Archive for July, 2008
Wachovia CFO Jumps Ship
July 26th, 2008All the bad news is out, eh? Via: MarketWatch: Wachovia Corp. said late Thursday Chief Financial Officer Thomas Wurtz will leave the company. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia said Wurtz will leave “after a successor is named to the role. The company will begin an immediate search for a replacement.”
FDIC SEIZES TWO MORE BANKS: 1ST NATIONAL BANK OF NEVADA AND FIRST HERITAGE BANK
July 26th, 2008It must be the weekend! Via: AP: The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed Friday by federal regulators. The banks, owned by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based First National Bank Holding Co., were scheduled to reopen on Monday as Mutual of Omaha Bank branches, […]
National Australia Bank Writes Off 90% of Its U.S. AAA Rated Debt
July 26th, 2008Will the other banks—holding this toxic waste—try to simply ignore this event? Via: Business Spectator: The National Australia Bank’s decision to write off 90 per cent of its US conduit loans will have dramatic repercussions around the world. Wall Street will be deeply shocked when they understand the repercussions of what NAB has done. It […]
Strong Storm About to Hit Us
July 25th, 2008UPDATE: Electricity Back On We’re ok. Man, that was a wild one! I can’t get over the amounts of water that can fall out of the sky here. And I don’t know how hard the wind was gusting, but all of the fast air moving against the house sounded like a giant blowing out a […]
WaMu May Be Cut to “Junk”
July 24th, 2008Via: Reuters: Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, posted a $3.33 billion second-quarter loss on Tuesday as souring mortgages forced it to set aside more money for loan losses. The thrift’s deteriorating health prompted Moody’s Investors Service to say it may downgrade Washington Mutual to “junk” status. Shares of Washington Mutual fell […]
U.S. Astronaut, Edgar Mitchell: Aliens Exist, “It’s Been Well Covered Up by All Our Governments”
July 24th, 2008I make a point of NOT covering the UFO stuff on Cryptogon, but this is VERY remarkable story. Edgar Mitchell not only walked on the moon, he has a PhD (technically, a Doctor of Science) in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. In other words, this is not your typical speaker at some weekend UFO symposium. […]
Key Benazir Bhutto Assassination Witness Shot Dead
July 24th, 2008Via: Telegraph: Khalid Shahenshah, who was the former Pakistan prime minister’s security chief at the time of her assassination, was killed in a drive-by shooting as he left his house in the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, police said. Mr Shahenshah, 45, was riding in Mrs Bhutto’s bullet-proof car when she was killed […]
£37 Billion Plan to Power EU with the Saharan Sun
July 24th, 2008Imagine my shock. Via: Guardian: Vast farms of solar panels in the Sahara could provide clean electricity for the whole of Europe, according to EU scientists working on a plan to pool the region’s renewable energy. Harnessing the power of the desert sun is at the centre of an ambitious scheme to build a €45bn […]
Telco Won’t Install Fiber Network, Sues to Prevent City from Doing So
July 24th, 2008Individuals and local government working together to improve a situation that the “free market” has no interest in addressing? Unthinkable. It can’t be allowed. Send lawyers, guns and money. Via: Ars: The small town of Monticello, Minnesota seems an unlikely spot for a battle over city-owned fiber-to-the-home. The town, which is a distant commute to […]
Schwarzenegger to Cut Most California State Workers’ Pay to Minimum Wage?
July 24th, 2008It’s not the Onion. Via: San Francisco Chronicle: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans next week to slash the pay of more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum of $6.55 per hour to help ease the state’s budget crisis, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Chronicle on Wednesday. The governor also will […]
