Archive for the 'Economy' Category
German Bailout Likely to Be Over $400 Billion
October 12th, 2008Via: Wall Street Journal: German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Paris to present Sunday to her colleagues from the euro zone a financial sector bailout plan for Germany that’s expected to be more than half the size of what has been enacted in the U.S. A person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires […]
Austria Witnesses New Gold Rush
October 12th, 2008Welcome to the public participation phase. Via: BBC: Ordinary Austrians, shocked by the precipitous falls in their own stock market – which was suspended this week for the first time ever – are also looking for a more solid store of wealth. The shop at the Austrian Mint usually specialises in selling collectors’ coins. But […]
Florida: Elderly Man Jailed, Can’t Afford to Maintain His Lawn
October 12th, 2008UPDATE: Man Jailed for Brown Lawn Gets Help from Neighbors Via: St. Petersburg Times: On Friday morning, Joseph Prudente put on a pair of shorts and his “Grandpa Gone Wild” T-shirt. He took off his wedding band and put his heart medication in a plastic Wal-Mart bag. Then his daughter drove him to jail. Grandpa […]
British People Buying Home Safes; Lack of Faith in Banking System
October 12th, 2008Via: Telegraph: Sales of household safes have surged as wealthy savers concerned about the health of banks opt to keep cash at home. Leading safe manufacturers contacted by The Times said that they had seen a big increase in demand. Many predicted that fears of meltdown in the banking sector would mean a further rush […]
FDIC Friday: Two More Banks Fail
October 12th, 2008Via: MarketWatch: Northville, Mich.-based Main Street Bank and Eldred, Ill.-based Meridian Bank became the latest victims of the ongoing financial crisis on Friday, when they folded and their deposits were transferred by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The closures are the 14th and 15th bank failures so far this year. The FDIC said in a […]
British Government to Nationalize Top Banks as Japanese Weigh Bid for Morgan Stanley; London Stock Market Might Be Closed on Monday
October 12th, 2008Via: Telegraph: THE government will launch the biggest rescue of Britain’s high-street banks tomorrow when the UK’s four biggest institutions ask for a £35 billion financial lifeline. The unprecedented move will make the government the biggest shareholder in at least two banks. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which has seen its market value fall to […]
GRAIN SHIPMENTS STALLED IN CREDIT DROUGHT
October 12th, 2008Via: Financial Post: The credit crisis is spilling over into the grain industry as international buyers find themselves unable to come up with payment, forcing sellers to shoulder often substantial losses. Before cargoes can be loaded at port, buyers typically must produce proof they are good for the money. But more deals are falling through […]
People Keep Buying Gold on BullionVault Over Weekend
October 12th, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. I logged into BullionVault to buy some gold after the close Friday. (The Zurich market on BullionVault usually has decent liquidity throughout the weekend, with prices near the spot market close. The London and New York vaults have much less liquidity […]
Wild Drop on Gold
October 11th, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Selling gold to move into dollars? Goldman/Paulson/Fannie/Freddie Bucks? Tell me another one. Anyway, this is why we say: Many eggs, many baskets. Via: Reuters: Gold dropped as much as 9.6 percent on Friday, reversing sharp morning gains as a wave of […]
Fannie, Freddie to Buy $40 Billion a Month of Troubled Assets
October 11th, 2008Via: Bloomberg: Federal regulators directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to start purchasing $40 billion a month of underperforming mortgage bonds as the Bush administration expands its options to buy troubled financial assets and resuscitate the U.S. economy, according to three people briefed about the plan. Fannie and Freddie began notifying bond traders last week […]
