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