Archive for September, 2008
FDIC Says Wachovia Didn’t Fail
September 29th, 2008It didn’t fail. Didn’t. Got it? That’s double plus good. Via: AP: Citigroup Inc. will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia Corp., one of the nation’s largest banks, in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses in the deal, with the FDIC covering any […]
U.S. Government Bails Out Auto Makers
September 29th, 2008More BS. Why not make these “loans” available ONLY for the development of 100% electric vehicles… None of this Volt nonsense. Where else but in Soviet America does an “electric vehicle” come with an internal combustion engine? Thanks, GM. Here’s your dole payment. Via: Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Congress moved Saturday to provide $25 […]
Global Monetary Authority
September 28th, 2008Via: Financial Times: Even if the US’s massive financial rescue operation succeeds, it should be followed by something even more far-reaching – the establishment of a Global Monetary Authority to oversee markets that have become borderless. Washington recognises that the crisis has become global. Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, has said that foreign banks operating in […]
British Government to Nationalize Bradford & Bingley
September 28th, 2008Via: Bloomberg: The U.K. Treasury will act to protect Bradford & Bingley Plc customers, Chief Whip Geoff Hoon said after the BBC reported the U.K.’s biggest lender to landlords will be nationalized. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling “have worked right through this weekend to sort out the problems we’re […]
Temple University Physicist Developed Simple Device that Boosts Gas Efficiency 20%
September 27th, 2008Via: Temple University: With the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel impacting costs for automobiles, trucks, buses and the overall economy, a Temple University physics professor has developed a simple device which could dramatically improve fuel efficiency as much as 20 percent. According to Rongjia Tao, chair of Temple’s Physics Department, the small device […]
China Fakes Reports from Space
September 27th, 2008Via: Telegraph: China’s state news agency published a despatch from the country’s three latest astronauts describing their first night in space before they had even left Earth. The Xinhua agency, which has sometimes been accused of carrying state propaganda, took down the story and blamed it on a “technical error”. The article described the Shenzhou […]
The Swedish Twins on the M6
September 26th, 2008Update: Madness in the Fast Lane —End Update— I’m at a total loss on this one. Unfortunately, during my photojournalism days, I’d seen vehicle vs. pedestrian situations… None of those people got up to fight with cops and run around after being struck by vehicles. I’ll try to find out more about this. Of course, […]
Major Gas Shortage In Western North Carolina Sends Drivers Scrambling
September 26th, 2008Update: Gas Shortage In the South Creates Panic, Long Lines The Energy Department said that as of Wednesday 63 percent, or 800,000 barrels a day, of production in the Gulf of Mexico was still shut down as were five refineries with a combined capacity of 1.2 million barrels a day. The refineries produce a half-million […]
WASHINGTON MUTUAL: LARGEST BANK FAILURE IN U.S. HISTORY
September 26th, 2008It’s not even FDIC Friday yet in the U.S. Via: Bloomberg: JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third- biggest U.S. bank by assets, agreed to pay $1.9 billion for the deposits of Washington Mutual Inc. after the thrift was seized by regulators in the biggest bank failure in U.S. history. The U.S. government closed Seattle-based Washington […]
Bailout Could Deepen Crisis; Firms Are Already Insolvent and Won’t Be Able to Keep Hiding It
September 25th, 2008That’s why Americans have to pay premium prices for this garbage. Via: Washington Post: The director of the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday that the proposed Wall Street bailout could actually worsen the current financial crisis. During testimony before the House Budget Committee, Peter R. Orszag — Congress’s top bookkeeper — said the bailout could […]
