Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Oil Advances to Record $105.96 as Dollar Drops to All-Time Low
March 6th, 2008Via: Bloomberg: Crude oil rose to a record $105.96 a barrel in New York as the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest ever against the euro. Gold and copper also advanced to all-time highs as the sinking dollar made commodities priced in the U.S. currency cheaper. Oil closed at a record yesterday after OPEC refrained […]
Citigroup to Layoff 30,000 Employees
March 6th, 2008Via: CNBC: Citigroup’s job cuts could reach 30,000 or more over the next year and a half because of increasing writedowns from subprime-related debt, CNBC has learned. The layoffs would exceed the previously reported 24,000 job cuts that had been expected at the banking giant. Chief Executive Vikram S. Pandit is currently conducting a massive […]
Gold Soars to Record High of $995.20 Per Ounce
March 6th, 2008Shaking the apple tree… Mmm Hmm. Via: Market Watch: Gold futures closed with strong gains, after hitting $995.20 an ounce Wednesday, boosted by ongoing investment flows into commodities, a rally in crude oil and dollar weakness. Gold for April delivery rallied $22.20 to end at $988.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier […]
More Capital Needed to Rescue Citigroup
March 5th, 2008Via: Telegraph: Citigroup shares fell to their lowest level in almost a decade after the head of Gulf investment agency, Dubai International Capital, said the largest US bank would need to raise “a lot more money” from outside investors. Shares of Citigroup slumped almost 5pc to $22.05 yesterday on top of falls of more than […]
Potential for Sucker Rally on the Dollar
March 5th, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. There’s potential for a sucker rally on the dollar. Looking at the daily interval chart of the U.S. Dollar Index, we see a stochastic cross up under 20. There’s no way to know if it will rally or not, but I […]
Bernanke: “Vigorous Response”
March 4th, 2008Could a 0.75% cut really be on the table!? Via: Bloomberg: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, battling the worst housing recession in a quarter century, urged lenders to forgive portions of mortgages for more borrowers whose home values have declined. “Efforts by both government and private-sector entities to reduce unnecessary foreclosures are helping, but […]
“NINJA” Loans (No Income, No Job, No Assets)
March 3rd, 2008Via: Telegraph: It is now pretty well established, too, that these loans tended to go not merely to the poorest families, but, in general, were marketed at America’s black and Hispanic populations. They were the most likely to take on the so-called “ninja” loans (no income, no job, no assets). According to one real estate […]
Pritchard: “I am Now Really Frightened”; Federal Reserve’s Rescue Has Failed
March 3rd, 2008“We are definitely not out of the woods with the subprime debacle. In fact, we are in for a year of steady increases in foreclosures and liquidity problems. There are no buyers for these securities now. If banks are holding these bombs, they’re stuck with them and the clock is ticking. As those teaser rate […]
Nine Inch Nails in the Record Companies’ Coffins
March 3rd, 2008The new NIN album, Ghosts I-IV, has been officially released by the band on the Internet. One of the purchase options includes choices of high quality DRM-free files for $5. I took the $5 option—there are lots of other options—but I have to wait until I get on a better connection to download it! Well […]
UK Banks Write Off Record £6.8 Billion in Household Debt
March 2nd, 2008Via: Telegraph: Britain’s banks have been forced to write off a record chunk of household debt in the past year in the latest sign that families are struggling to keep up their repayments. Lenders from around the country wrote off some £6.8bn in individual debts last year, statistics from the Bank of England reveal. It […]
