Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Is the New Zealand Real Estate Bubble the Biggest of Them All?
January 9th, 2007I’m shocked by the number of “For Sale” signs that have disappeared lately. For months, it seemed like every other property was for sale out here in the middle of nowhere. Not now. “Lifestyle blocks” are being snapped up, and prices continue to rise. It’s tough to imagine that flippers would be buying properties around […]
China: Power, Corruption and Lies
January 9th, 2007Via: Guardian: Absolute power corrupts, and the Chinese Communist party has become one of the most corrupt organisations the world has ever witnessed. The combination of absolute power and an ideology that palpably no longer describes reality is a virus that is morally and psychologically undermining the regime. And if the regime wobbles, then its […]
Iran Threatens to Block Strait of Hormuz
January 9th, 2007If you haven’t read The Strait of Hormuz: It’s Not That Bad, It’s Worse, it might be worth checking out now. Additionally, when oil was trading near record highs, I wrote that oil could, “Easily go to $45 before it goes to $200.” Oil is now trading around $55. Could the world go from relatively […]
The Private Arm of the Law
January 4th, 2007Yes, corporate pigs. Via: Washington Post: With the sleeve patch on his black shirt, the 9mm gun on his hip and the blue light on his patrol car, he looked like an ordinary police officer as he stopped the car on a Friday night last month. Watt works, though, for a business called Capitol Special […]
666 the Mark of the Housing Bubble
January 3rd, 2007Without discernment, being awash in information can be just as confusing as having no information at all. Cryptogon readers want—and sometimes pay me cold, hard cash for—news and analysis they can trust and use. Less is more when it comes to these here internets. So, while I’m always aware of stories like this and this, […]
CEOs Pass Average Canadian Salary by January 2nd
January 3rd, 2007Warning: If you attempt to perform a similar calculation for U.S. executives and workers, your head might explode. Scanners style. Well, these guys did it, and lived to write up the results. In 2004, American average CEO/worker pay ratio was 431:1. Via: ctv.ca: By the time most Canadians drag themselves into work on Tuesday after […]
Living in America’s Fringe Economy
December 31st, 2006Via: AlterNet: Far from a mom-and-pop industry, America’s fringe economy is largely dominated by a handful of large, well-financed multinational corporations with strong ties to mainstream financial institutions. It is a comprehensive and fully formed parallel economy that addresses the financial needs of the poor and credit-challenged in the same way as the mainstream economy […]
U.A.E. Central Bank Is Selling Dollars, Buying Euros
December 27th, 2006Via: Bloomberg: The United Arab Emirates will convert 8 percent of its foreign-exchange reserves to euros from dollars before September after the U.S. currency slumped this year, the country’s central bank governor said. The U.A.E. has started “in a limited way” to sell part of its dollar reserves, Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said in an […]
The United States is Insolvent
December 20th, 2006And somehow, the band plays on… Via: Financial Sense University: Despite improvement in both the fiscal year 2006 reported net operating cost and the cash-based budget deficit, the U.S. government’s total reported liabilities, net social insurance commitments, and other fiscal exposures continue to grow and now total approximately $50 trillion, representing approximately four times the […]
U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Eminent Extortion Case for Review
December 20th, 2006Via: Institute for Justice: A federal court has now approved an extortion scheme using eminent domain under last year’s Kelo decision. Unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the rulings, developers may threaten property owners, “Your money or your land.†Think this is an overstatement? Consider what is happening right now in Port Chester, N.Y., to […]
