Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Spitzer: Green Shoots, Red Ink, Black Hole: Truly Terrifying Data About the Real State of the U.S. Economy
June 8th, 2009Via: Slate: I have an unfortunate sense that the “green shoots” in the economy that everyone is talking about are nothing but dandelions. Sure, forcing $1 trillion of taxpayer money—in direct capital, guarantees, and diminished cost of borrowing—into the banking sector has permitted the major banks to claim solvency for the moment. Yet we should […]
Key Figures in Global Battle Against Illegal Arms Trade Lost in Air France Crash
June 8th, 2009Via: Sunday Herald: Argentine campaigner Pablo Dreyfus and Swiss colleague Ronald Dreyer battled South American arms and drug trafficking. AMID THE media frenzy and speculation over the disappearance of Air France’s ill-fated Flight 447, the loss of two of the world’s most prominent figures in the war on the illegal arms trade and international drug […]
Canadian Economy in Sharp Decline
June 8th, 2009Via: BBC: Canada’s economy contracted at the fastest rate since 1991 in the first three months of 2009, according to official figures. The economy shrank by 5.4% on an annualised basis during the quarter after the economy shrank by 3.7% in the last quarter of 2008. Despite being the worst result for 18 years, it […]
Failed Latvian Bond Auction Rattles Sweden
June 8th, 2009Via: Forbes: The failure of a bond auction in Latvia is making bankers in Sweden quake in their boots. Shares in Swedbank, the biggest lender to Latvia, dived 15.9%, to 38 Swedish Kronor ($4.92) after the Latvian government failed to sell any of its government debt securities on Wednesday. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken–better known as SEB–fell […]
Sarkozy’s Secret Plan for Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccination
June 8th, 2009Via: Global Research: The French Government is developing secret plans to impose mandatory vaccination of the entire French population, allegedly against possible Swine Flu disease according to reports leaked in a French newspaper. The plan is without precedent and even defies recommended public health advice. Pharmaceutical giants benefit from the move, as the Swine Flu […]
Animated Map: Net Job Gains / Losses by Metropolitan Statistical Area
June 7th, 2009Via: Tip Strategies: This animated map provides a striking visual of employment trends over the last business cycle using net change in jobs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on a rolling 12-month basis.
China Explores Buying $50 Billion in IMF Bonds
June 6th, 2009Via: Financial Times: China is “actively considering” buying up to $50bn of International Monetary Fund bonds, the country’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange has said. John Lipsky, IMF first deputy managing director, confirmed the Chinese proposal, which follows one by Russia to buy $10bn (€7.1bn, £6.2bn) in IMF bonds. Friday’s statement by China said any […]
U.S. Unemployment Rate Hits 9.4 Percent in May [SIC]
June 5th, 2009Pick your multiplier to get the real rate. Via: AP: With companies in no mood to hire, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years. But the pace of layoffs eased, with employers cutting 345,000 jobs, the fewest since September. The much smaller-than-expected reduction in payroll jobs, […]
Over 90% of the Global Rare Earth Resource Held by Chinese Companies
June 5th, 2009Via: Financial Times: The Chinese acquisition of stakes in Australian rare earth miners Lynas Corporation and Arafura Resources has “caught the rest of the world sleeping,” said Rod McIllree, managing director at Australian-based Greenland Minerals & Energy (GME). Following two acquisitions in the past six months for an aggregate USD 163m, Korean, Japanese and Western […]
Feds to Charge Ex-Countrywide CEO With Fraud
June 5th, 2009Via: CBS/AP: The government is charging Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., and two other company executives with civil fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s case also accuses Mozilo of illegal insider trading, an agency spokesman said Thursday. Countrywide was a major player in the subprime mortgage market, the […]
