Archive for the 'Elite' Category
EU Finance Chiefs Race to Ready Euro Stability Fund for Monday Morning
May 9th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: European Union finance ministers meet today to hammer out the details of an emergency fund to prevent a sovereign debt crisis from shattering confidence in the 11- year-old euro. Jolted into action by last week’s slide in the currency to the lowest in 14 months and soaring bond yields in Portugal and Spain, […]
KBR to Get No-Bid Army Contract Worth $568 Million as Justice Department Pursues Lawsuit Over Kickbacks
May 9th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: KBR Inc. was selected for a no-bid contract worth as much as $568 million through 2011 for military support services in Iraq, the Army said. The Army announced its decision yesterday only hours after the Justice Department said it will pursue a lawsuit accusing the Houston-based company of taking kickbacks from two subcontractors […]
SEC Said to Probe Causes, Exploitation of Stock-Market Turmoil
May 7th, 2010Maybe Captain Obvious dropped in at the SEC this morning. Via: Bloomberg: U.S. regulators plan to examine whether securities professionals triggered yesterday’s stock- market plunge or exploited the turmoil to profit illegally, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Securities and Exchange Commission aims to determine if market participants accidentally or maliciously […]
Plan for Congressional Audits of Fed Dies in Senate
May 7th, 2010Looks like that one thousand point pants shitter from yesterday sent a pretty clear message. Via: Wall Street Journal: Last-minute maneuvering in the Senate allowed the Federal Reserve to sidestep legislation that would have exposed its interest-rate decision-making to congressional auditors. Pressure from the Obama administration led Senate lawmakers to alter a provision pushed by […]
U.S. Government Now 96.5% of the Mortgage Market Q1, 2010
May 7th, 2010Via: Smirking Chimp: “Let nobody try and fool nobody else anymore. Fannie and Freddie have nothing to do with the less privileged: they are the ultimate tools for Washington to keep Wall Street alive.” “Not only would significantly lower home values put severe strains on the major banks’ balance sheets, they would also implode and […]
Whistleblower: BP Risks More Massive Catastrophes in Gulf
May 7th, 2010Via: Truthout: A former contractor who worked for BP claims the oil conglomerate broke federal laws and violated its own internal procedures by failing to maintain crucial safety and engineering documents related to one of the firms other deepwater production projects in the Gulf of Mexico, according to internal emails and other documents obtained by […]
Dodd’s ‘Financial Reform’ Bill Is a Black Hole
May 6th, 2010Via: Josh Fulton: Chris Dodd, everybody’s favorite hairdo, has introduced a “tough” financial “reform” bill that he claims will “limit the risk [financial institutions] can assume.” Of course, most people with a pulse realize that a 1565 page bill introduced by one of the top recipients of financial industry lobbyist money in Congress probably will […]
Many Possible Triggers for Wider Euro Debt Crisis
May 5th, 2010Why can’t the ECB just eat the debt, like the Federal Reserve has been eating it? Does anyone know why not? It doesn’t seem fair that Uncle Sugar can rally its silly confetti by feeding it into a shredder. The ECB should be able to do the same with its confetti, right? Via: Reuters: Europe […]
Obama Biggest Recipient of BP Campaign Cash
May 5th, 2010Flashback: Drill Baby, Drill: Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time Via: Reuters: While the BP oil geyser pumps millions of gallons of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama and members of Congress may have to answer for the millions in campaign contributions they’ve taken from the oil […]
Gulf Oil Spill: The Halliburton Connection
May 4th, 2010Halliburton Acquired Boots & Coots On 9 April 2010 Via: Los Angeles Times: Investigators delving into the possible cause of the massive gulf oil spill are focusing on the role of Houston-based Halliburton Co., the giant energy services company, which was responsible for cementing the drill into place below the water. The company acknowledged Friday […]
