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