CNN’s Glenn Beck and Peter Schiff: Inflation Nation and Martial Law

Added: Oct. 13, 2008Source: YouTube continue reading world news

U.S. Stocks Drop Most Since Crash of 1987 on Recession Concerns

A trader looks up at monitor while working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Oct. 15, 2008. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg NewsOct. 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks plunged the most since the crash of 1987, hammered by the biggest drop in retail sales in three years and growing doubt [...] continue reading world news

Japan Stocks Drop Most in 21 Years as Recession Concerns Mount

Pedestrians walk past an electronic stock board in Tokyo, Oct. 16, 2008. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg NewsOct. 16 (Bloomberg) — Japanese stocks plunged the most in two decades as a drop in U.S. retail sales pointed to a deepening recession and Prime Minister Taro Aso reinforced concern a bank bailout will fail to stem a rout [...] continue reading world news

Feds investigate Washington Mutual failure

A sign at a Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu) branch is shown in San Francisco, California September 26, 2008. REUTERS/Robert GalbraithNEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal investigators have opened an investigation into the collapse of Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. banking failure.Jeffrey Sullivan, U.S. attorney for the western district of Washington, said in a statement on [...] continue reading world news

Switzerland Bails Out UBS; Credit Suisse Raises Funds

Pedestrians walk past a branch of the UBS bank in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008. Photographer: Adrian Moser/Bloomberg NewsOct. 16 (Bloomberg) — Switzerland gave UBS AG, the European bank with the biggest losses from the credit crisis, a $59.2 billion rescue and pushed Credit Suisse Group AG to raise funds, joining authorities around [...] continue reading world news

US hedge funds suffer heavy withdrawals

Investors pulled at least $43bn from US hedge funds in September as market turmoil led to unprecedented withdrawals, an analysis by a leading research house shows.The data from TrimTabs Investment Research - which was to be sent to clients late on Wednesday - come as hedge funds are working to prevent far bigger redemptions by [...] continue reading world news

Birmingham on the brink of bankruptcy

With $3.2 billion in debt, the county that is home to Alabama’s largest city is about to go bust. How the credit crisis went South.(Fortune Magazine) — Bob Riley wanted to help. It was Sunday, Oct. 5, and the Alabama governor was on the phone with Neel Kashkari, a Treasury Department official who the next [...] continue reading world news

Crisis spreads to Eastern Europe as Ukraine, Hungary and Serbia call IMF

Ukraine, Hungary, and Serbia are all in emergency talks with the International Monetary Fund, raising fears that an exodus of foreign investors will set off a systemic crisis across Eastern Europe.A team of IMF trouble-shooters rushed to Kiev on Wednesay to draw up a possible standby loan to help Ukraine stabilize its bank after a [...] continue reading world news

Financial crisis: Moscow supermarket shelves increasingly empty in Soviet era reminder

Russian shoppers have been served an uncomfortable reminder of the Soviet era after finding shelves in some Moscow supermarkets empty, a further sign that the woes of the financial markets have begun to affect the mainstream economy. For a generation of Russians who queued daily in the snow for the most basic of staples, the [...] continue reading world news

Hedge funds shake in the teeth of financial storm

Thousands of hedge funds are expected to go bust in the next few months, amid fears that the secretive sector of the financial industry will be the next to buckle under the pressure of global market turmoil.Tumbling stock markets and a reluctance among banks to do business with hedge funds has further worked against an [...] continue reading world news

Banks Hoard Cash as Credit Card Defaults Rise

Consumers are increasingly unable to pay off their credit cards, forcing banks to hoard cash to protect against future losses and lend to fewer people, according to reports yesterday from several of the nation’s largest banks.These financial disclosures showed a spike in credit card loans going bad, putting further pressure on already-stressed balance sheets. J.P. [...] continue reading world news

GM chief running out of time and options

If Rick Wagoner, chairman and chief executive of General Motors, fails to get a merger deal, he could go down in history as the executive who presided over GM’s demise. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)DETROIT: Rick Wagoner is running short of time and options to save General Motors and salvage his legacy as the leader of the [...] continue reading world news

Run on Russian bank heightens fears

Globex on Wednesday banned depositors from withdrawing their money as confidence in the Russian banking system began to show signs of evaporating.Globex, a mid-sized retail bank with assets of $4bn (€2.95bn, £2.32bn), is the first Russian bank to experience a run on deposits during the crisis. It lost 13 per cent of its deposits last [...] continue reading world news

Banks borrow record $437.5 billion per day from Fed

A trader counts his money on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange October 7, 2008. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial institutions ran to their lender of last resort for record amounts of cash in the latest week, under extreme pressure from the worst global financial crisis in a generation, Federal Reserve data [...] continue reading world news

Financial crisis: Christine Lagarde warned Hank Paulson to bail out Lehman Brothers

Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, warned her US counterpart Hank Paulson that he had to bail out US investment bank Lehman Brothers or face global financial collapse, but her advice went unheeded.Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, warned her US counterpart Hank Paulson that he must bail out US investment bank Lehman Brothers or [...] continue reading world news

Citigroup’s $13bn writedown raises fears of a crisis beyond Wall Street

America’s leading banks continued to announce hefty losses yesterday as Citigroup reported a further writedown of more than $13 billion (£7.5 billion) for the third quarter and Merrill Lynch took another $9.5 billion hit.The latest writedowns brought Citigroup’s total hit from the credit crunch to about $60 billion and left it with an overall group [...] continue reading world news

Gradient close to collapse as hedge funds feel heat

One of London’s best known hedge funds, Gradient Capital Partners, is on the brink of collapse after dropping nearly 42pc in value last month. The City-based European equity fund, which had $2.5bn under management at its peak, is now down over 63pc so far this year, leaving investors fearful it will be forced to close.The [...] continue reading world news

Probe of Lehman collapse escalated: NYT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors have stepped up the investigation into the collapse of Lehman Brothers, with at least a dozen subpoenas being issued including one to the investment bank’s chief executive, Richard Fuld, The New York Times reported on Saturday.Citing people close to the probe who requested anonymity, the Times said federal prosecutors in [...] continue reading world news

Lahde quits hedge funds, thanking “stupid” traders for making him rich.

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Andrew Lahde, the hedge fund founder who shot to fame with his small fund that soared 870 percent last year on bets against U.S. subprime home loans, has called it quits, thanking “stupid” traders for making him rich.In a biting, but humorous letter to investors posted on the website [...] continue reading world news

Hedge Fund Manager: Goodbye and F—- You

From the Scorched Earth Files:Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.Last month, he did the unthinkable — he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde [...] continue reading world news

The Great Biofuels Con

According to the World Bank’s top economist, Don Mitchell, biofuels had been responsible for three-quarters of the 140 per cent rise in world food prices between 2002 and 2008. It was this that last October prompted Jean Ziegler, the UN’s “special rapporteur on the right to food”, to comment that biofuels could only bring “more [...] continue reading world news

Iran discovers new oil field to hold 1 billion barrels of crude

TEHRAN, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - A new large oil deposit with estimated reserves of more than 1 billion barrels of crude has been discovered in Iran, the Iranian oil minister said on Sunday.Gholamhossein Nozari said the oil field, located in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, is believed to contain 1.1 billion barrels of crude, [...] continue reading world news

More Than 300 US Banks to Fail, Says RBC Capital Markets Analyst

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. banks may fail in far greater numbers following the collapse of the big mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc, straining a financial system seeking stability after years of lending excesses. More than 300 banks could fail in the next three years, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Gerard Cassidy, who [...] continue reading world news

This recession could easily tip into a depression

The experience of the 1930s makes me think that the present downturn will be relatively long and difficultToday I am celebrating my 80th birthday, an age that seems less formidable when one has reached it than when one can see it only from afar.I was born on July 14, 1928, about 15 months before the [...] continue reading world news

Fed: No more bailouts, except Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

This is article very important, because…“The credit crisis has obviously entered into a new phase - the government has one bailout left in them, and this is it,” said Jeffrey Gundlach, chief investment officer of TCW Group in Los Angeles, which invests $160 billion.And now all the related articles below make much more sense and [...] continue reading world news

Citigroup’s $1.1 Trillion in Mysterious Shadow Assets

July 14 (Bloomberg) — At an investor presentation in May, Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said shrinking the bank’s $2.2 trillion balance sheet, the biggest in the U.S., was a cornerstone of his turnaround plan.Nowhere mentioned in the accompanying 66-page handout were the additional $1.1 trillion of assets that New York-based Citigroup keeps [...] continue reading world news

Jim Rogers: Fannie Plan a `Disaster’; Goldman Says Sell

The U.S. economy is in a recession, possibly the worst since World War II, Rogers said.“They’re ruining what has been one of the greatest economies in the world,” Rogers said. Bernanke and Paulson “are bailing out their friends on Wall Street but there are 300 million Americans that are going to have to pay for [...] continue reading world news

Gazprom Connects to Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller in Teheran, July 13, 2008Gazprom has signed a memorandum on cooperation in production and transportation of oil and natural gas with the National Iranian Oil Co. The Iranian company, which all other oil companies in the world refuse to work with, is promising Gazprom “a full [...] continue reading world news

Are “Dark Pools” Destined to be the Capital Markets’ Next Black Hole?

Related article: - Big Traders Dive Into Dark PoolsWe can almost hear that ominous “Jaws” theme music in the background and can see that huge dorsal fin as it slices threateningly through the water - knowing full well that the real terror is hidden beneath the water’s surface.But this time around, it’s not a [...] continue reading world news

Five Years Late and a Trillion Dollars Short

On Tuesday, the SEC issued an emergency rule in an attempt to curb naked short selling in 19 major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase and Company. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox heralded the new rules: “The SEC’s mission to protect investors, maintain orderly markets, and promote capital formation is [...] continue reading world news

Saudis offer Moscow billions to break with Tehran

MOSCOW - Saudi Arabia has offered to buy Russian arms worth 2.4 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros) if Moscow stops supporting Iran, a Russian newspaper reported Tuesday, citing diplomatic sources.“The kingdom’s government advised Moscow to cease its cooperation with Tehran, and in exchange it held out the prospect of profitable contracts with Saudi Arabia,” the [...] continue reading world news

US faces global funding crisis, warns Merrill Lynch

Merrill Lynch has warned that the United States could face a foreign “financing crisis” within months as the full consequences of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage debacle spread through the world. Draining away: The US may struggle to plug its capital gapThe country depends on Asian, Russian and Middle Eastern investors to fund [...] continue reading world news

Ron Paul on Fox Business News 7/16/08

Ron Paul discusses inflation and how it’s really just a hidden tax.Source: YouTubeRelated articles and videos:- More Than 300 US Banks to Fail, Says RBC Capital Markets Analyst- Run on banks spells big trouble for US Treasury- US: Total Crash of the Entire Financial System Expected, Say Experts- The Dollar is doomed and the Fed [...] continue reading world news

Ron Paul vs. Ben Bernanke 7/16/08

Source: YouTubeRelated articles and videos:- More Than 300 US Banks to Fail, Says RBC Capital Markets Analyst- Run on banks spells big trouble for US Treasury- US: Total Crash of the Entire Financial System Expected, Say Experts- The Dollar is doomed and the Fed will fail- Fannie, Freddie insolvent, Poole tells Bloomberg- Foreclosures Rose 53% [...] continue reading world news

Status Report on the Collapse of the U.S. Economy

“But, realistically, all ordinary people can do today is try to survive, perhaps by working with friends and neighbors in planting food and living within the underground economy. At least people might not then have to starve to death, because hard as it is to believe that “it could happen here,” widespread famine in the [...] continue reading world news

If the price of oil doubles, food prices will at least double

At virtually every link in the nation’s food chain, the cost of oil is pushing expenses ever higher.Retail bills for some food staples have risen at least 20 percent since 2006, and they probably will continue their upward march. A gallon of gasoline could cost $7 within the next two years, some analysts say.“If you [...] continue reading world news

US: The Cattle Industry Is Struggling To Survive

Beef prices are likely to increase as rising food and fuel prices threaten many cattle ranchesThe American beef industry is in trouble. Though the financial strain of rising fuel and food prices is being widely felt across the U.S. economy, the livestock industry, which consumes about 5 billion bushels of corn annually, is suffering more [...] continue reading world news

US: $455,000 debt per household

As the Bush administration proposes backstopping mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a $300 billion line of credit and Congress contemplates another economic stimulus, the question is who will bail out the government?“People seem to think the government has money,” said former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. “The government doesn’t have any money.”A [...] continue reading world news

Amber light flashing on U.S. dollar intervention

So Inflation is really the greatest export of the US._____________________________________________________________________________________LONDON (Reuters) - Three days before the last bout of coordinated central bank intervention to calm world currency markets, the International Monetary Fund’s top economist opined: “If not now, when?” Many experts are now asking the same.In 2000, when Michael Mussa urged the world’s big central [...] continue reading world news

FREDDIE & FANNIE UNCONSTITUTIONAL BAIL OUT USING WHAT?

“As I write this column, Congress has run this country into a $9,498,511,404,143.63 debt. That’s just under $9.5 TRILLION “dollars.”"I really hope that you will find time to read this article. _______________________________________________________________________________________Arthur Henning of the Chicago Tribune said back in 1935, “The New [...] continue reading world news

Merill Lynch posts loss of 4.6 bln dlrs, sheds assets

Wall Street investment giant Merrill Lynch on Thursday announced a quarterly loss of 4.6 billion dollars, driven by hefty writedowns from its bets on the US real estate market.Merrill, which has been roiled by its exposure to the US subprime mortgage crisis, also said it would shore up its capital with the sale of some [...] continue reading world news

US: Financial system is a house of cards

What will happen if “more” banks will fail?Interesting comment:“I was talking to a close friend yesterday and he told me that he just heard an “expert” on CNBC tell the audience that the failure of IndyMac was nothing to worry about - it was just one bank. How on God’s green earth do they allow [...] continue reading world news

Citigroup posts another big loss

Citigroup has reported another big loss, although it lost less money than had been expected.The biggest US bank by assets lost $2.5bn (£1.3bn) in the three months to the end of June, weighed down by another $11.7bn of write-downs.Citigroup said it had cut 11,000 jobs in the first six months of the year and planned [...] continue reading world news

As faith in bank bailouts dims, losses set to deepen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The nightmare scenario for U.S. economic authorities is here: confidence in their ability to rescue the country from a housing-led financial panic is now at its lowest level since the crisis began.This means losses for investors, already totaling nearly half a trillion dollars, could mount even further over the next few [...] continue reading world news

U.S. Financial Breaking Point Soon

Something is going to break, and soon. Banks are insolvent and failing by the hundreds if not thousands. Hedge funds are on the edge of oblivion. Only a tiny percentage of toxic waste losses in real estate and other asset classes of collateral, which will eventually amount to over $1.4 trillion in [...] continue reading world news

FDIC will run out of money, says Roubini

(RTTNews) - The FDIC is looking for ways to shore up its depleted deposit fund, including charging higher premiums on riskier brokered deposits, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said Friday.However, that fund is “a myth,” according to longtime banking consultant Bert Ely, and consumers may end up paying the price of what is expected to [...] continue reading world news

Commercial bankruptcies soar

WASHINGTON - Driven by a sour economy and skittish consumers, U.S. business bankruptcies saw their sharpest quarterly rise in two years, jumping 17 percent in the second quarter of 2008, according to an analysis by McClatchy.Commercial filings for the first half of 2008 are up 45 percent from last year, as the national climate for [...] continue reading world news

8,500 U.S. banks; many will die soon

I called the death of Indymac Bancorp on Monday, July 7th. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized Indymac on Friday, July 11th.I called the implosion of the two Government Sponsored Entities in the mortgage business, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday, July 9th. Sunday, July 13th the White House announced a bailout for them.Related [...] continue reading world news

Bernanke, Paulson Pressed to Seek Big-Government Bank Bailout

July 21 (Bloomberg) – Ben S. Bernanke and Henry Paulson are under pressure to embrace the big-government policies of America in the 1930s, or Sweden in the 1990s, to contain the conflagration engulfing the U.S. housing and financial markets.Among the ideas: Using taxpayer money to shore up the capital of loss-ridden Fannie Mae and Freddie [...] continue reading world news

Top 25 Things Vanishing From America: No.1 The Family Farm

Here you will find all Top 25 Things Vanishing From America.This series explores aspects of America that may soon be just a memory — some to be missed, some gladly left behind. From the least impactful to the most, here are 25 bits of vanishing America.1. The Family FarmMy mother grew up on her family’s [...] continue reading world news

Is America too big to fail?

NEW YORK: In the narrative that has governed American commercial life for the last quarter-century, saving companies from their own mistakes was not supposed to be part of the government’s job description. Economic policymakers in the United States took swaggering pride in the cutthroat but lucrative form of capitalism that was supposedly indigenous to their [...] continue reading world news

Wachovia Has Record $8.9 Billion Loss, Cuts Dividend

If Wachovia fails, then you can probably forget about the FDIC.And remember that there are no more bailouts left:- Fed: No more bailouts, except Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac._______________________________________________________________________________________July 22 (Bloomberg) — Wachovia Corp., the U.S. bank that hired Treasury Undersecretary Robert Steel as chief executive officer two weeks ago, reported a record quarterly loss [...] continue reading world news

Banks: Plans to Seek Secret Emergency Funding

So in a free market it is justifiable to keep some “potentially situations” secret!?!? Hmmhh.Secret from whom? “The main case for an exception would be if disclosure could panic investors and lead to fears for a bank’s solvency, the regulator said.” Investors in the U.K. have all the right to panic.“Under certain circumstances, immediate disclosure [...] continue reading world news

Google In Final Negotiations To Acquire Digg For “Around $200 Million”

Google’s on and off negotiations with Digg have been back on in a big way for the last six weeks, we’ve heard from multiple sources inside of Google, and the two companies are close to a deal that will bring Digg under the Google News property. The acquisition price is in the $200 million range, [...] continue reading world news

Government index shows record 4.8 percent decline in US home prices in May from a year ago

WASHINGTON: A government report says U.S. home prices fell a record 4.8 percent in May from the same month last year.The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight also says prices, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell 0.3 percent from April to May. The index is down almost 5 percent from its peak in April of [...] continue reading world news

Merrill Cuts 2009 U.S. GDP Forecast: Chart of the Day

July 22 (Bloomberg) — Merrill Lynch & Co. economists clipped their forecasts for U.S. growth, making revisions that they described as “adjusting to the new reality.”“Just like consumers, who are insulating their windows and making fewer trips to the malls, we are adjusting our economic forecasts to the new high-oil-price reality, not to mention the [...] continue reading world news

FDIC Faces Mortgage Mess After Running Failed Bank

Subprime Lender Made Problem Loans On Regulators’ Watch Federal officials heap much of the blame for the subprime mortgage mess on lenders, claiming they recklessly made too many high-cost home loans to borrowers who couldn’t afford them.It turns out that the U.S. government itself was one of the lenders giving out high-interest, subprime mortgages, some [...] continue reading world news

Governor plans to slash state workers’ pay to the federal minimum

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans next week to slash the pay of more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum of $6.55 per hour to help ease the state’s budget crisis, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Chronicle on Wednesday.The governor also will order an end to overtime pay for all but [...] continue reading world news

Ron Paul on the Housing Bill 7/23/08

“The Mother of All Bailouts” Ron Paul talks about the bailout out of the housing industry and how it really just destroys the dollar and adds enormously to the debt.Also, slipped into the bill, was the stipulation that ALL credit card transactions must now be reported to the IRS.Added: July 23, 2008Source: YouTube continue reading world news

Housing bailout bill - another $800 billion gift from the taxpayer to Wall Street

This bill will probably pass in Senate tomorrow. You, your children and generations to come will pay for this. All taxes will be spent servicing this debt.Cost of 5 years of Iraq war: $560 billion Cost of this bill: $800 billionIt will be spent bailing out the same fraudsters who got us into this mess. [...] continue reading world news

Ford Posts Loss of $8.7 Billion on Asset Woes

DETROIT - The Ford Motor Company, stunned by abysmal sales of its most profitable vehicles and a sudden shift in consumers’ tastes, said Thursday that it lost $8.7 billion in the quarter, its worst ever, and would overhaul its North American plants to focus on small cars.The loss, equal to $3.88 a share, was mostly [...] continue reading world news

Quotes from the Great Depression

September 1929“There is no cause to worry. The high tide of prosperity will continue.” — Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury.October 14, 1929“Secretary Lamont and officials of the Commerce Department today denied rumors that a severe depression in business and industrial activity was impending, which had been based on a mistaken interpretation of a [...] continue reading world news

The U.S. Enters into an Ever-Worsening Cycle

We are a year into the financial pain and virtually no systemic problem has been solved. Markets have entered into a new unsustainable cycle. The new dance is a two-step. Home prices slide, delinquencies rise, defaults rise. This puts additional pressure on housing going forward. Financial firms announce greater write-offs. Retailers slump and contagion goes [...] continue reading world news

Investors are betting more than $1 trillion on a collapse in stock prices

July 21 (Bloomberg) — Investors worldwide are betting more than $1 trillion on a collapse in stock prices.Never Have So Many Short Sellers Made So Much MoneyManagers from William Ackman to Jim Rogers made a total of at least $1.4 billion in July with wagers against U.S. mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, [...] continue reading world news

Food stamp use soars in Mass

Fastest-Growing Program in NationMassachusetts, which earlier this decade had the lowest percentage of eligible residents using food stamps, now has the fastest-growing food-stamp program in the country, a dramatic turnaround that state officials attribute to soaring food prices and a simplified application process.As food and fuel costs continue to rise, the officials say, people who [...] continue reading world news

U.S. Foreclosures Double as House Prices Decline

July 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. foreclosure filings more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier as falling home prices left borrowers owing more on mortgages than their properties were worth.One in every 171 households was foreclosed on, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction. That was an increase [...] continue reading world news

WaMu has $3.33 bln loss, may be cut to “junk”

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, posted a $3.33 billion second-quarter loss on Tuesday as souring mortgages forced it to set aside more money for loan losses.The thrift’s deteriorating health prompted Moody’s Investors Service to say it may downgrade Washington Mutual to “junk” status. Shares of Washington Mutual [...] continue reading world news

FDIC takes over 2 more banks, closing 28 branches

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed Friday by federal regulators.The banks, owned by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based First National Bank Holding Co., were scheduled to reopen on Monday as Mutual of Omaha Bank branches, the Federal Deposit [...] continue reading world news

National Australia Bank will shock Wall Street

The National Australia Bank’s decision to write off 90 per cent of its US conduit loans will have dramatic repercussions around the world. Wall Street will be deeply shocked when they understand the repercussions of what NAB has done. It is clear global banks have nowhere near provided for their exposures to US housing loans [...] continue reading world news

This project is sponsored by George Orwell and his Big Brother

Anyone who has lived without a television will know how hard it is to convince TV Licensing staff that is possible to exist without constant video entertainment. It is one more freedom that is to be taken from us. Like the telescreens in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four that citizens could turn down but not off, [...] continue reading world news

Bush administration projects record ‘09 deficit

Deficit for next year to hit $482 billion amid sagging economyWASHINGTON - The next president will inherit a record budget deficit of $482 billion, according to a new Bush administration estimate released Monday.The administration said the deficit was being driven to an all-time high by the sagging economy and the stimulus payments being made to [...] continue reading world news

Worried Banks Sharply Reduce Business Loans

Drew Greenblatt of Marlin Steel Wire Products is having trouble getting a $300,000 loan to buy a robot for his Baltimore factory. “This is what a bank is supposed to do,” he said.Banks struggling to recover from multibillion-dollar losses on real estate are curtailing loans to American businesses, depriving even healthy companies of money for [...] continue reading world news

Russia’s new Great Game

Vladimir Putin (left), then the president of Russia, met with Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, in April to discuss arms, energy and debt. AFPEmploying strategies redolent of a new Great Game, Russia has stepped up its diplomatic and trade activities in the Middle East and North Africa in a bid to enhance its geopolitical clout [...] continue reading world news

IMF predicts no end in sight to credit crisis

The International Monetary Fund says there’s no end in sight to the credit crisis gripping world financial markets.As Australia’s NAB and ANZ have already discovered, the IMF believes banks are in for more pain as mortgage defaults soar and economies slow. The IMF has a particularly gloomy assessment of the US economy, and it came [...] continue reading world news

The Big Bailout: America as a Full-Spectrum Kleptocracy

Its name somewhat anachronistically means “assembly of old men.” George Washington famously - and, it must now be [...] continue reading world news

Economy hitting the elderly especially hard

Matt Jackson of the Meals On Wheels program waits to deliver a meal to a home in Charleston, W.Va. The program is losing volunteer drivers nationwide because of rising gas prices.Bankruptcies soar as retirees, agencies struggle to keep up with rising costsBob Emily put in an honest day’s labor every day of his life.“I worked [...] continue reading world news

Russia cuts exposure to US mortgage lenders

MOSCOW, July 28 (Reuters) - Russia has approximately halved to less than $50 billion its exposure to U.S. mortgage lenders Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a senior central bank official told Reuters on Monday. “It’s now less than $50 billion,” central bank first [...] continue reading world news

Fed extends emergency loan program for Wall Street

And because of this Wall Street is celebrating today, but not for long.Before: Fed: No more bailouts, except Fannie Mae and Freddie MacAnd now the Fed wants to bailout Wall Street?The taxpayer will pay for it all.__________________________________________________________________________________WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is extending its emergency borrowing program to Wall Street firms [...] continue reading world news

Queen’s stockbroker raided, biggest ever crackdown on insider trading

The Queen’s stockbroker Cazenove has been caught up in Britain’s biggest ever crackdown on insider trading.Eight people were arrested in dawn raids yesterday by the City watchdog the Financial Services Authority.Cazenove admitted that one of the arrested worked at its London offices as a sub-contractor.A 40-strong team from the FSA swooped on addresses in London [...] continue reading world news

Washington Mutual: Soon to fail

WaMu’s Bloated Asset Values Don’t Fool InvestorsJuly 30 (Bloomberg) — With goodwill like Washington Mutual Inc.’s, it’s no wonder investors are getting such bad feelings about the company’s finances. Shares of the Seattle-based savings and loan have fallen 89 percent the past year to $4.43, leaving the company with a $7.6 billion stock-market value. The [...] continue reading world news

The Last Hurrah for the Banking System

The Bush administration will be mailing out another batch of “stimulus” checks in the very near future. There’s no way around it. The Fed is in a pickle and can’t lower interest rates for fear that food and energy prices will shoot to stratosphere. At the same time, the economy is shrinking faster than anyone [...] continue reading world news

GM, Crysler and Ford: S&P cuts ratings lower into junk

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor’s on Thursday cut ratings on all three major U.S. automakers deeper into junk status, citing expected losses due to higher gas prices and a weakening U.S. economy.S&P cut its ratings for General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock [...] continue reading world news

Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they’ll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies — including Wal-Mart.In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory [...] continue reading world news

House rejects bill on limiting speculative trading

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A bill that would put new limits on speculative trading in energy commodities failed to get the required two-third majority of votes to pass the House on Wednesday.The vote was 276 to 151. The Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act would boost staffing at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and require the [...] continue reading world news

Jobless rate climbs as 51,000 jobs vanish

WASHINGTON - Stores, factories and other businesses large and small showed workers the door last month, sending unemployment to its highest rate in four years and adding to the evidence an economic recovery remains far off.Employers clamped down on hiring and cut 51,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The economy has shed [...] continue reading world news

FDIC warns four US banks over liquidity

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation revealed on Friday that it had issued warnings to four small US banks that lacked sufficient reserves to cover potential loan losses.The cease-and-desist orders issued in June said the four banks needed to raise more capital, expand their loss allowances and better oversee and diversify their loan portfolios. A fifth [...] continue reading world news

Small Florida bank is 8th U.S. failure this year

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank regulators closed a small Florida-based bank on Friday, the eighth U.S. bank to fail this year under pressure from a weak economy and a credit crisis precipitated by falling home prices.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said First Priority Bank had $259 million in assets and $227 million [...] continue reading world news

Stressed banks borrow record amount from Fed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Banks borrowed a record amount of funds from the Federal Reserve in the latest week as the year old credit crisis took a persistent toll, while the commercial paper market continued to contract, signaling tough conditions for short term borrowers.Banks’ primary credit borrowings averaged $17.45 billion [...] continue reading world news

Borrowings of Depository Institutions from the Federal Reserve

Ready for a little shock? LinkA reader has discovered this on Digg: “This is how fucked we are”That says it all.Related article: Stressed banks borrow record amount from FedWhat does it mean if you have such a huge “shortage of liquidity in your system”?Hmmmhhh?!? Oh! Run, run, run.According to the FDIC I am just another [...] continue reading world news

Report: Obama, Potential Iran Attack, Financial Collapse

Published for some of the information on the economy.Added: August 02, 2008Source: YouTube continue reading world news

Ron Paul on Glenn Beck 07/30/2008

Part 1Added: July 30, 2008Source: YouTubePart 2Added: July 30, 2008Source: YouTube continue reading world news

Royal Bank of Scotland poised for biggest loss in UK banking history

Britain’s second largest bank expected to reveal it has lost £1 billion in first halfTHE Royal Bank of Scotland is poised to unveil the biggest loss in UK banking history after taking a hit of almost £6 billion from the credit crisis.Britain’s second-largest bank is this week expected to reveal a pre-tax loss of at [...] continue reading world news

What is happening to America?

RonPaul: “We don’t even know if they have the Gold there anymore.”Source: YouTubePeople will not realize the main problem in America until they actually take the time to do some serious research for themselves, but hopefully this video may open that window for you.The primary cause of loss of liberty is our ever expanding government [...] continue reading world news

Star analyst: Credit crunch far from over

The star analyst tells Fortune magazine that housing woes will force banks to keep taking writedowns.NEW YORK (Fortune) — The credit crisis is far from over, star analyst Meredith Whitney tells Fortune magazine in its upcoming issue.Whitney, who audaciously - and correctly - predicted last October that Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) would have to cut [...] continue reading world news

Hundreds of banks will fail, Roubini tells Barron’s

NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The United States is in the second inning of a recession that will last for at least 18 months and help kill off hundreds of banks, influential economist and New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini told Barron’s in Sunday’s edition.Taxpayers will pay a big price for helping bail [...] continue reading world news

HSBC warns that financial crisis will spread to Asia

Asia will be infected by the economic weakness spreading through the world’s leading economies, threatening the engine of global growth, HSBC has warned. Cashing in on Hong Kong gets harderSpeaking after reporting a “resilient” 28pc fall in pre-tax profits to $10.3bn (£5.2bn) for the six months to June, despite incurring a further $10bn of bad [...] continue reading world news

Morgan Stanley has issued a major alert on the health of Spanish banks

Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, has issued a major alert on the health of Spanish banks, warning that a replay of the ERM crisis in the early 1990s could wipe out the capital base of weak lenders exposed to the property crash.“A momentous economic slowdown is now under way. We believe the deterioration in Spain [...] continue reading world news

Morgan Stanley Said to Freeze Home-Equity Credit Withdrawals

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest U.S. securities firm, told thousands of clients this week that they won’t be allowed to withdraw money on their home-equity credit lines, said a person familiar with the situation.Most of the clients had properties that have lost value, according to the person, who declined to be identified [...] continue reading world news

Big CFTC data revision raises oil traders’ eyebrows

“There may have been multiple ‘positions’ which were reclassified … but they all appear to have been held by just one trader, and this was a very special trader, with an enormous concentration of positions in crude oil amounting to perhaps 460 million barrels, and not much interest in anything else,” noted John Kemp of [...] continue reading world news

Drug prices up 100% - or higher

Drug companies are quietly pushing through price hikes of 100% - or even more than 1,000% - for a very small but growing number of prescription drugs, helping to drive up costs for insurers, patients and government programs.The number of brand-name drugs with increases of 100% or more could double this year from four years [...] continue reading world news

One Nation Under Siege - Full Theatrical Release

From documentary filmmaker William Lewis comes a bone chilling documentary on the spying, tracking and control of the American public.Source: Google Video continue reading world news

Fannie Mae posts massive $2.3bln loss

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Struggling home finance giant Fannie Mae Friday reported a massive second-quarter loss of 2.3 billion dollars, more than three times analysts’ estimates.The loss per share was 2.54 dollars, compared with analyst projections of 0.69 dollars, and was mainly attributed to provisions for losses related to the US housing crisis.The government-sponsored, shareholder-owned company [...] continue reading world news

U.S. Dollar Intervention

On July 15th the US Dollar Index closed at 71.87, the lowest close since reaching its record low in April. This index was in the process of breaking down, and in fact it had actually fallen out of its uptrend channel on the following chart.However, rather than continue lower and fall off the edge of [...] continue reading world news

Fed: More banks are tightening lending standards

WASHINGTON - More banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages and other consumer and business loans as a deepening credit crisis exerts a heavier toll on the economy.Federal Reserve said Monday the percentage of banks reporting tighter lending standards rose across various loan types in its July survey. In April, the central bank had [...] continue reading world news

US: Most companies paid no federal income taxes

Report says most corporations pay no federal income taxes; lawmakers blame loopholesWASHINGTON (AP) - Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress.The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released Tuesday, said about 68 percent of foreign companies doing business [...] continue reading world news

Fed auctions another $25 billion to combat a serious credit squeeze

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve has auctioned another $25 billion in loans to the nation’s banks and given them more time to pay the money back in an effort to combat a serious credit squeeze.The Fed announced Tuesday that the money would be loaned at a rate of 2.754 percent. In the latest auction, [...] continue reading world news

McCain: Still ‘The One’ For Lobbyists

Video from the the past 18 years on McCain’s relationship with lobbyists.Added: August 12, 2008Source: YouTube continue reading world news

China to overtake US as largest manufacturer

China is set to overtake the US next year as the world’s largest producer of manufactured goods, four years earlier than expected, as a result of the rapidly weakening US economy.The great leap is revealed in forecasts for the Financial Times by Global Insight, a US economics consultancy. According to the estimates, next year China [...] continue reading world news

One Third of New Owners Owe More Than House Is Worth

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) — Almost one-third of U.S. homeowners who bought in the last five years now owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, according to Zillow.com, an Internet provider of home valuations.Second-quarter home prices fell 9.9 percent from a year earlier, giving 29 percent of owners negative equity, said Zillow, the [...] continue reading world news

Bear Stearns: Insider Trading

Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) — On March 11, the day the Federal Reserve attempted to shore up confidence in the credit markets with a $200 billion lending program that for the first time monetized Wall Street’s devalued collateral, somebody else decided Bear Stearns Cos. was going to collapse.In a gambit with such low odds of success [...] continue reading world news

Credit crunch misery deepens for UBS

Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFPUBS has underlined its status as one of the biggest losers in the credit crunch by announcing £5.1bn of fresh writedowns and its fourth quarterly loss in a row.The Swiss bank said this morning that it made a net loss of 358m Swiss francs (£173m) in the second quarter of this year. The [...] continue reading world news

Bush’s Dirty Little Medicare Secret

We already know about the lies orchestrated by the White House to justify the invasion of Iraq . But there is a bigger secret that has not yet hit the mainstream media. And it probably never will until it’s too late. Those of you who read my book already know about it because I discuss [...] continue reading world news

US food prices to post biggest rise since ‘90, says USDA

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. consumers should brace for the biggest increase in food prices in nearly 20 years in 2008 and even more pain next year due to surging meat and produce prices, the Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.Food prices are forecast to rise by 5 percent to 6 percent this year, making [...] continue reading world news

Goldman Sachs analyst recommends shorting shares of Citigroup

NEW YORK (AP) — A Goldman Sachs analyst has recommended a short-selling strategy for shares of Citigroup Inc., noting the bank is still heavily exposed to the troubled mortgage and consumer credit markets.In short-selling, an investor borrows shares of a company and sells them, betting the stock will go down. The investor then buys back [...] continue reading world news

Wall Street Journal: US Mint Halts Gold-Coin Sales

As gold prices tumbled from their highest level ever, investors and collectors loaded up on one-ounce “American eagle” gold-bullion coins. The buying spree came to an abrupt halt this week after the U.S. Mint stopped selling the coins for the first time since production began 20 years ago.David Gothard “Due to the unprecedented demand…our inventories [...] continue reading world news

The Big Sting Two

By Bob ChapmanThe plan for an economic takedown, the results of rampant market speculations, insiders picking up assets for pennies on the dollar, the coming hyperinflation, the credit crunch, collapse of the dollar carry trade, suppression of metals prices, American meddling in GeorgiaThe Big Sting Two is now being implemented by the Illuminati, but they [...] continue reading world news

A Few Speculators Dominate Vast Market for Oil Trading

Regulators had long classified a private Swiss energy conglomerate called Vitol as a trader that primarily helped industrial firms that needed oil to run their businesses.But when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission examined Vitol’s books last month, it found that the firm was in fact more of a speculator, holding oil contracts as a profit-making [...] continue reading world news

Buffett Says Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac `Game Is Over

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage finance companies, “don’t have any net worth,” billionaire investor Warren Buffett said.“The game is over” as independent companies said Buffett, the 77-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., in an interview on CNBC today. “They were able to borrow without any of the [...] continue reading world news

FDIC gets ready for bank failures

Regulator, insurer boosts its staff and provisions as it faces its biggest challenge in decadesATLANTA - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is one of those agencies with a low profile but essential role similar to plumbing or electricity - you don’t notice it until the power’s out or the basement’s flooding.These days, the FDIC’s folks [...] continue reading world news

FBI saw mortgage crisis coming

A top official warned of widening loan fraud in 2004, but the agency focused its resources elsewhere.WASHINGTON — Long before the mortgage crisis began rocking Main Street and Wall Street, a top FBI official made a chilling, if little-noticed, prediction: The booming mortgage business, fueled by low interest rates and soaring home values, was starting [...] continue reading world news

Merrill, Wachovia Hit With Record Refinancing Bill

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) — Merrill Lynch & Co., Wachovia Corp., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the rest of the U.S. finance industry are about to find out how expensive credit has become.Banks, securities firms and lenders have a record $871 billion of bonds maturing through 2009, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., just as yields [...] continue reading world news

World’s Largest Gold Refiner Runs Out of Krugerrands

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) — Rand Refinery Ltd., the world’s largest gold refinery, ran out of South African Krugerrands after an “unusually large” order from a buyer in Switzerland.The order was for 5,000 ounces and it will take until Sept. 3 for inventories to be replenished, said Johan Botha, a spokesman for Rand Refinery in Germiston, [...] continue reading world news

Gustav May Hit Gulf Platforms Harder Than Katrina

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) — Hurricane Gustav threatens to hurt U.S. oil and natural-gas production and refining more severely than hurricanes Katrina and Rita did three years ago.Gustav, downgraded to a Category 3 storm by the National Hurricane Center in Miami this morning, may strengthen to Category 4 later today and will make landfall as a [...] continue reading world news

ECB May Keep Rates at 7-Year High as Recession Looms

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) — The European Central Bank will probably keep interest rates at a seven-year high this week, and may even threaten to raise them, at the risk of prolonging the economic slump.All but one of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predict the Frankfurt-based central bank will leave the benchmark rate at 4.25 [...] continue reading world news

Lehman Brothers in urgent talks on capital injection

The Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers is this weekend locked in talks with a group of foreign government-backed investment funds in an effort to secure billions of dollars in new equity capital.The Sunday Telegraph has learned that Lehman has intensified talks in recent days with Korea Development Bank, the South Korean ­government-backed lender, about [...] continue reading world news

UK: Housing sales sink to worst for 30 years

· Estate agents average one deal a week as prices fall· Rics calls for tax-free cash help for first-time buyersThe government is being urged to act swiftly to help drag the ailing property industry up off its knees as housing sales slow to their worst level in three decades and prices continue to decline.According to [...] continue reading world news

Supermarkets go high-tech to combat shoplifters

Cheese theft is on the rise, but razor blades, confectionary and oysters are still the top shoplifting targets. Photo / Brett PhibbsSupermarkets are introducing electronic tags on items popular with shoplifters and other thieves.The Source Tagging Alliance, set up by leading retailers, is encouraging suppliers to use radio frequency identification (RFID) and source tagging on [...] continue reading world news

U.S. Stocks at 25.8 Times Earnings Means Rally Can’t Continue

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) — The best already may be over for the U.S. stock market this year.The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which had the worst first half since 2002, added 0.2 percent this quarter, the only gain among the world’s 10 biggest markets in dollar terms. Shares in the benchmark index for American equity [...] continue reading world news

Korea Development’s Min Confirms Talks With Lehman

A man walks past the Korea Development Bank headquarters in Seoul on Aug. 24, 2008. Photographer: Nasha Lee/Bloomberg NewsSept. 2 (Bloomberg) — Korea Development Bank is in talks to buy a stake in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-biggest U.S. securities firm.Chief Executive Officer Min Euoo Sung confirmed the discussions in an interview in Seoul [...] continue reading world news

People’s Bank of China powers into Britain

China’s central bank has acquired a secret stake in Drax, the owner of the UK’s biggest coal-fired power station.The People’s Bank of China is understood to have been building its stake in Drax for about a year and now owns just over 0.7pc of the company.The stakebuilding provides a further illustration of the extent to [...] continue reading world news

U.S. Must Buy Assets to Prevent Financial Tsunami

The financial tsunami is already on its way. That is why the central banks have intervened on a massive scale to support the dollar, so that the tsunami will hit the economy a little later.Asking a totally broke government to buy assets is a interesting idea. And who will ultimately pay for any government spending? [...] continue reading world news

Who Wants To Be CEO of a Red, White and Blue Kakistocracy*?

*Kakistocracy is government by the very worst, least principled, and most incompetent people. You will be forgiven for thinking that the word, kakistocracy, perhaps derives from the word, “caca”, itself derived from the Latin, “cacare”. In fact, kakistocracy derives from the Greek, kakos, meaning “bad”.)Let me make myself clear from the outset: I am not [...] continue reading world news

Lehman May Shift $32 Billion of Mortgage Assets to `Bad Bank’

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) — Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. may shift about $32 billion of commercial mortgages and real estate to a new company that will be spun off in a move similar to the good-bank-bad-bank model used in the 1980s banking crisis, two people briefed on the discussions said.The bad bank, nicknamed Spinco for now, [...] continue reading world news

In The Eye Of The Storm

By John Browne, senior market advisor - Euro Pacific CapitalAs we enter the height of the hurricane season, it may be worthwhile to recall, when considering the economy at large, the particular deception that lurks in the “eye” of the storm. After a raging tempest, the sudden appearance of the calm ‘eye’ can all too [...] continue reading world news

House prices suffer biggest fall since records began

House prices: Dropped by more than £25,000 over the past year. Photo: Cate Gillon/GettyHouse prices fell by 1.8% in August, bringing the average price of a property in the UK below the government’s new stamp duty threshold, figures showed today.The UK’s largest lender, Halifax, said the average price of a property had fallen by 12.7% [...] continue reading world news

GM, Ford, Chrysler Sales Collapse

Chrysler President Jim Press: “Maybe towards the end of ‘09, going into 2010, there’ll start to be some signs of recovery.” Maybe not. ____________________________________________________________________________The Wall Street Journal is reporting Auto Sales Tumble, But Industry Sees Signs of Hope.Sales of cars and light trucks fell 15.5% to 1.25 million last month, down from 1.48 million a [...] continue reading world news

Is Google Turning Into Big Brother?

The Debut of Chrome, Google’s New Browser, May Have Been Quiet for a ReasonWhile we’re transfixed by the presidential election, in the world of high tech another duel between two well-funded, take-no-quarter candidates has just emerged & and in the long run the impact on our daily lives may be nearly as great — and [...] continue reading world news

Gold demand soars. Price falls. What’s going wrong?

Physical demand for gold is surging but the price keeps taking serious knocks. What’s happening.LONDON - Gold market manipulation conspiracy theorists should be having a field day.  The past few weeks have seen solid evidence that physical gold demand from individuals is soaring. We have seen the U.S. Mint having to suspend one ounce Gold [...] continue reading world news

Merrill Lynch Cut to `Sell’ at Goldman on Writedowns

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) — Merrill Lynch & Co., down 50 percent in New York trading this year, was cut to “sell” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on concern the firm may post more writedowns tied to credit-related investments.Goldman added the third-biggest U.S. securities company to its “conviction sell” list, according to a report by analysts [...] continue reading world news

U.S. House Price Decline Could Be Worse than Great Depression, Economist Shiller Says

Eight years ago, Yale superstar professor and MacroMarkets chief economist Robert Shiller famously called the top of the stock market in his book Irrational Exuberance. Then, a year before the housing bubble peaked, he predicted the colossal bust we are now experiencing.If you recognize Shiller’s name, it’s because the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price indexes, [...] continue reading world news

U.S. Rescue Seen at Hand for 2 Mortgage Giants

Henry M. Paulson Jr., the Treasury secretary, and Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairmanWASHINGTON - Senior officials from the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve on Friday called in top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, and told them that the government was preparing to place the two companies [...] continue reading world news

People should work until they are incapacitated

Britain’s workforce should keep working until they are no longer physically able to do so, according to former cabinet minister David Blunkett.In a speech to the Counsel and Care charity in London, he said people should stop assuming that the Government had “prime responsibility” for supporting them through “the ever increasing years of retirement”.The former [...] continue reading world news

U.S. seizes Fannie and Freddie

Treasury chief Paulson unveils historic government takeover of twin mortgage buyers. Top executives are out.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Federal officials on Sunday unveiled an extraordinary takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting the government in charge of the twin mortgage giants and the $5 trillion in home loans they back.The move, which allows the [...] continue reading world news

Jim Rogers: US Is More Communist than China

The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shows that the U.S. is “more communist than China right now” but its brand of socialism is meant only for the rich, investor Jim Rogers, CEO of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Europe on Monday.“America is more communist than China is right now. You can see that this [...] continue reading world news

Brazil, Argentina drop dollar for bilateral trade

BRASILIA, Brazil: Brazil and Argentina are ready to stop using U.S. dollars to trade goods between them.Brazil’s president tells the Buenos Aires-based Clarin newspaper that exports and imports between the two nations will be bought and sold in local currency - reals and pesos.President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did not say when the measure [...] continue reading world news

Home sales fall to one a week, says Rics

Estate agents are recording the lowest level of sales since 1978. Photo: GettyEstate agents are selling an average of just one home a week as the number of sales hits a 30-year low, according to a report today.The latest monthly snapshot of the housing market by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said it [...] continue reading world news

Lehman sinks as much as 40 percent on capital worry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc shares sank as much as 40 percent Tuesday on concern that talks on a possible investment from Korea Development Bank had broken down and that the fourth-largest Wall Street investment bank would be unable to raise needed capital.Shares began falling after a Dow Jones Newswires report that [...] continue reading world news

China frets at US risk after Fannie/Freddie bailout

BEIJING, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is good news in the short term for China, the biggest holder of the giant mortgage lenders’ debt, but Beijing’s huge U.S. exposure still poses a serious risk, a prominent government researcher said on Monday.China owned $376 billion of debt [...] continue reading world news

Lehman posts $4 billion quarterly loss, plans sales

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc plans to sell a majority stake in its asset management unit and spin off commercial real estate holdings, hoping to restore investor confidence and ensure its survival after reporting a record quarterly loss of about $4 billion.Shares failed to rebound on Wednesday morning after plunging 45 percent [...] continue reading world news

Freddie, Fannie Scam Hidden in Broad Daylight

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) — When the history is written on the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it will go down in the annals of corporate scandals as one of the greatest accounting scams committed in broad daylight.All anyone had to do to know the government-guaranteed mortgage financiers were insolvent was read their financial [...] continue reading world news

Tens of thousands to be laid off every week as UK falls into recession

MPC member warns of ‘horrible surprise’Gloomy assessment sends London shares fallingTens of thousands of people could be laid off every week in the run-up to Christmas as the UK economy falls into recession, David Blanchflower of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee warned today.Blanchflower told MPs to expect “a large increase in unemployment”, and [...] continue reading world news

N.Y. Fed calls meeting to forestall Lehman collapse

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — As U.S. Treasury officials made it clear the government will not bail out Lehman Bros., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York met Friday night with Wall Street executives in an effort to forestall the collapse of the investment firm and shore up rapidly weakening financial markets.The New York Fed called [...] continue reading world news

Lehman Brothers teeters on verge of collapse as Barclays pulls out

Lehman Brothers HQ in New YorkGlobal investment bank Lehman Brothers is teetering on the verge of collapse after Barclays pulled out of an 11th-hour rescue.The departure of Barclays left US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, spearheading desperate last-ditch attempts to put in place [...] continue reading world news

Jobless set to top two million as the UK economy heads for meltdown

A JobCentre officeThe true scale of the jobs disaster facing Britain is revealed today as experts issue dire warnings that up to half a million workers will lose their jobs over the next two years, as companies cut costs and scale back investment plans to survive the economic downturn.Official figures are widely expected to reveal [...] continue reading world news

Deposit insurance system may face WaMu test

Attention has focused on the danger presented by the failure of Lehman Brothers. But the failure of a commercial bank such as Washington Mutual can have systemic consequences if it threatens a run on other weak banks.Washington Mutual - the sixth largest bank in the US - has lost more than a third of its [...] continue reading world news

Lehman Files Biggest Bankruptcy Case in History

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) — Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, succumbed to the subprime mortgage crisis it helped create in the biggest bankruptcy filing in history.The 158-year-old firm, which survived railroad bankruptcies of the 1800s, the Great Depression in the 1930s and the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management a decade ago, filed [...] continue reading world news

WaMu shares hit hard

Already battered, Washington Mutual shares fall as potential capital sources’ attention is diverted.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Don’t forget about Washington Mutual.Concerned that Wall Street has done just that, the nation’s largest savings-and-loan plummeted 22% in mid-day trading. Investors are concerned that potential sources of capital have disappeared in the upheaval this weekend on Wall Street [...] continue reading world news

Bolivia’s President Morales declares martial law in rebellious state

Supporters of Bolivia’s President Evo Morales burn dolls representing Leopoldo Fernandez, governor of the opposition state of Pando, in La Paz, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008. Several opposition provinces are seeking greater autonomy from Morales’ government and insist on the cancellation of a Jan. 25, 2008 referendum on a new constitution that would help him centralize [...] continue reading world news

AIG falls 42% in cash scramble

Nation’s largest insurer races to raise capital after being hit by credit raters.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Shares of American International Group tumbled Tuesday as the company scrambled to raise as much as $75 billion to keep itself afloat.The pressure on the nation’s largest insurer reached fevered pitch on Monday night as the troubled insurer was [...] continue reading world news

Russia halts trading after 17% share price fall

(Financial Times) - Russian shares suffered their steepest one-day fall in more than a decade on Tuesday, losing up to 20 per cent, as a sharp slide in oil prices and difficult money market conditions triggered a rush to sell.The heads of the Russian central bank, the finance ministry and the financial market regulator met [...] continue reading world news

Fed pumps $70B into nation’s financial system

WASHINGTON - Urgently trying to keep cash flowing amid a Wall Street meltdown, the Federal Reserve on Tuesday pumped another $70 billion into the nation’s financial system to help ease credit stresses.The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s action came in two operations in which $50 billion and then another regularly scheduled $20 billion were [...] continue reading world news

Goldman profit plunges 70 pct amid market slump

Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd BlankfeinNEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said quarterly profit plunged 70 percent as the worst market slump in decades led to weaker-than-expected revenues, knocking the stock to its lowest level in nearly three years.Still, the larger of the two major U.S. investment banks still standing, beat profit [...] continue reading world news

U.S. Stocks Advance on Expectations Fed Will Rescue AIG

I ‘expect’ a ‘Great Depression’ in the not too distant future._____________________________________________________________________________Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, helping the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebound from its steepest drop in seven years, as expectations grew the Federal Reserve may rescue American International Group Inc. from collapse.Benchmark indexes crossed between gains and losses more than 25 [...] continue reading world news

AIG has under 24 hours to raise $80bn and avoid collapse

A man walks through a revolving door at an American International Group (AIG) building in New York’s financial district September 16, 2008. REUTERS/Lucas JacksonThe world’s largest insurance company has less than 24 hours to raise $80bn (£45bn) or face collapse, a leading US politician has warned. The dire diagnosis for American International Group (AIG), made [...] continue reading world news

Russian Markets Halted Again as Emergency Funding Fails to Halt Rout

Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — Russian markets stopped trading for a second day after emergency funding measures by the government failed to halt the biggest stock rout since the country’s debt default and currency devaluation a decade ago.The ruble-denominated Micex Stock Exchange suspended trading indefinitely at 12:10 p.m. after its index erased a 7.6 percent gain [...] continue reading world news

Gold Soars Most Since 1999 as Investors Seek Haven From Turmoil

Gold up 10%, Silver up 12%___________________________________________________________________________Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — Gold surged the most in nine years as investors sought the safety of precious metals on concern that the credit crisis will deepen, leading more financial institutions to fail. Silver soared the most since 1995.Equities tumbled even after the Federal Reserve took over the biggest U.S. [...] continue reading world news

IMF head: worst of financial crisis may lie ahead

JEDDAH (Reuters) - The worst of the financial crisis may still lie ahead and more major financial institutions may face trouble in coming months, IMF director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Wednesday.“The roots of the crisis are behind us, the roots being the fall in housing prices. The consequences for some financial institutions are still [...] continue reading world news

Federal bank insurance fund dwindling

Federal bank insurance fund dwindling, regulators consider options for replenishing itWASHINGTON (AP) — Banks are not the only ones struggling in the growing financial crisis. The fund established to insure their deposits is also feeling the pinch, and the taxpayer may be the lender of last resort.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., whose insurance fund has [...] continue reading world news

Wall Street crisis deepens and Banks rush to do deals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manic and increasingly desperate dealmaking gripped Wall Street on Wednesday as U.S. stocks plummeted to three-year lows amid new signs of distress in the global financial industry.Morgan Stanley was discussing a merger with regional banking powerhouse Wachovia, the New York Times reported. CEO John Mack got [...] continue reading world news

Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan Lead Global Plan to Pump $247 Billion Into Markets

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve almost quadrupled the amount of dollars central banks can auction around the world to $247 billion in a coordinated bid to ease the worst crisis facing financial markets since the 1920s.The Fed increased the amount of dollars that the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and other [...] continue reading world news

Roubini: USA transforming into USSRA

Nouriel RoubiniAn economic analyst says by buying out investment giants, the USA had transformed into the USSRA (the United Socialist State Republic of America). “This transformation of the USA into a country where there is socialism for the rich, the well connected and Wall Street (i.e. where profits are privatized and losses are socialized) continues [...] continue reading world news

Money Market Funds Enter a World of Risk

Money market funds have been among the few places that investors could put their cash and sleep peacefully.At the moment, that is not necessarily true.On Tuesday, the Reserve Primary Fund, a giant money market fund whose parent helped invent that investment, said its customers would lose money. Instead of each share being worth a dollar [...] continue reading world news

Need a Job? $17,000 an Hour. No Success Required.

Are you capable of taking a perfectly good 158-year-old company and turning it into dust? If so, then you may not be earning up to your full potential.You should be raking it in like Richard Fuld, the longtime chief of Lehman Brothers. He took home nearly half-a-billion dollars in total compensation between 1993 and 2007.Last [...] continue reading world news

Ron Paul on AIG bailout (Fox News, 9/17/08)

Added: Sept. 17, 2008Source: YouTube continue reading world news

The United States may be “days away from a complete meltdown of our financial system”

Key lawmakers promise fast action on bailoutWASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd says the United States may be “days away from a complete meltdown of our financial system” and Congress is working quickly to prevent that.Dodd said Friday that Democrats and Republicans on the Hill are coming together to support the Bush [...] continue reading world news

China: Tests find chemical melamine also in liquid milk

A child receives an ultrasonic inspection for kidney stones at a children’s hospital in Chengdu, in southwest China’s Sichuan province Friday, Sept. 19, 2008.BEIJING (AP) - China’s tainted milk crisis widened Friday after tests found the industrial chemical melamine in liquid milk produced by three of the country’s leading dairy companies, the quality watchdog said.Singapore [...] continue reading world news

Comex Raises Margin Rates on Gold Contracts by 47%, Silver 20%

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) — The Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange raised margin payments on gold and silver futures by as much as 47 percent after price swings accelerated.The margin rate for Comex members advances to $5,500 a gold contract from today, from $3,750, the exchange said in an e- mailed statement late [...] continue reading world news

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. : How the news media fails us

“There are 5 giant multinational corporations who control all 14.000 radio stations in America, all 5.000 TV Stations, 80% of our newspapers, all of our billboards and most of the large internet content providers.”Source: YouTube continue reading world news

Why the government rushes to ’save’ money-market funds

First have a look at the following two articles:Rushing to save money-market fundsIn effort to calm critical part of the broader financial system, Fed and Treasury take three-pronged measure to stabilize troubled funds.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Coming to the rescue of a bedrock of American investing, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve took three [...] continue reading world news

Will the markets get worse? (Jim Rogers on CNN)

CNN’s Andrew Stevens talks to financial investor Jim Rogers about what’s ahead for world stock markets.Added Sept. 18, 2008Source: YouTube continue reading world news

CNN: Will the rescue plan work?

Kirby Daley of financial brokerage Newedge Group on emergency measures to help rescue banks from bad debt.Hinzugefügt: 19. September 2008, Source: YouTubeThe burden is shifted from the shareholders to the taxpayers.This is socialism for the rich as Ron Paul and Jim Rogers said before.Will the rescue plan work???If not it is the financial system [...] continue reading world news

Capitalism in convulsion: Toxic assets head towards the public balance sheet

In the space of just two momentous weeks, the landscape of global finance has been dramatically transformed. President George W. Bush’s administration has mounted a multi-billion-dollar rescue of the financial system at the cost of inflicting severe damage on the US model of free- market capitalism.Heavy costs will be inflicted on the American taxpayer, who [...] continue reading world news

US: Conservative congressmen urge Bush to cut off aid to Wall Street

Frustrated by the US government’s rescue of AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a group of 100 conservative congressmen today urged the Bush administration to stop keeping Wall Street afloat.In a letter to the treasury secretary and Federal Reserve chairman, members of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) lamented the abandonment of free-market principles.Rescuing failing [...] continue reading world news

The Real Reason for the Global Financial Crisis…the Story No One’s Talking About

Part I of a three-part series looking at how so-called “credit default swap” derivatives could ignite a worldwide capital markets meltdown.Are you shell-shocked? Are you wondering what’s really going on in the market? The truth is probably more frightening than even your worst fears. And yet, you won’t hear about it anywhere else because “they” [...] continue reading world news

Mission Accomplished

The Crash of 2008, which is now wiping out trillions of dollars of our people’s wealth, is, like the Crash of 1929, likely to mark the end of one era and the onset of another.The new era will see a more sober and much diminished America. The “Omnipower” and “Indispensable Nation” we heard about in [...] continue reading world news

Greenspan’s sins return to haunt us

Back in 2002, when his reputation as “The Man Who Saved the World” was at its peak, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, came to Britain to pick up his knighthood. His biggest fan, Gordon Brown, now the UK prime minister, had ensured that the citation said it was being awarded for promoting [...] continue reading world news

Pat Buchanan: The Party’s Over

The Crash of 2008, which is now wiping out trillions of dollars of our people’s wealth, is, like the Crash of 1929, likely to mark the end of one era and the onset of another.The new era will see a more sober and much diminished America. The “Omnipower” and “Indispensable Nation” we heard about in [...] continue reading world news

I accidentally . . . . the whole economy

Regulators close down Ameribank Inc., a West Virginia-based-bank with total assets of $115 million.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Ameribank Inc. was shut down on Friday by the Office of the Thrift Supervision, making it the 12th bank this year to go under.The Northfork, West Virginia bank had total assets of $115 million and total deposits of [...] continue reading world news

12th bank failure of the year announced

Regulators close down Ameribank Inc., a West Virginia-based-bank with total assets of $115 million.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Ameribank Inc. was shut down on Friday by the Office of the Thrift Supervision, making it the 12th bank this year to go under.The Northfork, West Virginia bank had total assets of $115 million and total deposits of [...] continue reading world news

ALMOST ARMAGEDDON - MARKETS WERE 500 TRADES FROM A MELTDOWN

Click image to enlarge. The market was 500 trades away from Armageddon on Thursday, traders inside two large custodial banks tell The Post.Had the Treasury and Fed not quickly stepped into the fray that morning with a quick $105 billion injection of liquidity, the Dow could have collapsed to the 8,300-level - [...] continue reading world news

The Paulson Manifesto Will Fail Because It Fails American Households

As a trader, I stopped getting disgusted at government manipulation of markets several years ago, didn’t pretend it wasn’t happening, just tried to find when it was coming. I decided to develop an indicator that would tell [...] continue reading world news

IT’S THE DERIVATIVES, STUPID! WHY FANNIE, FREDDIE AND AIG ALL HAD TO BE BAILED OUT

“I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.”- Sir Isaac Newton, after losing a fortune in the South Sea bubbleSomething extraordinary is going on with these government bailouts. In March 2008, the Federal Reserve extended a $55 billion loan to JPMorgan to “rescue” investment bank Bear Stearns from [...] continue reading world news

Financial crisis: Default by the US government is no longer unthinkable

Hard times: central banks have acted to avoid a repeat of 1929So, here we are - the start of a new world order. After the tumultuous events of the last fortnight, the global economic landscape will never look the same again.Power has tangibly shifted - away from the United States [...] continue reading world news

Minister: Alitalia might not last a week

ROME: Alitalia might stop flying within a week if unions don’t change course and accept a rescue plan offered by Italian investors, Italy’s transport minister said Sunday.The only hope for the survival of Italy’s bankrupt flagship airline is for union leaders to agree to the investors’ terms, and for the government to convince the investors [...] continue reading world news

UK: Taxes will soar in credit crisis

An office worker looks at a screen showing trading on the FTSE 100 indexTAXPAYERS in Britain face up to 5p in the pound in extra taxes because of the credit crunch created by the banks, leading economists have warned. After a week of unprecedented financial turmoil, they predict that government borrowing is about to surge [...] continue reading world news

Share sharks made £190m profits from HBOS by trading two minutes BEFORE BBC announced Lloyds TSB rescue

Speculators made a £190million profit from HBoS shares after details of takeover talks with Lloyds TSB were announced on the BBCCity watchdogs are expected to investigate how speculators made a £190million profit from HBOS shares in a frenzied two minutes of trading immediately before news of the bank’s rescue was made public.Details of the takeover [...] continue reading world news

Safe Haven

1. Problem: The elite created the problem.2. Reaction: The elite made sure through corporate media that people will react a certain way. “We need to do something!”3. Solution: The elite offers the “only” solution, which is “to safe” Wall Street’s elite who created the problem in the first place, relieving the major banks and investment [...] continue reading world news