Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Tues 01.27.2009
'Next rally of Gold will be at $930-950 levels' Prices of gold and silver rocketed on last Friday and this has invited a short to medium term bull run for the precious metals. Safe haven buying of yellow metal spurred the price of white metal too. Gold remained star performer last week after three incessant minor weekly losses. On Friday gold kissed 900 USD/oz levels but didn’t manage to close above the psychological barrier but closed well above the strong previous resistance levels of 892 USD/oz. Gold may touch the levels of 932 USD/oz this week.
Gold Positioning Breakout to New Highs on Weakening U.S. Dollar Gold is now in position to break out to new dollar highs and embark on a very powerful run. It is not its action on Friday which gives rise to this positive view, although that was certainly impressive enough, but the extremely bearish action in the dollar last week, which suggests that it is on the verge of a breakdown and savage decline. On the 1-year chart for gold in dollars we can see how the sharp rally on Friday broke it above the resistance at the December highs and above an inner downtrend line. We were earlier inclined to the view that gold would probably drop down to form a symmetrical Right Shoulder to complement the Left Shoulder of the large Head-and-Shoulders bottom shown on the chart, but Friday's breakout has negated that scenario.
'Gold and Silver will perform better than equities' Last week the broad market slide lower on heavy volume as the DOW tries to hold the 8000 level. If this support level is broken then we could see another leg lower with the DOW sliding down to the 6500 level. The reason I am mentioning this is because gold surged higher on Friday with big volume as traders start to anticipate this drop as well as the drop in the USD which is currently at a short term resistance level. If the market starts to drop, then holding gold stocks may not be the best safe haven. When the market sells off it tends to pull all stocks with it, by holding GLD fund or physical gold, SLV fund or physical silver, and the USO fund or physical crude oil, you could have better returns on your investment trading the commodity rather than going long stocks in a bear market.
Gold Jumps as Government Spending Boosts Inflation-Hedge Demand Gold rose to the highest closing price in almost five months in New York on speculation that government spending will spur inflation, boosting demand for the precious metal as a hedge. Silver also gained. Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, rose 4.7 percent last week to a record 832.6 metric tons. In 2008, the metal advanced for the eighth straight year as U.S. equity and commodity indexes lost more than 30 percent. "Massive injections of liquidity into the global banking system will serve to drive gold prices higher," said Dennis Gartman, an economist and the editor of the Gartman Letter in Suffolk, Virginia.
The Greater Depression - Doug Casey Jan 3rd part 1 Casey see this as the worst crisis in the last 200 years
The Greater Depression - Doug Casey Jan 3rd part 2 Talk about gold in relation to dollars, putting gold price in tens of thousands of dollars per ounce
One of Two Scenarios for Gold and Stocks is Developing It appears that one of two scenarios is developing. Scenario A, "the meltdown scenario" means that we are in the thick of things now. This would actually be preferable to Scenario B, "the reflation scenario", which would result in an even greater meltdown after a significant "tradable bounce". Rarely does one day of trading reveal much, but Friday's trading was spectacular. It appeared that scenario A was in effect as gold moved sharply higher at the opening and the other commodities (keep your eye on silver and oil and its relationship to gold) moved lower with the overall market. But silver and oil scored extremely impressive reversal rallies with oil's gains actually outpacing gold's by day's end.
Gold Consolidates Strong Gains Above $900 Gold has consolidated on the strong gains seen last week of 6.43% rise in the week (silver +6.6%). Gold fell initially in Asia to $890/oz before rising sharply in early trading in Europe to over $907/oz. Much of the technical damage done in recent weeks has been overcome and gold is again looking bullish from a technical and fundamental viewpoint. But gold needs a daily or better a weekly close above the recent October high of $925/oz if it is to again surpass last year's record high of over $1,000/oz.
Geithner Wins OK For Treasury Despite Tax Woes Timothy Geithner won confirmation as U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday as the U.S. Senate set aside misgivings about his past income tax problems in light of his experience battling the financial crisis. Geithner, 47, was expected to be sworn in quickly to help lead President Barack Obama's efforts to stabilize a worsening economy. The Senate approved his nomination on a 60-34 vote. With the U.S. economy in full-blown crisis, Geithner's experience in dealing with the past year's rapid-fire rescues of key financial firms trumped the taint from his late payment of $34,000 in self-employment taxes when he worked at the International Monetary Fund earlier this decade. The new Treasury chief is expected to soon unveil reforms to the United States' $700 billion financial bailout program to provide more support for housing and credit markets, and possibly a new effort to absorb troubled assets from banks.
Bernanke's Gamble on the Dollar There are several things of interest this week. The first and foremost is the Fed's FOMC two day meeting with their announcement on Wednesday at 2:15. It is important despite the fact that rates are effectively at zero, and the Fed has declared for 'quantitative easing.' How does the Fed intend to implement this quantitative easing? Another way to ask this is to say, "What is the next bubble?" Quantitative easing implies market distortion, and traders will be keen to understand where and how that distortion will play, because they are still geared for supercharged returns in an environment where fewer and fewer opportunities exist.
Obama plan draws cries over largess Stimulus package includes contraceptives, Mall sod From $400 million for NASA climate-change research to $650 million for digital TV converter-box coupons, the unprecedented spending in President Obama's economic stimulus is provoking questions about whether it can create jobs and jolt the country out of recession. The $825 billion bill, which is headed for likely House passage Wednesday, is increasingly being scrutinized by Republicans and economists because it doles out billions of taxpayer dollars for everything from the 2010 census to university research to contraceptives at family-planning clinics - areas far removed from the meltdown in finance, housing and automotive industries. "This bill is not all stimulus," said David M. Walker, the former head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office and president of the fiscal issues advocacy group Peter G. Peterson Association.
Hyperinflation Germany 1923
Restoring Sound Money in America There is a determined grassroots movement in the United States seeking the restoration of sound money. There are many different groups comprising this movement, but all share the same aim. It is to restore gold and silver to its rightful role as the money of the United States, as mandated by the Constitution. I have written about this movement before. In "The Quest for Sound Money in New Hampshire" in May 2005 I discussed the bill, called the "New Hampshire Sound Money Bill", that was drafted by Constitutional scholar and lawyer, Dr. Edwin Vieira. It was presented to the New Hampshire legislature, but sadly, remains pending in committee. If enacted, the bill will enable people to use gold and silver in their transactions with the state of New Hampshire.
Fed May Gain More Financial Oversight Some Worry Plan Would Give Bank Too Much Power Congress is moving to create strong new oversight of the financial sector that would likely give the Federal Reserve authority to examine the workings of a wide range of companies in an attempt to address one of the key failures that led to the financial crisis. But the initiative, which could be finalized in the House by spring, is raising concerns about whether it would muddy the Fed's traditional mission and concentrate too much power in a single federal body.
Forecast of a grim economic year 39 percent of business analysts surveyed see more job cuts ahead in bleak year for workers. It's shaping up to be another lousy year for workers, with more companies expecting to cut payrolls in the months ahead. That's part of the latest outlook from forecasters in a survey to be released today by the National Association for Business Economics. Its conclusions: the U.S. faces its worst business conditions since the report's inception in 1982. The report said 39 percent of forecasters predicted job reductions through attrition or "significant layoffs" over the next six months, up from 32 percent in October's survey. About 45 percent in the current survey anticipated no change in hiring plans.
Obama to Direct More From Bailout Fund to Consumers President Barack Obama's administration will direct more of the second half of a $700 billion financial rescue plan to open up credit for consumers and businesses and stem home foreclosures, his spokesman said. The president will use the second $350 billion outlay from the Troubled Asset Relief Program "far differently" than the Bush administration did, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.
Obama Mystique Raises Clout to Mythic Proportions President Barack Obama is walking, talking, and acting like a conservative. There’s daily footage of him as the devoted husband and doting dad. He speaks reverentially about the founders of the nation and the need to serve the country and each other. He wears his faith on his sleeve, even inviting famed Pastor Rick Warren to the inauguration to ask for God’s blessing. But the conservative symbols and imagery stand in stark contrast to the left-of-center agenda emerging from his administration: executive orders that weaken America’s national security and safety, taxpayer funding of abortions, three-quarters of a billion dollars in pork included in the bailout bill, etc. We’ve seen presidential liberalism in action before. But what’s different this time around is that Obama is in a better position to move the country to far-left regions than were any of his predecessors.
Bernanke Risks ‘Very Unstable’ Market as He Weighs Buying Bonds Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues may try once again to cure the aftermath of a bubble in one kind of asset by overheating the market for another. Fed policy makers meeting tomorrow and the day after are exploring the purchase of longer-dated Treasury securities in an effort to push up their price and bring down their yield. Behind the potential move: a desire to reduce long-term borrowing costs at a time when the Fed can’t lower short-term interest rates any further because they are effectively at zero.
Geithner Debt Sales to Benefit From Paulson Failures Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s inability to restore confidence in the financial system is creating unprecedented demand for U.S. debt as his successor prepares to sell the most bonds in history. Timothy Geithner, who may be confirmed as head of the Treasury today, will have the benefit of near record-low yields as he presides over auctions of as much as $150 billion of notes and bonds the next three weeks. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the 17 primary dealers that are required to bid at the auctions, said last week the U.S. will likely borrow a record $2.5 trillion this fiscal year ending Sept. 30, almost triple the $892 billion in notes and bonds sold in fiscal 2008.
Hank Paulson Rhetoric
Obama Announces "New Rules" To Address Crisis As part of his rescue plan, Obama Signals Tough Restrictions on Banks in Rescue Package. President Barack Obama signaled that he would toughen restrictions on and oversight of banks as part of a fresh plan to aid the battered industry. Obama blasted the banks yesterday over reports that they’ve spent money renovating offices after receiving billions of dollars from the government and vowed they would be held accountable for any aid they receive in the future. The tough talk seemed designed to build support for a rescue plan that aides say Obama will roll out soon by reassuring lawmakers and voters that the administration will keep close tabs on money it hands out. Pressure for a plan is building after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell for the third straight week, in part because of concerns about the health of the banks.
Obama Signals Tough Restrictions on Banks in Rescue Package President Barack Obama signaled that he would toughen restrictions on and oversight of banks as part of a fresh plan to aid the battered industry. Obama blasted the banks yesterday over reports that they’ve spent money renovating offices after receiving billions of dollars from the government and vowed they would be held accountable for any aid they receive in the future.
Rules no longer apply on the Hill There's a perverse logic to having the stealth release of that painful deficit projection and giddy rollout of big-ticket projects occur even before MPs regroup for this week's budget. Parliament, you see, has become a realm where radical change is the new normal. Traditional protocol and processes no longer apply. The past 72 hours have featured an unprecedented cross-Canada blitz of ministerial announcements as the federal government acclimatizes the taxpayer to deficit financing and releases its procurement list piecemeal, the better to get a bigger bang for every borrowed buck.
Thain Defends BofA Deal, Will Pay Back Office Costs Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain said the acquisition of the brokerage giant by Bank of America was the right thing to do but blames Merrill Lynch's huge losses on the administration of his predecessor, Stanley O'Neal, according to a memo Thain sent to Merrill Lynch employees after his ouster last week. Thain also says he'll reimburse Bank of America for the $1.2 million renovation of his office last year, which sparked controversy last week after it was reported by CNBC.
Dividends being cut at fastest pace in 50 years Dividends being cut at fastest pace in 50 years; Pfizer slashes its dividend in half Dividends are being cut at the fastest pace in at least 50 years, and many of the reductions are coming from U.S. companies investors have been relying on to provide income during the recession. Already this year, seven companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index have decreased their dividends, removing some $12 billion from shareholders' pockets in the coming months. On Monday, Pfizer became the latest blue-chip company to do so.
Is Money Supply a Relative Absolute? There has been some chatter over an intriguing blog entry from friend Cassandra over the weekend Inflation v. Deflation with regard to the Fed's monetization of debt. The principle assertion seems to be that if the Fed is merely replacing existing credit dollar for dollar as it is written off, then the result is not inflationary.
If the original wholesale money market borrowing and lending was not inflationary, then why should its substitute be inflationary? Indeed, the real question is whether the expansion of the Fed's balance sheet is keeping pace with the contraction of money market credit more generally. If not, then the consequence may be deflationary.
Implicit in this of course are two conditions. The first, that the level of wholesale borrowing and lending and not been and would have continued not to be inflationary, and secondly, that the expansion of the Fed's balance sheet is equivalent dollar for dollar.
Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy Furloughs, wage reductions, hiring freezes and shorter hours simply did not do enough. A year into this recession, companies across the board are resorting to mass job cuts. Home Depot, Caterpillar, Sprint Nextel and at least eight other companies announced on Monday they would cut more than 75,000 jobs in the United States and around the world — a gloomy start to the workweek for employees anxious about holding their own as the economy sinks. Caterpillar, the maker of heavy equipment, is slashing its payrolls by 16 percent. Texas Instruments said late in the day that it would eliminate 3,400 jobs, or 12 percent of its work force.
Tens of thousands more layoffs are announced Economic forecasters see gloomy outlook as tens of thousands more layoffs are announced It's already been a lousy year for workers less than a month into 2009 and there's no relief in sight. Tens of thousands of fresh layoffs were announced Monday and more companies are expected to cut payrolls in the months ahead. A new survey by the National Association for Business Economics depicts the worst business conditions in the U.S. since the report's inception in 1982. Thirty-nine percent of NABE's forecasters predicted job reductions through attrition or "significant" layoffs over the next six months, up from 32 percent in the previous survey in October. Around 45 percent in the current survey anticipated no change in hiring plans, while roughly 17 percent thought hiring would increase.
A Town In Crisis The Winter of our Hardship 60 Minutes (1.25.2009) The town of Wilmington, Ohio has been devastated by the economic crisis and, as Scott Pelley reports, DHL, the town's largest employer, is shutting its domestic operation.
Big Companies Around Globe Lay Off Tens of Thousands Workers around the world, and particularly in Europe and the United States, faced another round of job cuts on Monday that swept across several industries. In the United States, several corporations said Monday morning that they would cut a total of 45,000 jobs, slashing costs to survive a recession that has taken a toll on new orders, profits and companies’ outlooks for growth. The cuts announced Monday included 20,000 jobs at the heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar; 8,000 at the wireless provider Sprint Nextel, 7,000 at Home Depot and 8,000 from the expected merger of the pharmaceutical makers Pfizer and Wyeth.
Companies in U.S. to Slash More Jobs, Business Economists Say More U.S. companies project they'll pare staff in the next six months as pessimism mounts the economy will contract this year, according to a survey by the National The poll's net employment reading fell to a minus 22 this month, the lowest level since 2001, from minus 15 in the previous survey in October, the report showed today. More than three- fourths of the participants forecast the economy will shrink this year, twice as many as in the last survey.
62,000 Jobs Are Cut by U.S. and Foreign Companies Employers have tried to nip and tuck their labor costs by reducing overtime, shortening the workweek and freezing wages, but now, they are reaching for the saw. On Monday alone, companies across the employment spectrum announced more than 65,000 job cuts in the United States and around the world, a stark sign that businesses are enduring a painful, protracted downturn. Monday's toll included 20,000 cuts at Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of construction and mining machinery; 8,000 jobs at the wireless provider Sprint Nextel; 7,000 workers at Home Depot, and 8,000 from the expected merger of the pharmaceutical makers Pfizer and Wyeth. The beleaguered automaker General Motors announced that it would cut shifts at plants in Michigan and Ohio, where the downturn has hit hardest, eliminating some 2,000 jobs.
Obama’s Order Is Likely to Tighten Auto Standards President Obama directed federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict limits on greenhouse gases from cars and trucks. He also ordered the Transportation Department to begin drawing up rules imposing higher fuel-economy standards on cars and light trucks. The directives make good on an Obama campaign pledge and signal a sharp reversal of Bush administration policy. Moving quickly on tailpipe emissions and on mileage rules are emphatic actions Mr. Obama could take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy. Mr. Obama announced the actions in the East Room of the White House, saying that his orders were intended “to insure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here in America.”
Timing of Stricter Standards Worries Automakers Automakers said Monday that they were working toward President Obama's goal of reducing fuel consumption, but rapid installation of stricter emissions standards could force them to drastically cut production of larger, more profitable vehicles in a time of severe financial duress. Mr. Obama ordered the government on Monday to reconsider whether California and other states could regulate vehicle emissions and help control greenhouse gas emissions, a reversal of a position taken by the Bush administration. The announcement came as General Motors and Chrysler are borrowing billions of dollars from the government to avoid bankruptcy, and as Toyota prepares to report its first operating loss in 70 years. Shortly after the president spoke, G.M. said it would cut 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio because of slow sales.
Detroit Calls Emissions Proposals Too Strict Automakers said Monday that they were working toward President Obama’s goal of reducing fuel consumption, but rapid imposition of stricter emissions standards could force them to drastically cut production of larger, more profitable vehicles, adding to their financial duress. Mr. Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the Bush administration's past rejection of a California application to regulate auto pollution. Mr. Obama ordered the government on Monday to reconsider whether California and other states could regulate vehicle emissions to help control greenhouse gas emissions, a reversal of a position taken by the Bush administration. The announcement came as General Motors and Chrysler are borrowing billions of dollars from the government to avoid bankruptcy, and as Toyotaprepares to report its first operating loss in 70 years. Shortly after the president spoke, General Motors said it would cut 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio because of slow sales.
Auto Supplier Industry May Ask for Bailout Money The auto supplier industry's top executives are meeting this morning to discuss approaching the Obama administration for a piece of the $700 billion financial rescue plan. More than a dozen chief executives and chief financial officers are finalizing how much they will seek in federal assistance, said Glenn R. Stevens, a vice president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. Last month, the Bush administration granted General Motors and Chrysler $17.4 billion in loans from the rescue plan.
Retail sales forecast to fall in 2009 Retail sales likely to fall 0.5 pct in 2009, after modest rise in 2008; confidence still low The nation's retailers had a rough 2008, but this year will likely be even scarier, according to a sales forecast released Tuesday from the world's largest retail trade organization. Retailers are expected to record a 0.5 percent drop in revenue in 2009, the first annual decline in three decades and perhaps much longer, according to a National Retail Federation forecast released Tuesday. That's well below the modest 1.4 percent gain they recorded for 2008. Massive layoffs, slumping home prices and tight credit are keeping shoppers tightfisted.
Fannie to Tap U.S. for as Much as $16 Billion in Aid Fannie Mae, the largest source of home-loan money in the U.S., said it will need to tap as much as $16 billion in emergency funds from the U.S. Treasury Department to stay afloat as deterioration in the housing market persists. Fannie's planned request, announced today, follows Freddie Mac, which said Jan. 23 that it will need as much as $35 billion more in federal aid. Unprecedented mortgage losses drove the net worth of both companies below zero last quarter, they said in separate securities filings.
House Prices Dropped in 70% of U.S. States in 2008 Home prices fell in 34 U.S. states in 2008 as it became harder to get a mortgage and foreclosures hammered property values, First American CoreLogic said. Prices for single-family detached houses fell a record 10.6 percent nationally, the biggest annual decline in data that goes back to 1976, Santa Ana, California-based First American said today in its year-end report. "The geographic breadth of the decline expanded in 2008," Mark Fleming, First American's chief economist, said in an interview. Even markets with few foreclosures "are being drawn in by fundamental economic conditions."
***** Time to Prepare for the Collapse Take the time to prepare for the coming financial woes. The financial stability of our country is in peril. Unemployment continues to rise. The housing market continues to fall. Banks are failing at an unprecedented rate. The stock markets are unstable, as is our dollar. Folks, the new regime in Washington is not going to fix this problem! No matter how many bailouts they want us to pay for, we are only applying a band-aid to a gapping wound in the financial jugular vein of this country! It will not stop the bleeding. We have got to start facing the facts and preparing for the total collapse of our financial system as we know it. Start downsizing now! Get your pantries stocked with food, water, essential vitamins and medicines. Making these preparations now may not only save your life, but will ensure that your quality of life is not reduced in the face of economic disaster.
NRA: Untold stories of Gun Confiscation after Katrina What happened to the 2nd amendment?? The video you will see on this web site is horrifying. The crimes committed against law-abiding gun owners are beyond comprehension. The arrogance of anti-gun politicians and government officials and their hate of freedom will churn your stomach. The law is the law, the Constitution is the Constitution. If ONE local mayor or police chief can decide what the Second Amendment means, it opens the door to tyranny—where ANY mayor or police chief can say what the Second Amendment means.
Homeland Security Checkpoint - Unconstitutional Homeland Security checkpoints are being set up more frequently all across USA. Here is what you should do, should you run into one of these unconstitutional checkpoints. Know your rights, and stick by them.
Suspicionless Checkpoints: A growing threat to individual liberty Ever since SCOTUS first opened Pandora's box in the late 1970's by carving out a 4th Amendment loophole for immigration checkpoints, the use of suspicionless checkpoints across the country has continued to proliferate at an alarming rate. Today, it's not uncommon to find enforcement agencies across the country utilizing roadblocks of one form or another to control local communities and create new revenue streams for politicians and bureaucrats. While roadblocks are conducted under a number of different guises, they all share a common set of traits. Specifically, they:
Operate with no individualized reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing
Seek to control and intimidate local communities as opposed to serve and protect them
Raise revenue for expanding government programs through fines, citations & arrest
The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (i.e. Interrogation) After being delayed several years due to budget shortfalls, one of the largest invasions of our privacy is now in full swing, compliments of the U.S. Census Bureau and a cadre of Department of Commerce corporate partners. In the past, the American people only had to put up with this unconstitutional nonsense once every ten years. A time frame frequent enough to be annoying but not frequent enough to evoke formal resistance. With the advent of the misnomered American Community Survey however, circumstance have changed dramatically. U.S. Census bureaucrats have somehow misinterpreted clear constitutional guidance regarding a simple head count once every 10 years for representation purposes as a mandate to invade America's privacy on a recurring monthly basis. Below you will find a discussion of this unconstitutional program along with links to commentaries, news articles, corporate involvement, and government documentation that highlight this newest invasion of our homes and privacy along with general information regarding the decennial census. 250,000 homes are now being targeted every month by the Census Bureau and its corporate lackeys to comply, under threat of prosecution, with a survey demanding answers to over 70 privacy invading questions. Questions, that as Congressman Ron Paul and others have pointed out, are none of the government's business.
Roadblock Revelations Exposing The Police State One Checkpoint At A Time Welcome to the blog page for Checkpoint USA. Here you will find general information and discussions regarding the growing threats to our right to privacy & travel.
Calif farmers idle crops, veggie prices may rise Consumers may pay more for spring lettuce and summer melons in grocery stores across the country now that California farmers have started abandoning their fields in response to a crippling drought. California's sweeping Central Valley grows most of the country's fruits and vegetables in normal years, but this winter thousands of acres are turning to dust as the state hurtles into the worst drought in nearly two decades. Federal officials' recent announcement that the water supply they pump through the nation's largest farm state would drop further was enough to move John "Dusty" Giacone to forego growing vegetables so he can save his share to drip-irrigate 1,000 acres of almond trees. "Taking water from a farmer is like taking a pipe from a plumber," said Giacone, a fourth-generation farmer in the tiny community of Mendota. "How do you conduct business?"
Federal departments fall short on civil liberties The departments of Defense, State, and Health and Human Services have not met legal requirements meant to protect Americans' civil liberties, and a board that's supposed to enforce the mandates has been dormant since 2007, according to federal records. All three departments have failed to comply with a 2007 law directing them to appoint civil liberties protection officers and report regularly to Congress on the safeguards they use to make sure their programs don't undermine the public's rights and privacy, a USA TODAY review of congressional filings shows.
'German Banks Are on the Edge of the Abyss' The German government is desperately trying to find a way to save the country's ailing banking sector. Can a so-called "bad bank" solve the problem by taking over toxic assets? German commentators aren't convinced, but they are certain that something needs to be done. Several government rescue packages later, the troubled German banking sector is still showing no sign of recovering from the financial crisis. The discussion over what to do with the hundreds of billions of euros worth of toxic securities the banks still have on their balance sheets has received fresh impetus in Germany after it became clear that the Special Fund for Financial Market Stabilization -- known as Soffin after its German acronym -- is not succeeding in its intended aim of helping out troubled banks and jump-starting financial markets. Günther Merl, the head of the agency that manages Soffin, announced Wednesday that he was resigning -- the second person to quit the agency's steering committee within the last three months. Insiders say that Merl was frustrated at having his authority usurped by government and Finance Ministry officials.
Is Switzerland the next Iceland? Gigantic Swiss Banks Hold Steady -- For Now The Swiss economy is dwarfed by the size of its leading banks, and there are growing worries about their health. The government says everything is fine, but some disagree. They exist also in Zürich: "Masters of the Universe." You can recognize these money-moguls from their swanky rides -- their Porsches, their Audis, their BMWs. And yet recently these chariots of high finance have been spotted being sold to auto dealers at fire-sale prices -- a sure sign that the bank crisis has arrived here too. "First and foremost it is the financial center of Switzerland that will bleed," prophecies Beat Bernet, bank expert at the University of St. Gallen. By now people are even contemplating the unthinkable: the collapse of Europe's leading bank, the largest money manager in the world, UBS.
Credit crunch claims Icelandic Government after 'Household Revolution' The global economic crisis claimed its first government yesterday when Iceland’s ruling coalition collapsed amid a cacophony of popular protest. The Government of Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister, resigned en masse after days of mounting anger over the country’s financial meltdown. The protests, which began peacefully after the nationalisation and overnight bankruptcy of Iceland’s three main banks, turned violent last week with the nation experiencing its worst riots in 60 years. At their height 32,000 people — more than 10 per cent of Iceland’s population — took to the streets of Reykjavik banging pots and pans in what came to be known as the “Household Revolution”.
Iceland's ruling coalition collapses A NATIONAL unity government is on the cards for Iceland following the collapse of its ruling coalition yesterday, the first government to fall victim to the global financial crisis. Three months after Iceland’s debt-laden banks imploded, sparking economic chaos and mass street demonstrations, prime minister Geir Haarde handed in his resignation and that of his government after just 18 months yesterday. “I will have a meeting with the opposition leaders to discuss the possibility of a national unity government,” said Mr Haarde. On Friday he called a snap election for May and announced he would not stand for office after doctors discovered a cancerous tumour in his oesophagus.
Max Keiser: Predicted the collapse of Iceland in April, 2007. Watch for the scene in the Blue Lagoon in which Max predicts a global Depression to be caused when all these debts driven by low interest rates burst.
Iceland - Banking Crisis and collapse Today ,Minister of Business Affairs ,Bjorgvin G. Sigurdsson,resigned . Today there was also a protest ,against the violence last week in Reykjavik. He also dismissed the head of the country's financial supervisory authority Saturday night before he left office, and requested the resignations of the entire board of the agency. It was in support of the Police force in Reykjavik. At the protest yesterday,there was lots of hugs and flowers,and some of the protesters where offering free hugs to the public.
Riot in Iceland - 21 January 2009 People protested again today in Reykjavik. First at the government house - where the prime minister had problems driving away. Police had to assist him ,and eggs and other stuff where thrown at his car. Then the protesters continued protesting at the parliament building. Parliement work was suspended today ,after the protest yesterday . Protesters made fires around in front of the parliament. Police had trouble putting the fires out. They are still downtown protesting.
U.S. bankers avoid glitz of Davos, image a concern It used to be a prized invitation for Wall Street CEOs and top government officials. But for the U.S. banking elite, a ticket to this year's World Economic Forum in Davos risks becoming as toxic as the mess left over from the subprime mortgage crisis. Up until a few weeks ago, the guest list for the January 28-February 1 annual gathering of the world's leading business and political figures in the Swiss ski village was going to include top executives from the biggest U.S. banks and the leading economics and finance names of the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. But now that list is shrinking fast. Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit decided not to go. Obama's top economic adviser Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner, who is facing a confirmation vote Monday, as well as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair have pulled out.
Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Stephen S. Roach Stephen S. Roach, Chariman, Morgan Stanley, Asia, explains his outlook for the global economy over the coming five years and his participation in the Annual Meeting in Davos which runs from 28 January to 1 February 2009. Roach blames ALL OF US for the economic mess.
Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Duncan Niederauer Duncan Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE Euronext, shares his view on the key elements of the future shape of financial governance and his participation in the Annual Meeting in Davos which runs from 28 January to 1 February 2009.
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