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