Archive for July, 2009
Fitch Cuts California Debt Rating to Two Notches Above Junk
July 7th, 2009Snowballing cluster. Via: Reuters: California suffered a new setback in its financial crisis on Monday when Fitch Ratings cut its rating on the state’s general obligation debt to just two notches above junk status. Fitch cut its rating on California’s long-term bonds to “BBB,” two notches above speculative grade, citing the state’s budget and revenue […]
Xinjiang Riot Death Toll Hits 156 as Unrest Spreads; Indiscriminate Arrests
July 7th, 2009These are Chinese government numbers. Via: Reuters: Chinese police have arrested more than 1,400 people following rioting in the capital of Muslim Xinjiang region which left 156 people dead and more than 800 injured, state media said on Tuesday. While there were some reports that the violence had spread elsewhere in the region, Xinjiang’s Communist […]
Reminder for New BlueHost Clients
July 7th, 2009I see that seven people have recently signed up for hosting with BlueHost, but only two of you have confirmed your orders. (Or, put another way, only two of you are showing up as having confirmed on my screen, in which case I need to contact BlueHost.) BlueHost requires that each customer confirm that they […]
Biden: We ‘Misread the Economy’
July 6th, 2009Maybe Goldman Sachs needs a few billion dollars more in handouts. Via: ABC News: “The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy,” Biden told me during our exclusive “This Week” interview in Iraq. Biden acknowledged administration officials were too optimistic earlier this year when they predicted the unemployment rate would peak at 8 […]
Toyota: America’s Car Company
July 6th, 2009Via: Business Insider: A new study from Cars.com sheds light on the absurdity of thinking cars have a “nationality.” When you consider that even a post-bailout GM will expand its use of foreign labor, it shouldn’t be that hard to understand how an “American” car isn’t really so, just because its maker was founded in […]
U.S. Lurching Towards ‘Debt Explosion’ with Long-Term Interest Rates on Course to Double
July 6th, 2009Via: Telegraph: In a 2003 paper, Thomas Laubach, the US Federal Reserve’s senior economist, calculated the impact on long-term interest rates of rising fiscal deficits and soaring national debt. Applying his assumptions to the recent spike in the US fiscal deficit and national debt, long-term interests rates will double from their current 3.5pc. The impact […]
At Least 140 Dead in Chinese Riots
July 6th, 2009UPDATE: Internet Access Down in Region —End Update— Same video in case YouTube pulls it. Via: Reuters: At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, with the government blaming exiled separatists for the Muslim area’s worst case of unrest in years. Hundreds of rioters have been arrested, the […]
Former Chief Financial Officer of ABN AMRO Found Shot to Death
July 6th, 2009Via: Reuters: The former chief financial officer of Dutch banking group ABN AMRO was found dead Sunday after being missing for nearly a week, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources. Huibert Boumeester, a Dutch national, apparently killed himself, the paper said. Boumeester, who was also the one-time CEO of ABN AMRO Asset Management, […]
New Zealand Government Orders 300,000 Doses of Untested, Unlicensed Swine Flu Vaccine for Health Workers
July 6th, 2009Via: TVNZ: The government is spending millions of dollars to import a swine flu vaccination for front line health workers – even though it has not been licensed yet. It has ordered 300,000 doses of the vaccine but it is unlikely to be available until December. The targeted campaign aimed at supporting frontline services in […]
Iran Clerics Declare Election Invalid and Condemn Crackdown
July 6th, 2009Via: Times Online: Iran’s biggest group of clerics has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election to be illegitimate and condemned the subsequent crackdown. The statement by the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom is an act of defiance against the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has made clear he will tolerate no further challenges […]
