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