Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Mon 04.26.2010
FDIC shuts down 4 more banks for a total of 54 failures this year By Stevenson Jacobs, Associated Press -- NEW YORK — Regulators shut down four banks in Illinois on Friday, putting the number of U.S. bank failures this year at 54. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over three banks in Chicago: New Century Bank, with $485.6 million in assets; Citizens Bank&Trust Company, with $77.3 million in assets; and Broadway Bank, with $1.2 billion in assets. The FDIC also closed Amcore Bank of Rockford, which had $3.8 billion in assets. MB Financial Bank agreed to acquire the deposits of both Broadway Bank and New Century Bank. Republic Bank of Chicago agreed to assume Citizens' deposits, while Chicago-based Harris National Association agreed to acquire Amcore Bank's deposits.
The Middle Class Game Is Up: Joe Bageant - SilverBearCafe.com We're Heading to a Slave Labor Planet Class solidarity was such a good idea. It really was. Obviously, most of the people who need solidarity are in the world's laboring classes. After all, the rich have more than enough solidarity already, as was recently demonstrated by their successful execution of the greatest global financial heist in history. Oh sure, we'll see some state sponsored mock show trials of a few of them - they always throw a few of their own out of the sleigh to the wolves during their escapes. The big heist was big news. Working Americans will be applying Preparation H to their keisters for a long time to come.
The outlook for the world economy Economist.com Curb your enthusiasm A welcome recovery-but an uneven one, with dangers both for sluggish Europe and bubbly emerging economies THERE is a whiff of exuberance around the world economy these days. Financial markets are buoyant, business confidence is rising and global growth seems increasingly robust. In its latest forecasts, released on April 21st, the IMF predicts that global output will grow by 4.2% this year on a purchasing-power basis, a full percentage point more than it foresaw six months ago. Other seers are even more optimistic, predicting growth of more than 4.5%-or close to the average pace of the boom years before the recession. The level of global output is now back to where it was before the downturn. And given the scale of the financial crisis, the recovery is surprisingly brisk. With global business investment accelerating and consumer spending strong, there is growing optimism that the recovery is becoming self-sustaining.
Frauds And Scandals Follow The Collapse Of The Financial System Bob Chapman - TheInternationalForecaster.com -- The collapse of the financial system is under way, a giant debt that will never be repaid, deliberate destruction of the economy, bailouts a part of the manipulation of the markets, More creative forms of destruction for the economy, Wall street a criminal enterprise, Goldman CEO visits the White House, often, another giant Ponzi in Florida... As the world faces an ongoing sovereign debt debacle we see an attempt to defuse an oncoming scandal involving Goldman Sachs, Paulson and perhaps others. The collapse of the fiat money system is underway and each day picks up momentum. The only question is how long it can survive? In the interim we are faced with inflation and perhaps hyperinflation as the privately owned Federal Reserve and other central banks add stimulus and money and credit into their financial systems.
Marxist Mosaic By Larry Wilke - CapitolHillCoffeeHouse.com Obama has “suggested” the idea of “a new value added tax” on the very same Americans who are being punished with hundreds of other taxes, fees and fines relative to the totalitarian TARPS, bogus bailouts and the health scare hokum. Obama “adviser” Paul Volker shilled the VAT idea for Obama elsewhere as one of the many Democratic deflection sessions, probably the one where Obama said that “whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower..”, was being used as the cover to sidetrack the nation’s attention from the novel idea of Obama wanting to grab another bag full of tax monies…
Mortgage-Backed Securities Return, but Are We Really Ready? By GIL RUDAWSKY - DailyFinance.com All roads from the real-estate meltdown lead to crumbled mortgage-backed securities. And after a three-year respite from these investments, the industry is starting to go down that path once again. The big question is whether financial institutions -- and investors -- have learned anything. What everyone is wondering is whether this move is a logical and positive outgrowth of a recovering industry. "Are we ready for this again?" asks Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff. "Absolutely not. We still don't have any checks or balances put into place to make sure we don't end up in the same situation."
Wall Street Deceit and Main Street Revulsion Szandor Blestman - SilverBearCafe.com I had the misfortune of listening to CNBC the other day while visiting my mother. The talking heads on the tube were discussing the surge in stock prices and the lifting of the DOW Industrials above the eleven thousand mark. They went on and on about how much of a psychological barrier the eleven thousand mark was and how that meant that the "recovery" wasn't just some fluke and everything was going to be hunky dory and rosy from now on. They then began asking the question when the "retailer investor" (that's you and me in Wall Street lingo) was going to get back into the market and really start cranking it up. They thought that all of us little, ordinary people with no money wouldn't want to miss the investment boat. All I remember thinking was "How stupid do these people think I am?" Indeed, how stupid do the Wall Street moguls think we are?
Reports of Our Recovery Are Greatly Exaggerated John Browne - SilverBearCafe.com From all outward appearances, it seems that a grim chapter in U.S. economic history has come to an end. Newsweek magazine declares that "America is Back," government statistics indicate revival, and our stock market has put in a rally for the record books (by rate of ascent, not highs - we are still more than 25% below the 2007 peak). And yet, despite massive federal stimuli and subsidies, American unemployment clings stubbornly to the 10 per cent level, with the "underemployment" rate closer to 20 per cent. The IMF does not appear to buy into Washington's optimism; it projects a "double dip" contraction by the second half of this year. With so much conflicting sentiment, it is difficult for investors to know whether the cup is half-empty or half-full.
'Gold price most likely to double' By John Dourekas Hong Kong (Kitco News) -- Gold will most likely double from its current $1150 an ounce during the course of the bull market, according to Puru Saxena, founder of Puru Saxena Wealth Management. In an exclusive interview with Kitco News, Saxena said one major factor in gold’s favor "is that central banks have now become net buyers of gold. So that reduces supply from the market,” said Saxena. Investment demand will appreciate over time as people become more dubious over currencies and they transfer assets into gold as a hedge, said the investment adviser from his Hong Kong office.
Gold bull run is not over: Marc Faber By John Dourekas - CommodityOnline.com Hong Kong (Kitco News) -- The rising price of gold is far from over since paper money will continue to lose value, according to Marc Faber, editor and publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report. “If you have $100 today, you buy that much less in terms of a basket of goods and services then you did ten years ago – paper money has already lost a lot of value and in my view it will continue to lose value. The price of gold will adjust on the upside according to the loss of the purchasing power of money,” Faber said in an exclusive interview with Kitco News.
Gold, Economic Recovery and George Soros on the Next Financial Crisis By: Clif Droke - MarketOracle.co.uk -- Speculation has been rife in the financial press lately about the possibility of another financial market meltdown. It seems that investors are waiting for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop as worries continue to mount over the sustainability of the financial market recovery that began over one year ago. Even the president of the United States has jumped on the fear bandwagon. On Thursday, President Obama was stumping in New York as he attempts to win favor for his proposed financial overhaul legislation. Playing the fear card, Obama said it was “essential that we learn the lessons of this crisis, so we don’t doom ourselves to repeat it. And make no mistake; that is exactly what will happen if we allow this moment to pass.”
Goldman, Gold, And U.S. Dollar's Influence on Precious Metals By: Przemyslaw Radomski - MarketOracle.co.uk -- When gold declined last Friday we were not caught by surprise and neither were our Subscribers. Based on our technical analysis, we gave you a heads up two weeks ago when we said that gold was ready for a decline before resuming its upward climb. But sometimes news can rattle the market, which is what happened Friday when gold hit an air pocket and dove $25 in a few minutes to move very close (or slightly below) the levels mentioned in our Friday update. While it is always the sell order (or rather a large amount of them) that causes a dramatic move, and one should not automatically assume that one single event is responsible for it (without giving it a second thought), in this case it seems that the immediate cause for the decline was news of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (S.E.C.) civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
When Gold Fundamentals Don’t Matter By: Kevin George - MarketOracle.co.uk One of the biggest talking points in the financial world is the direction of Gold. The internet is awash with predictions of price, mostly based on some combination of inflation, money-printing excesses and Chinese demand. Those who believe that gold is a one-way bet, are failing to account for the potential of an unseen event, such as the sub-prime fallout or the Lehman Brothers collapse and the effect they had on the financial markets. This despite the recent problems in Dubai and Greece, with many more debt-ridden countries close behind. The reflation of all risk assets created from the March 2009 low, is once again a serious risk to the markets and any unwind would likely be more severe than the 2008 collapse.
Will Gold be Bolstered by the Goldman Sachs Fraud Case? By: Julian DW Phillips - MarketOracle.co.uk Initially the gold price fell on the news of the S.E.C. civil fraud charge against Goldman Sachs in the belief that both they and Paulson’s hedge fund would have to sell their gold holdings. A reaction that was founded on uncontrolled emotions, you would rightly suppose. The reaction was very like gold market after the news that Greece is going to the EU & I.M.F. [because few believe that Greece will correct matters thereafter] for their bailout. The € fell as the Greek crisis impinged on the value of the €. The additional reaction in gold was based on the supposition that gold is tied to the €. Not a great deal of thought goes into these reactions, but if you can make money by inciting investors like this, why not? These reactions illustrate that emotion, alongside the Technical picture drive short-term prices, exclusively. Longer-term investors apply more thought to their investments than this. It is their view that needs to be looked at with depth if we are to understand just how the Goldman Sachs story could influence future gold and silver prices.
Gold "Crisis Protection" Proven as Eurozone's Greek Bail-Out Begins By: Adrian Ash - MarketOracle.co.uk -- THE PRICE OF GOLD retained a slight weekly gain as the close approached in London on Friday, trading above $1141 an ounce while the Euro bounced – and world stock markets rose – following Greece's formal request for a joint European and IMF bail-out. Gold priced in Euros spiked within 0.3% of April 9th's record, hitting €27,743 per kilo before easing back as the single currency rose. British investors looking to buy gold, the price held at £743 an ounce – 0.3% higher from last Friday's finish – after UK data showed the economy growing half-as-fast as analysts forecast between Jan. and March, adding just 0.2% year-on-year. Crude oil and broader commodities were little changed. "Greece is asking for the activation of the support mechanism," said a letter sent this morning by finance minister Papaconstantinou to the European Commission, fellow Eurozone states, and the European Central Bank. "The moment has come," Greek premier Papandreou told reporters, apparently catching the European Commission unawares.
The Rules of the Gold Standard Game By Bill Baker - The DailyReckoning.com 04/23/10 Baltimore, Maryland – The academic and investment community has intellectually bought into theories of interest rate manipulation based upon signals gleaned from the quicksand of near-term economic statistics. Although proven by the scientific methods of economics, somehow the chain of desired short-term outcomes generated through this central planning has a side effect of producing long waves of debt accumulation.
This is a Weak Case: Actually, no — its a very strong case. Based upon what is in the SEC complaint, parts of the case are a slam dunk. The claim Paulson & Co. were long $200 million dollars when they were actually short is a material misrepresentation — that’s Rule 10b-5, and its a no brainer. The rest is gravy.
Robert Khuzami is a bad ass, no-nonsense, thorough, award winning Prosecutor: This guy is the real deal — he busted terrorist rings, broke up the mob, took down security frauds. He is now the director of SEC enforcement. He is fearless, and was awarded the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award (1996), for “extraordinary courage and voluntary risk of life in performing an act resulting in direct benefits to the Department of Justice or the nation.”
Goldman's "Unsure" Defense: Is That the Best It Can Do? By PETER COHAN - DailyFinance.com The Washington Post got its hands on an 11 page memo that Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein will use in his Senate testimony in Washington on Apr. 27. I'm not sure that this testimony represents Goldman's best foot forward in its attempt to deflect the idea that it's not acting in its clients' best interests. But it could represent an interesting line of reasoning in Goldman's effort to defend itself against Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it committed fraud in marketing a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) called Abacus on which investors lost $1 billion.
Goldman Sachs readies forceful response against claims it misled clients By Zachary A. Goldfarb - Washington Post -- Goldman Sachs is preparing its most detailed defense yet to allegations that it misled clients in its mortgage securities business, arguing that the firm was unsure whether housing prices would rise or fall and did not take any action at odds with the interests of its clients. An internal Goldman document, prepared for senior executives and obtained by The Washington Post, addresses the criticism that the bank invested its own money betting against the housing market while simultaneously urging clients to invest in securities that would increase in value only if the housing market did.
Goldman-deal gamblers knew the score By Bill Fleckenstein - MSN Money The players on both sides of the trade that the SEC has targeted knew the risks and knew one side was bound to lose. It's far from the worst sin of this mess. Goldman Sachs. John Paulson. Those are hot-button words that have dominated business news lately, with many of the reports biased toward a black-and-white supposition: guilty. This column, however, wouldn't live up to its name if it didn't take a contrarian view. Not surprisingly, I'm going to discuss the Goldman/Paulson flap from a slightly different perspective. What I believe may have happened -- at worst -- is that Paulson, a hedge fund manager, identified various bits of mortgage flotsam he wanted to short, betting they would go down. Then he might've gone to Goldman Sachs (GS, news, msgs) and asked something like, "Hey, would you put a basket of this stuff together?"
E-mails: Goldman Boasted as Meltdown Unfolded By AP / DAN STRUMPF (NEW YORK) — E-mails released by a Senate committee investigating the financial crisis show top executives at Goldman Sachs Inc. boasting about money the firm was making as the housing market collapsed in 2007. The documents suggest that Goldman benefited at least for a time from bets that subprime mortgage-backed securities would lose value. The e-mails appear to contradict previous statements by the investment bank that it lost money on such securities. "Of course we didn't dodge the mortgage mess," CEO Lloyd Blankfein wrote in an e-mail dated Nov. 18, 2007, according to the documents released Saturday morning. "We lost money, then made more than we lost because of shorts."
Goldman Sachs Should Cut Losses in SEC Standoff By Joshua Gallu and David Scheer April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. may be better off cutting its losses instead of fighting what it terms “unfounded” fraud claims, say professors of securities law who have examined the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against the bank. The most profitable firm in Wall Street history will probably lose what is typically the first hurdle in court, a motion to throw out the April 16 suit because it lacks legal merit, the professors said in interviews this week. After that, Goldman Sachs’s risks will mount and its negotiating position will weaken, they said.
Goldman Clashes With Senate’s Levin Ahead of Blankfein Hearing By Christine Harper and Ryan J. Donmoyer -- April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and U.S. Senator Carl Levin fired opening shots ahead of a congressional hearing this week, releasing conflicting evidence of the investment bank’s tactics during the mortgage market’s collapse. Levin, a Michigan Democrat who leads the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, posted internal Goldman Sachs e-mails on his website yesterday that he said show the firm “made a lot of money by betting against the mortgage market.” Goldman Sachs responded with documents indicating the firm lost money on mortgages in 2008 and that executives didn’t know the market would fall.
Goldman Sach's CEO and board are named in shareholder lawsuits By Bernard Condon, Associated Press -- NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs's CEO and other top officers are accused in a pair of shareholder lawsuits of lax oversight in deals involving risky mortage-backed securities that later went bad. The lawsuits filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court name Lloyd Blankfein and the firm's entire board of directors as defendants. The suits follow civil fraud charges filed last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission over the same investments.
Goldman Sachs wages war of words with US Senate By Jonathan Sibun - Telegraph.co.uk Tensions between Goldman Sachs and the US Senate have reached breaking point as the two sides wage a public war over whether the investment bank hoodwinked clients by betting against the sub-prime mortgage market. The two sides have been battling for the moral high ground ahead of tomorrow's (Tuesday) Senate testimony by Lloyd Blankfein, the investment bank's chief executive. Carl Levin, a Democrat who heads the Senate committee investigating Goldman's role in selling sub-prime mortgage products, released emails over the weekend that he claimed show the bank "made a lot of money by betting against the mortgage market".
Maastricht madhouse fuels EMU-wide contagion from Greece By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk If the chief purpose behind the EU-IMF bail-out for Greece – or for banks exposed to Greece – is to prevent a "full-blown and contagious sovereign debt crisis", the market verdict must be a sobering surprise. The relief rally fizzled shortly after Greece folded its bad poker hand and invoked aid. Bond risk as measured by Markit's 5-year credit default swaps jumped to fresh records of 280 for Portugal and 177 for Spain. Irish CDS contracts rose 13 points to 185. This was an entirely logical response to the twisted events that are unfolding. The rescue obliges countries in trouble to go deeper into trouble. Portugal must come up with €774m as its share of the EU's initial €30bn package. Ireland must find €491m, Spain €3.7bn.
An extreme necessity Econiomist.com Greece's request for aid from the euro zone and the IMF will provide only temporary relief GREECE'S prime minister, George Papandreou, faced the television cameras on Friday 23rd April to anounce that his government would draw on emergency aid to tide it over for the rest of the year. Mr Papandreou decribed the rather embarassing request to to other euro zone members and the IMF as "an extreme necessity." This followed a week in which yields on Greek bonds reached an alarming 8.9%. That in part reflected an announcement by Eurostat, the European statistics agency, that Greece's budget deficit reached 13.6% of GDP in 2009, even worse than it had previously thought. The agency added that the number might be revised up again, owing to the poor quality of the available data. Moody's, a credit-rating agency, responded by giving the latest of many downgrades by agencies to Greece's sovereign bonds.
Greece Activates Emergency Bailout, Testing Financial Strength of Eurozone Countries BY KERRI SHANNON, Associate Editor, Money Morning Greece on Friday officially asked to tap into a $60 billion (45 billion euro) emergency aid package after months of talks, setting into motion a bailout process that will put the financial strength of Eurozone nations to the test. Greece Prime Minister George Papandreou called his debt-stricken country's economy a "sinking ship," as borrowing costs reached 12-year highs and recent austerity measures didn't rally the market support needed to save Greece. "This is the moment. The time that was not granted to us by the markets will be given to us by the support of the Eurozone," Papandreou said.
Greece presses "help" button, markets still wary (Reuters) - Debt-stricken Greece appealed to its European partners and the IMF for emergency loans on Friday, yielding to overwhelming market pressure to start the first financial rescue of a member of the euro zone. Prime Minister George Papandreou asked to tap the 45 billion euro ($60.5 billion) package after investors feared a default and pushed borrowing costs to record levels, undermining Athens' efforts to cut its 300 billion euro debt pile. "It is a national and imperative need to officially ask our partners in the EU for the activation of the support mechanism we jointly created," Papandreou said in a statement broadcast live from the remote, tiny Aegean island of Kastellorizo.
Greece Requests EU-IMF Rescue in Euro's Biggest Test By Jonathan Stearns and Maria Petrakis April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Greece called for activation of a financial lifeline of as much as 45 billion euros ($60 billion) this year in an unprecedented test of the euro's stability and European political cohesion. The appeal for help from the European Union and International Monetary Fund follows a surge in borrowing costs to what Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called unsustainable levels that undermine efforts to cut a budget deficit that is more than four times the EU limit.
Greece, Out of Ideas, Requests Global Aid By NIKI KITSANTONIS and MATTHEW SALTMARSH - NYTimes ATHENS - Describing his country's economy as "a sinking ship," Greece's prime minister formally requested an international bailout on Friday, creating the biggest test so far to the European monetary union. "We drew up a plan, we took difficult and painful measures," Prime Minister George A. Papandreou said in a nationally televised address. "But the markets did not respond."
Rich world may face next downturn with dull weapons by Emily Kaiser - Analysis (Reuters) - Rich countries may not be able to resharpen their crisis-fighting tools fast enough to get them ready for the next downturn, leaving them increasingly reliant on cash-rich emerging powerhouses to ensure stability. Before the latest upheaval struck, advanced economies had enjoyed a relatively peaceful stretch dating back to the early 1990s. Aside from the 2001 recession, which proved to be mild, the financial trauma was largely centered in emerging markets. That has changed. As the International Monetary Fund has stressed in the run-up to this week's meetings of world finance officials in Washington, the biggest threats to the global recovery are concentrated in advanced economies now.
China currency move a matter for medium-term: IMF (Reuters) - China recognizes the need to let its currency appreciate for the good of its domestic economy but the move will only come in the "medium term", the International Monetary Fund's Asia director said on Saturday. IMF Asia Director Anoop Singh told Reuters that China and other export-focused Asian countries have been compelled by the stalling of growth in Western economies to seek a new model of sustained growth. "That involves a range of policies to raise consumption (and) rebalancing and improving the exchange rate is part of this and I think we will see that over the medium term," he said in an interview. He would not be drawn further on how soon appreciation might be allowed.
Shortsighted to oppose bank tax, IMF warns (Reuters) - Countries that weathered the global economic crisis with their financial systems relatively unscathed are being shortsighted by opposing a global bank levy, the IMF's chief said on Saturday. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn suggested a bank tax would be helpful in preparing for crises that could strike anywhere and indirectly criticized countries that might think they would never feel the brunt of a downturn. "The countries ... which are likely to implement (a bank tax) are the ones having had problems in the banking sector," Strauss-Kahn said. "The others say, 'We didn't have a problem so we're immune.'"
IMF chief tries to shore up fraying G20 unity (Reuters) - The IMF sought to maintain unity within the Group of 20 economic powers on Thursday, urging countries not to go separate ways in reforming the financial sector, as frictions emerged over a controversial plan to tax banks. At the start of four days of meetings in Washington, International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said countries need to ensure they are moving in the same direction on regulatory reform if they are to curb the risky practices blamed for the global financial crisis. "Our main concern is to have everyone working together and to maintain the cooperation momentum," he said.
Policymakers' comments at IMF, G20 meetings (Reuters) - Following are key quotes from global financial leaders on the third day of talks around the IMF's annual spring meetings. On the 45 billion-euro ($60.5 billion) aid for Greece: "Some countries think it's not enough. ... some of the G20 countries, including some of the European countries." On the yuan: "My impression ... with China is that in the right circumstances, they (will) allow more flexibility. "That's their perception of the right circumstances, and I think that is becoming, again, more likely than it was before because we're starting to emerge from crisis situations."
Saving America from Corporate-Statism Nelson Hultberg - SilverBearCafe.com As America sinks deeper into the tyranny of bureaucratic corporatism via today's incestuous relationship between Washington and Wall Street, it is inspiring to see thousands of Tea Parties spring up to express outrage. Unfortunately the "new deal" campaign approach still works as it has been malefically doing for over 70 years since FDR came to visit us. Every election season artful political pitchmen hit the hustings to call for "change" and "more prosperity for the people," in which millions get swept up.
Barack Obama promises to end bailouts 'once and for all' By Alex Spillius - Telegraph.co.uk President Barack Obama promised an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts "once and for all" as the US Senate prepared to start debating this week an overhaul of the financial system to restore confidence in Wall Street. Mr Obama called on Congress to pass the most wide-ranging changes to oversight of the financial market since the Great Depression and said the changes would help revive the economy and "put an end to the cycles of boom and bust". "In the absence of common-sense rules, Wall Street firms took enormous, irresponsible risks that imperiled our financial system - and hurt just about every sector of our economy," said the president in his weekly address. "Some people simply forgot that behind every dollar traded or leveraged, there is family looking to buy a house, pay for an education, open a business, or save for retirement."
To Peg or Not to Peg? Peter Schiff - SilverBearCafe.com While I attended an economic conference last week in Shanghai, I found it notable - but not surprising - that two former Secretaries of the Treasury, John Snow and Hank Paulson, as well as current Treasury Secretary Tim Geither, and former President George W. Bush were then in the country at the same time. The fact that so many key American power brokers (myself not included) were in China simultaneously is no coincidence. In an overly indebted world, the $2.5 trillion that China holds in foreign reserves is acting as a center of economic gravity, inexorably pulling all market participants into its orbit.
Awash in $100 Bills That Add Up to Zero By JIM DWYER - NYTimes.com For eight nights in March, the Allman Brothers played at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, and after the shows, their fans would come steaming along Broadway. One celebratory stop was at Coogan'son 169th Street. The crowds were good for business. They were swept into the usual tides of cops and politicians, neighborhood people and regulars from the hospital next door. Near the end of the run, which included St. Patrick's Day, the bar owners inspected a small pile of $100 bills that they had held out of their bank deposits. "I could tell by feeling the linen," said Peter Walsh, one of the partners. "It was this really heavily linen feeling. Whatever linen they usually have in the bills, this was triple."
A new idolatry Economist.com The economic crisis has revived the old debate about whether firms should focus most on their shareholders, their customers or their workers THE era of "Jack Welch capitalism" may be drawing to a close, predicted Richard Lambert, the head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), in a speech last month. When "Neutron Jack" (so nicknamed for his readiness to fire employees) ran GE, he was regarded as the incarnation of the idea that a firm's sole aim should be maximising returns to its shareholders. This idea has dominated American business for the past 25 years, and was spreading rapidly around the world until the financial crisis hit, calling its wisdom into question. Even Mr Welch has expressed doubts: "On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world," he said last year.
Worried About a Double Dip in Housing? It May Be Here Already By BETSY SCHIFFMAN - DailyFinance.com While many home sellers fret over the possibility of a double dip in the real estate market, at least one economist thinks there's no sense in worrying -- it's too late. The double dip is here, says Paul Dales, of Capital Economics, an investment research firm. Existing home sales are up -- they climbed nearly 7% in March -- but prices have dropped over the last three months, culminating with a 3.4% decrease in February, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. All told, prices are down 2.7% from November and 13.3% below the market peak in April 2007.
Harley CEO offers no promises on preserving jobs THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF MILWAUKEE - BY Rich Rovito -- Harley-Davidson Inc. president and CEO Keith Wandell said Saturday that the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer will continue to face challenges from the economy and that he won't make any guarantees to employees about their job security. "I wish to God I could stand in front of everybody and say that you're going to be guaranteed a job for life," Wandell said. "We'd all be great friends and pat each other on the back and walk into the sunset together. You know what? Life isn't that simple."
The Real Definition of Sedition That Liberals Don't Want You To Know By J.J. Jackson - CapitolHillCoffeeHouse.com Watch out all you who dare to speak up against our government in Washington as those at the reins of power are snatching up every last bit of control they can! You are the dangerous ones. Worse yet you are committing a crime in the eyes of leftists like Joe Klein. That’s right folks your talk is dangerous and borders on sedition which people like Klein are all too eager to warn is a felony and that you could be hauled off to jail for engaging in.
Arizona's immigration law may spur a showdown By Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times Gov. Jan Brewer signs a bill that opponents say encourages racial profiling. President Obama calls the measure 'misguided.' A federal review is underway. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed the toughest law against illegal immigration in the country, shrugging aside warnings from religious and civil rights leaders — and President Obama — that it would lead to widespread racial profiling. Hours after Obama denounced the measure as "misguided," Brewer held a signing ceremony for the bill, which makes it a crime to be in the state illegally and requires police to check suspects for immigration paperwork.
Hundreds protest immigration law in Arizona By the CNN Wire Staff Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) -- Hundreds of people gathered outside Arizona's Capitol building on Sunday in a largely peaceful protest against the state's tough new immigration law. Chanting "Yes we can," waving American flags and holding signs reading "We have rights" and "We are human," demonstrators kept up a festive spirit as they denounced the bill signed Friday by Gov. Jan Brewer. The new law requires police to determine whether a person is in the United States legally. It also requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there is reason to suspect they're in the United States illegally.
Senators postpone climate bill unveiling (Reuters) - One of President Barack Obama's top priorities -- tackling global warming -- suffered a severe setback on Saturday when a fight over immigration derailed plans to unveil a compromise climate change bill. A bipartisan group of senators led by Democrat John Kerry had been aiming to outline details of their climate change bill on Monday. That plan was canceled after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the working group, threatened to pull out if Democrats pushed for a debate on an overhaul of immigration before doing the huge environmental and energy legislation.
Well beneath sunken rig U.S. has serious oil leak (Reuters) - An oil well on the ocean floor beneath a drilling rig that exploded and sank into the Gulf of Mexico began spewing oil on Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The well, 5,000 feet beneath the ocean surface, was leaking about 1,000 barrels per day of oil, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said, in what the agency called a "very serious spill." Remote underwater vehicles detected oil leaking from the riser and drill pipe, the spokeswoman said. "We are classifying this as a very serious spill and we are using all our resources to help contain it," Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell said.
Iran reportedly tests five new missiles By the CNN Wire Staff Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iran said Sunday it fired five new types of locally-made coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles in the last stage of its "Great Prophet 5" military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf. The missiles were fired simultaneously and struck a single target at the same time -- a feat the Revolutionary Guard Corps described to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as "very important." The military exercises on Sunday also included high-speed boats waging a "war" against a warship. The maneuvers fell on the 31st anniversary of the elite force and were designed to demonstrate new weapons systems. Iran begins war games
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