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