Archive for March, 2007
Goldman, Merrill Almost ‘Junk,’ Their Own Traders Say
March 10th, 2007Via: Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley, which earned a record $24.5 billion in 2006, suddenly have become so speculative that their own traders are valuing the three biggest securities firms as barely more creditworthy than junk bonds. Prices for credit-default swaps linked to the bonds of the New […]
Sweden Has Tapped Phones ‘For Decades’
March 10th, 2007Via: The Local: Deputy prime minister Maud Olofsson has added a new twist to Sweden’s divisive surveillance debate. The Centre Party leader claims that defence minister Mikael Odenberg’s proposed legislation would merely codify practices that have already been in operation for decades. Previously, at a time when all telecommunications were state-operated, Sweden’s National Defence Radio […]
Cryptogon Reader Contributes $52
March 10th, 2007Cryptogon reader and top contributor, Pookie, sent $52. Thank you.
Tape of Padilla Interrogation Is Missing
March 9th, 2007The BBC’s dog ate it. Via: AP: A videotape showing Pentagon officials’ final interrogation of al- Qaida suspect Jose Padilla is missing, raising questions about whether federal prosecutors have lost other recordings and evidence in the case. The tape is classified, but Padilla’s attorneys said they believe something happened during that interrogation that could explain […]
New Century Stops Accepting Loan Applications
March 9th, 2007HAHA! Right down the street from the Wall Street Chop Shop I worked for… Via: Business Week: Subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. said Thursday it has stopped accepting all new loan applications as it struggles to obtain financing amid market speculation that the company could file for bankruptcy. In a Securities and Exchange Commission […]
Israel Unveils Portable Hunter-Killer Robot
March 8th, 2007Via: Reuters: An Israeli defense firm on Thursday unveiled a portable robot billed as being capable of entering most combat zones alone and engaging enemies with an onboard armory that includes a machine-pistol and grenades. The VIPeR, roughly the size of a small television, was invented as part of Israel’s efforts to develop weaponry that […]
Goldman Sachs Chief Economist: “There Are Going to be Dead Bodies Around When This Is Over”
March 8th, 2007Ahhyep. Via: Telegraph: The global currency storm of the past week is starting to infect the corporate bond markets and may prove harder to contain than last year’s May sell-off, Goldman Sachs has warned. Jim O’Neill, the bank’s chief global economist, said investment firms playing the “carry trade” had been caught on the wrong side […]
Boeing’s Uninterruptible Autopilot System
March 8th, 2007This is the technology that made the 9/11 spectacles possible in the first place. But now, Boeing is going to peddle those same black boxes to make aircraft “hijack-proof.” As usual, I couldn’t make it up if I tried. Via: Evening Standard: A hijack-proof piloting system for airliners is being developed to prevent terrorists repeating […]
The Pentagon Wants TiVo (to Watch You)
March 7th, 2007Via: Wired: Reuters yesterday reported on a recently issued study on future technologies written by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board. More than anything, it seems these outside advisers want a surveillance system that would put Big Brother to shame, and they’re looking at the commercial sector to provide it: William Schneider, the board’s chairman, said […]
Dead Russian Journalist Worked on Weapons Story
March 6th, 2007Via: SFgate/AP: A journalist who fell to his death from a fifth-story window had received threats while gathering material for a report claiming Russia planned to provide sophisticated weapons to Syria and Iran, his newspaper said Tuesday. Prosecutors have opened an inquest into the death of Ivan Safronov, a military affairs writer for the daily […]
