Archive for the 'Economy' Category
New Century, Biggest Subprime Casualty, Goes Bankrupt
April 2nd, 2007Via: Bloomberg: New Century Financial Corp., overwhelmed by rising defaults from borrowers with poor credit records, became the largest subprime mortgage lender ever to fail as it filed for bankruptcy today. New Century plans to sell most of its assets within 45 days, said the Chapter 11 filing in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. About […]
Uninsured Patient Billed More than $12,000 for Broken Rib
March 31st, 2007Via: San Francisco Chronicle: There are 47 million people in this country without health insurance. Richmond resident Joey Palmer is one of them. He learned how costly this can be after fracturing a rib in a relatively minor motorcycle accident and subsequently being hit with a bill for more than $12,000 from San Francisco General […]
Crude Oil Near Six-Month High on Iran’s Capture of U.K. Crew
March 30th, 2007These prices are going to start pounding the U.S. economy. Via: Bloomberg: Oil traded near a six-month high as 15 British sailors and marines seized in the Persian Gulf remained in Iranian custody for an eighth day, heightening concern the standoff will threaten oil supplies from the Middle East. U.K Prime Minister Tony Blair said […]
Money: Going Tactical
March 30th, 2007WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy sell or hold any financial instrument. UPDATE 6 April 2007: Bank of America Delays BullionValut Deposits In the post below, I discussed how I wanted to immediately move some of our money into gold using the BullionVault system. I did, indeed, try to move some money to […]
U.S. Government Has Spent More Than Half the Public’s Treasure on Past, Current and Future Military Operations
March 30th, 2007Free trade. The invisible hand of the market. Capitalism. Would you like an order of Freedom Fries with that? Via: Common Dreams: In the words of the great economist and engineer Seymour Melman, we live in a “permanent war economy.†Since the end of World War II, the federal government has spent more than half […]
TJX DATA THEFT: LARGEST EVER
March 30th, 2007pOwNed on an unimaginable scale. Via: Network World: Detailing the sheer magnitude of a crime first reported earlier this year, TJX yesterday disclosed in financial reports that at least 45.6 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen in 2005 and another 130,000 last year by hackers who have yet to be caught. According to […]
Mortgage Crisis Hits Million-Dollar Homes
March 30th, 2007Pop. Via: Reuters: Sheriff Leo McGuire presides over foreclosure auctions in Bergen County, New Jersey, where the bidding for a home reached $1.2 million last June — a record for one of the wealthiest counties in the nation. Homes sold on the auction block for as much as $852,000 this month — more than quadruple […]
Income Gap Widening, Wealth Concentration at Pre Great Depression Levels
March 30th, 2007Via: New York Times: Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 — receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows. The top 10 percent, roughly those earning more than $100,000, also […]
47 Large Core Columns, More Than a Dozen of Which Retained Dimensions of 54 x 22 Inches Through the 66th Floor
March 29th, 2007For the most part, I stopped thinking about the demolition of the WTC towers about three years ago. I filed that one away right next to my JFK folder. While it’s not intellectually rigorous to be content with, “The usual suspects did it. I don’t know exactly how. But They did it,” I sleep well […]
Oil Jitters
March 28th, 2007Via: Bloomberg: Oil rose for a seventh day in New York, climbing close to $65 a barrel, on concern a dispute over Iran’s capture of British servicemen would escalate, disrupting supplies from the Middle East. Oil surged $5 in seven minutes late yesterday on speculation the U.K. would mount a rescue attempt, and rose today […]
