about $633.15 billion per quarter. For the first quarter of 2009, however, the numbers just in tell us that tax receipts totaled only about $442.39 billion -- a decline of 30%. The situation is even worse for corporate income taxes, which were down a stunning 67%!

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Fed Up - Forbes.com

A reasoned analysis by Ron Paul on why we should audit the Federal Reserve.

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A Visual Guide to the Federal Reserve (INFOGRAPHIC)

So just what is the Federal Reserve? Why was it formed in the first place? And how does its monetary policy affect the lives of everyday US citizens? Here we do our part to demystify the Federal Reserve.

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More economic issues

Fed Could Buy More Debt; Central bankers consider adding to Treasury, mortgage red...

Greenspan: Crisis Yet to End...

GMAC to Get $7 Billion From Gov't, Surrender Control...

Funds move to halt CHRYSLER restructuring; Indiana pension takes court action...

Credit Where Credit is Due

By Mike Whitney

Do people realize that the reason their home equity is vanishing, their 401ks have been slashed in half and their jobs are at risk is because Wall Street was gaming the system with leverage and financial innovation? The current downturn is not really a recession at all; it's more like a self-inflicted wound perpetrated by avaricious speculators who put a gun to the economy's head and blew its brains out. Continue


The Toll Booth Economy

By Michael Hudson

China’s central bank is now the largest holder of U.S. government and other dollar securities, it has become the main subsidizer of the U.S. payments deficit – and also the domestic U.S. federal budget deficit. Half of the federal budget’s discretionary spending is military in character. This places China in the uncomfortable position of being the largest financier of U.S. military adventurism. Continue

America's poor are its most generous givers: The generosity of poor people isn't so much rare as rarely noticed, however. In fact, America's poor donate more, in percentage terms, than higher-income groups do

Letter From A Dodge Dealer

Secret Meeting Of World's Richest In New York

Brazil And China Eye Plan To Ax Dollar

Don't Count On China To Rescue World Economy

Was The Bank 'Bailout' Even Necessary?

Capitalism At Turning Point' - Lord Mandelson

BoE Makes £1B Profit From Crisis Measures

Companies Face Higher Derivatives Hedging Costs

Australians Get $900 Checks To Boost Spending

Britain Sinks Into Deepest Deflation Since 1948

Asia Will Suicide If It Creates US Bond Crisis

US Poised For Finance Regulation Shake Up

Investors - Bull Market Has No Legs

Indian Stocks Halted After Singh's Victory

Lloyds Shareholders Profit From £4B Fundraiser

Rise In Use Of Drug Tests Fire Employees

US Backing For World Currency Stuns Markets

Get Rid Of The Fed - Purge The System

GM To Shut Over A Third Of All Dealerships

GM, Chrysler Dealership Cull To Cost 100,000 Jobs


Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Ron Paul: Current Conditions or Just a Bad Dream?

Ron Paul speech from the House Floor on 05/19/2009

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Wall Street Journal: Obama at the Auto Buffet

With no resistance, he ate the whole thing.

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Auto industry burns, Obama tunes up fiddle.

Obama was elected as president of “these” United States right? Then why does it seem that he lives in another universe. While the auto industry goes down in flames Obama is tuning his fiddle up for what can only be a dirge; while simultaneously throwing gas on the fire.

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How to Destroy the Credit Card Industry

"We don't just have a subprime mortgage lending system. We have a subprime financial system."

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Japanese GDP falls 15.2%, biggest rate since 1955

Japan's economy contracted at the fastest pace since 1955 as exports plunged and companies slashed production. Japan's real gross domestic product, or the total value of the nation's goods and services, shrank at an annual pace of 15.2 percent in the January-March period, the government said Wednesday.

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Breaking, GM to be bought by the US Government

General Motors Corp's (GM.N) plan for a bankruptcy filing involves a quick sale of the company's healthy assets to a new company initially owned by the U.S. government, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

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Ron Paul: Legalizing Pot Is a State's Constitutional Right

Ron Paul recently told all 23 members of Air America's listening audience that he is strongly in support of state sovereignty concerning the legalization of the sticky icky pot weed…

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More economic issues

Obama's new rules will transform US auto fleet...
President to set standards of car emissions...
Consumers face higher car prices...


GM BANKRUPTCY PLAN: QUICKIE SALE TO GOV'T


California voters set to strike down new tax measures...

Oil prices bounce above $60...

Housing construction at record low...

Blue collar males lose more ground; unemployment rate surges past national average...

San Francisco to impose cigarette butt tax...

U.S. Economy: The Cancer is Still There

By Glen Ford

Saving the finance capital oligarchy has emerged as President Obama’s central mission – the guiding focus of his young administration. Obama has found new and myriad ways to go where no American president has ever gone before, in funneling somewhere around $13 trillion of national treasure to the parasitical class that goes by the shorthand, Wall Street. Continue


Norway's Success in Socialism has me Turning Red with Envy

By Sarah Gilbert

The country has a cushy 11% budget surplus, zero national debt, and an economy that grew 3% last year while Uncle Sam was dancing a jig into a 12.9% deficit, $11 trillion in debt, and the Recession we now all know and love. Continue

Government Has Pledged $12.8 Trillion on Bailouts - Every Household on the Hook for $109,887

Housing construction, permits hit record lows: The Commerce Department said construction of new homes and apartments fell 12.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units -- the lowest pace on records going back a half-century.

Present Economy worse than Depression: Video: Interview with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, famous economist and author of "The Black Swan" and Dr. Mandelbrot, professor of Mathematics. Both say that the present economy more serious than the Great Depression, and the economy during the American Revolution.

Brazil and China eye plan to axe dollar: Brazil and China will work towards using their own currencies in trade transactions rather than the US dollar, according to Brazil’s central bank and aides to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president.

Letter From A Dodge Dealer

Secret Meeting Of World's Richest In New York

Brazil And China Eye Plan To Ax Dollar

Don't Count On China To Rescue World Economy

Was The Bank 'Bailout' Even Necessary?

Capitalism At Turning Point' - Lord Mandelson

BoE Makes £1B Profit From Crisis Measures

Companies Face Higher Derivatives Hedging Costs

Australians Get $900 Checks To Boost Spending

Britain Sinks Into Deepest Deflation Since 1948

Asia Will Suicide If It Creates US Bond Crisis

US Poised For Finance Regulation Shake Up

Investors - Bull Market Has No Legs

Indian Stocks Halted After Singh's Victory

Lloyds Shareholders Profit From £4B Fundraiser

Rise In Use Of Drug Tests Fire Employees

US Backing For World Currency Stuns Markets

Get Rid Of The Fed - Purge The System

GM To Shut Over A Third Of All Dealerships

GM, Chrysler Dealership Cull To Cost 100,000 Jobs




Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Post: As Detroit Crumbles, China Emerges as Auto Epicenter

America's auto titans are dismantling their global empires. But across the Pacific, it's as if the global economic forces that have pummeled Detroit never struck. Chinese auto sales are up, and this year China is projected to displace Japan as the world's largest car producer.

read more | digg story

Credit Cards

edward yingling - american bankers association Credit Cards

Bankers Threaten To Punish "Good" Cardholders If Reforms Pass

NYT: Bankers are warning they're going to have to "mean up" credit cards if the reforms expected to get voted on today go through. Among the ways people who pay off their bills in full every month and always follow the rules might get dinged:

  • Charging interest immediately on a purchase
  • Reinstating annual fees
  • Further curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs, like frequent flyer miles

However it gets sliced, there will be fewer cards issued at a higher cost for those that hold them. "Those that manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems," said Ed Yingling, American Bankers Association CEO. In other words, if we can't make ill-gotten gains off this one group, we'll have to find another way to make it up.

Credit Card Industry Aims to Profit From Sterling Payers [NYT]

Brazil and China eye plan to axe Dollar

Economists have argued that while the SDR plan is unfeasible now, bilateral deals between Beijing and its trading partners could act as pieces in a jigsaw designed to promote wider international use of the renminbi. Any move to make the renminbi more acceptable for international trade, or to help establish it as a regional reserve currency in Asia,

read more | digg story

S&P Earnings Fall 90%

If earnings are a leading indicator of stock prices, where does that mean prices are headed? A 90% fall in stock prices would mean a Dow back below 1,000.

read more | digg story

More economic issues

NEVADA GOV. LASHES OUT AT OBAMA'S 'RECKLESS COMMENTS'...

'STOOD FOR CHANGE, BUT ALL HE'S DONE IS BROUGHT NEGATIVE ECONOMIC CHANGE'...

Blue collar males lose more ground; unemployment rate surges past national average...
Brazil and China eye plan to axe dollar; Nations move to use own currencies for trade...

Economy limiting services of local police...

Hotel crime rises in recession...

China's yuan 'set to usurp US dollar' as world's reserve currency: The Chinese yuan is preparing to overtake the US dollar as the world's reserve currency, economist Nouriel Roubini has warned.

In case you missed it: US Backing for World Currency Stuns Markets: US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner shocked global markets by revealing that Washington is "quite open" to Chinese proposals for the gradual development of a global reserve currency run by the International Monetary Fund.

Asia will author its own destruction if it triggers a crisis over US bonds: Japan beware, crashes have a habit of bringing regime change

US prices fall most since 1955: Prices in the US fell in the year to April at the fastest annual rate since 1955, labour department figures showed on Friday, as declining energy prices pulled back the cost of living.

General Motors follows Chrysler's route and shuts dealerships: GM is to close about 2,300 dealerships from its 6,000-strong US network as part of last-ditch plans to avoid bankruptcy.

100,000 Jobs At Risk: Industry crisis sees US car dealerships cut loose and left with nothing to sell: The shrinkage of General Motors and Chrysler's dealer networks is putting more than 100,000 jobs in doubt at car yards in towns and cities across America

Asia Will Suicide If It Creates US Bond Crisis

US Poised For Finance Regulation Shake Up

Investors - Bull Market Has No Legs

Indian Stocks Halted After Singh's Victory

Lloyds Shareholders Profit From £4B Fundraiser

Rise In Use Of Drug Tests Fire Employees

US Backing For World Currency Stuns Markets

Get Rid Of The Fed - Purge The System

GM To Shut Over A Third Of All Dealerships

GM, Chrysler Dealership Cull To Cost 100,000 Jobs




3-17-2024

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