Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Bullion and Bandits: The Improbable Rise and Fall of E-Gold
June 9th, 2009Via: Wired: Jackson drew his inspiration from economist Vera Smith’s influential 1936 treatise The Rationale of Central Banking and the Free Bank Alternative, which challenged the tenets of banking. “She wrote in the depths of the Depression, and poses some of the most compelling questions about central banking systems,” Jackson says. “Central banks should attenuate […]
Royal Canadian Mint ‘Lost’ Tens of Millions of Dollars Worth of Gold
June 9th, 2009* chortling * Via: The Star: The mint’s missing stock of precious metals is worth tens of millions of dollars, the Star has learned. While officials at the Royal Canadian Mint have not publicly released a value, insiders have confirmed that auditors are trying to track precious metals, believed to be gold, worth in the […]
The Ascendancy of Black World Participants Continues at GM
June 9th, 2009First Kent Kresa, and now Edward Whitacre. What’s the big deal? Edward Whitacre looks like every other old, pink faced fat bastard that slithers from board room to board room, but let’s take a quick walk down memory lane. From 2006, in NSA Collected Phone Records in U.S., we learn: The U.S. National Security Agency […]
Germany: Arcandor Goes Bust
June 9th, 2009Via: AFP: Retail and tourism giant Arcandor said on Tuesday it had filed for bankruptcy, putting around 43,000 jobs at risk in Germany after Berlin dismissed its request for emergency state aid. “Arcandor AG today filed with the Essen District Court to open insolvency proceedings due to threatening illiquidity,” the statement said. Travel agency Thomas […]
Top Chinese Banker Guo Shuqing Calls for U.S. Government to Start Issuing Bonds in Yuan, Rather than Dollars
June 8th, 2009Via: Telegraph: The head of China’s second-largest bank has said the United States government should start issuing bonds in yuan, rather than dollars, in the latest indication of the increasing importance of the Chinese currency. Guo Shuqing, the chairman of state-controlled China Construction Bank (CCB), also said he is exploring the possibility of issuing loans […]
UK May be Next After Irish Downgrade
June 8th, 2009Via: Reuters: Britain and Austria could be the European countries whose sovereign credit ratings are most likely to be cut next after Standard & Poor’s lowered Ireland’s rating on Monday for the second time in only three months. Of those two, Britain is the only one with its sovereign credit rating on “negative” watch, suggesting […]
Bailout Confetti Bomb Resulting in Higher Mortgage Rates
June 8th, 2009In other words: More foreclosures are on the way. Via: AP: The Federal Reserve announced a $1.2 trillion plan three months ago designed to push down mortgage rates and breathe life into the housing market. But this and other big government spending programs are turning out to have the opposite effect. Rates for mortgages and […]
Cisco Replaces GM on The Dow Jones Industrial Average
June 8th, 2009Why not call it the Dow Jones Outsourced Industrial Average? Via: Mercury News: Cisco Systems today joins the elite circle of 30 blue-chip businesses that make up the Dow Jones industrial? average, a move that may make it easier for the San Jose company to attract investors — at least initially. Plus, in joining Intel […]
Obama Promises More than 600,000 Stimulus Jobs; “Including Hundreds of Maintenance Projects at Military Bases”
June 8th, 2009They’re going to give Summer Camp a whole new meaning. Via: AP: President Barack Obama promised Monday to deliver more than 600,000 jobs through his $787 billion stimulus plan this summer, with federal agencies pumping billions into public works projects, schools and summer youth programs. Obama is ramping up his stimulus program this week even […]
Global Military Spending Sets New Record
June 8th, 2009Via: BBC: Global military spending rose 4% in 2008 to a record $1,464bn (£914bn) – up 45% since 1999, according to the Stockholm-based peace institute Sipri. In contrast with civilian aerospace and airlines, the defence industry remains healthy. “The global financial crisis has yet to have an impact on major arms companies’ revenues, profits and […]
