Archive for April, 2008
U.S. Banks Citigroup and Merrill Lynch Reveal Fresh $15 Billion Loss, Deutsche Bank Holding More Toxic Waste on Balance Sheet than Shares Are Worth
April 13th, 2008HAHA Another weekend of financial news so horrific that it can’t be revealed during market hours. Remember, I’m taking a break from using the EMERGENCY designation when it comes to this type of news. This is the new normal. I guess we should get used to it. Via: Times Online: CITIGROUP and Merrill Lynch will […]
May 2005 Wasn’t Peak, New Record for Crude + Condensate is January 2008
April 12th, 2008I really thought that the Peak was in already. Nope. Via: The Oil Drum: The EIA’s newest International Petroleum Monthly shows World C+C production for January was 74,466,000 barrels per day, eclipsing the heretofore peak of May 2005 by 168,000 barrels per day.
Allegations that Speculators Are Colluding, Attempting to Crash Iceland for Profit
April 12th, 2008“This isn’t a free market; it’s a black magic trick, involving supercomputers, psychological operations and lots and lots of leverage.” —CBOT Resembles Carnival Act as Billion Dollar Black Box Operators Move In Full text follows. Via: Financial Times: On a gloomy North Atlantic evening in January, a group of international hedge fund managers gathered in […]
Cryptogon Readers Send Contributions
April 12th, 2008Thank you. Anonymous $15 Pookie $75 Eileen $50 (She also sent $50 to Farmlet.) Note: An anonymous $400 contribution came in on Farmlet. For the first time, Farmlet earnings are ahead of Cryptogon. UPDATE: Cryptogon PayPal Notifications Failed I don’t know what happened, but I’ve stopped receiving email payment notifications for Cryptogon donations. When I […]
Cryptogon Readers Sign Up for Hosting with BlueHost
April 12th, 2008Thanks to the owners of thecraniumcradle.com and isentalarabians.com for signing up for hosting with BlueHost. Cryptogon received $130.
Armed Robots Malfunction in Iraq
April 12th, 2008It’s tough to know what to believe on this one. The statement below is ambiguous. The Army spokesperson said, “It can take 10 or 20 years to try it again.” But then the piece says, “Fahey expects another armed ground bot to be deployed within the year.” Take your pick. I had been wondering what […]
UK: Anti-Terror Laws Used to Place Family Under Surveillance so Council Could Verify School Enrollment Statements
April 11th, 2008Via: Sleaford Standard: Poole Borough Council has admitted it spied on a family using laws passed to track criminals and terrorists to find out if they were lying about living in a school catchment area. The couple and their three children were put under surveillance without their knowledge for more than two weeks using powers […]
Mumps Made Comeback in U.S.
April 11th, 2008Via: Reuters: Mumps made an alarming comeback in the United States in 2006 and may take years to completely eradicate, federal health experts reported on Wednesday. The outbreak of the viral disease came despite the widespread use of a second dose of a mumps vaccine, produced by Merck, beginning in 1990. Eighty-four percent of the […]
Firms Packaging Unsellable, Toxic Waste Corporate Loans Into “Collateral” In Order to Borrow More Money from the Fed
April 11th, 2008“We Americans were very clever.” Via: Bloomberg: Wall Street firms may be bundling high-yield, high-risk corporate loans into securities to use as collateral to borrow from the U.S. government, according to a report by Morgan Stanley analysts. Securities firms can borrow against collateralized loan obligations at the Federal Reserve’s Primary Dealer Credit Facility, the analysts […]
Candid Camera: Trove of Videos Vexes Wal-Mart
April 11th, 2008Priceless. Via: Wall Street Journal: For nearly 30 years, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employed a video-production company here to capture footage of its top executives, sometimes in unguarded moments. Two years ago, the retailing giant stopped using the tiny company. At first, the decision threw Flagler Productions Inc. into a panic. Now it’s Wal-Mart that’s squirming. […]
