Archive for July, 2007
New Zealand Economy on ‘Death Spiral’ Due to Exchange Rate; Government Considering Emergency Monetary Policies
July 19th, 2007In case you’ve forgotten where I’ve been on this issue, let’s take a quick walk down memory lane, now that the New Zealand Government is considering emergency monetary policies, and the country teeters on the brink of ruin… Cryptogon analysis from April 3, 2007: Mainly, this is wealthy people from all over the place chasing […]
New Zealanders Decry Ban on Political Satire
July 19th, 2007Why would anyone want to make fun of Members of Parliament? Via: Angus-Reid: The vast majority of people in New Zealand are against a recent rule approved by lawmakers that bans using images captured inside Parliament to satirize, ridicule or denigrate lawmakers on broadcast and print media, according to a poll by TNS released by […]
Gold, Oil and the U.S. Dollar All Nearing Key Levels
July 19th, 2007WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Gold and oil are both locked and loaded for a major breakout from previous ranges. The dollar’s move down has been fast and astonishing, even to people like me who have no confidence in the thing. If the U.S. Dollar Index […]
New Zealand: Firms Secretely Developing Algae Derived Jet Fuel
July 19th, 2007I’ve been wondering what They had in mind for jet aircraft, since even the Eestor thing wouldn’t have the power density required for that application. Well, now we know. Look at how trivial the amounts of money are with regard to the financial backing of this company. It’s bum change. I wonder who the “international […]
A Survival Imperative for Space Colonization
July 18th, 2007What? The skyscraper farms won’t do the trick? Via: New York Times: “In 1970 everyone figured we’d have humans on Mars by now, but we haven’t taken the opportunity,†Dr. Gott says. “We should it do soon, because colonizing other worlds is our best chance to hedge our bets and improve the survival prospects of […]
Ice-Cream Makers Frozen Out as Corn Price Rises
July 18th, 2007HAHA! Did you hear the one about Dow 14,000? HAHA! Tell me another one. Via: Times Online: What’s the connection between ethanol, the biofuel produced from corn, and a cherry vanilla ice-cream? Answer: the first is responsible for pushing up the price of the other. This month, the price of milk in the United States […]
Goldman, JPMorgan Saddled With Debt They Can’t Sell
July 18th, 2007Come on guys, there are lots of suckers out there. Via: Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the rest of Wall Street are stuck with at least $11 billion of loans and bonds they can’t readily sell. The banks have had to dig into their own pockets to finance parts of […]
Bear Stearns Warns Hedge Fund Investors of Total Loss
July 18th, 2007Via: Bloomberg: Bear Stearns Cos. told investors in one of its hedge funds that they won’t get any money back after creditors forced it to sell assets at depressed prices, according to a letter sent by the firm. While a second fund still contains “sufficient assets” to cover the $1.4 billion it owes the New […]
U.S. HAS REMOVED AN ESTIMATED STOCKPILE OF 130 NUCLEAR WEAPONS FROM RAMSTEIN AIR FORCE BASE
July 17th, 2007Via: Deutsche Welle: The Ramstein air base in southwestern Germany, long the largest US nuclear storehouse in Europe, has been completely emptied of its atomic arsenal according to experts who say the weapons are out of the country. This week the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said in a study that the US army […]
Energy: U.S. Strike on Iran Could Result in Asymmetric Blowback
July 17th, 2007I’ve been trying to think about some of the possible repercussions of a U.S. strike on Iran. All the usual ones came to mind: economic collapse, panic in the energy markets, possible nuclear war etc. But I came up with a different scenario. I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere. I thought that an attack on […]
