Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Mortgage Failures Could Create Nightmare
November 25th, 2007This is an Associated Press piece. It’s as mainstream as it gets. Via: Yahoo / AP: In the months ahead, millions of other adjustable-rate mortgages like Colombo’s will reset, giving them a higher interest rate as required by the loan agreements and leaving many homeowners unable to make their payments. Soaring mortgage default rates this […]
Soybeans: Highest in 34 Years
November 24th, 2007Via: Bloomberg: Soybeans surged above $11 a bushel to the highest in 34 years as China increased purchases of dwindling U.S. supplies. U.S. exporters reported sales of 1.81 million metric tons last week, up 39 percent from the previous week and the second straight high in the year that began Sept. 1, the Department of […]
Gold Gaps Up Into Weekend: Biggest Weekly Gain Since July 2006
November 24th, 2007WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Woh. But… Hmm. Thin holiday volume… Decent chance for an ascending triangle long play setting up on the daily interval… or is it a short squeeze??? We’re range bound again, roughly between $772 and $845. The weekly stochastic oscillator is still […]
Is Your Bank at Risk of Failure?
November 23rd, 2007Via: Forbes/ABC News: If your bank is failing, you probably won’t know about it. Regulators deliberately keep a pending closure secret to avoid a mad rush to remove deposits–a run on the bank, if you will. For one thing, a sale of the institution is often possible at the last minute, eliminating the need for […]
Global Derivatives Market Expands to $516 Trillion
November 23rd, 2007I thought, “This must be an Onion story.” Nope. Via: Bloomberg: The market for derivatives grew at the fastest pace in at least nine years to $516 trillion in the first half of 2007, the Bank for International Settlements said. Credit-default swaps, contracts designed to protect investors against default and used to speculate on credit […]
Dollar Breakdown Continues, New Lows
November 23rd, 2007Via: Bloomberg: The dollar dropped below 108 yen for the first time since 2005 and fell to a record low against the euro on speculation deepening U.S. credit-market losses will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The currency headed for its biggest weekly decline against the euro in a year as traders raised […]
The Firm with a Shadow that Extends Far Past Wall Street
November 22nd, 2007Via: The Ledger: As John A. Thain prepares to take the reins of Merrill Lynch, he is only the latest example of a tradition borne out across Wall Street, in Washington and around the world. He is a Goldman Sachs alumnus who has reached the top elsewhere. For decades, one investment bank in Lower Manhattan […]
Freddie Mac Seeks Emergency Funding
November 22nd, 2007Via: Independent: Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored company tasked with propping up the US mortgage market, said it would be forced to seek emergency funding to shore up its balance sheet after plunging $2bn (£968m) into the red. The company yesterday said that it had hired Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to tout for new funds […]
Facing Jail and Fines, Parents Summoned to Court to Have Children Vaccinated
November 22nd, 2007The part I like is that the parents of 900 students ignored this absurd fascist decree. Via: Baltimore Sun: Scores of grumbling parents facing a threat of jail lined up at a courthouse today to either prove that their school-age kids already had their required vaccinations or see that the youngsters submitted to the needle. […]
China Freezes Lending to Curb Investing Frenzy
November 21st, 2007Translation: China wants fewer U.S. Dollars. These lending restrictions will raise the value of the yuan, raising the prices of the crap at Walmart, lowering demand, stemming the flow of dollars to China. That’s my best guess, anyway, as to the implications of this. Via: Wall Street Journal: Chinese authorities are slamming the brakes on […]
