Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Geithner Asks Congress for Higher U.S. Debt Limit
August 26th, 2009Via: Reuters: U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner formally requested that Congress raise the $12.1 trillion statutory debt limit on Friday, saying that it could be breached as early as mid-October. “It is critically important that Congress act before the limit is reached so that citizens and investors here and around the world can remain confident […]
As Budget Deficit Grows, So Do Doubts on Dollar
August 26th, 2009Via: Wall Street Journal: The U.S. economy may be showing signs of recovering from the financial crisis, but the jury is still out on the future of the U.S. dollar. While many analysts expect the dollar to strengthen in coming months as the crisis fades and the U.S. economy turns toward growth, a growing chorus […]
Goldman Sachs “Trading Huddles”
August 25th, 2009I had always assumed the entire business of the markets to be a massive criminal enterprise that allowed public participation simply because it made a few people extremely wealthy. —Insider Crimes, Funny Money and Options Rackets Via: Wall Street Journal: Securities regulators are examining weekly meetings at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in which research analysts […]
Fed Must Release Reports on Emergency Bank Loans, Judge Says
August 25th, 2009In other news, Obama to Nominate Bernanke for Second Term as Fed Chief. Via: Bloomberg: The Federal Reserve must make records about emergency lending to financial institutions public within five days because it failed to convince a judge the documents should be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Manhattan Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta […]
Massachusetts: $1,000 Fine Per Day, 30 Days Prison for Refusing to Obey State Officials During Swine Flu “Emergency”
August 24th, 2009Legislation: AN ACT RELATIVE TO PANDEMIC AND DISASTER PREPARATION AND RESPONSE IN THE COMMONWEALTH
And Now… ‘Cash for Refrigerators’
August 24th, 2009Via: Business Week: A $300 million cash-for-clunkers-type federal program to boost sales of energy-efficient home appliances provides a glimmer of hope for beleaguered makers of washing machines and dishwashers, but it’s probably not enough to lift companies such as Whirlpool and Electrolux out of the worst down cycle in the sector’s history. Beginning late this […]
Madoff Dying of Cancer?
August 24th, 2009Update: Bureau of Prisons Denies Madoff Has Cancer Via: Reuters: Bernard Madoff, convicted of swindling $65 billion through the biggest-ever Ponzi scheme, has told fellow prison inmates that he is dying of cancer, the New York Post reported on Monday, citing unnamed prison sources. Madoff, 71, who since June has been serving a 150-year sentence […]
“In America, corporations do not control the government. In America, corporations are the government.”
August 24th, 2009Via: Huffington Post: The American government — which we once called our government — has been taken over by Wall Street, the mega-corporations and the super-rich. They are the ones who decide our fate. It is this group of powerful elites, the people President Franklin D. Roosevelt called “economic royalists,” who choose our elected officials […]
Insurers’ Biggest Writedowns May Be Yet to Come
August 24th, 2009Via: Bloomberg: How many legs would a calf have if we called its tail a leg? Four, of course. Calling a tail a leg wouldn’t make it a leg, as Abraham Lincoln famously said. Nor does calling an expense an asset make it an asset. This brings us to the odd accounting rules for the […]
Real Estate Short Sales in Las Vegas
August 24th, 2009Via: Time: The real estate mistakes on the Strip were made in miniature by thousands of Vegas homeowners. To see the real devastation, I have to leave the line of casinos along the Strip and drive to where people in Las Vegas actually live. I head out to spend the day with real estate agent […]
