Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Fur Really Flying Over Latest Telecom XT Outage
February 25th, 2010UPDATE: NOW EMERGENCY SYSTEM FAILS IN AUCKLAND Put a fork in it. Via: New Zealand Herald: Emergency services are experiencing difficulties with the 111 system, with some callers unable to reach police. Police said the problem appeared to be confined to the Auckland area, and Telecom was working on the problem. National Radio reported the […]
Nationwide Strike Paralyzes Greece
February 24th, 2010Via: Wall Street Journal: Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets Wednesday as much of the country went on a 24-hour strike against government austerity measures. A small group of youths threw Molotov cocktails at police, who responded with tear gas. However, the 20,000 people who filed through downtown Athens—a relatively large crowd […]
Secret AIG Document Shows Goldman Sachs Minted Most Toxic CDOs
February 24th, 2010In an e-mail message to select clients, Thomas C. Mazarakis, the head of Goldman’s fundamental strategies group, acknowledged that his unit often provided investment ideas that the firm had already traded on. Sometimes Goldman has even taken the opposite approach, betting against particular instruments that the group has recommended. “We may trade, and may have […]
Citigroup Warns Customers It May Refuse To Allow Withdrawals
February 24th, 2010Via: Business Insider: The image of banks locking their doors to keep customers from making withdrawals during a bank run is what immediately came to mind when we heard that Citigroup was telling customers it has the right to prevent any withdrawals from checking accounts for seven days. “Effective April 1, 2010, we reserve the […]
Oil Spill Reaches Italy’s River Po After ‘Sabotage’
February 24th, 2010Via: BBC: An oil spill has reached Italy’s River Po after the suspected sabotage of a former refinery led to large amounts of oil pouring into a tributary. The spill began early on Tuesday when someone broke into the plant near Monza, now an oil depot, and opened the taps, Italian news reports said. They […]
Regulators Report 27 Percent Jump in Problem Banks
February 23rd, 2010Related: FDIC to Open Illinois Office with 500 Employees to Handle Midwest Bank Failures Via: Reuters: The number of “problem” U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry’s recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday. The Federal Deposit Insurance […]
Basically, It’s Over: A Parable About How One Nation Came to Financial Ruin
February 23rd, 2010Via: Slate: As it worked out, the politicians ignored the Good Father one more time, and the Basicland banks were allowed to open bucket shops and to finance the purchase and carry of real securities with extreme financial leverage. A couple of economic messes followed, during which every constituency tried to avoid hardship by deflecting […]
Faber: Buy Farmland and Gold
February 23rd, 2010Via: Times Online: The world’s most powerful investors have been advised to buy farmland, stock up on gold and prepare for a “dirty war” by Marc Faber, the notoriously bearish market pundit, who predicted the 1987 stock market crash. The bleak warning of social and financial meltdown, delivered today in Tokyo at a gathering of […]
Bloom Energy Fuel Cell
February 23rd, 2010Who’s on Bloom Energy’s board? Colin Powell. Via: CBS: Watch CBS News Videos Online In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that’s inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public […]
Gallup Poll: Nearly 20 Percent of U.S. Workers Underemployed
February 23rd, 2010Via: Reuters: Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January and struggled to make ends meet with reduced resources and bleak job prospects, according to a Gallup poll released on Tuesday. In findings that appear to paint a darker employment picture than official U.S. data, Gallup estimated that about 30 million […]
