Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Bank of America Net Income Falls 77% on Writedowns
April 21st, 2008Via: Bloomberg: Bank of America Corp., the second- largest U.S. bank, said profit dropped for a third straight quarter as the company set aside $6.01 billion for bad loans.
On Average, U.S. Military Units Pay $88 for Fuel, Per Day, Per Service Member in Iraq
April 21st, 2008Cui bono? Mmm hmm. Via: AP: Think you’re being gouged by Big Oil? U.S. troops in Iraq are paying almost as much as Americans back home, despite burning fuel at staggering rates in a war to stabilize a country known for its oil reserves. Military units pay an average of $3.23 a gallon for gasoline, […]
BANK OF ENGLAND SWAPS BONDS TO REVIVE BANK LENDING
April 21st, 2008How long can the game of make believe continue? Until is doesn’t, I guess. For now, dig the hole deeper. Sterling slammed vs. dollar and euro. Via: Bloomberg: The Bank of England offered to swap government bonds for mortgage securities to kick-start bank lending, with Governor Mervyn King pledging to meet demand even if it […]
Japanese Oil Tanker Attacked Off Yemen
April 21st, 2008Monitoring… Via: Bloomberg: A Nippon Yusen K.K. crude oil tanker was fired upon by a small boat off the coast of Yemen. There were no injuries. The oil carrier named Takayama was hit at 4:40 a.m. Yemeni time by a “rocket-like weapon”, the Japanese Coast Guard said today in Tokyo. The vessel, which carries a […]
White Collar Job Market 2009
April 20th, 2008Research Credit: EG
Vacant Homes in U.K. Prove Speculator Nightmare as Losses Mount
April 18th, 2008Via: Bloomberg: Richard Lee spent 5.3 million pounds ($10 million) buying 20 rental homes across the U.K. with just 150,000 pounds of his own money. Today, the properties are worth about 60 percent less and owned by the banks that financed the purchases. Lee was one of thousands enticed by one of Europe’s top five […]
California Real Estate: March Early and Mid Stage Foreclosures Exceed February Sales by 342%
April 17th, 2008Mr. Mortgage on the latest real estate numbers from California. It’s not that bad, it’s worse: He has a blog: mrmortgage.typepad.com
POTASH PRICE RISES MORE THAN 300%
April 17th, 2008Via: Canada.com: Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. said Wednesday that the marketing company for Saskatchewan potash producers and a leading fertilizer company in China have agreed to set potash pricing this year at about $576 US a tonne, some $400 higher than last year. “Significantly higher potash prices and extraordinarily tight supply have become much […]
In a Bid to Stem Panic, Grain Exports Halted
April 16th, 2008Via: Globe and Mail: Some of the world’s biggest grain exporters barred their farmers from selling in global markets yesterday, exacerbating the food price crisis for poorer nations that import their food and highlighting the failure of governments to nurture stronger rules for agricultural trade. Rice and corn prices soared to records on U.S. markets […]
As Other Staples Soar, Potatoes Break New Ground
April 16th, 2008There’s one sentence in the article below that I’d like to highlight: One factor helping the potato remain affordable is the fact that unlike wheat, it is not a global commodity, so it has not attracted speculative professional investment. If you don’t understand why that sentence is so important, please see, CBOT Resembles Carnival Act […]
