Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Exxon Mobil: Biggest Annual Profit in History for U.S. Company
February 5th, 2008Maybe I need a Shakedown category on here. Via: CBS News: Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company – $40.6 billion – as the world’s largest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at year’s end. Exxon Mobil also set a U.S. record for the biggest […]
Australia: Moody’s May Cut A$83 Billion of Mortgage-Backed Bonds
February 4th, 2008Via: Bloomberg: Moody’s Investors Service may cut the ratings on A$83 billion ($75 billion) of Australian mortgage- backed bonds linked to PMI Group Inc. on concern the U.S. home- loan insurer will find it harder to pay claims. Moody’s is reviewing the ratings on bonds tied to loans insured by the local unit of PMI, […]
Historical Costs of U.S. Wars (In 2007 Dollars)
February 3rd, 2008Via: Center for Arms Control and Non Proliferation: World War II $3.2 trillion Iraq and Afghanistan To Date $695.7 billion Vietnam War $670 billion World War I $364 billion Korean War $295 billion Persian Gulf War $94 billion Civil War (both Union and Confederate costs) $81 billion Spanish-American War $7 billion American Revolution $4 billion […]
Weekly Gold Chart Has Formed a Shooting Star… or Something
February 2nd, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. There was a change of circumstances between the time I wrote this post and the close of trading on Friday. Remember how grim things were looking for the dollar, and how well gold was doing? Don’t ask me how, why, who? […]
The New American Gentry
February 1st, 2008I find it interesting that this meme is being driven simultaneously in the U.S. and Britain. (See the post below.) I wonder why? No, seriously. I’m not being sarcastic. I really do wonder why? Are stories like these peer-to-peer warnings for rich people? Get out of your urban bubble bombs before they implode? Via: Wall […]
The Hedge Fund Manager Who Bought a Farm
February 1st, 2008Via: Times Online: The cost of farm property looks likely to soar as traditional British “lifestyle farmers” are joined by multimillion-pound investors hurriedly moving their wealth out of stocks and shares and into farmland. Across the world, hedge fund managers, property developers and other investors are turning their eyes to places such as Russia, Argentina […]
UK: Secret Bank Rescues to Be Allowed
February 1st, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Sterling holders, do you get it yet? (Some of the sterling holders on Cryptogon do. Sterling holders have made up the biggest component of BullionVault purchases in January.) Via: BBC: Chancellor Alistair Darling is to give new powers to the Bank […]
U.S. Dollar Falling Down; USDX Under 75
February 1st, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. “The strategic view still looks promising for dollar bears.” —A Look at the U.S. Dollar Index, January 17, 2008 Yeee HA! Lean over you pig. Leeeeeeeeeeaaaan! For dollar bears/foreign currency holders: It’s got to take out 74.50 on the downside, though. […]
Sold-to-Close: DIA Call Options Strike 133 @ .20
February 1st, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. How could it possibly go up? Right? With every media source saying we’re in recession and the world is ending, doom, etc… I mean, sure, maybe it is The End. But, then again, maybe not. … I have this thing about […]
S&P Cuts, May Cut Up to $534 Billion of Subprime Bonds
January 31st, 2008Via: Reuters: Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday said it cut or may cut its ratings on $270 billion worth of U.S. mortgage-backed securities while putting $264 billion of collateralized debt obligations on watch for a possible downgrade. The ratings action affects 6,389 classes of U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities backed by first-lien subprime loans and 1,953 […]
