Archive for the 'Collapse' Category
ECB Lends Record $622 Billion in Bid to Ease Crisis
June 25th, 2009Coincidence? Bonds Rise After Strong Auction of 7-Year Notes Via: Wall Street Journal: The European Central Bank pumped a record €442 billion ($622 billion) into euro-zone money markets Wednesday in its first-ever offer of one-year funds as it battles the Continent’s recession. Euro-zone banks borrowed the one-year funds, the largest amount the central bank has […]
California Set to Issue IOUs as Fiscal Crisis Weighs
June 25th, 2009Via: Reuters: California’s controller said on Wednesday that he would have to issue IOUs in a week if lawmakers can’t quickly solve a $24 billion budget deficit, and the state’s treasurer plans to tap a reserve fund to meet debt service costs. The measures came as a budget crisis deepened in the most populous U.S. […]
China: Hundreds of Riot Police Battle the People of Shishou
June 22nd, 2009The text below is an AP piece, but you should really click through to see the images and videos. This is just a sample. Via: AP / East South West North: Hundreds of baton-wielding police on Sunday dispersed protesters and cordoned off a city hotel in central China after a young man’s mysterious death sparked […]
More Green Shoots: States Turning to Last Resorts in Budget Crisis
June 22nd, 2009Via: New York Times: In Hawaii, state employees are bracing for furloughs of three days a month over the next two years, the equivalent of a 14 percent pay cut. In Idaho, lawmakers reduced aid to public schools for the first time in recent memory, forcing pay cuts for teachers. And in California, where a […]
Green Shoots: Numbers on Welfare See Sharp Increase
June 22nd, 2009Via: Wall Street Journal: Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging “to end welfare as we know it” more than a decade ago. Twenty-three of the 30 largest […]
California Faces Prospect of “Multi-Notch” Credit Rating Downgrade
June 20th, 2009Via: Reuters: California, which is struggling to close a $24.3 billion budget gap, faces the prospect of a “multi-notch” downgrade in its credit rating if the state’s legislature fails to act quickly to produce a budget, Moody’s Investors Service warned on Friday. Moody’s decision to place California’s general obligation debt on alert for a possible […]
“This Was a Failure of the Entire System,” Obama Said; Solution? Make the System Bigger
June 17th, 2009More ministries, Comrade. Always more ministries! In this case, we need a Ministry of Ministry Supervision. In Fiat Currency Hell, endless financial complexity allows for swindling at heretofore unthinkable levels. This may sound counterintuitive, but the purpose of expanding the regulatory machinery is to facilitate even vaster amounts of fraud. This is what happens when […]
Fed Buying Treasuries; China Selling Treasuries
June 17th, 2009Here’s some music to accompany this post. Amazon.com Widgets Via: Reuters: The Federal Reserve is buying Treasuries maturing May 2016 through May 2019 on Wednesday, the New York Federal Reserve said on its Website. The purchase, which started at 10.16 a.m. (1416 GMT) and ends at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT), is part of the U.S. […]
How Do ‘Anti-Stab’ Knives Work?
June 16th, 2009And now, from the land on Monty Python, the “anti-stab” knife, complete with “combination tip” that “reduces the risk of injury” and an “ergonomic handle” that “reduces aggressiveness.” Does it come with a Union Jack dribble bib? If you think that these knives would reduce stabbings at all, you’re beyond lost and you’ll believe anything. […]
California Puts 90-Day Hold on Foreclosures
June 16th, 2009The Titanic is sinking, start bailing water with your martini glasses. Via: Los Angeles Times: California is imposing a 90-day moratorium on housing foreclosures under a new law that took effect Monday. The law is expected to make lenders try harder to keep borrowers in their homes. Lenders must prove they tried to modify the […]
