Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Friday 07.30.2010
Gold - The Battle is Already Won
Gary Tanashian - SilverBearCafe.com
This morning's email from gold general Jim Sinclair - under siege yet again from the troops in the "community" - prompts this morning's post.
Mr. Sinclair often writes with a war mentality pitting the gold community against the evil bullion banks - and a good chunk of the rest of the financial world. Don't get me wrong, I think there is plenty of evil out there (it seems that on Mondays following a meeting or conspiracy of the assembled dignitaries in the G20 my investment accounts take the hit) but apparently a good chunk of the "community" gets its panties all in a bunch every time gold takes the hard hit.
President Visits New York but Wall Street Isn't at Home
By LAURA MECKLER And BRODY MULLINS - WSJ.com
President Barack Obama heads to New York City on Wednesday for a pair of high-dollar fund-raisers-a tough task given the many Wall Street executives who are put off by his rhetoric and policies.
Mr. Obama raised a record $15 million from Wall Street donors for his presidential campaign, but his relationship with many of those donors began to fray not long after he took office, and donations have fallen.
Wall Street executives "feel like a spurned lover," says Paul Equale, a financial-services lobbyist who also advises Wall Street firms on dealing with Washington.
Trillions for Wall Street... Zilch for You Know Who
Mike Whitney - SilverBearCafe.com
On Tuesday, the 30-year fixed rate for mortgages plunged to an all-time low of 4.56 per cent. Rates are falling because investors are stillÊ moving into risk-free liquid assets, like Treasuries. It's a sign of panic and the Fed's lame policy response has done nothing to sooth the public's fears. The flight-to-safety continues a full two years after Lehman Bros blew up.Ê
Housing demand has fallen off a cliff in spite of the historic low rates. Purchases of new and existing homes are roughly 25 per cent of what they were at peak in 2006. Case/Schiller reported on Monday that June new homes sales were the "worst on record", but the media twisted the story to create the impression that sales were actually improving! Here are a few of Monday's misleading headlines: "New Home Sales Bounce Back in June" - Los Angeles Times. "Builders Lifted by June New-home Sales", Marketwatch. "New Home Sales Rebound 24 per cent", CNN. "June Sales of New Homes Climb more than Forecast", Bloomberg.
How Washington is Far Worse off Than Rome
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/29/10 Alexandria, Virgina - While there have been many comparisons of how the US' current descent from its solitary superpower status bears an uncanny resemblance to the crumbling Roman Empire, Jim Rickards, in an interview with King World News, explains how the US is actually in a far worse situation.
From Zero Hedge: ".... alas, the similarities are just far too many, starting with the debasement of the currencies, whereby Rome's silver dinarius started out pure and eventually barely had a 5% content, and the ever increasing taxation of the population, and especially the most productive segment – the farmers, by the emperors, to the point where the downfall of empire was actually greeted by the bulk of the people as the barbarians were welcomed at the gate with open arms.
SEC Says New Financial Regulation Law Exempts it From Public Disclosure
By Dunstan Prial - FOXBusiness
So much for transparency.
Under a little-noticed provision of the recently passed financial-reform legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission no longer has to comply with virtually all requests for information releases from the public, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act.
The law, signed last week by President Obama, exempts the SEC from disclosing records or information derived from "surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities." Given that the SEC is a regulatory body, the provision covers almost every action by the agency, lawyers say. Congress and federal agencies can request information, but the public cannot.
Banking Disaster Largely Ignored By Mainstream Media
Greg Hunter - SilverBearCafe.com
Last week, bank failures quietly passed the 100 milestone for the year. I say "quietly" because the bank failure story has gone largely unreported or, at least, under-reported by the mainstream media. Just to give you an idea of how fast the bank insolvency problem is accelerating, last year, at this time, 64 banks had been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. So far, this year, 103 banks have already been taken over by the FDIC. There is no question the bank failures the FDIC will have to deal with will be greater than the 140 insolvent banks closed last year. At this point, we just don't know how many more, but dozens more than last year for sure.
Four Shocking Bombshells Bernanke Did NOT Tell Congress About Last Week Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D. - SilverBearCafe.com
In his testimony before Congress last week, Ben Bernanke lifted the Fed's skirt and gave us a glimpse of the disasters now sweeping through the U.S. economy.
But there are four bombshells he did NOT talk about:
FIRST and foremost, what's CAUSING the economy to sink? The stock market has not yet crashed. Interest rates have not yet surged. Gasoline prices have not skyrocketed. There has been no recent debt collapse, market shock, or terrorist attack.
So what is the invisible force that's suddenly gutting the housing market, driving consumer confidence into a sinkhole, and killing the recovery that Washington was so avidly touting just a few months ago?
Bernanke won't say. But the answer is clear: The recovery had very little substance to begin with. Rather, it was, in essence, a mirage - a dead cat bounce bought and paid for by Washington's massive bailouts, stimulus programs, and money printing.
Why the Fed won't raise rates
Citigroup to pay $75 million to settle SEC charges it misled investors over subprime investments WashingtonPost.com
Citigroup, one of the nation's largest banks, agreed Thursday to pay $75 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint that it misled investors about $40 billion of its holdings in sub-prime mortgage investments that sent the bank to the edge of collapse.
After its $550 million settlement with Goldman Sachs, the SEC's resolution of the case with Citigroup represents a third major Wall Street institution this year agreeing to regulatory sanctions for behavior that was at the core of the financial crisis. Citigroup received one of the largest taxpayer bailouts.
China allows IMF to share results of economic report
By Howard Schneider - Washington Post Staff Writer
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday released its first detailed assessment of the Chinese economy in four years, a document less interesting in its details than for the fact that it was made public at all.
There were the expected broad conclusions -- that the country's currency is undervalued, growth is vigorous, property values may be rising too fast -- and some new insights. The Chinese were, it turns out, spooked by the recent crisis in Europe and are concerned that the developed world is drowning in debt, and as a result, they have become even more cautious than usual in their own policies.
Europe's €30 trillion headache
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
European banks have amassed €30 trillion in liabilities and face a serious funding threat over the next two years as authorities withdraw emergency support, according to a new report by Standard & Poor's
The rating agency said banks are at risk of a vicious circle as sovereign debt fears and financial stress feed off each other. "Banking sector woes are eroding sovereign credit-worthiness, which is in turn reducing the real and perceived capacity of governments to support weak banks," said S&P.
"The collective funding needs of Europe's banks are vast. The industry is much larger than America's or Asia's. Most of their mortgages and other personal loans stay on their balance sheets and require funding. This contrasts with the US, where financial institutions securitize (these) loans and which do not require balance sheet funding," said Scott Bugie, S&P's credit strategist. Total liabilities are €23 trillion for the eurozone and €8 trillion for the UK, Sweden, and Denmark.
To Hell with Free Trade
by Alan Caruba - CapitolHillCoffeeHouse.com
It's funny how bits of knowledge stick in your head. Literally a half century ago, while taking a history class at the University of Miami, a professor said, "Nothing happens in the world until someone sells something to someone else."
The study of history can help one understand the present and frequently help predict the future. The world has experienced astonishing change in the last century thanks to trains, planes, automobiles, radio and television, and, of course, computers and the Internet.
It is natural for each new generation to accept such technological innovations as having always existed, but even automobiles are a relatively new mass produced invention. A hundred years ago in 1910, there were only 8,000 cars in the entire nation and only 144 miles of paved road.
Fed official warns of deflation fears
Fed official backs more asset purchases
The Fed is trying so hard not to scare the market that it risks putting the economy to sleep, a top Fed official said.
By promising to leave short-term interest rates near zero for an extended period, the Fed "may be increasing the probability of a Japanese-style outcome for the U.S.," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard (right) said in a paper released Thursday. He says the best bet for avoiding that sort of slowdown is another round of Fed asset purchases.
The support for another round of asset purchases is noteworthy because Bullard has been both a supporter of Fed asset purchases and a worrier about the potential inflationary impacts. His support for more asset purchases suggests he believes the balance has swung against inflation.
Senator demands probe of BP tax break
By Annalyn Censky - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Two days after BP said it will write off the cost of the oil spill cleanup against its income taxes, a U.S. senator is calling for a Congressional probe into the company's tax plans.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, requesting a series of hearings on the matter and calling BP's plans to take a tax write-off "unacceptable."
On Tuesday, BP said it took a $32 billion charge in the second quarter for clean-up costs, resulting in tax savings of about $10 billion.
A Store of Rubbish
Peter Souleles B. Com. LLB. - SilverBearCafe.com
Rest assured that the price and position of gold are underpinned and guaranteed by spendthrift governments and accommodating central bankers who do not understand that they cannot generate more and more public debt in the process of taking the place of unemployed workers and maxed out consumers and plugging the gaping holes left by insolvent banks and corporations. Moreover they will compound the problem by allowing the concentration of wealth and income into fewer and fewer hands. They will however continue this stupid process until they are forced to print a fresh load of worthless paper with which to pay back everyone in useless currency. In the current economic climate they can attack gold, but they cannot destroy it. Paper manipulations and media distortions can be very effective in scratching gold's surface and scaring weak hands into giving it up, but they cannot create jobs, win wars, redeem the securities held by Social Security Trust Fund or repair decaying infrastructure. The Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf himself recently stated that "U.S. fiscal policy is unsustainable, and unsustainable to an extent that it can't be solved through minor changes" and even the Fed's Beige Book has now put off recovery for another 5-6 years. With the current policies of the USA, Europe, China and Japan, recovery will only be possible after a complete collapse.
How the Threat of Monetary Inflation Keeps a Currency Strong
By Bill Bonner - The DailyReckoning.com
07/29/10 Paris, France – Here’s the latest from The Telegraph: Drip after drip of deflation data… Today’s release on manufacturing activity by the Richmond Fed is pretty ghastly, as you would expect given that the effects of fiscal stimulus are now wearing off at an accelerating pace – before the happy handover to the private sector is safely consummated – and given that the structural East-West imbalances that lay behind the global crisis are getting worse again… This follows yesterday’s horrendous fall in the Texas business activity index from the Dallas Fed, which fell from -4 in June to -21 in July. “Thirty-one percent of firms reported a worsening of activity, up from 22 percent in June,” said the bank. Texas New Orders were -9.6 in July, -8.2 in June, and +15.8 in May. Capacity Utilization was -0.6 in July, +2.7 in June, and +18.7 in May. This of course is why Fed chair Ben Bernanke has been giving strong hints of QE2 (helicopters again) if necessary.
Here is where it gets so interesting we can barely sit still. Ben Bernanke is threatening to drop money from helicopters (quantitative easing). In a better world, a banker who threatened to inflate the currency would be punished immediately. People would take him at his word. They would dump his paper money immediately. The price of it would drop. He’d be forced to protect it.
Emanuel: Obama Aims to Improve Business Relations
By GERALD F. SEIB - WSJ.com (free) Obama Plans Regulatory Review
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama, mindful of business complaints about his administration, plans to review regulatory decisions to see whether there are "things that can be done in a more sensible way," his top aide said.
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said in a video interview with WSJ.com that Mr. Obama held a meeting this week with aides to discuss various regulatory decisions. "They've gone through a review process, but he's heard what [business leaders] have had to say, and he wants to have a further review to see if in fact there are some things that shouldn't be done."
The Market Is a Hologram Masking Deflation
Max Keiser - SilverBearCafe.com
Since the global financial crisis started in earnest in 2008, there has been a debate raging in economic circles. Is the economy experiencing inflation or deflation?
The first consideration in solving this riddle is to agree on terms. Rising or falling prices at your local grocery store is 'price inflation' but not inflation as defined in terms of an expanding money supply.* In other words, retail prices moving up and down are the secondary effects of an expanding or contracting money supply; the primary component in understanding the 'flations.'
Getting back to what happened in 2008, when the markets hit the skids, the government reacted by increasing the money supply; just as they did after the 1987 crash, the Long Term Capital Management crisis, the dot-com crash, 9/11, and the sub-prime crash. But unlike any of those instances, the money supply kept shrinking and prices kept deflating (notwithstanding the price of a few items).
Keiser Report No:64
George Carlin Never Would've Cut It at the New Goldman Sachs
By CASSELL BRYAN-LOW And AARON LUCCHETTI - WSJ.com Firm Bans Naughty Words in Emails; An 'Unlearnable Lesson' on Wall Street?
There will never be another s- deal at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The New York company is telling employees that they will no longer be able to get away with profanity in electronic messages. That means all 34,000 traders, investment bankers and other Goldman employees must restrain themselves from using a vast vocabulary of oft-used dirty words on Wall Street, including the six-letter expletive that came back to haunt the company at a Senate hearing in April. "[B]oy, that timberwo[l]f was one s- deal," Thomas Montag, who helped run Goldman's securities business, wrote in a June 2007 email that was repeatedly referred to at the hearing.
Rangel hit with 13 ethics charges
By Sean Lengell - The Washington Times Bipartisan panel of colleagues puts longtime lawmaker on trial
Kicking off a politically perilous process, the House ethics committee on Thursday officially lodged 13 charges against Rep. Charles B. Rangel, including that he used his office to raise $8 million for a college public policy center named after him and failed to file taxes while he was Congress' chief tax writer.
Last-minute efforts to strike a deal to head off a public trial fell short as Republicans said that chance had passed.
Mr. Rangel was not present as two of his colleagues sat as prosecutors and eight others sat as a kind of jury, tasked with deciding the fate of the New York Democrat who earlier this year was pressured into giving up the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Still Too Big to Nail
Commentary by Jonathan Weil
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- The White House says it's finally ready to consider new ideas for what to do about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Still absent from the government's agenda is any serious effort to hold anyone accountable for their ruin or investigate why they collapsed.
Back in December 2003, after Freddie disclosed what in retrospect was a relatively mild accounting scandal, its regulator published an exhaustive 185-page report cataloguing the company's financial-reporting abuses. In May 2006, the same regulator disclosed similar findings about Fannie's books in a report covering 348 pages.
Fixed mortgage rates keep falling
By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times
The average on a 30-year loan drops to 4.54%, while 15-year mortgages are down to 4%, Freddie Mac reports. This marks the sixth straight week of record lows.
The Gershwin standard is "Nice Work If You Can Get It." The refrain in today's housing market would be: nice loans - if you can get them.
Fixed mortgage rates have dropped again, marking the sixth straight week of record lows in Freddie Mac's survey of what lenders are offering to highly qualified borrowers.
Foreclosure activity continues to increase
By Dina ElBoghdady - WashingtonPost.com
Foreclosure activity climbed in three-quarters of the nation's largest metro areas in the first half of the year compared to the same time a year ago, but declined in some of the hardest hit regions, RealtyTrac reported on Thursday.
The report found that 154 of the 206 metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity, which covers everything from the time borrowers receive a default to the sale of the property via auction or on the traditional real estate market.
Foreclosures boom among nation's most creditworthy
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY
A record number of borrowers once judged the most creditworthy are heading into foreclosure as the job market leaves more homeowners unable to keep up with mortgage payments.
Foreclosures among borrowers with prime conforming loans have shot up 425% since January 2008, according to Lender Processing Services, which compiles mortgage data. Conforming loans are those eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal agencies that buy mortgages from lenders.
Jumbo prime loans not eligible for purchase by Fannie or Freddie have done even worse - foreclosures on those have increased nearly 600%.
Homes will sell if priced right; foreclosures have impact
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY
Emily Rennie's three-bedroom house in Oakland was a beauty in a sweet location. Walking distance to the lakeshore. Close to shops. A refurbished patio in the back. Inside, a modern kitchen with granite countertops.
Listed at $539,000 when she put it on the market, the Excelsior Avenue house was missing one crucial thing: The right price. After a few weeks with no offers, she cut the price to $499,000 in May. Then she cut it to $475,000 in June. She is still hoping for an offer.
Foreclosure warnings are on the rise in most metro areas
StarTribune.com
LOS ANGELES - Households across a majority of large U.S. cities received more foreclosure warnings in the first six months of this year than in the first half of 2009, new data show.
The trend is the latest sign that the nation's foreclosure crisis is worsening as homeowners battling high unemployment, slow job growth and an uneven rebound in home prices continue to fall behind on their mortgage payments.
In all, 154 out of 206 metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents posted an annual increase in foreclosure activity between January and June, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
California 'fiscal emergency' declared
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal state of emergency, putting pressure on lawmakers to pass a state budget that is now more than a month overdue.
California's economy, which is the eighth largest in the world, faces a budget deficit of $19bn (£12bn).
Mr Schwarzenegger said that without a budget in place the state's government would run out of cash by October.
He also ordered most state employees to take three days unpaid leave a month.
Earlier this month, the governor ordered 200,000 state workers to be paid the minimum wage because no budget had been passed.
Schwarzenegger Blocks the Latest Shot in the War On Farmers
Jesse Kline - Reason.com
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have mandated overtime pay for agricultural workers who are on the job for more than eight hours in a day. California is already the only state to provide overtime pay to employees working over 10 hours; this bill would have gone significantly further. According to the Los Angeles Times:
Saying he didn't want to damage California's agricultural economy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday vetoed a first-in-the-nation bill that would have given farmworkers the same rights to overtime pay enjoyed by all other hourly workers in California.
California workers stiffed again
By Julianne Pepitone, staff reporter
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- California's state workers just can't catch a break.
For the past year and a half, 200,000 of them have been forced to take three unpaid furlough days a month -- losing as much as 14% of their pay.
The furlough order expired July 1, when workweeks and full salaries were restored.
But the reprieve was short: The state's workers are getting slapped back down.
On Wednesday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to reinstitute "furlough Fridays" starting Aug. 1.
Gerald Celente on Tony Cruise WHAS 27 July 2010
Employers get tough on insuring 'family'
By Parija Kavilanz, senior writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Think your whole family is covered by your company health plan? Get ready to prove they're actually your kin.
Under the new health care legislation, beginning next year employers will have to provide coverage for dependents of employees till age 26.
That will further inflate coverage costs for companies at a time when employers are already bracing for a 9% jump in their health care plan expenditures in 2011.
Americans Cut Back on Visits to Doctor
By AVERY JOHNSON, JONATHAN D. ROCKOFF and ANNA WILDE MATHEWS - WSJ.com (free)
Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions about whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick up a greater share of the costs.
The drop in usage is showing up as health-care companies report financial results. Insurers, lab-testing companies, hospitals and doctor-billing concerns say that patient visits, drug prescriptions and procedures were down in the second quarter from year-ago levels.
"People just aren't using health-care like they have," said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint Inc.'s chief financial officer, in an interview Wednesday. "Utilization is lower than we expected, and it's unusual."
Is an Internet sales tax coming?
UPDATE: Adds opposing resolution from Rep. Paul W. Hodes (D-N.H.)
By Ylan Q. Mui - WashingtonPost.com
A movement is slowly building in Washington to banish one of the biggest perks of shopping online: not paying sales tax.
That's because the perk has also cost states as much as $23 billion in
lost revenue by some estimates, and they want it back. Rep. Bill
Delahunt (D-Mass.) this morning enlisted Republican South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) and other state lawmakers to rally support for his
proposed Main Street Fairness Act, which would make it easier for
states to go after the money.
White House proposal would ease FBI access
to records of Internet activity
By Ellen Nakashima - Washington Post Staff Writer
The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.
The administration wants to add just four words -- "electronic communication transactional records" --
Afghan Crooks Given Taxpayer Money
Memo outlines backdoor 'amnesty' plan
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times Immigration staffers cite tools available without reform
With Congress gridlocked on an immigration bill, the Obama administration is considering using a back door to stop deporting many illegal immigrants - what a draft government memo said could be "a non-legislative version of amnesty."
The memo, addressed to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas and written by four agency staffers, lists tools it says the administration has to "reduce the threat of removal" for many illegal immigrants who have run afoul of immigration authorities.
"In the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, USCIS can extend benefits and/or protections to many individuals and groups by issuing new guidance and regulations, exercising discretion with regard to parole-in-place, deferred action and the issuance of Notices to Appear," the staffers wrote in the memo, which was obtained by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican.
BORN IN THE USA? U.S. Selective Service in Obama cover-up?
Mysterious Social Security Number now wreaks havoc in online search By: Joe Kovacs - FourWinds10.com (TruthWinds.com)
Is the U.S. Selective Service System now blocking access to President Barack Obama's online registration records?
Members of the public searching the federal database for the commander in chief's registration are suddenly finding new difficulty, possibly due to the startling revelation of Obama's alleged use of a Connecticut-based Social Security Number.
The Selective Service System, or SSS, collects names of Americans for use by the Department of Defense in the event of a national emergency. On its website, it says it provides the nation "with a structure and a system of guidelines which will provide the most prompt, efficient, and equitable draft possible, if the country should need it."
Feds think public can't HANDLE THE TRUTH
about toxic dispersants says EPA Sr. Analyst
EPA Senior Policy Analyst Hugh Kaufman on MSNBC July 28, 2010
When the Watchmen Are Silenced
By Jan Markell -
There is now a war on words in America. The battle to further censor words, transform words, twist words, and silence words is raging. The Left in leadership is determined to rob Americans of one freedom after another but the greatest loss would be our free speech. As stated in the July 26 issue of The American Thinker, "It's a frightening thought: Government takeover of the media. But having tightened their grip on health care, financial services, and energy, it's only logical that the Democrats should turn their attention to the media. "Discussions underway at the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission point toward a dangerous new effort to regulate what Americans read and hear. The takeover under discussion would apply across the board to print media, radio and television, and the Internet. The result of proposed regulations would be nothing less than an end to free speech in America."
Our America - The Gary Johnson Initiative
America is in a crisis that affects the future of every citizen in our land. There is no THEY poised and ready to swoop in to protect our liberties and restore what has been taken. There is YOU and there is ME. We alone have to shoulder the burden of advancing the cause of freedom in our nation. Each of us has a role and a duty to perform because its OUR America. The time is now. The price of our liberty will only get higher the longer we delay. Mission Statement: OUR America Initiative seeks to broaden the parameters of the public policy debate of current topics in the national arena. We look to enlighten the population about civil liberties, free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values. It is our aim to increase the amount of discussion and involvement regarding all-important issues.
The OUR America Initiative is a 501(c)(4) political advocacy committee and may receive unlimited donations from both individual and corporate donors. Gary Johnson is not a current candidate for any federal political office. Gary Johnson serves as Honorary Chairman of Our America Initiative:
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Alex Jones' EndGame HQ full length version
Alex Jones' Fall of the Republic HQ full length version
Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states as Big Government claims ownership over our water
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger - NaturalNews.com
(NaturalNews) Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I'm about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.
As bizarre as it sounds, laws restricting property owners from "diverting" water that falls on their own homes and land have been on the books for quite some time in many Western states. Only recently, as droughts and renewed interest in water conservation methods have become more common, have individuals and business owners started butting heads with law enforcement over the practice of collecting rainwater for personal use.
SILENCE OF THE SHEEP
by John Hinderaker - PowerLine.com
Andrew Klavan wrote a book called Empire of Lies. It was slated to be published in France by Seuil Policiers, but the editor who bought the book left that firm, and the new editor decided not to publish Klavan's book. This wasn't because she thought it wouldn't sell; it wasn't an economic decision at all, as Klavan had already been paid. Rather, the editor explained that "she can not publish . . . because of the political and religious aspects of the story." That is, the book's protagonist is a conservative Christian. Not only that, the liberal media is a sort of collective villain.
Klavan applies this experience to recent headlines here in the U.S., and contrasts liberals with conservatives:
[E]verywhere, the Left favors fewer voices and less information, and conservatives favor more. Everywhere, the Left seeks to disappear its opposition, whereas the Right is willing to meet them head-on. ...
The New American: A Rebirth Of The Old Guard
By Giordano Bruno - Neithercorp Press - 07/26/2010
.... The primary threat, not just to the New American but to every living person, is Elitism. There is nothing more vile than an elitist: they demand fealty from the masses even though they hate and despise the common man. They are fully aware of their conscience, but see it as a hindrance to their pursuit of dominance and so ignore it. They fancy themselves as "godlike" and imagine themselves to be intellectually superior to the rest of us, even though they have proven on numerous occasions to be rather foolish. Their ego-mania is so immense that they are virtually incapable of recognizing the fallibility of their philosophies. And, they are willing to sacrifice anything and anyone accept themselves to get what they want, meaning they are the worst kind of cowards exacting the worst kind of oppression.
As horrifying as elites are, the New American is unphased. He knows that an uncompromising sense of despotism can only be met with an uncompromising sense of liberty. He knows that because he is confident in his values and refuses to negotiate them away, elitists fear him. They recognize that men who are defending their home, who are wise, who hold the moral high ground, and who are unafraid, are difficult if nearly impossible to defeat. More than anything else, the elites quake at the thought of the New American Guard.
Economic Warnings From Niall Ferguson and Nassim Taleb
By: Gary North - MarketOracle.co.uk
Two widely respected economic commentators, Harvard's Niall Ferguson and Nassim "black swan" Taleb, have offered highly pessimistic assessments of what lies ahead for the American economy.
Information like this is widely ignored by investors in weeks when they have decided that nothing can stop them: they will get rich by investing in the American stock market, no matter what. On July 21, Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking committee that "the economic outlook looks unusually uncertain." Stocks fell sharply as soon as he gave his testimony. But the Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered at the opening bell the next day, and then rose by almost 400 points over the next three business days. There was no news that countered Bernanke's assessment. Investors simply shrugged it off.
US Treasury Running on Fumes, Down to the Last Trillion in Red Ink
By: Paul Craig Roberts - MarketOracle.co.uk
The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks' release of the Afghan War Documents "puts the lives of our soldiers and our coalition partners at risk."
What nonsense. Obama's war puts the lives of American soldiers at risk, and the craven puppet state behavior of "our partners" in serving as US mercenaries is what puts their troops at risk.
Keep in mind that it was someone in the US military that leaked the documents to WikiLeaks. This means that there is a spark of rebellion within the Empire itself.
China Tells America to Mind Its Own Business
From theTrumpet.com
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invoked a heated response from Chinese officials last Friday. Clinton stated that America might step in to referee a long-simmering territorial dispute between China and its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea.
Speaking at a forum of Southeast Asian countries in Vietnam, Mrs. Clinton surprised Beijing by saying America had a "national interest" in mediating the dispute of the Spratly Islands between China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia.
The islands and surrounding sea floor supposedly contain large oil and gas deposits.
Clinton's assertion may have evoked an abnormally heated response due to the fact that 20 U.S. and South Korean warships and 200 aircraft are currently conducting war games in seas between Korea and China.
George Soros' gold ownership is a classic hedge
By Michael J Kosares - CommodityOnline.com
The hubbub started when hedge fund guru George Soros proclaimed gold to be in a bubble, and it is still roiling nearly six months later. Gold advocates jumped to its defense, while critics took the offensive. As it turns out though, Soros was not really issuing a warning so much as he was explaining why he was making a considerable investment in gold bullion. Only days after calling gold the "ultimate asset bubble," the financial press reported Soros had doubled his holdings of physical metal. Both the advocates and the critics had misinterpreted what Soros was trying to say.
Gold Counting Down to Assault on $1300
By: Bob Kirtley - MarketOracle.co.uk
Sam Kirtley writes: We remain convinced that gold has yet to make its high for the year, and expect an assault on $1300 to begin in about a month from now.
Despite our bullishness, we are not convinced that buying more call options on gold is the right move for now, since we expect action to the upside to be fairly limited over the next few weeks.
Our reasoning for this is partially due to the fact this is a seasonally weak time of year for gold, but also since we saw heavy selling in 'out of the money' gold call options and futures this week, whenever the yellow metal showed some strength. This indicates that there could be a lot of trapped speculative longs that will be looking to exit their positions as soon as the price turns just slightly in their favour, creating a dampening effect on the price.
Short sellers drive down gold again Short selling ahead of the August options expiry date seems to have contributed to a nearly 2% sell off in gold yesterday before the price steadied at the $1,160 level
Author: Lawrence Williams - MineWeb.co.za
LONDON - Belief that the economic downturn is ending and August options expiry has led to gold and other precious metals being caught in a wave of short selling, with prices slipping sharply. The big question facing investors is does this indicate the end of the 10-year gold bull market and if so, will the other precious metals decline in its wake, or will they be supported by the presumption that their industrial usage will see demand hold up?
In truth this is probably far too early to call. The northern summer months normally suggest a weak time for gold with holidays meaning that smaller trading volumes can have an undue influence on the overall market. And have we really exited the economic mire yet?
2011: The Year Of The Tax Increase
Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Unless the U.S. Congress acts, there is going to be a massive wave of tax increases in 2011. In fact, some are already calling 2011 the year of the tax increase. A whole host of tax cuts that Congress established between 2001 and 2003 are set to expire in January unless Congress chooses to renew them. But with Democrats firmly in control of both houses that appears to be extremely unlikely. These tax increases are going to affect every single American (at least those who actually pay taxes). But this will be just the first wave of tax increases. Another huge slate of tax increases passed in the health care reform law is scheduled to go into effect by 2019. So Americans that are already infuriated by our tax system are only going to become more frustrated in the years ahead. The reality is that the U.S. government will soon be digging much deeper into our wallets.
The following are some of the tax increases that are scheduled to go into effect in 2011....
America's Quiet Banking Collapse
From theTrumpet.com
Seven more banks fade into history.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (fdic) announced that it had seized the assets of seven additional banks, on Friday. During 2010 so far, 103 banks have gone bankrupt, putting the nation on pace for the most bank failures since the Savings and Loan crisis during the 1990s.
America's quiet banking collapse may be one of the most underreported stories of the year.
If the rate at which banks continue to fail continues, 175 institutions will become wards of the state by the end of December. In 1992, during the height of the banking crisis, 179 banks were shut, so this year could be a record - of the bad kind.
Bank reforms to pinch consumer credit
By Patrice Hill - The Washington Times Will raise fees elsewhere
Call it the law of unintended consequences.
That's what many finance experts are saying will be the result of Congress' latest attempt to micromanage the world of consumer credit through the financial-reform measure President Obama signed into law last week.
Many are predicting that well-meaning provisions to force banks to lower their fees for debit card services will boomerang once again and result in less credit available for consumers - the same phenomenon seen when Congress enacted a law a year ago to rein in credit card fees.
Don't Lose Sleep over Deflation
By: Michael Pento - MarketOracle.co.uk
After hearing the dire warnings of deflation that have become the standard talking points of most economists, American investors may be reaching for a bottle of Prozac. I believe that their anxiety is misplaced. Unfortunately, modern economists don't understand what deflation is or why, in reality, we have much more to fear from inflation.
Moderate deflation is actually the natural trend of a productive economy. If a producer can increase his output per unit of input, then he can afford to expand his market by lowering prices while still increasing profits. In that way, deflation allows consumers to buy items that they may not have previously afforded. It also promotes savings, which is essential for investment and capital development.
CBO Warns of Increased Risk of U.S. Fiscal Crisis
By Philip Klein The American Spectator
The Congressional Budget Office today released a new report on the risk of a fiscal crisis occurring in the United States due to our long-term debt, and its conclusions largely echo points that I've been trying to make repeatedly.
The bottom line is that the longer we prolong dealing with our debt problem, the greater the risk of a fiscal crisis, and the more unattractive the options become for digging ourself out of the mess.
Warren seen gaining key consumer protection post
By Ronald D. Orol and Greg Robb, MarketWatch Surviving doubts inside and outside the White House
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- An increasing number of Washington observers see improving odds that Elizabeth Warren will become the head of the important new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, surviving mixed feelings from the Obama administration and determined opposition from bank lobbyists and Republicans.
Speculation about Warren's nomination has captivated Washington since the president signed into law earlier this month historic regulatory changes for the banking and financial industries.
Consumer advocates and a group of Democrat lawmakers in recent days have expanded their campaigns to seat the Harvard Law School professor.
Are the Rich Just Lucky?
By CATHERINE RAMPELL [read the blog guest posts and comment yourself]
Christopher Bergin, the president and publisher of Tax Analysts, makes an interesting observation about the rhetoric the Obama administration has been evoking in its efforts to end some of the Bush tax cuts:
When talking about the rich, Treasury Secretary Geithner and President Obama refer to them as "fortunate," insinuating - if not just stating it outright - that the rich are lucky. That's why they're rich. This is a point of view I'd expect from a couple of liberal arts college professors, not from those in charge.
Consumer confidence retreats further in July
By Anne D'Innocenzio - AP - WashingtonTimes.com
NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans' confidence in the economy eroded further in July amid worries about a job market that has proved stubbornly stagnant. The report raised concerns about the overall economy and the back-to-school season.
The Conference Board, a private research group, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 50.4 in July, down from the revised 54.3 in June. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 51.0. The decline follows last month's nearly 10-point drop, from 62.7 in May, which marked the biggest drop since February, when the measure also fell 10 points.
The second straight month of declining confidence follows three months of increases.
Cities threaten to cut 500,000 jobs
By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporter
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Cash-strapped cities and counties have been cutting jobs to cope with massive budget shortfalls -- and that tally could edge up to nearly 500,000 if Congress doesn't step up to help.
Local governments are looking to eliminate 8.6% of their total full-time equivalent positions by 2012, according to a new survey released Tuesday by the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties and United States Conference of Mayors.
Pain, but no gain: local governments face budget doom
By Darius Dale, contributor - CNNMoney.com
FORTUNE -- State and local governments are facing a vicious cycle thanks to our financial crisis. Since home prices haven't really recovered, tax revenues are down. Since tax revenues are down, governments are cutting jobs, which means cutting services to homeowners. That means governments are spending less money in their communities, and employing less people, perpetuating the decline in property values that caused tax revenues to decrease in the first place.
Indeed, the first sentence of the executive summary of the latest National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) Fiscal Survey of State Budgets reads: "Fiscal 2010 presented the most difficult challenge for States' financial management since the Great Depression and fiscal 2011 is expected to present states with similar challenges."
U.S. durable-goods orders sink 1.0% June's decline comes as a surprise for economists expecting a solid gain By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Weakness in many categories of built-to-last products drove orders for new U.S.-made durable goods down by 1.0% in June, the second straight monthly decline and the biggest drop in 10 months, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Excluding a 2.4% decrease in transportation goods, orders fell 0.6%, the second decline in the past three months.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been looking for 1.0% growth in durable-goods orders last month. See economic calendar and forecasts for all major indicators.
At 'Old GM,' Unwanted Assets Linger Disposal of Hundreds of Properties, Some Decrepit or Contaminated, Drags On Amid Bankruptcy
By MIKE SPECTOR - WSJ.com
A year into the process of shedding GM's "bad assets," only one former factory and a few other properties have found a second life.
The vast majority of the auto maker's closed offices, decrepit plants and parts depots that were left behind in bankruptcy court remain on the market or are slated for demolition. Some of the properties are contaminated with toxic waste; others are cavernous structures way too big for alternative uses. Few sport good locations.
It could take years to dispose of the 200 remaining properties, the detritus of one of the country's biggest-ever bankruptcies.
Dr. Housing Bubble blog Banks cherry picking individual foreclosures that show up on the MLS in Culver City and Pasadena with proof: Southern California lenders pushing out properties in Culver City with an average price tag of $300,000. Median sale price for city is $600,000. Shadow inventory average price is $443,000 with loans at an average of $552,000. 141,000 homes in Southern California are distressed yet MLS only reflects 83,000 total properties.
Party like its 1999. The U.S. homeownership rate is now down to levels last seen in 1999. In essence, every effort to push homeownership rates upwards with absurd Wall Street gimmicks (the entire toxic mortgage disaster) but also the government backed implosions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have basically been one giant waste of time and money for the public (many became filthy rich). Why? These efforts focused on quick and easy money at the expense of long-term sustainability. For many decades, we were doing well with large down payments and the vanilla flavored 30 year fixed mortgage. It is no coincidence that the entire game collapsed when Wall Street lobbyist bought out government plutocrats and turned our entire economy into one giant housing casino. Southern California is still very much in a housing bubble phase. Prices even today are disconnected from market fundamentals. Inventory is still growing and the shadow inventory figures remain elevated. Why? The government took a bazooka of easy money, tax credit gimmicks, and other financial shenanigans to hide the fact that people don't have stronger wages to support current prices. We went into bubble 2.0 here in SoCal in many areas. That bubble will burst.
Residential Housing Market is Still Burning Down
MadHedgeFundTrader
Today, the Commerce Department reported that June new home sales, at 330,000, were up a blistering 24%. So is the crash in residential real estate over? It's off to the races, right? Wrong! Much of the gains were cancelled out by whopping great downward revisions which caused April to shrink from 504,000 to 422,000, and May to shrivel from 300,000 to an unbelievable 267,000, a 60 year low. Every time I update my prediction that home prices are either going south or nowhere for a decade, my inbox gets flooded with angry emails from real estate agents around the country and other industry apologists screaming that I am missing record home affordability and historic low 30 year mortgage interest rates.
More Men Make Harassment Claims
By DANA MATTIOLI
Since the start of the recession, a growing number of sexual harassment complaints have come from men. Some 16.4% of all sexual harassment claims - or 2,094 claims - were filed by men in fiscal 2009, up from 15.4%, or 1,869 claims, in fiscal 2006, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
While male victims sometimes experience behavior like groping and unwanted sexual advances, employment lawyers say increasingly "locker room" type behavior like vulgar talk and horseplay with sexual connotations have been the subject of claims.
Ron Chapman, an attorney with employment law firm Ogletree Deakins in Dallas, says in most cases the man suing is someone who has been fired or laid off.
People Begin Living Without Electricity and Water in California
Unemployment rises in most metro areas
AP - MSNBC.com
Tuscaloosa, Champaign, Alexandria some of areas hit hardest
WASHINGTON - The unemployment rate in about three-quarters of the nation's largest metro areas rose last month as nearly one million teenagers entered the work force looking for summer jobs.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the unemployment rate rose in 291 of 374 areas in June from May. It fell in 55 areas and was flat in 28. That reverses the trend of the previous three months, when joblessness fell in most metro areas.
Why Doesn't Job Retraining Work? Despite billions spent and the best of intentions, the American workforce resists reinvention.
By James Ledbetter - WashingtonPost's TheBigMoney.com
Health care reform or no health care reform, we don't have enough doctors in this country. A Harvard economist, writing in the New York Times Magazine, has declared: "Today, the shortage of doctors in the United States is worse than at any time in the last fifty years. This is not to say that the total number of doctors has decreased; actually, the total is now higher than ever. I speak of the increased gap between our doctors and our total population."
It's an odd finding to contemplate - that at a time of massive unemployment, a critical, well-paying field like medicine should go wanting for workers. Perhaps odder still: The words cited above were written when the country was coming out of a recession and the economy was actually growing. I'm not, however, referring to 2010, but to 1950.
As Unemployment Extentions Run Out,
Social Serices Agencies Begin To Take Children
Toyota delays Prius production in U.S.
SILICON VALLEY / SAN JOSE BUSINESS JOURNAL
Toyota is holding off on a Prius plant in the U.S. until 2016, according to reports late Wednesday, and the company is still undecided on where the cars will be built.
In 2008 Toyota said it would begin building the cars at a Mississippi plant, but now the weak economy and slower than expected hybrid sales in the U.S. have contributed to a change in plans.
Reuters, citing an unidentified executive of the carmaker, said the Corolla model will be built at the Mississippi plant instead, and the Prius will probably only begin U.S. production after a remodel.
GM to sell electric car Volt for $41,000
AP - WashingtonTimes.com
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Co. said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt electric car will cost $41,000 when it goes on sale in November.
While the price is about $8,000 more than its closest rival, the Nissan Leaf, GM said it will offer a $350-per-month lease deal that's essentially equal to the Leaf's. That will put the battery-powered Volt within reach of many people, GM said.
Both cars also are eligible for a federal tax credit that will cut their prices by $7,500. The Volt would fall to $33,500 while the Leaf's would drop to $25,280 from nearly $33,000.
Some states, such as California, Georgia and Oregon, offer additional tax breaks that lower the price further.
Furlough Fridays Back On in California as Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency
By GIL RUDAWSKY - DailyFinance.com
Faced with a $19.1 billion deficit and no hope for digging out, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday declared a fiscal emergency.
Under the rules of the emergency, Schwarzenegger ordered three furlough days per month for all but essential state employees. State offices will be closed three Fridays a month.
The closures and furloughs will remain in place until a budget is enacted. California government workers are used to the so-called "furlough Fridays," living with them for 12 months, ending this past June.
"Every day of delay brings California closer to a fiscal meltdown," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Our cash situation leaves me no choice but to once again furlough state workers until the Legislature produces a budget I can sign."
"Top Secret America": The Rest Of The Story
Dr. Chuck Baldwin
The Monday, July 19, 2010, edition of The Washington Post featured an investigative report entitled "Top Secret America," with the subtitle, "A hidden world, growing beyond control." The report begins, "The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
"These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.
A Federal Judge Blocks Parts of Arizona's Immigration Law
By JONATHAN BERR - DailyFinance.com
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton threw a monkey wrench into the deeply contentious debate over illegal immigration by declaring parts of Arizona's controversial immigration law to be unconstitutional. She based her decision on the bedrock legal principal that federal laws preempt state laws. Arizona's law was scheduled to go into effect on July 29.
"The Court by no means disregards Arizona's interests in controlling illegal immigration and addressing the concurrent problems with crime including the trafficking of humans, drugs, guns, and money," she wrote. "Even though Arizona's interests may be consistent with those of the federal government, it is not in the public interest for Arizona to enforce preempted law."
FEDS OBTAIN INJUNCTION AGAINST ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW
John Hinderaker - PowerLine.com
A federal judge in Arizona has issued a preliminary injunction blocking key enforcement provisions of the new Arizona immigration law from taking effect until the legality of these provisions is fully litigated. The judge, Susan Bolton (a Clinton appointee), found that the Justice Department's preemption argument is likely to prevail at trial.
I haven't had time to analyze the opinion. Andy McCarthy has, and finds it unpersuasive .
It's clear to me that the Arizona law doesn't conflict or interfere with immigration legislation Congress has passed. If there is any interference or conflict, it is with the way the Obama administration wants to enforce such legislation -- i.e., passively at best.
Ariz. Sheriff: I'll Jail Immigration Protesters
By Staff, Associated Press
Washington (AP) - The sheriff of the most populous county in Arizona says he's "not going to put up with any civil disobedience" when the state's new immigration law takes effect.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says that if protesters want to block his jail, he'll put them in it.
----- oil crisis is NOT over -----
Majority of spilled oil in Gulf of Mexico unaccounted for in government
data By David A. Fahrenthold and Leslie Tamura - Washington Post
Back in May, BP's chief executive told a British newspaper that "the Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean," and the vast amounts of oil and chemical dispersants dumped into it were small by comparison. After he said that, BP's well leaked for two more months. Hayward's upbeat assessment was cast as one of many gaffes committed on his way to resignation.
Now, 14 days after the well was closed and 100 days after the blowout, U.S. government scientists are working on calculations that could shed some light on Hayward's analysis (even if they can't shed light on why he said it). They are trying to figure out where all the oil went.
Is Matt Simmons Credible?
by Robert Rapier - OilPrice.com
I am going to address a touchy subject in this essay, but I simply can't ignore it any longer. I have noticed that a lot of people are finding my blog through keyword searches of "Debunking Matt Simmons." About two and a half years ago, I did write an essay called Debunking Matt Simmons. Because of Matt's recent claims about the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, there has been a spike in interest over whether his claims related to the disaster are actually credible. So now seems like a good time to revisit the subject.
The topic is touchy because Matt Simmons has long been revered in the energy business, and some of his fans will be upset with me for writing this.
BP's Blueprint for Emerging From Crisis
By JAD MOUAWAD and CLIFFORD KRAUSS - NYTimes.com
BP said on Tuesday that it had set aside $32.2 billion to pay for the biggest offshore oil spill in United States history.
But the company acknowledged that its costs might be much higher - especially if it was found grossly negligent, criminally liable or was faced with a huge jury award for punitive damages in connection with the April 20 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 people and sent millions of barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.
'BP Has to Change Its Entire Culture'
Spiegel.de
British oil giant BP presented its new CEO on Tuesday after announcing that Tony Hayward was stepping down. The fresh face at the helm may help improve public relations, but German papers on Wednesday argue that the company really needs to rethink its entire strategy.
It was the worst-kept secret in business. On Tuesday BP announced that Tony Hayward, its gaffe-prone CEO, is to make way for Bob Dudley, who will be the American to lead the British oil giant. It will be hoping that a fresh face at the helm will help it turn a new page. But with the company also announcing huge losses as it faces the bill for a massive clear-up operation in the Gulf of Mexico, it may be some time before it puts the disaster behind it.
On the Surface, Gulf Oil Spill Is Vanishing Fast; Concerns Stay
By JUSTIN GILLIS and CAMPBELL ROBERTSON - NYTimes.com
The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected, a piece of good news that raises tricky new questions about how fast the government should scale back its response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
The immense patches of surface oil that covered thousands of square miles of the gulf after the April 20 oil rig explosion are largely gone, though sightings of tar balls and emulsified oil continue here and there.
Millions Of Fish Wash Ashore In Gulfport
Not Yet Known If Oil Spill Was Factor - WDSU.com
GULFPORT, Miss. -- Something besides oil washed ashore along a section of beach in Gulfport this week.
Millions of small dead fish have washed ashore just east of Jones Park. The fish are believed to be menhaden.
Low oxygen levels in the water are typically to blame when large numbers of the tiny fish wash up dead, experts said. Harrison County leaders said it's too soon to tell if the fish-kill is related to the oil spill.
"If it's oil-related, the BP contractors will have to pick it up," Harrison County Sand Beach Director Bobby Weaver said. "If not, we'll dispatch a county crew to come down here and get it."
Deep undercurrents stir in the Middle East
By Victor Kotsev - ATimes.com
On the surface, the Middle East is so still it is almost unbelievable. Not that nothing is happening, on the contrary, but the comparison with just a few weeks ago is enough to raise an eyebrow. Back then, amid military maneuvers and loud threats, every other analyst (including this one, though with some caution was predicting an imminent flare-up.
So far, not only has the cataclysm not happened, but the voices have quieted down somewhat. "Plainly I was wrong," writes Bret Stephens for the Wall Street Journal, discussing his earlier prediction of an Israeli strike on Iran.
Russia Plans A Share Sale To Investors
By ANDREW E. KRAMER - NYTimes.com
MOSCOW - The Russian government, which just a few years ago was salting away billions of dollars in oil revenue, is now confronting such a gaping budget deficit that ministers approved a wide-ranging plan on Wednesday to sell off state property, senior officials said.
It would be, by some estimates, the largest privatization program in Russia since the post-Communist sell-off of the 1990s. Still, the government plans to sell only minority stakes in the companies, retaining control while letting private investors share a larger part of the risks and profits.
US goes fishing for trouble
By Peter Lee - ATimes.com
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton roiled China at the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting in Hanoi by stating that the United States had "a national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia's maritime commons, and respect for international law in the South China Sea".
She also expressed support for a "collaborative diplomatic process" on the matter of disputes in the South China Sea - anathema to China, which is committed to a series of separate bilateral negotiations with the various nations with claims on the Spratly (called Nansha by Chinese) and Paracel (Called Xisha by Chinese) Islands.
North Korea Exposes America's Weak Will
By Richard Palmer - theTrumpet.com
Far from being a show of strength, America's joint military exercises with South Korea show that it will not stand up for its allies.
North Korean despot Kim Jong Il is threatening the United States with nuclear war over joint naval drills with South Korea.
The exercises, coming four months after a torpedo sunk the South Korean ship ChonAn, are intended to be a show of force and unity by the U.S. and South Korea. They include the uss George Washington, a nuclear-powered supercarrier that hosts 70 aircraft and 5,000 personnel.
The U.S. also levied new sanctions against North Korea on July 21. It froze the assets of North Korean leaders and imposed travel bans on some of them.
Titled "Invincible Spirit," the military exercises involve 8,000 sailors, 200 aircraft and 20 ships. They began on Sunday, lasting till Wednesday. The lead-up to these exercises, however, shows that the spirit behind America's alliance with South Korea is far from invincible.
'War Logs Could Shatter Hopes of Success in Afghanistan'
Spiegel.de
The uncovering of almost 92,000 United States military war logs by WikiLeaks provides further evidence that the US and its allies are failing to make headway in Afghanistan, write German commentators. The logs may contain few surprises, but their gruesome illustration of the scale of operations over years has the potential to wreck any hopes that the war can be won.
The 91,731 war logs uncovered by WikiLeaks and provided to SPIEGEL, the Guardian and the New York Times are likely to fan public opposition to the mission in the West because they outline in compelling detail how the allies are failing to bring peace to Afghanistan, German media commentators write.
Washington's Hidden Enemy Logs Suggest Pakistani Intelligence Controls Course of War
By Matthias Gebauer, John Goetz, Hans Hoyng, Susanne Koelbl, Marcel Rosenbach and Gregor Peter Schmitz - Spiegel.de
Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, appears frequently in the war logs obtained by WikiLeaks. They suggest that even as Pakistan served as an ally to the United States, it was still secretly helping the Taliban in its insurgency in Afghanistan. The documents also suggest a major role is played by former ISI chief Hamid Gul.
Editor's note: The following article is an excerpt from this week's SPIEGEL cover story. The facts in the story come from a database of almost 92,000 American military reports on the state of the war in Afghanistan that were obtained by the WikiLeaks website. Britain's Guardian newspaper, the New York Times and SPIEGEL have all vetted the material and reported on the contents in articles that have been researched independently of each other. All three media sources have concluded that the documents are authentic and provide an unvarnished image of the war in Afghanstan -- from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground.
The fear economy
By Chris Isidore, senior writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- FDR said we have nothing to fear but fear itself -- and even though we're a long way from the Great Depression, uncertainty about the economy is proving pretty scary, and a major drag on the recovery.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that there is "unusual uncertainty" about the nation's economic outlook. And every piece of good news seems to be clouded by fear of the unknown.
For example, companies are turning in healthy profits, and are sitting on a record-breaking pile of cash -- nearly $1 trillion and growing.
Ahmadinejad: US Expansion Of War In Middle East Imminent
Steve Watson - Prisonplanet.com
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated that he believes the US, backed by Israel, is preparing to attack two countries in the middle East within months as part of an expansion of the 'war on terror'.
Ahmadinejad also stated that the attacks would function as a psychological war on Iran, without specifying whether he believed Iran would be physically attacked or how he had reached his conclusions.
"We have precise information that the Americans have devised a plot, according to which they seek to launch a psychological war on Iran," Ahmadinejad told Iranian state media Press TV.
The Foreign Investment Solution for American Jobs
By ROBERT M. KIMMITT and MATTHEW J. SLAUGHTER - WSJ.com (free) You know that battery plant in Michigan the president visited the other day? It's Korean-owned.
At the ground-breaking ceremony for a new factory in Michigan this month, President Barack Obama touted the fact that 300 people will soon be employed building lithium-ion car batteries there. "These are jobs in the industries of the future," Mr. Obama said at the Compact Power Inc. plant. "You are leading the way in showing how manufacturing jobs are coming right back here to the United States of America."
Nowhere in his remarks did the president mention that Compact Power is a subsidiary of LG Chem Limited, a multinational firm headquartered in South Korea. But it is important for the administration to acknowledge explicitly that it can promote job creation by supporting investment in the U.S. by foreign companies like LG Chem. Such support should begin with free trade agreements (the U.S.-South Korean agreement remains stalled in Congress), but extend far beyond.
America, the Odd Man Out
By: John Browne - GoldSeek.com
At long last, a good portion of mainstream economists now concede that a 'double dip' recession is in the cards for the United States. To head off the pain, sixteen top economists addressed an open letter to the President urging him to "stimulate" the economy with a massive new round of government spending. We feel this is a recipe for driving a recession into a depression. However, there can be few doubts that such a move is being considered in the highest policy circles. Flush from victories in financial regulation and healthcare, the Administration may feel the conditions are ripe to push through another bold initiative.
World splits in two as East tightens while West stays super-loose
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk India has raised interest rates and issued a stark warning on inflation dangers, joining China, Brazil, and other tiger economies in concerted moves to tighten policy.
The central bank raised its reverse repo rate a half point to 4.5pc, still far below the level of inflation. Food prices have been rising at 16pc.
"Inflationary pressures have exacerbated and become generalized. Real policy rates are not consistent with the strong growth that the economy has been witnessing. It is imperative that we continue to normalise our policy," said the bank, which also raised its repurchase rate a quarter point to 5.75pc.
Confirmed: U.S. Fiscal Woe Is Worse Than Greece
By Dian L. Chu, Economic Forecasts & Opinions
Reading the annual Long Term Budget Outlook by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has become an increasingly depressing experience in recent years. This year seems even more so than ever.
The latest projection puts the federal debt rising to 62% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of the year (from 40% pre-crisis), the highest percentage since just after World War. (See Graph)
The Psychology of Gold
Chuck DiFalco - SilverBearCafe.com
Investor psychology remains at least as important to an asset price as the fundamentals underlying the asset. As the "dot com" bubble of the late 1990's and the housing bubble of last decade reminded us, psychology occasionally controls asset price. Gold as an investment has clearly rebounded from its morose lows of the early 2000's. However, the precious metal has not yet reached anywhere near the mania, and hence the lofty prices, of those two bubbles. Yes, gold's fundamentals continue to be bullish. The reason gold hasn't yet topped is psychology.
Gold to rally in tandem with $ in foreseeable future
Vikas Ranjan - CommodityOnline.com
We really have a situation that is mixed. It seems to us that the world is divided into two camps. First are the Western countries that have debt fatigue. They are keen to get the deficit and debt down and are facing weak domestic demand. Second are the emerging countries like Brazil, China and India, which are growing fast and do not seem to have that problem.
Overall, we feel most of the developed nations in the Western world will look to reduce deficits and debt. However, we would say the U.S. is an exception because of its grim unemployment conditions and very sluggish economy. It still believes in expansive monetary and fiscal policies. The emerging economies will continue to grow at a relatively fast clip. So, in the end, that will leave us with a world economy that will grow but at a sluggish pace for maybe the next year or so.
Gold fizzles out on US housing data
By Geena Paul
LONDON (Commodity Online): Finally, the US housing sector is back on track posting a 24 per cent growth in June. June's rebound in new home sales should be viewed as a major boost to the US economy. But the problem is that any good news from the world's biggest economic power is a setback to the gold prices, which have been maintaining record levels in the recent past.
Bullion market is set to fall in the coming days following data from the commerce department showed a 24 per cent leap in new home sales from May to June.
Deflation Defies Expectations - and Solutions
By JON HILSENRATH - WSJ.com (free)
The old bogeyman of deflation has re-emerged as a worry for the U.S. economy. Here's something else to fret about: After studying more than a decade of deflation in Japan, economists have slowly realized they have no idea how it works.
Deflation is usually associated with a Great Depression-like drop in demand. Consumer prices, incomes and asset prices fall. Interest rates go to zero, as low as they can go. As prices and incomes fall, the cost to borrowers of servicing debt does not, sucking life out of the economy and pushing prices down further. A bad situation, in short, gets worse.
In 1932, U.S. consumer prices fell 10% and between 1929 and 1933 they fell 27% in all.
32 entities overseas got US taxpayer bailout money Goldman Sachs reveals where bailout cash went
DesMoinesRegister.com
Goldman Sachs sent $4.3 billion in federal tax money to 32 entities, including many overseas banks, hedge funds and pensions, according to information made public Friday night.
Goldman Sachs disclosed the list of companies to the Senate Finance Committee after a threat of subpoena from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia.
Asked the significance of the list, Grassley said, "I hope it's as simple as taxpayers deserve to know what happened to their money."
Geithner "knew a lot more ... than he told" about AIG bailout
DesMoinesRegister.com
Goldman Sachs sent $4.3 billion in federal tax money to 32 entities, including many overseas banks, hedge funds and pensions, according to information made public Friday night.
Goldman Sachs disclosed the list of companies to the Senate Finance Committee after a threat of subpoena from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia.
Asked the significance of the list, Grassley said, "I hope it's as simple as taxpayers deserve to know what happened to their money."
He added, "We thought originally we were bailing out AIG. Then later on É we learned that the money flowed through AIG to a few big banks, and now we know that the money went from these few big banks to dozens of financial institutions all around the world."
America's Social Experiment
by Robert Morley, theTrumpet.com Can America afford socialism when the economy is deteriorating and politicians have spent the nation to the verge of bankruptcy?
What's the 21st-century version of the guillotine?
America may soon find out, if New York Times writer David Brooks is right. When historians look back on this time, he says, "they will be amazed that a nation that professed to hate bureaucracy produced so much of it."
But "[i]f the reforms fail-if they kick off devastating unintended consequences or saddle the country with a maze of sclerotic regulations-then the popular backlash will be ferocious," Brooks writes.
Yes, America is embarking on a social experiment unprecedented in its history. Republicans and Democrats both seem interested in just one thing: more power. And that means bigger government, more wasteful, inefficient, bureaucratic regulation and eventually higher taxes (and/or inflation) to pay for it.
But isn't that what wrecked Greece, Argentina and the Soviet Union? Yes, but that doesn't seem to matter. What matters is that politicians maintain their power and satisfy the special interest groups that put them there.
The Breakup of the United States
Michael S. Rozeff - SilverBearCafe.com
As the dissatisfactions of Americans with their national government grow, so does the likelihood of the breakup of the United States. I believe that most Americans can improve their well-being by ending the national government, that is, ending the Union. I believe that this goal should shape politics if politics is to do much good.
I don't think Americans are going to be the first people in the modern era to initiate a large-scale anarchy. But Americans might conceivably move back to a federal form of government something like that under the Articles of Confederation. If so, the problem is how to proceed. Many Americans feel (and are) trapped and thwarted by government power.
Battle Over Expiring Bush Tax Cuts Likely to Shape Fall Elections
BY DON MILLER, Associate Editor, Money Morning
A colossal battle is shaping up in Congress over what to do about the Bush-era tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of this year. It's an issue that entails sufficient economic and political consequences that could shape the fall elections and fiscal policy for years to come.
The expiring tax breaks received little public attention this year as Congress tussled with heavyweight issues like healthcare reform and financial regulation. But the fate of the tax cuts will be a major focus of debate in September when lawmakers return to Washington from their summer recess and the midterm campaign gets rolling.
The tax hike nobody's talking about
By Blake Ellis, staff reporter - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Get ready for a smaller paycheck.
At least that's what could happen if Congress doesn't approve President Obama's proposal to extend the Making Work Pay tax credit soon.
The credit, introduced last year as part of the government's stimulus package, boosts paychecks by up to $400 for single filers and up to $800 for joint filers, by reducing the amount of tax withheld from each paycheck.
Opposition Mounts Against ObamaCare Tax Provision
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
Washington (CNSNews.com) - Business advocates are hoping Congress scraps a tax provision in the health care overhaul law that they say is overly burdensome to smaller companies.
So far, Senate and House Republicans have pushed for repeal of this specific provision of the health care bill. Even Democrats asked that the Internal Revenue Service move cautiously in enforcement of the provision.
'Bush-ama' tax cuts: The $2.2 trillion decision
By Jeanne Sahadi, senior writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- They're often called the "Bush" tax cuts. But at this point they might as well be called the Bush-ama tax cuts.
That's because President Obama has embraced the tax relief measures introduced in 2001 and 2003, proposing they be extended indefinitely for most Americans. If lawmakers do nothing, the measures expire Dec. 31.
The tax cuts lowered income and investment tax rates, boosted the child credit, reduced the estate tax, and narrowed inequalities affecting married taxpayers.
Let Them Eat Losses
By Gerald Celente - The DailyReckoning.com
07/26/10 Rhinebeck, New York - This had nothing to do with the so-called "Trickle Down" theory. This was "Gush Up." In Bush/Obama economics, the richest and biggest that had lost billions through bad investments, or were in danger of going bust, had to be rescued. If the †ber-Rich weren't saved, there would be nothing left to trickle down to the population below. By government decree, those taxpayers who had never felt any trickle to begin with, now had to finance the failed financiers.
If taxpayers found themselves unable to understand the thinking behind "Gush Up", it was not surprising. Why should it make sense? Nothing else did. The entire financial system had been hijacked by bandits. It was criminal from beginning to end.
Treasury To Hold Conference On Fannie, Freddie Treasury To Hold Conference On Future Of Mortgage Funding System Next Month (AP) CBSNews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department, under fire for not developing a concrete plan for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says it will hold a conference in next month to discuss their future.
The administration says it will hold a conference on the future of the mortgage funding system on Aug. 17 at the Treasury Department.
Geithner: U.S. Should Retain a Mortgage Backstop
By NICK TIMIRAOS and DAMIAN PALETTA - WSJ.com (free)
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday the government should retain "some type" of federal guarantee to ensure that Americans can easily finance home loans, in what could be the latest salvo between the Obama administration and Republicans over the future role of the public sector in the housing market.
The statement cuts to the heart of one of the most vexing policy questions in Washington: what to do with the costly government-run mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Both companies were taken over by the U.S. in 2008 as they teetered towards collapse. So far, the Treasury has injected $145 billion in taxpayer aid to keep them afloat and that figure could climb in the coming months.
Census: Homeownership again hits 5-year low in South
TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL - BY Brian Austin
Homeownership rates in the South dipped to their lowest level in five years during the second quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
The Bureau found that in the South, which includes North Carolina, 69.1 percent of the region's households were owner-occupied. That's higher than the national average, but down 0.1 percentage points since the first quarter and 0.9 percentage points since the second quarter of 2009.
The second quarter of 2010 matched the fourth quarter of 2009 for the lowest South homeownership rate since 2005.
Supply of Homes Set to Grow
By ROBBIE WHELAN - WSJ.com (free)
Sales of new homes are near 47-year lows, yet the supply of new and existing homes is expected to grow in the months ahead as construction ramps up and a wave of foreclosed homes hits the market.
In June, new-home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000 units, the Commerce Department said Monday. While that was up 23.6% from the all-time low of 267,000 in May, the June figures were the second lowest on record.
Chance of Double-Dip US Recession is High: Shiller
By: Reuters - CNBC.com
The state of the U.S. economy is worrisome and there is a high possibility of a double-dip recession, one of the property market's most well-known economists said Tuesday.
Gerald Celente- Beware Of Media Deception
States face another $12 billion budget shortfall
By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporter - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- States filled an $84 billion gap to balance their 2011 fiscal year budgets, which took effect earlier this month. But they could collectively face a new $12 billion hole if Congress fails to help cover growing Medicaid costs.
Without another injection of government money for Medicaid, four states -- California, Texas, North Carolina and New York -- could face new gaps exceeding $1 billion each, while 21 others could see shortfalls over $100 million, according to a budget report issued by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Consumer confidence retreats further in July Consumer Confidence Index erodes further in July to 50.4 as job worries take toll on outlook AP - Yahoo finance
NEW YORK - A monthly consumer survey shows that Americans' confidence in the economy eroded further in July amid job worries. The reading raises concern about the economic recovery and the back-to-school shopping season.
U.S. Economy: Consumer Confidence Slips to Five-Month Low
By Shobhana Chandra
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- American consumers lost confidence in July, shaken by mounting concern over jobs and wages that threatens to constrain the economic recovery.
The Conference Board's sentiment index fell to 50.4, below the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the lowest level in five months, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. Another report showed home prices rose more than forecast in May as a government tax credit temporarily underpinned sales.
More Job-Seekers Hitch Ride on Asian Economy
By BETTINA WASSENER - NYTimes.com
HONG KONG - Shahrzad Moaven quit a public relations job in London and moved to this teeming metropolis four months ago to take up what she saw as a more exciting post: communications director at the exclusive jeweler Carnet.
Jan Mezlik, 29, moved here from the Czech Republic in late April for a job as a trainer in a physical therapy studio called Stretch. For him, the move brought a secure job and the chance to learn to become a yoga instructor.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has resulted in increased Unemployment in the U.S.
by Mark Vorpahl - GlobalResearch.com
On July 7, 2010, President Obama made the following remarks:
We're also reforming our own restrictions on exports, consistent with our national security interests. And we hope to move forward on new agreements with some of our key partners. I've instructed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to begin discussions to help resolve outstanding issues with the pending Korean Free Trade Agreement before my visit to Korea in November. It's an agreement that will create new jobs and opportunity for people in both of our countries.
We also want to deepen and broaden our relations with Panama and Colombia. So we're working to resolve outstanding issues with the free trade agreements with those key partners, and we're focused on submitting them as soon as possible for congressional consideration.
Census: Moves because of evictions increase
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY
More Americans say they moved because they were evicted or wanted to spend less money and now live in a worse house with more people, new Census data show.
The 2009 American Housing Survey shows the stark effect the recession and housing crisis have had on some people's lifestyles in just two years. The survey, last conducted in 2007, captures the brunt of the downturn's impact on housing.
"It seems to mark some erosion in the standard of living of Americans," says James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. "It's not surprising given the depths of the recession. ... Some portions of Americans are now in survival mode."
Home Vacancies Rise as Ownership Reaches 10-Year Low
By Kathleen M. Howley
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- About 18.9 million homes in the U.S. stood empty during the second quarter as surging foreclosures helped push ownership to the lowest level in a decade.
The number of vacant properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, rose from 18.6 million in the year-earlier quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. The ownership rate, meaning households that own their own residence, was 66.9 percent, the lowest since 1999.
Apartment Rentals Surge in U.S. on Foreclosures, Jobs
By Prashant Gopal
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. apartment landlords are seeing a surge in rentals as mounting foreclosures reduce homeownership and an improving job market for young adults encourages them to find their own places to live.
The number of occupied apartments increased by 215,000 in the 64 largest U.S. markets in the first half, according to MPF Research. That's almost double the units added in all of 2009 and the most since the firm began tracking the data in 1992. The vacancy rate declined to 6.6 percent last month from 8.2 percent in December.
Requests for help paying utility bills surge upward
BARBARA COTTER - Colorado Springs Gazette
Light switches, furnaces and water faucets aren't the typical gauges of economic health, but at Pikes Peak United Way's 2-1-1 call center, they tell a tale of people who continue to struggle to pay their bills in a weak economy.
According to a report released Monday by the 2-1-1 Information and Referral Hotline, requests for utility bill assistance in the fiscal year ending June 30 jumped 20 percent from the previous year, outstripping requests for help with food and rent.
Recession leads to uptick in utility shut-offs in N.J.
Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger
These days, washing the dishes at the Schultheis house means filling 5-gallon water jugs at a neighbor's house and lugging them across the street.
Using the toilet means dumping a bucket of water by hand into the tank before each flush. When the family wants to shower, it needs to impose on sympathetic friends.
"I feel horrible; I know my kids must feel horrible," said Maria Schultheis, who lives in the house with her husband and twin teenage sons. "I'm humiliated because I never had to live like this."
The town water department shut off the Schultheises' water about a month ago after the family fell behind on payments on a $1,700 overdue bill. John Schultheis -- a computer programmer who has been out of work for three years -- watched in disbelief as town workers turned off the water valve near the curb of his three-bedroom bungalow in a quiet middle-class neighborhood in the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany.
Kerry may still owe $500K in taxes on his yacht
By: Mark Hemingway - Washington Examiner
Fox 25 in Boston reports that even though Kerry may have docked his yacht in Rhode Island to avoid the 'sails tax' -- he may still be owe back taxes in the Bay State:
Kerry may still be on the hook for a half million dollars in excise taxes because he docked his yacht in Massachusetts less than six months after buying it.
The controversy came up following a report that Kerry moored the multi-million dollar yacht in Rhode Island , rather than the Bay State to save on sales tax.
People Begin Living Without Electricity and Water in California
I couldn't find statistics for local utility shut offs in my area, but I knew we would start to see more and more of this.
Houses everywhere are going vacant. People don't say goodbye, they don't leave a number, they just disappear. With their disappearance we add another vacant house to the street. But families living in housing without utilities is a new sight for me to behold. I spoke recently with a rep from So Cal Edison who, full time contacts residence who have had their electricity turned off due to non payment. She has a negotiator sent in and they work on a reduced payment. It's amazing to me, that now, it is becoming acceptable in California to camp out in your home.
Credit Cards Take From Poor, Give to the Rich
By Michael S. Derby - WSJ.com (free)
Credit cards appear to be the reverse Robin Hoods of the financial world.
A new paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston says merchant fees and reward programs offered by many credit-card issuers essentially take money from those who have the least and give it to those who have the most. The imbalance may have to be remedied via government intervention, the authors, Scott Schuh, Oz Shy and Joana Stavins, argued. The paper was published as part of the bank's Public Policy Discussion Papers on Monday.
U.S. Cities, Counties are Poised to Cut 500,000 Jobs
By William Selway
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. local governments may cut almost 500,000 jobs through next year to cope with sliding property taxes, a decline in state and federal aid and added need for social services, according to a report released today.
The report, a result of a survey by the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties, showed local governments are moving to cut the equivalent of 8.6 percent of their workforces from 2009 to 2011. That suggests 481,000 employees will lose their jobs, according to the report, which said the tally may yet rise.
Caught Red-Handed With Outrageous Salaries, City Officials Take Pay Cuts, Resign By Rocky Vega - the DailyReckoning.com
07/27/10 Alexandria, Virgina - The furor we discussed last week over obscene levels of municipal pay in the tiny 38,000-person city of Bell, California - where an average resident's salary is about $25,000 and the city manager was paid $800,000 - is hurtling toward its initial phases of resolution.
This week its council members voted to slash their own salaries from $100,000 to $8,000 per year and at least two members will not pursue re-election. The Attorney General and District Attorney are looking into criminal charges.
Seattle lost 16 percent of construction jobs since '09
PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL (SEATTLE)
Seattle lost 16 percent of its construction jobs, or 12,400 jobs, from June 2009 to June 2010, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released Tuesday by the Associated General Contractors of America.
The number of construction jobs declined in 285 out of 337 cities nationwide for June, and officials with the AGC said the data show that weak overall demand for construction is outpacing the benefits of the $135 billion in construction-related stimulus spending.
Calif. City Manager Robert Rizzo Steals a Shocking $800,000 a Year,
Police Chief Loots $457,000
Freedom of photography: Police, security often clamp down despite public right
By Annys Shin - Washington Post Staff Writer
A few weeks ago, on his way to work, Matt Urick stopped to snap a few pictures of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's headquarters. He thought the building was ugly but might make for an interesting photo. The uniformed officer who ran up to him didn't agree. He told Urick he was not allowed to photograph federal buildings.
Urick wanted to tell the guard that there are pictures of the building on HUD's Web site, that every angle of the building is visible in street views on Google Maps and that he was merely an amateur photographer, not a threat. But Urick kept all this to himself.
Disputed chemical bisphenol-A found in paper receipts
By Lyndsey Layton - Washington Post Staff Writer
As lawmakers and health experts wrestle over whether a controversial chemical, bisphenol-A, should be banned from food and beverage containers, a new analysis by an environmental group suggests Americans are being exposed to BPA through another, surprising route: paper receipts.
The Environmental Working Group found BPA on 40 percent of the receipts it collected from supermarkets, automated teller machines, gas stations and chain stores. In some cases, the total amount of BPA on the receipt was 1,000 times the amount found in the epoxy lining of a can of food, another controversial use of the chemical.
On the Bloated Intelligence Bureaucracy
by Ron Paul
I have often spoken about the excessive size of government, and most recently how waste and inefficiency needs to be eliminated from our military budget. Our foreign policy is not only bankrupting us, but actively creating and antagonizing enemies of the United States, and compromising our national security. Spending more and adding more programs and initiatives does not improve things for us; it makes them much much worse. This applies to more than just the military budget.
Recently the Washington Post ran an extensive report by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin on the bloated intelligence community. They found that an estimated 854,000 people hold top-secret security clearances. Just what are all these people up to? By my calculation this is about 11,000 intelligence workers per al Qaeda member in Afghanistan. This also begs the question - if close to 1 million people are authorized to know top secrets, how closely guarded are these secrets?
From WikiLeaks to the Killing Fields
WSJ.com Liberals contemplate withdrawal from Afghanistan, heedless of the consequences.
Innocent civilians become the tragic casualties of war. Insurgents plant thousands of IEDs. Special-ops teams hunt down insurgents. The Taliban may have a few Stinger missiles. Pakistan plays a double game with the Taliban. The U.S. government can't keep its secrets. The New York Times has about as much regard for those secrets as a British tabloid has for a starlet's privacy. The Obama administration blames everything on Bush.
Is any of this news? Not exactly.
Next step for Wikileaks: Crowdsourcing classified data
By Patrick Thibodeau - Computerworld.com
U.S. condemns publication, but its response to breach is uncertain
Computerworld - WASHINGTON - The release on Sunday by Wikileaks of more than 90,000 documents about military operations in Afghanistan may just be the start of problems for the U.S. government.
The online publication of the documents, which offer an inside -- and potentially embarrassing -- look at the war in Afghanistan between 2004 and the end of 2009, represent a failure by the U.S. to control its classified data from insider threat. And it throws open to the whole world a chance to crowdsource the information the documents contain.
Pyongyang's nuclear threats continue
AsiaNews.it
As US-South Korean military exercises get underway, North Korea's press warns Pyongyang "will immediately wage an act of deterrence" if "the military provocation" does not stop. Some experts believe North Korea might actually do something.
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) - "North Korea will immediately wage an act of deterrence based on self-defence when dialogue is not resumed or the military provocation (the joint naval drill) crosses the line," warned the Chosun Sinbo, a newspaper published in Tokyo (Japan) by the General Association of Korean Residents, as US-South Korean military exercises get underway.
Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing
Kurt Nimmo - Infowars.com
The Defense Department is unable to account for $8.7 billion of the $9.1 billion in Development Fund for Iraq monies it received for reconstruction in Iraq, reports Federal News Radio today.
The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) issued a report today that claims a "weakness" in the DoD's "financial and management controls left it unable to properly account for $8.7 billion of the $9.1 billion in DFI funds." The money vanished "because most DoD organizations receiving DFI funds did not establish the required Department of the Treasury accounts and no DoD organization was designated as the executive agent for managing the use of DFI funds," explains the Inspector General. "The breakdown in controls left the funds vulnerable to inappropriate uses and undetected loss."
Gerald Celente on Dr. Bill Deagle Nutrimedical report 20 July 2010
----- more on oil crisis -----
July 26, 2010 CNN Anderson Cooper: BP Blows off Leaders of "Small People" (Gulf Coast Residents)
July 26, 2010 CNN Anderson Cooper:
Where is the Oil? Part 2 of 3
July 26, 2010 CNN Anderson Cooper:
BP Owned Trans-Alaska Pipeline Ticking Bomb - Part 3 of 3
July 27, 2010 CNN Anderson Cooper Part 1
July 27, 2010 CNN Anderson Cooper Part 2
Toxic black rain is now falling in the Gulf
Allen L Roland
A toxic black rain is now falling in the Gulf and the EPA and BP are doing everything to deny its existence but the truth is slowly emerging as millions of Gulf Coast residents are now becoming sick because of the lethal effects of oil and dispersants.
It's day 96 of the toxic Gulf deep water oil gusher (not spill). The huge toxic slow-moving plumes beneath the surface have finally been confirmed but the toxic air plumes are still being denied by the Government and BP - but there is plenty of evidence that they are not only there but causing significant health and environmental damage.
BP to cut U.S. tax bill by $10 billion because of losses in gulf spill
By Jia Lynn Yang - Washington Post Staff Writer
BP said Tuesday that it plans to cut its U.S. tax bill by $9.9 billion, or about half the amount pledged to aid victims of the disaster, by deducting costs related to the oil spill.
A portion of that could be refunded from taxes BP paid in earlier years.
The company disclosed its intentions as part of its second-quarter earnings report, in which it said it would record a $32.2 billion charge to reflect the costs of the spill.
Under U.S. corporate tax law, companies can take credits on up to 35 percent of their losses.
The credit for BP could mean, however, that taxpayers will indirectly foot part of the bill for the $20 billion fund that BP established to compensate people and businesses harmed by the disaster.
Oil spewing from well near Louisiana marsh
Boom placed around 20-foot-high plume; tugboat hit well, officials say
Adding insult to the Gulf's injury, an oil platform hit by a tugboat is now spewing oil and natural gas near a Louisiana marsh area, officials said Tuesday.
The oil and gas is shooting up 20 feet into the air, the office of Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said.
Altered BP photo comes into question
By Steven Mufson - Washington Post Staff Writer
Apparently BP is no more adept at doctoring photos than it is at plugging deep-sea oil leaks.
A blogger has noticed that the oil giant altered a photograph of its Houston crisis room, cutting and pasting three underwater images into a wall of video feeds from remotely operated undersea vehicles. The altered photo is displayed prominently on the company's Web site.
Thad Allen Says Gas Seep is from the Rigel Gas Field. Is BP's Oil Well Making Rigel Leak ... Or Vice Versa?
George Washington's blog
On July 23rd, Admiral Thad Allen said that the seep 3 kilometers from the leaking BP well was from the Rigel gas field: David Dishneau: Admiral, this is David Dishneau from The Associated Press. I have a question regarding that seep that we've been trying to, that was identified within three kilometersÉ And I know that the Interior Department now is trying to assist with identifying that but the AP has developed a map that shows the two old wells within the radius that you described. And I wondered if I could show you this map and you could point out which of those you believe. Admiral Allen: You caught me without my glasses. I think I can answer your question. I think we believe it might be attributed to what's called the Rigel well, r-i-g-e-l
Rep. Markey says Congress unable to
"PUBLICLY disclose" integrity of wellbore
Bob Cavnar on MSNBC's News Live re:
BP Oil Spill & Toxic Mud 07-26-2010
Methane Gas Danger Overlooked by Obama Admistration in Oil Spill
BP Coverup: Surf Boiling Like Acid - Oil on Pensacola Sand
CNN confirms methane "bubbling" from surface at unknown distance from well
Don Van Nieuwenhuise - director of geoscience programs at the University of Houston - explained to CNN that the pressure at the bottom of the well is 11,000 psi, and so scientists have calculated that it should be 8,000 psi at the top of the well:
Double-Dip Recession? One Reliable Measure Says It's Inevitable
By DAN BURROWS - DailyFinance.com
Economists as a group aren't particularly good at calling recessions. Perhaps Paul the Octopus, the psychic cephalopod who went eight-for-eight calling World Cup match winners, should weigh in on whether the U.S. economy is headed for a double-dip recession.
Unfortunately, in the real world of reason, an economic indicator with a perfect 40-year history of predicting recessions just said a double-dip is coming for sure.
Chavez threatens to halt sale of oil to U.S.
By Ian James AP - WashingtonTimes.com Warns against attack by Colombia military
CARACAS, Venezuela | President Hugo Chavez threatened on Sunday to halt oil sales to the United States if Venezuela faces any military attack by its U.S.-allied neighbor Colombia.
Mr. Chavez said in a speech to thousands of supporters that if there is an "armed aggression against Venezuela" from Colombia backed by the U.S., "we would suspend shipments of oil."
Mr. Chavez said that "we wouldn't send one more drop" of oil to the United States, which is the top buyer of oil from the South American country.
Latent Hyperinflation "Like Lighter Fuel on a Camp Fire"
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/26/10 Alexandria, Virgina - The Daily Reckoning perspective is one of "soft-core deflationism"É where the economy looks likely to experience both less recovery and more deleveraging than most prognosticators probably now anticipate.
Yet, an international panic, political or otherwise, could instead lead the nation onto an inflationary path. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at the Telegraph, himself a deflationist, looked yesterday at how historical precedents of inflation, and hyperinflation, also offer guidance for the future. From the Telegraph:
"Each big inflation - whether the early 1920s in Germany, or the Korean and Vietnam wars in the US - starts with a passive expansion of the quantity money. This sits inert for a surprisingly long time. Asset prices may go up, but latent price inflation is disguised. The effect is much like lighter fuel on a camp fire before the match is struck.
Hyperinflation is Your Future
Economic Rant - SilverBearCafe.com It means printing worthless unbacked Monopoly money
That's what it means. Quantitative easing means HYPERINFLATION. This is theft. There is no mystery at all about inflation. There is only one case of inflation, and that is printing unbacked money. The Federal Reserve (which isn't federal and has no reserves) has devalued the dollar 95% since 1913 when they were formed illegally in direct violation of our Constitution. Right, our 1912 dollar is now worth 5 cents. Inflation is theft. This is exactly what communist Mugabe did to destroy Rhodesia. That prosperous once fine country is now poverty stricken one party dictatorship Zimbabwe.
World events are getting worse and worse by the day. Israeli and American troops are concentrated on the Iranian border. This will be the worst mistake America has ever made, even worse than the horrendous Iraqi war
The Coming Rise In Prices
Howard S. Katz - 321Gold.com
Last week I argued that the theory of a coming decline in prices just around the corner was a balloon full of hot air, and like all such balloons it was bound to sail into the atmosphere. So far from this "deflation" theory being true, it is a deliberate falsehood and in fact is a very good indicator that the exact opposite will happen.
The rationale (not the real reason) for the existence of the Federal Reserve is to combat what is called "deflation" and "depression" (both assumed to come causelessly out of nowhere and to be bad. The real reason for the Federal Reserve is to assist (and provide government support for) the bankers in their creation of money.
US Money Supply Prompts a Hard Goodbye
By The Mogambo Guru - The DailyReckoning.com
07/26/10 Tampa, Florida - The way that federal taxes are going up next year by huge percentages is Very Interesting News (VIN) for gold-bugs like me, and probably the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution, too, if they were still alive, as we all think that gold-as-money is the only "way to go" because it absolutely precludes rapid increases in the supply of money, which is important because increases in the money supply cause increases in prices, which is important if you think that paying $1,000 for a loaf of bread is important or if milk costs $2,000 per gallon, and pretty soon the rest of the world is going to wake up to that fact, too.
Soft-Core Deflationism
By Bill Bonner - The DailyReckoning.com
07/26/10 Paris, France - There are two major schools of thought on what is coming next ... and two renegade, home-schools too. There are those who believe we have a recovery ... though weak ... that will continue and eventually bring the economy back to health. This is the line of the Obama Administration and most mainstream economists.
Then, there are those who think the recovery will not come as planned ... and that the feds' efforts to spur a recovery - along with strong demand from Asia and the emerging markets - will lead to higher levels of inflation, destroying the dollar and bonds. This is what Marc Faber expects. He urges listeners to avoid going too heavily into cash, since it might be the number one victim of inflation. Instead, you'll do better in stocks and real estate, he says.
Gerald Celente: Wall Street Boys run the show
only Ron Paul has firm grasp
Gold May Advance as First Monthly Drop Since March Spurs Demand
By Kim Kyoungwha
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Gold, little changed, may gain on speculation that a drop in prices in July, the first monthly loss since March, is spurring some physical demand.
Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.2 percent to $1,185.65 an ounce and traded at $1,184.85 at 9:04 a.m. in Singapore. The metal touched a record $1,265.30 an ounce on June 21 and has weakened 4.6 percent in July. August-delivery futures in New York were also little changed at $1,187.90 an ounce. "The regional physical markets are still seeing bargain hunting, which is helping to underpin values," David Wilson, an analyst at Societe Generale in London, wrote in a report yesterday. "The continued uncertainties in the markets are expected to sustain investment interest and we look for further price gains."
Gold's Slide Is Only Temporary
By RHIANNON HOYLE - WSJ.com $$
LONDON - Gold prices slid to a two-month low last week, but analysts and traders believe demand is robust enough to prevent an even sharper drop in prices in coming weeks.
After falling to $1,175 a troy ounce Tuesday, a 7% drop from the June high, gold prices rebounded modestly through the rest of the week to close at $1,187.70. The comeback occurred even as investor fear - often a key driver of gold prices - continued to ease.
Why do U.S. asset managers fear government confiscation of gold? This is the first part of a proposed series of articles that looks at the possibility of the confiscation of gold by one government or more. Author: Julian D.W. Phillips - MineWeb
BENONI (GOLDFORECASTER.COM) -
Mr John Levin of HSBC in a recent gold conference pointed out that some top U.S. Asset Managers were fearful of the possibility of government confiscation of gold -(a story broken by Mineweb in early June - See: U.S. asset managers worried Obama could confiscate gold.) He explained, that on being told that the bank's U.S. vaults had sufficient space available for their gold he was told that they did not want their gold stored in the U.S.A. but preferably in Europe because they feared that at some stage the U.S. Administration might follow the path set by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and confiscate all U.S. gold holdings as part of the country's strategy in dealing with the nation's economic problems.
Ron Paul: We Cannot Even Maintain the Zinc Standard
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/26/10 Alexandria, Virgina - The US Mint has had trouble keeping up with precious metal coin demand for most of this year, and it now appears the investigation into why that's the case may also consider the economics of penny and nickel production.
The US House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy has been looking into why there are backlogs at the Mint, especially with proof and uncirculated coins, and what can be done to improve the production process.
For quite some time it's been easy to find disclaimers such as this on the US Mint website: "Due to the continued, sustained demand for American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins, 2009-dated American Eagle Gold Proof Coins were not produced." The bullion coins are made available through authorized dealers and not directly through the Mint.
Bullion, coin dealers call for investigation of U.S. coin blanks supply A congressional subcommittee has been asked to investigate the growing backlog in and foreign procurement of U.S. bullion and collectors' precious metals coin blanks manufactured by the U.S. Mint.
Author: Dorothy Kosich - MineWeb
Witnesses before and members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy have urged Congress to direct the U.S. Mint to buy U.S. manufactured blanks for gold and silver bullion coins and discontinue the practice of using Australian-made blanks.
Meanwhile, the Director of the U.S. Mint Edmond Moy told the subcommittee that, if the Mint can begin production by September, "we will be able to produce about 830,000 one-ounce silver American Eagle coins to meet collector demand for this product in the remaining months of 2010."
Economic Conflict Between China and the US May Reappear at Any Time
Written by Robert M Cutler - OilPrice.com
Political friction over economic issues between the US and China has faded for the time being, but its sources remain and may reappear at any time.
Currency issues have been at the center of relations between the US and China since the end of last year. Earlier this month the Obama administration chose not to name China as a ‘currency manipulator.’ Doing so would have opened the door to imposing heavy tariffs on Chinese imports. The next day, China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced that it would not divest its US Treasury holdings.
The US Mint Fraud
Bix Weir
One of the more disingenuous frauds the citizens of the United States are being subjected to these days is coming out of the US Mint. For over 2 years the Mint has been illegally rationing gold and silver American Eagles and now the Director of the U.S. Mint, Edmond Moy, is finally on the hot seat.
"A congressional subcommittee has been asked to investigate the growing backlog in and foreign procurement of U.S. bullion and collectors' precious metals coin blanks manufactured by the U.S. Mint."
Geithner urges ending tax cuts for the wealthy
By Christi Parsons and Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau
The Treasury secretary says allowing some Bush-era tax breaks to expire will not harm economic recovery and is 'the responsible thing to do.'
As the White House gears up for a fight to end controversial Bush administration tax cuts, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Sunday that allowing those targeted at the wealthy to expire is "the responsible thing to do" and would not deter economic growth.
President Obama's plan would end the tax cuts for only 2% or 3% of the highest-earning Americans, Geithner said, while sending an important message to the world about the U.S. commitment to fiscal austerity.
New regs raise bank deposit insurance, may cut fund fees
By John Waggoner, USA TODAY
Bank depositors will get more insurance, and mutual fund investors may pay lower fees in new regulatory developments Wednesday.
As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed by President Obama on Wednesday, the $250,000 limit on federal deposit insurance will become permanent. It had previously been set to expire after 2013.
The bill also makes the $250,000 insurance limit retroactive to the six banks that failed between Jan. 1, 2008, and Oct. 3, 2008. The largest of those bank failures was IndyMac, which failed in July 2008 and had $19.1 billion in deposits.
SEC Watchdog Agrees with Issa:
Goldman Settlement Timing Is Fishy and Will be Investigated
Talk of Recovery Hides Collapse
by Bob Chapman - The International Forecaster
July 24 2010: Confidence by propaganda, election time coming, inflation by quantitative easing, major countries deep in debt, IMF could use interest rates to prick bubbles, massive injections of money must end and then return to the gold standard.
The talk of recovery pervades insider thinking. The major media worldwide plays the same refrain. This is a desperate attempt to befuddle the public with misdirected propaganda to preserve confidence in a system that is in a state of collapse. As CNBC leads the charge, loss of faith in the system grows with each passing day. In spite of control of the major media by elitists, talk radio and the Internet hammers away incessantly with the truth influencing more and more 24/7 worldwide. As a result of the success of the alternative media a good many investors realize we have a systemic credit crisis that has turned into a debt crisis as well. The residential real estate collapse is still collapsing with no end in sight. That has been joined by a commercial credit crisis, which has forced banks, Wall Street and corporate America to keep two sets of books - Europe and England as well.
Spain shines on stress test, Germany flunks
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph.co,uk Europe's stress tests for banks have greatly reduced pressure on Spanish lenders but have so far done little to ease broader strains in the interbank credit markets.
Three-month Euribor rates have crept up to a one-year high of 0.889pc. The "Libor-OIS spread", watched as a key gauge of stress in the system, also nudged up to 26 basis points.
The refusal of some Landesbanken and German lenders to reveal exposure to EMU sovereign debt has raised suspicions that they have something to hide. Credit default swaps measuring bond risk jumped from 140 to 150 points for HSH Nordbank, with smaller rises for LB Berlin (154), West LB (127), Norddeutssche LB (125) and Deutsche Postbank (121).
Missouri to return $574,000 to Bankers Life customers
ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said Monday that $574,000 will be returned to more than 100 investors, many of them seniors, who suffered losses after their savings were mishandled by a former Bankers Life and Casualty Co. insurance agent.
The agent, James Otto, of Overland Park, Kan., was not registered to sell securities or give investment advice but he still gave advice to customers on how to manage their securities investments held at other firms, according to a cease-and-desist order from the state.
First State Bancorp faces delisting
NEW MEXICO BUSINESS WEEKLY
The parent company of First Community Bank said Monday that its stock was being delisted by NASDAQ, effective at the open of business Wednesday.
First State Bancorp made the announcement in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The stock closed at 36 cents per share Monday.
First Community lost $25.7 million in the first quarter, $110.5 million in 2009, and $153 million in 2008. It has been trying to raise capital to boost its reserves.
Industries Find Surging Profits in Deeper [JOB] Cuts
By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ - NYTimes.com
. . . . Many companies are focusing on cost-cutting to keep profits growing, but the benefits are mostly going to shareholders instead of the broader economy, as management conserves cash rather than bolstering hiring and production. Harley, for example, has announced plans to cut 1,400 to 1,600 more jobs by the end of next year. That is on top of 2,000 job cuts last year - more than a fifth of its work force.
As companies this month report earnings for the second quarter, news of healthy profits has helped the stock market - the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is up 7 percent for July - but the source of those gains raises deep questions about the sustainability of the growth, as well as the fate of more than 14 million unemployed workers hoping to rejoin the work force as the economy recovers.
Impact the New Appraisal System is Having on the FHA Mortgage Market
Posted By: Rosemary Rugnetta
July 26, 2010 (FreeRateUpdate.com) - With FHA implementing new rules regarding appraisals, there is considerable discussion on how these rules are affecting appraisers and consumers. These new rules were set up in order to cut down on fraud while, at the same time, raising the quality of the appraisal. The impact that the new appraisal system is having on the FHA mortgage market depends on which group is discussing these changes.
Housing market still in basement
By Alan Zibel AP - WashingtonTimes.com Many metro markets likely to see further home-value drops
Thought the housing crisis was over? Not quite.
Despite four years of falling prices and recent signs that they were finally bottoming out, homes are expected to lose still more value in many metro areas over the next year.
Parts of the country already pummeled by the housing crisis, such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami, will be hit hardest. But even some places that have rebounded or held up relatively well - including New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. - will suffer, too.
Supply of Homes Set to Grow
By ROBBIE WHELAN - WSJ.com (free)
Sales of new homes are near 47-year lows, yet the supply of new and existing homes is expected to grow in the months ahead as construction ramps up and a wave of foreclosed homes hits the market.
In June, new-home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000 units, the Commerce Department said Monday. While that was up 23.6% from the all-time low of 267,000 in May, the June figures were the second lowest on record.
America's new debtor prison: Jail time being given to those who owe
Martha C. White - WalletPop.com
Debtors prisons were federally abolished in the United States in the 1800's, yet in certain states, they seem to be making a comeback. Out of Minnesota come disturbing reports of Americans being thrown in jail due to outstanding bills -- sometimes for as little as $85. The Star-Tribune of Minneapolis profiles a number of people who say their debts got them jailed, including Joy Uhlmeyer a 57-year-old patient care advocate who was pulled over on her way home from visiting her elderly mother and put in jail for a night for missing a court hearing about unpaid debt.
Bankruptcy can save your house from foreclosure
By Les Christie, staff writer - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Slick TV commercials and online ads tell delinquent borrowers that they can save their homes by filing for personal bankruptcy. But is it true -- or just too good to be true?
True!
Bankruptcy can bring foreclosure proceedings to a halt, end harassment from debt collectors, and give borrowers time to make up missed payments and reorganize their finances. In some cases, bankruptcy can also help mortgage borrowers save their homes permanently.
Gas prices creep up across the country
USAToday.com
NEW YORK (AP) - Drivers across the country woke up to higher prices at the gas pump on Monday, as retail gasoline rose overnight.
The average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gained half a cent from Sunday at $2.742, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.
In its weekly survey of gas pump prices released Monday afternoon, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said the average price for a gallon of regular rose 2.7 cents from a week ago, to $2.749. California drivers paid the most at $3.13 a gallon, while motorists in Gulf Coast states paid an average of $2.59.
US Faces Water Supply Crisis: Study
Written by Charlotte Dudley - OilPrice.com
A new study says climate change will take a "serious toll" on American water supplies in the coming decades, with the group behind the report calling on Congress to pass "meaningful legislation" to reduce global warming pollution.
The report, prepared by consulting firm Tetra Tech for Washington, DC-based global environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), was based on analysis of publicly available water use data and climate models. It found that 14 states face an extreme or high risk to water sustainability, or are likely to see limitations on water availability as demand exceeds supply by 2050.
Migrants sell up, flee Arizona ahead of crackdown
By Tim Gaynor - Reuters.com
PHOENIX, July 25 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan mother Lorena Aguilar hawks a television set and a few clothes on the baking sidewalk outside her west Phoenix apartment block.
A few paces up the street, her undocumented Mexican neighbor Wendi Villasenor touts a kitchen table, some chairs and a few dishes as her family scrambles to get out of Arizona ahead of a looming crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Rampant Racism in the Criminal Justice System
By BILL QUIGLEY - Counterpunch
The biggest crime in the U.S. criminal justice system is that it is a race-based institution where African-Americans are directly targeted and punished in a much more aggressive way than white people.
Saying the US criminal system is racist may be politically controversial in some circles. But the facts are overwhelming. No real debate about that. Below I set out numerous examples of these facts.
The question is - are these facts the mistakes of an otherwise good system, or are they evidence that the racist criminal justice system is working exactly as intended? Is the US criminal justice system operated to marginalize and control millions of African Americans?
Tancredo declares run against GOP
By Valerie Richardson - WashingtonTimes.com Seeks Colorado governorship
Former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo made good on his high-noon ultimatum Monday by announcing that he would enter the Colorado governor's contest as a third-party candidate, essentially dashing the GOP's last hopes of winning the race.
"I am going to seek the nomination of the American Constitution Party for Governor of Colorado," said Mr. Tancredo in a statement.
Mr. Tancredo still must file papers with the Colorado secretary of state and register as a member of the American Constitution Party. Even so, the mere announcement of his candidacy appeared to doom any chance of victory for likely Republican nominee Scott McInnis while ensuring victory for the likely Democratic pick, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Schwarzenegger: No budget until he's gone?
By Shane Goldmacher - Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Nearly four weeks into the fiscal year without a budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Monday that California might have to wait until his successor is sworn in next year to get a spending plan -- unless lawmakers give him everything he wants.
Schwarzenegger says the Legislature must curtail public pensions and change California's taxation and budgeting systems before he will sign a budget this year, his last as governor. He leaves office in January.
Google Updates Plans to Sell Applications to Federal Government
By AMIR EFRATI - WSJ.com - $
Google Inc. announced plans to sell special email, word-processing and other services to government agencies, keeping data generated by those applications in a system in the U.S. that is segregated from customers outside the government.
The move won't necessarily make the data more secure than it is for other users, Google executives said, but it accommodates the preferences of some federal agencies that are migrating to so-called "cloud computing" offerings and away from applications run on government servers. The Obama administration is pushing the shift to cut some of the federal government's $76 billion annual computing and software budget.
Ruling Lets Owners Alter iPhone Software
By BEN WORTHEN And AMY SCHATZ - WSJ.com (free)
Apple Inc.'s control over its iPhone and other devices via its iTunes store was undercut Monday by a federal ruling legalizing jailbreaking, or altering the devices to install unapproved software, a practice used now by a small number of customers.
The Library of Congress, which helps oversee copyright law, removed a legal cloud over altering of iPhones, iPads and iPods, to install and run software not purchased from Apple.
Jennifer Granick, civil liberties director at Electronic Freedom Foundation, the digital-rights organization that pushed for the change, said the ruling could open the door for third-party app stores. "Innovators now know that there will be customers for them," she says.
India unveils prototype of $35 computer
By ERIKA KINETZ - WashingtonTimes.com
MUMBAI, INDIA (AP) - It looks like an iPad, only it's 1/14th the cost: India has unveiled the prototype of a $35 basic touchscreen tablet aimed at students, which it hopes to bring into production by 2011.
If the government can find a manufacturer, the Linux operating system-based computer would be the latest in a string of "world's cheapest" innovations to hit the market out of India, which is home to the 100,000 rupee ($2,127) compact Nano car, the 749 rupees ($16) water purifier and the $2,000 open-heart surgery.
GOOGLE TO JOIN FORCES WITH N.S.A.
By NWV News writer Jim Kouri - PPJ Gazette
An alleged intrusion into Google's immense cyber system has provoked the Obama White House to accelerate in plans for government monitoring of the Internet, something that should be triggering alarms throughout the nation, according to security experts.
According to the Obama White House, Google will now work with the National Security Agency (NSA) to stem a "crisis." However, more than a few Washington insiders are wary of such a partnership.
One political strategist points to a statement by President Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel: "Never let a crisis go to waste."
"Rahm Emanuel is a Chicago from-the-gut politician who is the last person you want having access to your personal information or monitoring your Internet activities," said political strategist Mike Baker. "This is a crisis that will be used against Americans not the Chinese."
North Korea Warns of Nuclear Response to Naval Exercises
By Bomi Lim and Bill Varner
July 24 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea said it would counter U.S. and South Korean joint naval exercises with "nuclear deterrence" after the Obama administration said the government in Pyongyang shouldn’t take any provocative steps.
North Korea will "llegitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces," the National Defense Commission said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
When Globalism Runs Its Course ... The Year America Dissolved
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS - CounterPunch
It was 2017. Clans were governing America.
The first clans organized around local police forces. The conservatives' war on crime during the late 20th century and the Bush/Obama war on terror during the first decade of the 21st century had resulted in the police becoming militarized and unaccountable.
As society broke down, the police became warlords. The state police broke apart, and
the officers were subsumed into the local forces of their communities. The newly formed tribes expanded to encompass the relatives and friends of the police.
EU adopts trade sanctions against Iran
By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times
The move is aimed at pressuring Tehran to curb its nuclear program and return to talks. The sanctions may have greater effect than U.S. restrictions because of Iran's substantial trade with the EU.
Reporting from Beirut - The European Union formally adopted harsh and unprecedented restrictions on trade with Iran on Monday in an effort to pressure Tehran to comply with international demands to curb its nuclear development program, which Western governments and analysts believe is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
The sanctions bring the European Union closer to the United States' position on trade with Iran, though they are not as sweeping as the strict measures Washington has imposed banning almost all commerce with the Islamic Republic. Europe, however, has far more dealings with Iran than does the U.S., which cut off ties to 31 years ago, making the new restrictions potentially far more biting.
Heavy liability could sink small oil drillers
By Patrice Hill - WashingtonTimes.com Bill puts American businesses at risk
One of the biggest of the big oil companies may be responsible for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, but Washington's response to the BP PLC spill would give an advantage to such major oil companies while threatening to put their small competitors out of business.
Energy legislation that Senate leaders said they may take up this week would sharply raise or eliminate a $75 million cap on oil company liability for economic damage from spills - a change that poses no great threat to giants like BP, which is setting aside $10 billion out of its huge profits and assets to pay for claims related to the spill and has already paid out billions.
----- oil crisis -----
CNN: Spotters having trouble finding oil?
Coast Guard, NOAA reporting only what is on the SURFACE
BP exiles CEO to Siberia BP's Hayward to step down, may be assigned to Russia
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BP PLC Chief Executive Tony Hayward will step down from his post in October and be reassigned to the company's joint venture in Russia, according to reports that surfaced as the oil major's board of directors held a pivotal meeting Monday.
Citing an unidentified official close to the matter, reports said Hayward has been lined up to take an unspecified job at TNK-BP, which is the joint venture in Russia.
BP's new CEO has Thunderbird pedigree
PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL - BY Mike Sunnucks
New BP CEO Bob Dudley is an alumnus of the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He serves on the Glendale graduate business school's board of fellows and on BP's board of directors.
Dudley is taking over for embattled CEO Tony Hayward, who is stepping down. Hayward and BP have been faulted for their response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and for their sometimes aristocratic statements and attitudes toward the spill.
BP's Russian partners back Bob Dudley to replace Tony Hayward as chief
BP's billionaire partners in Russia indicated they are willing to back their old adversary Bob Dudley as its new chief executive, as the oil giant's board met on Monday night to finalise a radical shake-up.
By Rowena Mason - Telegraph.co.uk
The endorsement will be a boost to BP, as it attempts to draw a line under its Gulf of Mexico oil spill by on Tuesday announcing the departure of chief executive Tony Hayward and revealing hefty impairment charges of up to $25bn (£16bn).
The board is expected to say that Mr Hayward will leave on October 1 to be replaced by the American managing director now in charge of BP's spill response unit.
US bank failures in 2010 surpass 100
By MARCY GORDON - AP -WashingtonPost
WASHINGTON -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Nevada, Minnesota and Oregon.
The seven bank seizures announced Friday bring to 103 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year is well ahead of that of 2009, which saw a total of 140 banks shuttered amid the recession and mounting loan defaults. That was the highest annual tally since 1992, at the height of the savings and loan crisis.
William Black: "Unlimited Taxpayer Bailout" of FDIC Coming; FDIC Shell Game Hides the Bailout
Mike Shedlock Last Friday seven more banks failed bringing the total bank failures to 103.More Failures Coming
The FDIC is now deep in the red and the situation is getting worse every week. The situation would be even worse were it not for widespread "extend and pretend" tactics that keep woefully insolvent banks in business. FDIC Shell Game To Hide Bad Assets
To address the situation, the FDIC is going to start selling U.S.-guaranteed FDIC senior certificates. However, it has no Congressional authority to do so according to former thrift regulator William Black.
Unlimited Taxpayer Bailout
Black claims an "unlimited taxpayer bailout" of the FDIC is on the way.
The Death of Paper Money
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk As they prepare for holiday reading in Tuscany, City bankers are buying up rare copies of an obscure book on the mechanics of Weimar inflation published in 1974
Ebay is offering a well-thumbed volume of "Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations" at a starting bid of $699 (shipping free.. thanks a lot).
The crucial passage comes in Chapter 17 entitled "Velocity". Each big inflation -- whether the early 1920s in Germany, or the Korean and Vietnam wars in the US -- starts with a passive expansion of the quantity money. This sits inert for a surprisingly long time. Asset prices may go up, but latent price inflation is disguised. The effect is much like lighter fuel on a camp fire before the match is struck.
Seven EU banks fail stress tests
BBC News
Seven of the 91 European banks that underwent stress tests have failed the healthchecks, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has said.
They include five Spanish banks - Diada, Espiga, Banca Civica, Unnim and Cajasur. The other two were Germany's Hypo Real Estate and Greece's ATEbank.
The tests assessed banks' ability to survive future economic shocks.
The seven banks would need a total of 3.5bn euros (£3bn) of new capital to meet the standards required, CEBS said.
"[The failed banks] will have to agree with their respective supervisors a plan over a given time period which will explain how this weakness will be resolved," CEBS chairman Giovanni Carosio said.
U.S. Need Not Fear Sovereign Debt Crisis, Unlike Greece, It Actually Is Sovereign
By: Ellen Brown - MarketOracle.co.uk
Last week, a Chinese rating agency downgraded U.S. debt from triple A and number one globally, to "double A with a negative outlook" and only thirteenth worldwide. The downgrade renewed fears that the sovereign debt crisis that began in Greece will soon reach America. That is the concern, but the U.S. is distinguished from Greece in that its debt is denominated in its own currency, over which it has sovereign control. The government can simply print the money it needs, or borrow it from a central bank that prints it. We should not let deficit hawks and short sellers dissuade the government from pursuing that obvious expedient.
Making Sense of the Economic Puzzle
By: Clif Droke - MarketOracle.co.uk
You can tell a lot about the state of the economy by simply looking at the covers of national news magazines. Or perhaps a better way of saying it is that you can get a good sense of how most Americans perceive the state of the economy by perusing the mainstream magazines.
With much fanfare Newsweek magazine proclaimed back in April, "America's Back! (The Remarkable Tale of Our Economic Turnaround)" as it trumpeted what was widely perceived by Keynesians as a legitimate economic recovery based on the latest government data. No sooner had this sentiment been proclaimed than the stock market did an about face and the "flash crash" of May sent equity prices tumbling and had many economists wondering if the market was pricing in a "double dip" recession.
Chinese Central Bank Outlines Plan To Ditch The Dollar As The Yuan's Peg
Vincent Fernando, CFA - BusinessInsider.com
Hu Xiaolian, deputy governor at the Chinese central bank, has released a paper which suggests it's soon time for China to peg the yuan to a basket of foreign currencies, rather than the U.S. dollar alone.
This especially makes sense for China given that, going forward, the U.S. might not the voracious consumer it once was. Thus tying itself at the hip to the dollar might not be as useful as it was before. Hu Xiaolian: Compared with pegging to a single currency, the exchange rate regime with reference to a basket of currencies will help adjust exports and imports, current account, and balance of payment in a more effective manner. It has two-way movements of exchange rate. The RMB exchange rate has been basically stable at an adaptive and balanced level though it may fluctuate in both ways against any particular single currency.
Chinese Banks See Risks in 23% of $1.1 Trillion Loans
By Bloomberg News
July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese banks may struggle to recoup about 23 percent of the 7.7 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) they've lent to finance local government infrastructure projects, according to a person with knowledge of data collected by the nation's regulator.
About half of all loans need to be serviced by secondary sources including guarantors because the ventures can't generate sufficient revenue, the person said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. The China Banking Regulatory Commission has told banks to write off non-performing project loans by the end of this year, the person said.
U.S. Economy Never Came Out of Recession, Pray and Hold onto Gold
By: The Gold Report - MarketOracle.co.uk
Newsletter Writer Ron Struthers is an old-school straight talker who doesn't mince words. Ron believes the U.S. economy never came out of the 2008 recession and predicts America is about to face a whole new set of debt problems at the state level. "Any one of the U.S. states is bigger than Greece and 40 or more of them are in the same bad shape," he warns. Ron recommends investors fortify their portfolios with 15%-20% physical gold and another 40% in cash, ready to jump on any opportunities the moody markets present. In this short but sweet interview with The Gold Report, Ron also offers some of his favorite gold and silver plays, many of which are in Mexico. ¡Ole!
Deflation 'crisis' doesn't exist
By Bill Fleckenstein - MSN Money The growing fear of falling prices is exactly why we need to protect ourselves from rising ones -- and the money printing that produces them.
"Helicopter" Ben Bernanke appeared before Congress for his semiannual visit July 21. Given the near hysteria sweeping the financial world about possible deflation, I expected to see the Federal Reserve chief's feet put to the fire more than they were regarding when the next round of quantitative easing might begin.
Because he is on record as promising that deflation will not occur on his watch, he has dug himself a bit of a hole in terms of how -- and how quickly -- he must respond to the fear of deflation, let alone the reality, which some believe is already here.
Here Comes Deflation
John Mauldin - BusinessInsider.com
The debate over whether we are in for inflation or deflation was alive and well at the Agora Symposium in Vancouver this this week. It seems that not everyone is ready to join the deflation-first, then-inflation camp I am currently resident in. So in this week's letter we look at some of the causes of deflation, the elements of deflation, if you will, and see if they are in ascendancy. For equity investors, this is an important question because, historically, periods of deflation have not been kind to stock markets. Let's come at this week's letter from the side, and see if we can sneak up on some answers.
Next Big Battle in Washington: Bush's Tax Cuts
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON - An epic fight is brewing over what Congress and President Obama should do about the expiring Bush tax cuts, with such substantial economic and political consequences that it could shape the fall elections and fiscal policy for years to come.
Democratic leaders, including Mr. Obama, say they are intent on letting the tax cuts for the wealthy expire as scheduled at the end of this year. But they have pledged to continue the lower tax rates for individuals earning less than $200,000 and families earning less than $250,000 - what Democrats call the middle class.
Obama signs a bill that lets banks have US over a barrel once more
By Liam Halligan - Telegraph.co.uk Last week, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill - hailed as the most sweeping overhaul of US financial regulation since the 1930s.
"Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes," Obama boomed at the schmaltzy signing ceremony, amid bursts of applause.
"These reforms will put a stop to a lot of the bad loans that fuelled this debt-based bubble," the President gushed to America and the rest of the world. "This bill also empowers consumerse_SLpsdelivering the strongest consumer financial protections in history."
It would be reassuring if we could agree with Obama, concluding that Dodd-Frank will help to prevent the next systemic crisis and associated bail-out of "too-big-to-fail" banks. Reassuring, but wrong.
Ron Paul on Lew Rockwell Show 6/21/10: Gold, Oil, and the Dollar
White House predicts record $1.47 trillion deficit
By Andrew Taylor AP - WashingtonTimes.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - New estimates from the White House on Friday predict the budget deficit will reach a record $1.47 trillion this year. The government is borrowing 41 cents of every dollar it spends.
That's actually a little better than the administration predicted in February.
The new estimates paint a grim unemployment picture as the economy experiences a relatively jobless recovery. The unemployment rate, presently averaging 9.5 percent, would average 9 percent next year under the new estimates.
Shadow Banking Makes A Comeback
By: Mike Whitney - MarketOracle.co.uk
Credit conditions are improving for speculators and bubblemakers, but they continue to worsen for households, consumers and small businesses. An article in the Wall Street Journal confirms that the Fed's efforts to revive the so-called shadow banking system is showing signs of progress. Financial intermediaries have been taking advantage of low rates and easy terms to fund corporate bonds, stocks and mortgage-backed securities. Thus, the reflating of high-risk financial assets has resumed, thanks to the Fed's crisis-engendering monetary policy and extraordinary rescue operations. Here's an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal:
"A new quarterly survey of lending by the Federal Reserve found that hedge funds and private-equity funds are getting better terms from lenders and that big banks have loosened lending standards generally in recent months. The survey, called the Senior Credit Officer Opinion Survey, focuses on wholesale credit markets, which the Fed said functioned better over the past quarter."
The Health Care Bill Change in 1099 Reporting Requirements Does NOT Target Gold and Silver
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
I had originally included this in my weekly gold and silver market wrap up. But I have received so many emails from alarmed readers about the topic that I thought it would be useful to give it a separate blog entry that is linkable, so it would be easier to answer those who express concern.
Those who originally raised this issue of a change in the law stated it rightly, but since then it has been fanned into a falsehood and a bogeyman, far beyond the proportions of its original scope and intent.
It is true that transactions in gold and silver and more particularly rare coins were exempt from 1099 reporting under the previous 1099 MISC rules. But they were always reportable and taxable on one's tax returns. Goods were exempts, but services were not exempt from 1099 MISC reporting and the thresh hold for them was $600. This law primarily applied to the self-employed and small businesses.
Bullion buyers bank on gold coins
By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
Precious metal glitters for investors seeking to hedge financial chaos
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apart from a New York City phone book listing, gold dealer Manfra, Tordella & Brookes, Inc. does no advertising. Lights are on all day because the shop sits in a basement.
Yet MTB, as the firm is known, has never been busier. Every day, people find their way to the Manhattan store with one thing in mind: getting their hands on gold bullion coins, as soon as possible and as much as possible, before the financial Armageddon they fear renders the dollars in their pockets worthless.
Gold to shine for years to come
LONDON (Commodity Online): If anybody thought the recent slide in gold prices is an indication of the yellow metal's losing power to sustain above $1,200 per ounce level, think again.
According to analysts, gold prices are set to rise and rise in the coming months and years. They said gold prices are set to mark an eleventh year of gains in 2011 as investors seek refuge from an uncertain global economic outlook.
A poll of 55 analysts and traders showed expectations for gold prices in 2011 have risen nearly 7% to a median $1,228 an ounce, from a forecast of $1,150 in a similar survey conducted in January, said a report in India's Economic Times.
Gold, Silver in bull market, not in a bubble
By John Browne - Commodity Online
In the first few days of July, the prices of gold and silver appeared to break a five-month upward trend by drawing back about five per cent from the record June peaks. Despite many similar corrections that have occurred frequently during the long bull market in precious metals, pundits nevertheless looked to draw bold and significant conclusions from the drop. But just as investors were getting comfortable with the leading explanation - that a looming double dip recession will prevent inflation and thereby dampen demand for precious metals - the markets for both metals stabilized.
Gold Market Spooked by Deflationary Double-Dip Recession Fears
By: David Galland - MarketOracle.co.uk
Last week, the price of gold again broke below its new base at $1,200, and the U.S. stock market was again under strong pressure, due to a confluence of fears, most of which point to a deflationary double-dip. The fears were fanned by disappointment in the just-released early quarterly results, by the latest CPI reports that show inflation continuing to moderate, and by yet another poll revealing faltering consumer confidence.
Elements of Deflation and the Super-Trend Puzzle
By: John Mauldin - MarketOracle.co.uk
The debate over whether we are in for inflation or deflation was alive and well at the Agora Symposium in Vancouver this this week. It seems that not everyone is ready to join the deflation-first, then-inflation camp I am currently resident in. So in this week's letter we look at some of the causes of deflation, the elements of deflation, if you will, and see if they are in ascendancy. For equity investors, this is an important question because, historically, periods of deflation have not been kind to stock markets. Let's come at this week's letter from the side, and see if we can sneak up on some answers.
(Part 1/2) Peter Schiff on CNBC Fast Money 6/21/10: Spotlight on the Yuan
(Part 2/2) Peter Schiff on CNBC Fast Money 6/21/10: Spotlight on the Yuan
Goldman reveals where bailout cash went
By Karen Mracek and Thomas Beaumont,
Des Moines Register - USAToday.com
Goldman Sachs sent $4.3 billion in federal tax money to 32 entities, including many overseas banks, hedge funds and pensions, according to information made public Friday night.
Goldman Sachs disclosed the list of companies to the Senate Finance Committee after a threat of subpoena from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia.
Asked the significance of the list, Grassley said, "I hope it's as simple as taxpayers deserve to know what happened to their money."
He added, "We thought originally we were bailing out AIG. Then later on ... we learned that the money flowed through AIG to a few big banks, and now we know that the money went from these few big banks to dozens of financial institutions all around the world."
Private sector must drive economy: Geithner
By Alistair Barr and Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch Treasury secretary plans big changes for Fannie and Freddie
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. economy is gradually recovering, but the private sector now must drive growth rather than the government, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday.
During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Geithner also said the government has big plans for reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing finance giants that now stand behind most of the mortgages in the U.S. after being bailed out by taxpayers during the 2008 financial crisis.
Fannie and Freddie Hold $30 Billion in Bad Loans
Jody Shenn, Bloomberg - MFI-Miama
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator may identify as much as $30 billion of debt included in mortgage bonds that the companies can force sellers to repurchase, according to Joshua Rosner, an analyst who in 2007 predicted the collapse in the market for the securities.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency this month said it issued 64 subpoenas seeking loan files and other documents related to so-called non-agency mortgage securities bought by the two government-supported companies. The U.S. is trying to determine whether misrepresentations might require issuers to repurchase debt, producing funds from firms that may include Wall Street's largest banks to help repay taxpayer money.
When will unemployment checks be mailed? Not soon
By Tami Luhby
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Kevin Landry had to give up his San Diego apartment because he couldn't afford the rent after his federal unemployment benefits were cut off in early June.
Since then, Landry and his cocker spaniel, Curley, have been sleeping in his 1991 Dodge Dakota in a church parking lot. He sold his possessions and applied for food stamps in order to survive.
And even though President Obama signed a measure Thursday that extends benefits through November, Landry knows he won't get his $475 weekly check anytime soon.
Jobless claims jump in latest week
By Blake Ellis
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance climbed last week, the government said Thursday.
There were 464,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended July 17, up 37,000 from a revised 427,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.
The number of claims was much higher than expected. A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected new claims to rise to 445,000.
U.S. Jobs Situation Worse Than Broadcast
By: Hans Wagner -
The unemployment numbers for June 2010 were worse than articulated. The headline number said 83,000 private sector jobs were created and the unemployment rate slipped to 9.5% from 9.7%. Sounds like things are looking up. But, as you might expect, the devil is in the details and the details tell a different story.
Birth/Death Rate
The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses a statistical model they call the Birth/Death Rate. Do not worry, the Birth/Death model has nothing to do with people being born or dying. Rather it attempts to estimate the number of new business that were born last month and the number of old business that gave up the ghost. They use these numbers to adjust the employment numbers they report each month. The model uses historical statistics and applies seasonality factors to derive their estimate of the number of the number of business that began operation and that closed their doors. This is normal application of statistical theory, as the BLS has to make some sort of estimate. The problem is the birth/death rate tends to skew the employment numbers more than most people realize.
New wave of credit card abuses
By Ben Rooney
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A 2009 federal crackdown on abusive credit card practices has exposed a litany of other ways consumers are being hosed.
That's according to a report released Thursday examining the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act.
The study, from the Pew Health Group's Safe Credit Cards Project, found that most of the practices deemed "unfair" or "deceptive" by the Federal Reserve under the law have disappeared from new credit card offers since Congress passed the law.
"Most of the news is good, but we are seeing the rise of new harmful behavior," said Shelley Hearne, managing director of the Pew Health Group.
The Government's Role in the Housing Bubble
The Atlantic
I never would have guessed that years in, we'd still be debating the role of the government in the housing bubble. Conservatives are still pinning most of the blame on the Community Reinvestment Act, while liberals are saying that there's no evidence that government played any significant role--unless, perhaps, it was all the fault of Alan Greenspan.
As it happens, I think that the government did play a role. A big role. But I think it's rather subtler, and thus, rather more problematic, than most people on either side are discussing.
Bart Chilton on Financial Regulatory Reform Legislation, July 2010
Commodities and Futures Trading Commission Commisioner Bart Chilton explaining the significance of the recently passed Financial Regulatory Reform legislation package, including position limits to prevent market concentration.
Why Are Banks Withholding Highend Repossessions Over $300,000 From the Market? by Keith Jurow - RealEastateChannel.com
With the expiration of the first-time buyer tax credit on April 30, there are now two main props keeping the housing market afloat. One is the growing percentage of home sales financed by Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan guarantees. The other is the refusal of banks to put on the market foreclosed homes over $300,000.
In this article, we will take a look at the second factor. A future report will examine the role of the FHA in keeping the market from collapsing.
Chicago and Cook County, IL
Let's begin with Chicago. Cook County is comprised of Chicago and its contiguous suburbs and has a population of roughly 5.3 million residents. It experienced a huge bubble during 2004-2006 and has suffered a substantial drop in both prices and home sales.
Geithner Says Companies 'Cautious' About Hiring
By Ian Katz
July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said U.S. companies scarred by the financial crisis remain "very cautious" and are trying to get more productivity from current employees before hiring new ones.
Job growth is "not as fast as we need," Geithner said in an interview broadcast today on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. Employers "are still cautious, still very cautious," he said. "So they've been trying to get as much productivity out of their employees as possible."
Geithner also said, in a separate interview on ABC's "This Week" program, that allowing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to lapse at the end of this year wouldn't hurt economic growth.
Protesters incensed by Bell officials' high salaries visit mayor's business, home LATimes.com
Residents irate over the high salaries hauled in by their public officials marched Sunday to the businesses and homes of the mayor and City Council members.
A boisterous crowd of more than 200 gathered at the corner of Gage and Corona avenues. Several were wearing T-shirts featuring a city seal and the words "My city is more corrupt than your city."
Their first stop: Oscar's Korner Market and Carniceria, owned by the mayor, Oscar Hernandez. They then moved on to the mayor's house, near Florence Avenue, then to a home on Otis Avenue owned by City Councilman George Mirabal.
At the stops, protesters maintained a moment of silence and then shouted "Fuera!" -- "Out!" Dozens of cars honked as they passed and offered thumbs-up, though one man stopped, defended the city officials and challenged a protester physically.
First Lady Now Requires 26 Servants
By Dr. Paul L. Williams Monday, August 17, 2009
"In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much," she said. "See, that's why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service," - Michelle Obama.
We were wrong.
Michelle Obama, as we reported on July 7, is not served by twenty-two attendants who stand by to cater to her every whim.
She is served by twenty-six attendants, including a hair dresser and make-up artist.
The annual cost to taxpayers for such unprecedented attention is approximately $1,750,000 without taking into account the expense of the lavish benefit packages afforded to every attendant.
Wal-Mart plan to use smart tags raises privacy concerns
By Anne D'Innocenzio, AP - USAToday.com
NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores is putting electronic identification tags on men's clothing like jeans starting Aug. 1 as the world's largest retailer tries to gain more control of its inventory. But the move is raising eyebrows among privacy experts.
The individual garments, which also includes underwear and socks, will have removable smart tags that can be read from a distance by Wal-Mart workers with scanners. In seconds, the worker will be able to know what sizes are missing and will also be able tell what it has on hand in the stock room. Such instant knowledge will allow store clerks to have the right sizes on hand when shoppers need them.
Freedom From Tyranny Is Our Goal
By Dr. Robert R. Owens Canada Free Press The Land of the Free is held captive, locked in a two party system where both parties are merely two heads on the same bird of prey
When taxes become destructive they surpass the consent of the governed bending to the will of tyranny. When regulations strangle competition instead of securing it from evil combinations they become counterproductive and defeat the very purpose for which they were proposed. When foreign entanglements bleed the nation but do not secure the peace or defeat the enemy they become interventionist vehicles for vested interests.
JD Hayworth's Republican challenge to John McCain grows as anti-immigrant anger spills onto Arizona's streets State's tough new rules capture mood of growing fury - and are starting to set a national trend
Paul Harris - The Observer - Guardian.co.uk
JD Hayworth, a barnstorming Arizona Republican who is campaigning for the Senate, has strong opinions about his state's new law on illegal immigration.
The law, known as SB1070 and due to come into effect this week, requires police to arrest suspected illegal immigrants and makes it a crime not to have valid immigration papers on your person. It has prompted Hispanics to fear racial profiling, immigrants to flee the state in droves, activists to organise consumer boycotts and the Obama administration to sue in federal court.
Chavez warns of US oil cutoff in Colombia dispute
IAN JAMES AFP
Associated Press Writer - CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez threatened on Sunday to cut off oil sales to the United States if Venezuela is attacked by its U.S.-allied neighbor Colombia in a dispute over allegations Venezuela gives haven to Colombian rebels.
Chavez made his warning in an outdoor speech to thousands of supporters, saying: "If there is any armed aggression against Venezuela from Colombian territory or anywhere else supported by the Yankee empire, we ... would suspend shipments of oil to the United States!"
"We wouldn't send another drop of oil to its refineries, not a single drop more!" Chavez shouted, adding that the United States is "the big one to blame for all the tension in this part of the world."
North Korea warns of nuclear 'sacred war'
BBC News
North Korea says it will use its "nuclear deterrent" in response to joint US-South Korean military exercises this weekend.
Pyongyang was ready to launch a "retaliatory sacred war" at any time, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Washington and Seoul say the war games are to deter North Korean aggression.
Tensions between the two Koreas have been high since the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
An international investigation said the ship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, a claim strongly denied by Pyongyang.
North Korea says US military exercises pose 'grave danger' to peace in region Justin McCurry - guardian.co.uk,
After new sanctions aimed at North Korea's nuclear programme, US and South Korea prepare for manoeuvres in Sea of Japan
North Korea warned today that a joint military exercise by the US and South Korea this weekend poses a "grave danger" to regional security, a day after Washington announced new sanctions designed to cut off funding for the regime's nuclear weapons programme.
The north called for the cancellation of the drill, which will involve 8,000 troops, 100 aircraft and 20 ships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS George Washington.
S Korea-US military exercise begins in the Sea of Japan
BBC News
The US and South Korea have begun a major military exercise in the Sea of Japan, despite threats of retaliation from North Korea.
The navy and air force manoeuvres involve 20 ships, 200 planes and 8,000 US and South Korean personnel.
Washington and Seoul say they want to send a clear signal to the North following the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
An international investigation said a North Korean torpedo sank the ship.
However, the claim has been angrily denied by Pyongyang.
On Saturday, North Korea threatened to use its nuclear deterrent in a retaliatory, "sacred war" in response to the exercise.
Accusations of Iraq war 'cover-up'
Press Association - Guardian.co.uk
The Government has been accused by a former diplomat of covering up key information from the Iraq Inquiry to hide mistakes.
Carne Ross, who quit the Foreign Office in 2004 after criticising Britain's involvement in the war, said he had been denied access to key material ahead of his recent appearance.
The UK's former Iraq expert at the United Nations also claimed he was subjected to "subtle intimidation" from Whitehall to drop references to a classified memo.
Giving evidence to Sir John Chilcot's panel earlier this month, Mr Ross complained about a "culture of unaccountability and, sometimes, dishonesty" in Government.
Two US soldiers 'captured by Taliban' in Afghanistan
By Philip Sherwell in New York - Telegraph.co.uk
The Taliban has captured two US soldiers in eastern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Islamic insurgents said.
American officials separately confirmed that two US soldiers serving with Nato forces were missing, but did not comment on the Taliban claims.
In the eastern Afghanistan province of Logar, local radio broadcast offers of a $20,000 reward for information that led to the safe release of the pair.
"Early this morning two coalition personnel went missing," the announcement said. "They are believed to have been captured by insurgents somewhere in Logar province.
Taliban claim to capture U.S. sailor, kill another
By Deb Riechmann and Rahim Faiez AP
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Taliban claimed Sunday that they killed a U.S. sailor and kidnapped another as NATO forces ramped up a massive search for the servicemen, who went missing two days earlier in an area held by the militants.
The coalition force set up checkpoints and distributed fliers with the sailors' pictures and are offering thousands of dollars in rewards for their return. There were conflicting reports about whether the body of one of the two had been recovered.
Search Widens for U.S. Sailors in Afghanistan
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and ALISSA J. RUBIN - NYTimes.com
KABUL, Afghanistan - As a huge manhunt for two missing American sailors widened throughout a dangerous region of eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, a Taliban spokesman said that one of the Americans had been killed in an ambush and the other one had been captured.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said in Kabul on Sunday that the military would "do all we can" to return the sailors, and the United States military in Afghanistan was offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to their return.
* * * * * Important! * * * * *
Afghanistan war logs: Massive leak of secret files exposes truth of occupation Nick Davies and David Leigh - guardian.co.uk
A huge cache of secret US military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and Nato commanders fear neighbouring Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency.
The disclosures come from more than 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict obtained by the whistleblowers' website Wikileaks in one of the biggest leaks in US military history. The files, which were made available to the Guardian, the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, give a blow-by-blow account of the fighting over the last six years, which has so far cost the lives of more than 320 British and over 1,000 US troops.
Pakistan Aids Insurgency in Afghanistan, Reports Assert
By MARK MAZZETTI, JANE PERLEZ, ERIC SCHMIT
and ANDREW W. LEHREN - NYTimes.com
Americans fighting the war in Afghanistan have long harbored strong suspicions that Pakistan's military spy service has guided the Afghan insurgency with a hidden hand, even as Pakistan receives more than $1 billion a year from Washington for its help combating the militants, according to a trove of secret military field reports made public Sunday.
The documents, made available by an organization called WikiLeaks, suggest that Pakistan, an ostensible ally of the United States, allows representatives of its spy service to meet directly with the Taliban in secret strategy sessions to organize networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even hatch plots to assassinate Afghan leaders.
----- oil crisis -----
Censored Gulf news: People bleeding internally, millions poisoned says 'EPA whistleblower'
Human Rights ExaminerDeborah Dupre' - Examiner.com
"...we have dolphins that are hemorrhaging. People who work near it are hemorrhaging internally. And that's what dispersants are supposed to do... Congressman Markey and Nadler, as well as Senator Mikulski, have been heroes... Mark Kaufman, EPA whistleblower, Democracy Now! Poisoning millions of people
In its report, EPA Whistleblower Accuses Agency of Covering Up Effects of Dispersant in BP Oil Spill Cleanup, Democracy Now! states that "many lawmakers and advocacy groups say the Obama administration is not being candid about the lethal effects of dispersants," so Amy Goodman interviewed Hugh Kaufman, a senior policy analyst at the EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response and a leading critic of the decision to use Corexit" who disclosed how the officials are lying about many things related to the catastrophe poisoning "millions of people."
(Listen: MP3 Download)
Is BP preparing to use the nuclear option?
PPJGazette - Dr. Tom Termotto, National Coordinator
Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference (International Citizens' Initiative)
There has been much speculation lately about a nuclear device being planned for closing in the BP Macondo Well in the Gulf of Mexico. The consequences of exercising this option go well beyond killing the Gulf of Mexico; there would be far-reaching and profound ramifications for the oceans of the world. There are many risks associated with this option that must be considered. Let's review some of these before BP finishes the relief wells, which are allegedly being utilized for the strategic placement and detonation of a nuclear device.
DEEP OIL WELL DRILLING ALWAYS BRINGS INCREASED LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVITY
The radioactive levels of the hydrocarbon brew that has been flowing for over 90 days into the Gulf is already cause for alarm. The deeper the well, the greater the likelihood that the oil and gas effluent will have greater concentrations of radioactive components, particularly radium, thorium and uranium.
Tony Hayward to quit BP
Terry Macalister - guardian.co.u Beleaguered oil firm chief executive to be replaced by Gulf of Mexico clean-up chief Bob Dudley
BP is planning to announce the departure of chief executive Tony Hayward alongside its half-year financial results on Tuesday.
The BP boss will be replaced by Bob Dudley, who is currently overseeing the oil spill operation in the Gulf of Mexico.
The exit of Hayward, who has been vilified by American politicians since the 20 April blowout on the Deepwater Horizon rig, is the second dramatic change of leadership at BP in less than four years. Lord Browne, Hayward's predecessor, left the oil group after a spat with the then chairman, Peter Sutherland, and a sinking of the share price after the Texas City refinery fire.
Dudley poised to replace Tony Hayward as BP chief
By Graham Ruddick - Telegraph.co.uk
Bob Dudley is set to be named as the new chief executive of BP within 24 hours as the company launches the fight to repair its reputation and finances.
The board of BP will meet this afternoon and is expected to ratify the resignation of existing chief executive Tony Hayward.
Mr Hayward is believed to have been in negotiations over the weekend about his compensation package. Under his contract he is entitled to at least £1.045m - his basic salary - although BP is thought to be keen to avoid any row with the US Government over the scale of the payout.
BP accused of 'buying academic silence'
By Robyn Bresnahan - BBC News
The head of the American Association of Professors has accused BP of trying to "buy" the best scientists and academics to help its defence against litigation after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
"This is really one huge corporation trying to buy faculty silence in a comprehensive way," said Cary Nelson.
BP faces more than 300 lawsuits so far.
In a statement, BP says it has hired more than a dozen national and local scientists "with expertise in the resources of the Gulf of Mexico".
The BBC has obtained a copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP. It says that scientists cannot publish the research they do for BP or speak about the data for at least three years, or until the government gives the final approval to the company's restoration plan for the whole of the Gulf.
BP, Deepwater Horizon and the Armageddon Scenario
Pravda.ru
What exactly is going on in the Gulf of Mexico? When there are reports of media blackouts, then the natural reaction is to start investigating, and in the current environmental catastrophe, the more stones one turns, the more horrific the potential scenario becomes. While scare mongering is as pointless as it is dangerous, the truth remains that the media have the duty to inform.
What exactly is going on in the Gulf of Mexico? US-based geologist Chris Landau and writer Terrence Aym are but two of a growing number of researchers who are trying to find out exactly what is happening, amid reports of a media blackout, amid reports of Federal agents blocking journalists from the centre of operations, amid reports of threats of 40,000-dollar fines and felony arrests. To hide what? Let us see.
BP acquits itself of sole blame for gulf spill after internal inquiry
Tim Webb - The Observer - Guardian.co.uk
Oil company determined to fight claims of gross negligence as speculation grows over Hayward's future
BP will this week reveal that it has cleared itself of gross negligence after an internal inquiry into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
The company believes evidence will emerge of the role that other oil companies and contractors on the project had in causing the worst environmental disaster in US history. But this is unlikely to satisfy its critics. During congressional hearings in the US, politicians have laid the blame for the disaster squarely on BP, accusing it of ignoring standard oil industry safety practices to save money.
Deepwater Horizon alarms were switched off 'to help workers sleep'
Ed Pilkington in New York - guardian.co.uk
Alarms and safety mechanisms on gulf disaster oil rig were disabled, chief technician at Transocean reveals
Vital warning systems on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig were switched off at the time of the explosion in order to spare workers being woken by false alarms, a federal investigation has heard.
The revelation that alarm systems on the rig at the centre of the disaster were disabled - and that key safety mechanisms had also consciously been switched off - came in testimony by a chief technician working for Transocean, the drilling company that owned the rig.
20% of Americans hit by major economic loss
By Jeanne Sahadi, senior writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A new study released Wednesday estimates that 20% of Americans suffered a significant economic loss last year - the highest level in the past 25 years.
The new Economic Security Index looks at the interaction of three key variables that have a direct bearing on a person's economic security: income loss, medical expenses and debt.
A Few Reasons Why This Depression Will Be Even Greater
By Bill Bonner - The DailyReckoning.com
07/22/10 Vancouver, British Columbia - "This is the Greater Depression... and it's going to be worse... far worse... than the Depression of the '30s," said Doug Casey.
"We're just in the eye of the hurricane now. It seems calm. But the other side of the storm is going to hit soon. And it's going to be much worse..."
California family bought worthless second mortgage from Wells Fargo at foreclosure auction Jondi Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel
BOULDER CREEK -- Roberta and Randall Strand thought they were getting a great deal on a foreclosure and helping their daughter and future son-in-law become homeowners. Instead they are holding a worthless second mortgage.
The home they bought for just under $98,000 and fixed up for $25,000 is scheduled for a foreclosure auction this afternoon to satisfy a debt of more than $529,000.
Public Debt Replaces Private Debt in the Name of Progress
By Bill Bonner - The DailyReckoning.com
07/22/10 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Dow fell 109 points yesterday. Gold was flat. Otherwise, all quiet on the financial front.
We're keeping these reckonings short this week. Your editor is attending a financial conference in Vancouver. He doesn't want to miss anything.
Fed chief urges Congress to continue stimulus spending
By Jeannine Aversa AP - WashingtonTimes.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that the fragile economy still needs government stimulus spending to strengthen the recovery and help reduce unemployment.
Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Mr. Bernanke did urge lawmakers to come up with a credible plan to reduce the government's record-high budget deficits in the long run. But he said they shouldn't move now to slash spending or boost taxes in the near future.
Obama signs bill to cut misguided federal payments
By Kara Rowland - WashingtonTimes.com
President Obama on Thursday called on federal agencies to crack down on improper payments made by the government, signing into law a new measure he said would reduce waste and fraud by $50 billion by 2012.
Improper payments, ranging from wholesale fraud to government checks sent to the wrong person or in the wrong amount, totaled $110 billion in 2009 - the highest amount ever.
"When government doesn't work like it should, it has a real effect on people's lives," said Mr. Obama, noting the wasted money amounts to fewer resources for schools, tax relief or other priorities.
Bernanke Admission by Omission
By: Andrew B. Busch - CNBC Contributor
I think the most "captivating" part of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was not what he said, but what he omitted. Yes, the unusually uncertain comment captured the essence of why businesses aren't hiring with European debt crisis, health care, Fin Reg and taxes all creating the miasma.
However, the chairman didn't address or dwell on the Seinfeld economic theory of a double dip. He brushed off comments asking for details of what the Fed would do to stimulate the economy if it sank again from these levels. (Read Bernanke's Testimony Here)
Top Banks Paid $1.6 Billion in Excessive Bonuses, U.S. Finds
By ERIC DASH - NYTimes.com
With the financial system on the verge of collapse in late 2008, a group of troubled banks doled out more than $2 billion in bonuses and other payments to their highest earners. Now, the federal authority on banker pay says that nearly 80 percent of that sum was unmerited.
Wall Street reform: Now, it's the law
By Jennifer Liberto, senior writer
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- As soon as President Obama's name showed up on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law Wednesday, the way the financial industry does business changed.
Immediately, regulators get new powers to take down failing giant financial firms -- powers they didn't have in 2008 when the investment firm Lehman Brothers collapsed and threatened the entire financial system.
No Wonder the Outlook for the Economy is "Unusually Uncertain" ... the Fed is Killing It
Washington's Blog
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testified today that the outlook for the economy is "unusually uncertain".
That's not surprising.
Nothing has changed since I made the following points last December.
High-Level Fed Officials Slam Bernanke
Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn conceded that the government's actions "will reduce [companies'] incentive to be careful in the future." In other words, he's admitting that the government's actions will encourage financial companies to make even riskier gambles in the future.
Business Knows More than Obama, He Should Follow their Roadmap
By: Larry Kudlow - CNBC Anchor
.... But uncertainty over the regulatory-and-tax rules of the road is exactly what has buffaloed business and stifled the animal spirits that are so necessary for investment and job creation.
The clash between business and the administration has become the high-drama news story of the summer. Business leaders have slammed the White House over policies they regard as hostile to jobs, including taxes, trade, and all manner of new regulations. And amidst a sub-par and virtually jobless recovery, their grievances have resonated with the electorate.
Did Financial-Reform Politics Influence the SEC's Goldman Case?
By ABIGAIL FIELD- DailyFinance.com
How much did politics influence the Securities and Exchange Commission in its lawsuit against Goldman Sachs (GS)? It sounds like we'll find out, thanks to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
Suspicious of the timing of the suit, coming as it did during the financial-reform legislation debate, Issa asked the SEC inspector general, H. David Kotz, to investigate.
The Fed's toughest foe: Deflation
By Chris Isidore, senior writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Battling inflation has historically been a major aim of the Federal Reserve. But central bank policymakers now have an even bigger worry: deflation.
Prices have been slowing for three months. And members of the Federal Reserve openly voiced concerns about deflation at their last meeting.
2010 Bank Failures Add Up To Nearly $17B FDIC Hit
The Bank Implode-O-Meter
Boy, it really starts to add up, doesn't it? This makes quick work of almost half of the FDIC's $40B pre-payment trick. What next?
Note also that these failures are far from completely "resolved", and that the below FDIC costs are just preliminary estimates - the ultimate losses to the wishfully-named "insurance fund" will probably be higher (for example the losses due to IndyMac were ultimate revised upwards by at least 20%, and that is before taking into account long-term bond guarantees the FDIC has provided for most of its bank failure interventions. Or the fact that Congress just made the FDIC guarantee $250k per account, retroactive back to Jan 1., 2008.)
Treasuries Tumble, Pushing Two-Year Yields Up From Record Low
By Susanne Walker and Paul Dobson
July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell, pushing two-year note yields up from a record low, as higher-than-forecast corporate profits eased concern the Federal Reserve may have to consider more stimulus measures to help sustain the U.S. economic recovery.
Two-year yields had touched all-time lows for a third consecutive day and 10-year note yields traded at a 15-month low after Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday policy makers were prepared to take further action as needed. A report today showed sales of U.S. previously owned homes in June decreased less than forecast.
At-a-Glance: Provisions of Wall Street Reform Bill
President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory system. Following is a brief look at the bill's main provisions:
Swaps Push-Out:
Volcker Rule:
Wall St 'Death Panel':
Consumer Watchdog:
The Big Picture:
Behind the Hedge:
Insurance Cops:
Bank Cushions:
Fed Scrutiny:
Debit Cards:
China rating agency condemns rivals
By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing - FT.com
The head of China's largest credit rating agency has slammed his western counterparts for causing the global financial crisis and said that as the world's largest creditor nation China should have a bigger say in how governments and their debt are rated.
"The western rating agencies are politicised and highly ideological and they do not adhere to objective standards," Guan Jianzhong, chairman of Dagong Global Credit Rating, told the Financial Times in an interview. "China is the biggest creditor nation in the world and with the rise and national rejuvenation of China we should have our say in how the credit risks of states are judged."
China Throwing World's "Biggest Creditor Nation" Weight Around
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/22/10 Alexandria, Virgina - In a recent Financial Times interview, Guan Jianzhong, chairman of Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., lashes out with harsh words against "politicised and highly ideological" Western rating agencies. Guan insists Dagong Global ratings are superior to those of his competitors. He defends his agency's assessment, of rating China's debt higher than the US, as being due to its status as "the biggest creditor nation in the world."
According to the Financial Times:
"'The western rating agencies are politicised and highly ideological and they do not adhere to objective standards,' Guan Jianzhong, chairman of Dagong Global Credit Rating, told the Financial Times in an interview. 'China is the biggest creditor nation in the world and with the rise and national rejuvenation of China we should have our say in how the credit risks of states are judged.'
Why the silver price looks set to surge
Joss Smith - SilverBearCafe.com
Silver has an ugly reputation as the 'poor man's gold'. Most investors hate it. In fact, many would prefer to class it among the base metals - along with nickel, zinc and copper.
But they are missing out on what could be a pretty remarkable investment opportunity. Because in truth, silver is probably the most undervalued of all metals in the market today. Why?
Well, the strongest recommendation for silver at this time is that it is both a precious metal and an industrial metal. And that means two opportunities to profit. The first will be if economies continue to recover and industrial demand rises. The second is as an inflation hedge if economies perform less well than I expect.
Carryover from Thursday News page ...
Oil expert Simmons insists '20 million people are entrapped in harm's way'
John Kaminski - SilverBearCafe.com They're still lying about the oil disaster
Oil expert Simmons insists '20 million people are entrapped in harm's way'
Oil industry insider Matt Simmons blew the whistle on the made-for-TV capping of the so-called oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, July 15, during an interview on KPFK radio, the NPR station in Los Angeles.
Simmons, former energy adviser to the second President Bush, explained that according to his reading of the data from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, capping of the so-called riser and the subsequent announcement by U.S. President Obama was "the biggest con job we've ever seen."
ZIRP Lending Won't Stop US Depression
Elaine Meinel Supkis - SilverBearCafe.com
One of the stupidest ideas on earth is, the Federal Reserve's central banking system works to prevent bubbles, stop the endless 'business cycle' of ups and downs and create jobs. It obviously has totally and utterly failed at all of these things! Pretending that it does these things is foolish. When we have to choose a path to take, the best thing to do is to look at who else is on this path and then see where they are already.
In our present case, all we have to do is look to Japan. For a dozen years, I used to debate with other online economists, the Great Depression of Japan which began roughly when I began regularly posting on the internet, back when it was very small and mostly academic in nature.
Obama on new law: 'No more taxpayer bailouts'
by Annalyn Censky, staff reporter
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After more than a year of effort by its advocates, President Obama signed the Wall Street reform bill into law Wednesday, promising that the measure will put an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts of failed banks. "Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes," Obama said in a ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. "There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period."
FHA - "We are Officially Broke"
Submitted by Bruce Krasting - ZeroHedge.com
SUMMARY: A recently issued independent actuarial study shows that the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF) capital ratio has fallen below its statutorily mandated threshold.
We can pretend that that the FHA does not need a bailout, but it does. Unlike its bad siblings, Fan and Fred, there has never been a question whether Uncle Sam is on the hook with FHA. We don't need a fancy conservatorship this time. Tim Geithner over at Treasury will just write the checks to cover the shortfalls. The good news is that those debts will not show up on the Federal balance sheet. They don't count because there are "assets" behind these loans.
Good mornin' shine
Bill Bonner - SilverBearCafe.com
Last Friday, everything went down. Well, almost everything. The Dow fell 261 points. Gold dropped $22. Copper. Oil. The dollar. You name it; it went down.
Unless you name US Treasury bonds - which were up!
What does this mean? Maybe nothing. But since it accords with the direction we think the markets ought to be taking, we'll say it's a trend. It's a Great Correction. Asset prices go down. Cash goes up.
Let's go back and see where we've come from. Then, maybe we'll see more clearly where we're going.
In 1999, the US stock market - led by the NASDAQ - clearly topped out. The bubble in the tech sector blew up. Equities started down.
Newark mayor: No toilet paper for city offices
By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporter
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a desperate attempt to fill a $70 million budget hole, Newark's mayor is taking a chainsaw to the town's budget -- even going so far as to cut toilet paper from the 2010 budget.
"Every single contract that does not go to the core function of our city in providing safe streets, providing fire protection, or other things to keep our city afloat will now be cut," Booker said during an emergency press conference Wednesday.
G.M. Buys a Subprime Lender for $3.5 Billion
By NICK BUNKLEY - NYTimes.com
DETROIT - General Motors said Thursday it had agreed to buy a financing company, AmeriCredit, for $3.5 billion so it can lease more vehicles and increase sales to consumers with lower credit ratings.
The transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter, gives G.M. a captive financing arm for the first time since 2007, when it sold control of GMAC Financial Services. G.M. recently considered starting a new financing arm or reacquiring GMAC, now known as Ally Financial, to strengthen its lending capabilities and to raise the carmaker's value ahead of a public stock offering.
Purchases of U.S. Existing Homes Fell in June
By Bob Willis
July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Sales of U.S. previously owned homes fell in June for a second month, adding to evidence the market will slump as the effects of a federal tax credit fade.
Purchases of existing houses dropped a less-than-forecast 5.1 percent to a 5.37 million annual rate, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The number of transactions will be "very low" in coming months, reflecting the end of the government incentive, the group's chief economist said in a news conference.
Existing home sales fall 5.1%
By Ben Rooney, staff reporter
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In the latest sign of renewed turbulence in the housing market, an industry group said Thursday that sales of existing homes fell 5.1% in June.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales fell last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million units, down from 5.66 million in May. Sales year-over-year were up 9.8%.
New wave of credit card abuses
By Ben Rooney, staff reporter
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A 2009 federal crackdown on abusive credit card practices has exposed a litany of other ways consumers are being hosed.
That's according to a report released Thursday examining the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act.
The study, from the Pew Health Group's Safe Credit Cards Project, found that most of the practices deemed "unfair" or "deceptive" by the Federal Reserve under the law have disappeared from new credit card offers since Congress passed the law.
Job seekers' latest hurdle: Credit checks
By Chris Isidore, senior writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Falling behind on your bills? It could cost you a job.
An increasing number of employers are using credit checks to screen potential job applicants. So missed payments on your mortgage, car or credit card could keep you from getting hired.
According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 60% of employers are using credit checks when filling at least some of their openings. Only 35% reported checking credit in a 2003 survey, and only about 13% did so 1996.
Jobless Claims in U.S. Increased More Than Forecast
By Shobhana Chandra
July 22 (Bloomberg) -- More Americans than projected filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign firings remain elevated even as the economy is expanding.
Initial jobless claims jumped by 37,000 to 464,000 in the week ended July 17, exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The survey median projected claims would climb to 445,000. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance and those getting extended payments dropped.
The Future of Nuclear Energy: Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
Rod Adams -SilverBearCafe.com
Pick up almost any book about nuclear energy and you will find that the prevailing wisdom is that nuclear plants must be very large in order to be competitive. This assumption is widely accepted, but, if its roots are understood, it can be effectively challenged.
Recently, however, a growing body of plant designers, utility companies, government agencies and financial players are recognizing that smaller plants can take advantage of greater opportunities to apply lessons learned, take advantage of the engineering and tooling savings possible with higher numbers of units and better meet customer needs in terms of capacity additions and financing. The resulting systems are a welcome addition to the nuclear power plant menu, which has previously been limited to one size - extra large.
Charlie Rangel will face ethics charges
By Kara Rowland - WashingtonTimes.com
Inquiry could hit Democrats
House investigators on Thursday said they will charge senior Rep. Charles B. Rangel with ethics violations, setting the stage for an unpleasant battle that could haunt Democrats as they prepare to face voters in November.
The accusations will be made public next week, when a subcommittee of the House ethics panel meets for the first time to consider the charges. The bipartisan group of eight lawmakers then will determine whether the allegations have been proved.
Mexico Vs. The People Of Arizona
Written by Joanne Galloway - The Raw Deal
What in the name of the Declaration of INDEPENDENCE is going on with our country?
According to a recent article: "Seven other Latin American countries want to join Mexico in supporting a lawsuit challenging Arizona's immigration enforcement law. Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru filed separate, nearly identical motions to join Mexico's legal brief supporting the lawsuit filed by U.S. civil rights and other advocacy groups"
I've yet to find the identity of the "federal judge who formally accepted Mexico's complaint". I'm interested to know the judge's name, background, and ruling record - and if it's actually Constitutional?
State department warns Mexico travelers
PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL
The U.S. State Department has extended its travel warning for Mexico citing continued violence in northern cities and states, including Nogales, which borders Arizona.
The warning also includes Juarez, Tijuana and Monterrey, where many U.S. businesses have operations. The alert extends a warning in May issued to tourists and other travelers.
The Real U.S. Government
BY GLENN GREENWALD -Salon.com
The Washington Post's Dana Priest demonstrates once again why she's easily one of the best investigative journalists in the nation -- if not the best -- with the publication of Part I of her series, co-written with William Arkin, detailing the sprawling, unaccountable, inexorably growing secret U.S. Government: what the article calls "Top Secret America." To the extent the series receives much substantive attention (and I doubt it will), the focus will likely be on the bureaucratic problems it documents: the massive redundancies, overlap, waste, and inefficiencies which plague this "hidden world, growing beyond control" -- as though everything would better if Top Secret America just functioned a bit more effectively. But the far more significant fact so compellingly illustrated by this first installment is the one I described last week when writing about the Obama administration's escalating war on whistle blowers:
The War That Never Ended
OP-ED by W. R. McAfee, Sr. - The PPJ Gazette
Joan Veon recently pointed a light at where the globe's money is concentrated today.
Controlling currency is key to the financial "elite's" end game. They've done this through their central banks, fiat money, usury, etc. as a means to control nations through their currencies.
The British, seeing a U.S. colony plum, couldn't defeat America militarily during the revolution, so they tried again in the War of 1812. They succeeded in burning the White House and Capitol before being defeated again a couple years later; agreeing to a treaty in 1814.
QUEEN GIVES MARCHING ORDERS TO THE UNITED NATIONS
By Joan Veon - NewsWithViews.com Hail Caesar!
Regarding the queens speech to the United Nations, we were told by the British Mission to the United Nations that the queen "Will be taking a global perspective. She will touch on progress made since she was last here and challenges that remain."
For a woman who says she is not head of any country - only titular head of state of 16 countries including Australia, Canada and New Zealand and the nominal representative of 54 governments in the British Commonwealth, who is fooling who? Why should the people of the world listen to a little old lady from Britain? The answer is because her hereditary demands it.
Judge doubts constitutionality of a portion of Arizona's immigration law
By Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times
A U.S. district judge questions the provision that makes lacking immigration documents a crime but is skeptical of barring the requirement for police officers to check immigration status.
Reporting from Phoenix - A federal judge on Thursday expressed skepticism that a key part of a controversial Arizona law to control illegal immigration is constitutional.
Obama Is Preparing to Bomb Iran
[Op-ed] Webster G. Tarpley
After about two and a half years during which the danger of war between the United States and Iran was at a relatively low level, this threat is now rapidly increasing. A pattern of political and diplomatic events, military deployments, and media chatter now indicates that Anglo-American ruling circles, acting through the troubled Obama administration, are currently gearing up for a campaign of bombing against Iran, combined with special forces incursions designed to stir up rebellions among the non-Persian nationalities of the Islamic Republic. Naturally, the probability of a new fake Gulf of Tonkin incident or false flag terror attack staged by the Anglo-American war party and attributed to Iran or its proxies is also growing rapidly.
The Strategic Ramifications of a US-Led Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Written by Gregory R. Copley - OilPrice.com
The United States and the NATO allies are preparing to disengage and soon withdraw from Afghanistan and even the most vocal advocates of the "long-term commitment" do not anticipate more than five years of active US and NATO involvement. All the local key players - in Kabul, Islamabad, and countless tribal and localized foci of power - are cognizant and are already maneuvering and posturing to deal with the new reality.
Irrespective of the political solution and/or compromise which will emerge in Kabul, the US is leaving behind a huge powder keg of global and regional significance with a short fuse burning profusely: namely, the impact of Afghanistan's growing, expanding and thriving heroin economy.
Invisible Empire A New World Order Defined Full
----- Oil Crisis -----
Matt Simmons Says Gulf Clean Up Will Cost Over $1 Trillion, Sees BP At $1, Says "We Have Now Killed The GoM"
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Matt Simmons shares some startling revelations in his latest Bloomberg TV interview, in which he says none of the propaganda matters on TV 24/7 (photoshopped or not) as the ultimate clean up cost will likely be well over $1 trillion, and a result he is unconcerned about his BP short. He ultimately see the stock going down to $1. What Simmons alleges however is far more startling and audacious: that this is a joint cover up effort between the administration and BP, in which both entities keep throwing sand in the eyes of observers while distracting everyone from the matter at hand: "What we don't know anything about is the open hole which is caused by the drill bit when it tossed the blow-out preventer way out of the holeÉand 120,000/day minimum of toxic poison has now covered the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. So what they're talking about is the biggest environmental cover-up ever.
Ships ordered to leave Gulf spill site ahead of storm
USAToday.com
The federal government ordered dozens of ships to evacuate the site of BP's busted oil well as Tropical Storm Bonnie sweeps toward the Gulf of Mexico.
"Due to the risk that Tropical Storm Bonnie poses to the safety of the nearly 2,000 people responding to the BP oil spill at the well site, many of the vessels and rigs will be preparing to move out of harm's way beginning tonight," National Incident Commander Thad Allen, who's in charge of the U.S. response to the Gulf oil spill, said in a statement Thursday evening.
Gulf spill could cost region $22.7 billion in travel dollars
By Marnie Hunter, CNN
(CNN) -- Perception is the wild card in how the oil disaster will affect the Gulf coast region's travel revenue, according to analysis conducted by Oxford Economics for the U.S. Travel Association.
The effects of the oil spill on the region's travel industry could last up to three years and cost up to $22.7 billion, according to the study released Thursday.
Gulf oil spill: Well will stay sealed through storm
LATimes.com
Federal officials said Thursday that they would leave the damaged BP well sealed even if the site is evacuated in advance of a storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.
"The decision has been made to leave the cap on even if the well is unattended," national incident commander Thad Allen said during an afternoon briefing.
The cap, installed last week, has stopped the gusher of oil that spewed into the gulf for three months. But the possibility existed that BP would be required to open it in the event of a storm and the evacuation of underwater robots and other equipment that are keeping a close watch for any new leaks.
Abandoning the Capped Oil Well: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Washington's Blog
BP will leave the cap on the oil well while it vacates the area for a number of days to avoid the coming tropical storm.
What could possibly go wrong?
One expert warns that increasing pressure might have an unintended danger:
Bill Gale, a California engineer and industrial explosion expert who is a member of the Deepwater Horizon Study Group, said... that gas hydrate crystals could be plugging any holes in the underground portion of the well, and they could get dislodged as pressure builds.
A bag and a trap. Oil spill invention is a keeper
By Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times
'It's not rocket science, but it works,' a BP official says of Gerry Matherne's device, one of thousands engineers have sorted through that claim to clean up the sludge in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reporting from Bayou La Batre, Ala. - Gerry Matherne recently built a helicopter from "a bit of this and a piece of that," which made him a minor star on YouTube when the engine died in midair and he didn't. He somehow landed the crippled craft beside power lines.
What If He Is Right...
James Howard Kunstler
Just when America was celebrating the provisional end of BP's Macondo oil blowout, and getting back to important issues like Kim Kardashian's body-suit collection, along comes Matthew Simmons with a rather strange and alarming outcry on doings in the Gulf of Mexico that contradicts the mood of renewed festivity, as well as just about every shred of reportage from any media outlet, mainstream or otherwise.
Oil expert Simmons insists '20 million people are entrapped in harm's way'
John Kaminski - SilverBearCafe.com They're still lying about the oil disaster
Oil expert Simmons insists '20 million people are entrapped in harm's way'
Oil industry insider Matt Simmons blew the whistle on the made-for-TV capping of the so-called oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, July 15, during an interview on KPFK radio, the NPR station in Los Angeles.
Simmons, former energy adviser to the second President Bush, explained that according to his reading of the data from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, capping of the so-called riser and the subsequent announcement by U.S. President Obama was "the biggest con job we've ever seen."
"The TRUTH about the BP (BS) Disaster" Chris Landau on Rense Radio 1/4
"The TRUTH about the BP (BS) Disaster" Chris Landau on Rense Radio 2/4
"The TRUTH about the BP (BS) Disaster" Chris Landau on Rense Radio 3/4
"The TRUTH about the BP (BS) Disaster" Chris Landau on Rense Radio 4/4
The CLEAR Act of Another Federal Land Grab
Cassandra Anderson - Infowars.com
U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) addressed Congress on July 15th to report the Natural Resources Committee's passage of HR 3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resources Act (CLEAR Act) of 2009. Congressman Gohmert said that the bill was to "deal with the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico" but it contains plans for the federal government to acquire land and was introduced in 2009.
The CLEAR Act is ambiguous so if the bill is passed, federal agencies will determine how it is implemented and how the land will be used.
Taking From the Broke and Giving to the Jobless
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/21/10 Alexandria, Virginia - When the wealthiest citizens can design tax shelters, Swiss and otherwise, and the poorest can either pay no taxes or receive refunds, the burden of generating US tax revenue falls squarely on the shoulders of the middle class. That same middle class essentially made up of those hardest hit by today's correcting economy.
Robin Hood, a sort of redistributive folk hero, rose to fame by robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. How times have changed! Apparently, for the White House, it's good enough to work that "magic" a few notches down... taking from the working-poor taxpayer and giving to the unemployed.?
DC Declares War On States
Chuck Baldwin - InfoWars.com
Among the limited duties of the US Government enumerated in the federal Constitution is Article. IV. Section. 4. "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion." However, for several decades now, the federal government in Washington, D.C., has shown great ambition and propensity to engage in activities to which it was never authorized, and to ignore those responsibilities with which it is specifically charged. The responsibility of the federal government to protect each State against invasion is a classic example of the latter.
China: The US Is "Insolvent and Faces Bankruptcy"
By: Jesse - MarketOracle.co.uk
The common thought amongst even reasonably educated and economically literate Americans is that China is 'stuck with US Treasuries' and has no choice, so it must perform within the status quo and do as the US wishes, or face a ruinous decline in their reserve holdings of US Treasuries.
And with real short term US Treasury interest rates decidedly negative, meaning that it is costing you money to hold dollars, there is a case to be made that there are a lot of 'price takers' out there in this world. Wow, they are just that good, aren't they. Having their heyday in a genuine deflation. A subtle tax levied on all holders of US dollars, probably more significant because of the official understatement of inflation. Yo, come git some.
I think China is already diversifying their reserve portfolio, and more stealthily and effectively than one would imagine.
US Economic Outlook: Bad and Getting Worse
By The Mogambo Guru - The DailyReckoning.com
07/21/10 Tampa, Florida - It was raining outside, and so I was stuck inside the house, listening to my family remind me that I was just a worthless, penny-pinching, hateful old man who loves gold, silver and oil more than I love them, which I hasten to add is not exactly true in all respects, but you gotta admit that gold, silver and oil will treat me very nicely as they soar in price along with inflation in prices because of the insane levels of money creation by the Federal Reserve so that the loathsome Obama administration can deficit-spend us into hyperinflation, whereas spouses and children will be just a heavy millstone around my poor, aching neck, dragging me down, down, down by forcing me to spend money on them for their food and medical care and all the rest of that expensive crap.
So I was thinking that my economic situation had gotten a lot worse, and that I am probably the only guy in the whole world whose life Really, Really Sucks (RRS), when I saw a new survey by AlixPartners showing that 71% of Americans report that their economic situation is "the same," "somewhat worse" or "a lot worse" than this time last year. Wow!
U.S. Stocks Drop, Treasuries Gain on Bernanke's Growth Outlook
By Caroline Dye and Nikolaj Gammeltoft
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks slid, while Treasuries and the dollar rallied, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the economic outlook remains "unusually uncertain" without offering additional measures to stimulate growth. Oil dropped on an unexpected increase in inventories.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.3 percent to 1,069.59 at the 4 p.m. close in New York, halting a two-day advance. The yield on two-year Treasuries sank to a record low for the fourth time in five days and the Dollar Index surged 0.6 percent. Oil slipped below $77 a barrel, while copper rallied 3 percent after Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. said the outlook for the metal is "positive."
U.S. Treasury Bond Fraud and Debt Monetization
By: Jim Willie CB - MarketOracle.co.uk
A significant feature of fiat money systems is the privilege for the custodian to commit fraud, big fraud, gargantuan fraud, even counterfeit. Fannie Mae might function as the clearinghouse for numerous massive role programs with $trillion fraud behind each, hidden from view, especially since it was conveniently nationalized. Follow some other fraud schemes, right out in the open. Surely such recount only touches the surface, but these shenanigans are advanced forms of fraud. They are smoking guns of USTreasury fraud and counterfeit, with strong whiffs of monetization. Much more monetization is to come, fully endorsed and sanctioned. Other clever techniques are being used, given the Quantitative Easing has officially been halted.
Economic Meltdown: The Final Phase
Giordano Bruno - SilverBearCafe.com
In the financial life of every culture built upon faulty monetary policy, there are points at which the thin thread of economic faith; the thread that ties the entire failing system together, the thread made tangible by the hopes (and sometimes ignorance) of the general populace, finally snaps. From Ancient Rome, to Weimar Germany , to Argentina , to modern day America , no society fueled by unsustainable debt and fiat inflation can duck the 'Fiscal Reaper' for very long. The U.S. alone has survived since the early 1970's (after Nixon removed the last vestiges of the gold standard) on nothing but questionable credit practices and baseless optimism, but there is a limit to the power of fantasy. This is a fact that most mainstream financial analysts and some in the American public refuse to grasp. Mere belief in the enduring nature of the marketplace is not enough; the fundamentals must also support that belief.
Congress should look under the TARP
Examiner Editorial - Washington Examiner
This is not the first time that Neil Barofsky, special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, has harshly criticized the Treasury Department for its utter lack of transparency and accountability in administering the massive federal bank bailout. But in his latest quarterly report to Congress, the independent watchdog warns that total taxpayer support for the financial system increased by another $700 billion during the past year -- with precious little to show for it. Some of that increase went to supply capital to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so these quasi-governmental entities could continue guaranteeing mortgages and supposedly stabilize the housing market that they were so instrumental in causing to collapse.
Obama signs bill to overhaul Wall Street
By Edward Luce and James Politi in Washington - FT.com
Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the most sweeping overhaul of Wall Street regulations since the 1930s, less than two years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
The new law was promptly endorsed by Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, who said it made "significant progress" towards reducing the likelihood of another crisis and placed the US financial system on a "sounder foundation".
But other comments from Mr Bernanke provided a sharp reminder of challenges ahead for Mr Obama. The Fed chief saw no immediate relief for the weak job market and said the US economy faced "unusually uncertain"prospects.
Republican Whip Eric Cantor Discusses Fin Reg,
Regulation, Job Creation & The President's Agenda
Financial Reform Returns $200 Million to Depositors of Six Failed Banks
By MATTHEW SCOTT - DailyFinance.com
Depositors of six failed banks will have about $200 million returned to them because of a provision in the newly passed Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (also known as Dodd-Frank) that permanently raises the standard maximum federal deposit insurance amount from $100,000 to $250,000.
President Obama signed the financial reform legislation into law on Wednesday morning. Among its myriad provisions, Congress decided to make the temporarily increased insurance protection on consumer accounts retroactive to 2008, the year the financial crisis began.
Bernanke Says Fed Is Prepared to Act as Needed
By Scott Lanman and Joshua Zumbrun
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said central bankers "remain prepared" to act as needed to aid growth even as they get ready to eventually raise interest rates from almost zero and shrink a record balance sheet.
While Fed officials plan for the exit, "we also recognize that the economic outlook remains unusually uncertain," Bernanke said today in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. "We will continue to carefully assess ongoing financial and economic developments, and we remain prepared to take further policy actions as needed to foster a return to full utilization of our nation's productive potential in a context of price stability."
No Fed Plans to Give More Support, Bernanke Says
By SEWELL CHAN - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Federal Reserve, in saying that it had no immediate plans to provide additional support to the economy, dashed the hopes of some economists and executives who have been pushing for action to add momentum to the sluggish recovery.
The chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Wednesday that the recovery was continuing at a modest pace, though with a "somewhat weaker outlook."
He projected that the unemployment rate would remain well above 7 percent through the end of 2012, and the duration of President Obama's current term. That, too, was a discouraging note to Washington incumbents facing tough re-election fights.
The Huge Question Facing Bernanke Today: Can He Stimulate Some More?
by Joe Weisenthal - BusinessInsider.com
Ben Bernanke will testify in front of Congress today on matters related to the economy for his Semi-annual Monetary Policy Report.
From Republican Congressmen, you can expect a lot
of questioning about taxes, the deficit, the size of the Fed's balance sheet, and other key talking points.
Democrats who favor more stimulus may wonder what more the Congress and Bernanke can do to stimulate the economy.
There's definitely been loud chatter lately about the possibility of more easing.
Ben Bernanke Sends Stock Market Lower...
By: Jack Steiman - MarketOracle.co.uk
You have to love honesty, and that's what we heard today when Mr. Bernanke told congress that things in the United States are not very good at all. That although the expectations are for 3.5% GDP (gross domestic product), the risk is towards weakness from that perspective. The moment this news came out, along with other tidbits not too friendly for Wall and Main Street, the market tanked out. No holding back either.
Mind the gap: why the bond markets are signalling a depression
By Jeremy Warner - Telegraph.co.uk Something potentially momentous has happened in financial markets in the past two months.
Virtually unnoticed, the yield on long dated pan-European sovereign debt has slipped below that on equities. So what, you might say; that's what happens when shares go down and bonds go up. But in fact this reversal in the traditional relationship between bonds and equities is an extraordinarily unusual event. It's happened only three times in the past 50 years. Alarmingly, all three of those occasions have been in the past decade. What are markets trying to tell us?
There are two ways of looking at the phenomenon. Either it is an aberration, and therefore a buy signal for stock markets, or much more worrying, it marks the final death knell for Europe's 60-year love affair with equities, and therefore the start of a generalised retreat from risk that will see the economy stagnate or worse for perhaps decades to come.
Fed chief focused on keeping recovery alive
By JEANNINE AVERSA (AP)
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke heads to Congress Wednesday with a message of reassurance: The Fed stands ready to take new steps to bolster the recovery if the economy worsens.
The Fed chief kicks off back-to-back appearances on Capitol Hill at a delicate time for the economy. The recovery, which had been flashing signs of strengthening earlier this year, is losing momentum. And fears are growing that it could stall.
The Fed's Near-Death and Rebirth Experience
by Ronald D. Orol and Greg Robb - MarketWwatch
At risk of losing all oversight powers, Fed fights to regulate another day
November 10, 2009 was a dark day in annals of the Federal Reserve. Sen. Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, went before the microphones and minced no words: the central bank's role in the preventing the financial crisis had been an "abysmal failure" and the Fed should get out of the bank-regulating business entirely.
Dodd went on to outline his sweeping financial reform bill to gut the Fed's oversight of banks - powers that had been painstakingly won in almost two decades of turf wars by Fed chief Alan Greenspan, who reigned unmatched over Wall Street and the financial system.
Gold, Silver, and Bernanke's Bluff
Jesse's Café Américain - SilverBearCafe.com
The Federal Reserve and its friends in the European central banks, the IMF, and BIS are running a bluff against the developing nations and the rest of the world, and to their shame, the majority of their own people.
They will have to engage in wider scale monetization and 'quantitative easing,' which is a polite euphemism for the debasement of the currency, to cover the collapse of their expansion of the money supply, the misprision of felony, and the subornation of perjury, to facilitate the mass transfer of wealth from the public to their friends. This is why they must operate in the dark. Ponzi schemes must always expand, and always in secret.
New Gold-Backed Currency Could be in Use Next Month
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/21/10 Alexandria, Virgina - Malaysia, well, at least its northern state of Kelantan, is putting the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham into circulation as legal tender and it could be implemented as early as mid-August. It won't be the first nation using gold coins - Indonesia has already minted about 25,000 pieces for use in Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore - but, they are going to be useable in a rather comprehensive fashion.
According to The Guardian:
"If information on its website is to be believed, the council has the blessing of the state's Islamist government, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas), to kickstart the dinar in three moves. First, the state will pay a quarter of its public servants' salaries using the dinar. Second, all state companies will accept dinar payments. Lastly, some 600 commercial enterprises will also embrace this currency.
Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law
By RICH BLAKE - ABC News Amendment Slipped Into Health Care Legislation Would Track, Tax Coin and Bullion Transactions
Those already outraged by the president's health care legislation now have a new bone of contention -- a scarcely noticed tack-on provision to the law that puts gold coin buyers and sellers under closer government scrutiny.
The issue is rising to the fore just as gold coin dealers are attracting attention over sales tactics.
Section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will amend the Internal Revenue Code to expand the scope of Form 1099. Currently, 1099 forms are used to track and report the miscellaneous income associated with services rendered by independent contractors or self-employed individuals.
These 72 Analysts Believe Gold Will Go Parabolic To Between $2,500 and $15,000!
Lorimer Wilson - SilverBearCafe.com
Believe it or not, I have identified 72 economists, academics, gold analysts and market commentators who have developed sound rationale as to why gold could quite possibly go to a parabolic top of at least $2,500 an ounce to even as much as an unimaginable $15,000 before the bubble finally pops!
When I first began writing about such projections I was satisfied with identifying 10 individuals who were of the opinion that gold would attain a peak greater than $2,500. That list has grown to 72 (see below) of which 44 believe that $5,000 or more for gold is likely. I encourage you to check out their articles and their rationale for such high gold prices in the years (and in some cases just months) to come.
Explained Time and Time Again: Currency Induced Cost Push Hyperinflation
Jim Sinclair - SilverBearCafe.com "Nothing will unnerve the paper gold shorts more quickly and do more to undercut their confidence than to strip them of the real metal and force them to come up with more hard gold bullion to make good on deliveries. "Stand and Deliver or Go Home" should be the rallying cry of the gold longs to the paper gold shorts." --Trader Dan Norcini
If gold market participants were all tank drivers their machine would have but one gear - reverse. The smallest book in the world is the book of confirmed gold price visionaries.
Someone says deflation and the long gold positions hit the fan. Gold banks make their short covers even though the fuel in Bernanke's Helicopter Money Drop is founded in the dreaded use of the "D" word.
As credit card holders play it safe, issuers increase non-penalty service fees By Ylan Q. Mui - Washington Post Staff Writer
After the recession forced credit card companies to purge their rosters of the riskiest loans, the industry is facing a new problem: customers who are too good.
Card issuers have long found their bread and butter in penalty fees and high interest rates paid by consumers who carry a balance. But that business model has been upended by the legions of consumers who were overwhelmed by debt when the recession hit, forcing the industry to write off billions of dollars in loans. In addition, new federal laws limit how much card companies can charge risky customers.
Chinese central bank member says yuan could go down
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- China will let its currency fall if needed to support exports, a Chinese central bank advisor said in an interview published Wednesday.
"Now that there is flexibility in the renminbi, the exchange rate of the currency will decline if it becomes necessary to support exports," Zhou Qiren said in an interview with Japan's Asahi Shimbun.
After almost three years of keeping its currency -- known both as "renminbi" or "yuan" -- tied to the U.S. dollar, China last month began allowing the yuan's daily trading band to fluctuate.
China Has a Painful Debt Bubble Surprise for the Global Economy
By: Claus Vogt - MarketOracle.co.uk
China implemented one of the world's most aggressive economic stimulus programs to fight the recession of 2008. And the country went on something akin to a debt binge.
Credit growth surged as much 50 percent - an unprecedented peak. Such a policy can jump start an economy. But it lays the groundwork for imbalances and major bubbles.
Yes, I am aware that China is said to be different ... but I don't believe it!
Instead I'm fully convinced that even Chinese central planners cannot escape economic laws. Eventually the piper will have to be paid.
And payback time may be just around the corner as ... China's Housing Bubble Continues to Inflate
Recently I discovered the following chart published by international banking giant HSBC.
It compares the housing markets of Japan, the U.S., Hong Kong, and China. And it shows total residential housing value relative to GDP, which in my opinion makes for a good economic measure.
Poor Chinese Are Throwing Money Into An Unescapable Capital Trap
Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds - BusinessInsider.com
Chinese citizens have poured their life savings into speculative real estate. This is not just misallocation, it is an inescapable capital trap.
China's citizens have few options for investing their immense savings. Chinese households are prodigious savers: China boasts a savings rate of 38%, fully ten times that of the U.S. But Chinese savers have few choices on where to invest their money: they can either leave it in a savings account which draws 2.25%, less than the inflation rate of 3.1%, or invest in real estate or domestic stocks.
The money pouring into property has created a worrisome asset bubble in housing, which rose 12.4% year-on-year in May, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.
Payback time for state firms tied to payoffs Dozens of Chinese state firms are in hot seat after U.S. admission of bribery By Tang Jiajie, Caixin Online - MarketWatch.com
SHANGHAI (Caixin Online) -- When the U.S. government announced last year that former executives at California-based valve manufacturer Control Components Inc. (CCI) had pleaded guilty to numerous counts of bribery, employees at dozens of companies in China heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Only six Chinese businesses had been implicated in the multimillion-dollar bribery case by the time the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the convictions.
But, in fact, the pleas filed by CCI's ex-employees merely marked a stage, not the conclusion, for the illegal cash-for-contracts case. Eventually, U.S. officials charged dozens of other Chinese companies -- including leading power concerns and design institutes -- with accepting payoffs from CCI over several years.
Welfare & Warfare
Jim Quinn - SilverBearCafe.com
Most people in America associate the Democratic Party with spending on welfare programs and the Republican Party with spending on warfare. Until reading Niall Ferguson's brilliant The Ascent of Money, I never realized that welfare and warfare have gone hand in hand for over a century.The immortal German warmonger Otto von Bismarck was the first politician to introduce social insurance legislation in the 1880s. His reasoning was not strictly humanitarian. According to Bismarck, "A man who has a pension for his old age is much easier to deal with than a man without that prospect." Bismarck was a shrewd politician who realized that when you provide people something for nothing, they will vote for you. When you go to war with France, a population sedated with entitlements is more easily malleable and controllable. David Lloyd George rolled out pensions and national insurance in Great Britain prior to World War I in order to win votes. Politicians began a century of addiction to welfare programs, as the poor voted for those that promised them the most. The world has now reached its limit of unfunded promises. The financial crisis in the last two years was caused by politicians throughout the world promising benefits to their citizens and paying for these benefits with borrowed money. Margaret Thatcher aptly summed up what has happened:
Weak economy, Fed ease, China, WWIII
Bailout watchdogs slam Obama housing programs
By David Lawder - Reuters.com
(Reuters) - Obama administration housing rescue programs have been ineffective at preventing a rise in home foreclosures even as the government's support for the mortgage market grew by nearly $700 billion in the past year, U.S. bailout watchdogs said on Wednesday.
Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, heaped more criticism on the Treasury for its failure to adopt more realistic goals for the number of people expected to benefit from its program to modify mortgages and slash monthly payments.
"Treasury's continued indications that this is a successful program without identifying these goals and benchmarks is simply not credible," Barofsky told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. "And I fear that the growing public suspicion that this program is an outright failure will continue unless and until Treasury adopts this recommendation and comes clean with what its goals and expectations are."
7 Questions Washington Must Answer to Fix Housing Policy
Daniel Indiviglio is a staff editor at TheAtlantic.com
With President Obama signing the big financial regulation bill today, Washington will feel like it's done enough for a while when it comes to making new rules for banks and Wall Street. Next on its 'to do' financial policy checklist is housing. After all, the biggest hole in the Dodd-Frank bill was a complete lack of reform for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But one of the legislation's chief architects, House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), has already indicated that the GSEs and housing policy will be a major focus going forward, with hearings starting in September. The White House has also said that officials will release a new housing strategy sometime next year. Experts are also beginning to weigh in. A special series from The Economist provides some good ideas. Another piece in the recent edition of the National Review also argues for key changes. What should be done?
Countrywide VIP Loans Reached Deep Into Fannie Mae Countrywide VIP loans reached deep into Fannie Mae during expanded business relationship ABC News - AP
The former Countrywide Financial Corp. gave preferential loans to more than three dozen employees of Fannie Mae while the two giant housing enterprises were locked in an expanding, multi-billion dollar business relationship in subprime mortgages, documents show.
Discounted mortgages written by Countrywide, once the nation's largest subprime lender, were granted to a far wider group of Fannie employees than the four top executives executives whose preferential loans were previously disclosed, according to Countrywide documents provided to Congress under a subpoena.
Action List for the Newly Unemployed
Charles Hugh Smith - SilverBearCafe.com As employment continues declining, newly unemployed people will have to adapt to the unwanted change in circumstance.
I consider it highly likely that another leg down in employment is getting underway.
As the Federal stimulus peters out and the Central State's ability to borrow $1.5 - 2 trillion a year to fund the status quo begins pushing up against the financial equivalent of the speed of light (as you approach c, it takes much more energy to increase velocity), then jobs which were only recently considered secure will be lost and the people who held them will be unemployed.
The $787 billion stimulus package, "cash for clunkers," the credit for new home buyers, the $1.2 trillion in mortgages the Federal Reserve purchased--all of these programs stabilized employment at around 131 million jobs. Now that these programs have ended or been reduced, employment is set to undergo a a new decline which could be characterized as a "phase shift."
The Scariest Unemployment Graph I've Seen Yet
Derek Thompson is a staff editor at TheAtlantic.com
The median duration of unemployment is higher today than any time in the last 50 years. That's an understatement. It is more than twice as high today than any time in the last 50 years.
OK, you're saying, but what does this mean? Does it mean we must increase the duration of unemployment benefits to protect this new class of unemployed, or does it mean we need to stop subsidizing joblessness? Does it mean we need to expand federal retraining programs, or does it mean federal retraining programs aren't working? Does it mean we need more stimulus, more state aid, more infrastructure projects, more public works ... or does it mean it's time to stop everything, stand back and let business be business?
How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America
BY DON PECK - The Atlantic
HOW SHOULD WE characterize the economic period we have now entered? After nearly two brutal years, the Great Recession appears to be over, at least technically. Yet a return to normalcy seems far off. By some measures, each recession since the 1980s has retreated more slowly than the one before it. In one sense, we never fully recovered from the last one, in 2001: the share of the civilian population with a job never returned to its previous peak before this downturn began, and incomes were stagnant throughout the decade. Still, the weakness that lingered through much of the 2000s shouldn't be confused with the trauma of the past two years, a trauma that will remain heavy for quite some time.
The Retirement Nightmare:
AlterNet / By Scott Thill
Half of Americans Have Less Than $2,000 Banked for Their Golden Years
With declining earnings and a culture of borrow-and-consume, America's workers face a future of uncertainty and little money to pay for their retirement.
The days of quietly retiring with a nest egg built up from years of savings from a long career on the verge of disappearing. For tens of millions of Americans, facing rising costs, shrinking incomes and growing debts they already have disappeared.
Swiss endure safe-haven agony from euro flight
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk Switzerland is fighting a losing battle to stop massive inflows of funds from investors fleeing sovereign risk in the euro area and the rest of the world, raising the risk of a violent spike in Swiss franc if global debt jitters return.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it lost over 14bn francs (£8.8bn) in the first half of the year in a forlorn attempt to hold down the currency against the euro.
"If we have a US slowdown with a fresh financial crisis, everybody is going to want to buy the Swiss franc, along with bottled water, tins hats, and a shotgun," said David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC. "Now that Japan's debt is around 200pc of GDP the franc has displaced the yen as the ultimate safe haven."
Google Faces 38 States in Expanding Privacy Investigation
By DAWN KAWAMOTO
Google gained a clearer picture Wednesday of who's taking aim at its Street View data collection methods, as part of a privacy probe led by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who last month announced the launch of the multistate investigation into Google's collection of personal WiFi information by its controversial Street View vehicles as they cruised major cities worldwide.
Blumenthal says 38 states and the District of Columbia will be participating in the investigation, with Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Texas on the executive committee. Other states joining the coalition include New York, Mississippi, Vermont, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Kansas, Montana and Rhode Island.
Foreign Regulators Also Investigating
Google's Wi-Spying and Intelligence Ties Prompt Call for Congressional Hearing PRNewswire-USNewswire
SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 19 -- Citing new information about Google's classified government contracts and the Internet giant's admitted Wi-Spying activity, Consumer Watchdog today said it is more imperative than ever for the Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct hearings into possible privacy violations by Google.
In a letter to Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Member Joe Barton, the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group's John M. Simpson wrote: "Based on today's Washington Post, it appears that Google holds classified U.S. government contracts to supply search and geospatial information to the U.S. government. In addition, White House records show that Google executives have been holding meetings with U.S. national security officials for undisclosed reasons. Finally, it also appears that Google's widely criticized efforts to collect wireless network data on American citizens were not inadvertent, contrary to the company's claims."
Nebraska town hit with 2 lawsuits
By Rachel B. Duke - WashingtonTimes.com
Groups seek to block ban on hiring, housing of illegal aliens
Two liberal groups each filed lawsuits Wednesday against the town of Fremont, Neb., in order to put a stop to its new ordinance banning people from hiring illegal immigrants or renting homes to them.
Mirroring arguments made against Arizona's immigration crackdown, the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union claim the ordinance encourages racial profiling against Hispanics or other U.S. citizens who may appear to be foreign-born, and also intrudes on federal prerogatives.
Arpaio setting aside space at Tent City to enforce SB1070
PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is setting up a section of his Tent City jails in Phoenix for people arrested for violating Arizona's new immigration law.
The new law allows police to question people stopped for other reasons about their immigration status, but faces court challenges that could delay the July 29 effective date.
Arpaio has housed suspected illegal immigrants and other prisoners in tents since 1993, and the new section would have room for 100 prisoners.
Storms threaten to shut down BP's Gulf well efforts
By Colleen Long and David Dishneau - AP -WashingtonTimes.com
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Tropical rainstorms moving toward the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday threatened to shut down undersea efforts to seal BP's ruptured well, interrupting work just as engineers get close to plugging the leak with mud and cement.
Retired U.S. Coast GuardAdm. Thad Allen said a weather system brewing in the Caribbean could force crews to abandon their watch over the experimental cap that's been bottling oil a mile below the surface of the water for nearly a week.
BP left out of plan 4 Oil Firms Commit $1 Billion for Gulf Rapid-Response Plan
By JAD MOUAWAD - NYTimes.com
Four of the world's biggest oil companies said on Wednesday that they were committing $1 billion to create a rapid-response system to deal with deepwater oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, seeking to restore public confidence in the industry after the BP disaster painfully exposed how unprepared the industry was for a major accident.
The voluntary effort, which involves building a set of modular containment equipment that would be kept on standby for emergency use, comes as oil companies seek to persuade the Obama administration to lift a temporary ban on deepwater drilling. The moratorium was imposed after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on April 20 and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the gulf.
In suburbs across the nation, the intelligence community goes about its anonymous business. Its work isn't seen, but its impact is surely felt.
The brick warehouse is not just a warehouse. Drive through the gate and around back, and there, hidden away, is someone's personal security detail: a fleet of black SUVs that have been armored up to withstand explosions and gunfire.
Along the main street, the signs in the median aren't advertising homes for sale; they're inviting employees with top-secret security clearances to a job fair at Cafe Joe, which is anything but a typical lunch spot.
Oil Spill Research and Technology Development
Congressman Brian Baird (WA-03), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, speaks on the House floor in support of H.R. 2693, the Federal Oil Research Program Act. Congressman Baird is a co-sponsor of the bill which establishes a more comprehensive federal research plan for oil spill prevention and response. H.R. 2693 passed the House on July 21, 2010.
Double dip looks doubly certain
By Robert P. Murphy The economic recovery is just an illusion
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (MarketWatch) -- Economists and financial analysts are currently arguing whether the economy will experience a "double dip," a recession followed by a short recovery, followed by another recession.
Some think the worst is behind us, and that output and employment will slowly but steadily increase during the next few years. Others believe we are headed for another crash. The lessons from the last business cycle favor the case for pessimism.
Barack Obama sends 1,200 National Guardsmen to seal Mexican border
Ewen MacAskill in Washington - guardian.co.uk Attempt to stop illegal immigrants and drugs comes as critics warn Arizona law will lead to racial profiling
About 1,200 soldiers from the US National Guard are to be deployed along the border with Mexico from 1 August to try to tackle the twin problems of illegal immigration and drug-smuggling.
About half of the troops are to be sent to Arizona, which is at the centre of the national debate over illegal immigration. The state is planning to introduce a law next week to crack down on people entering unlawfully.
Arizona: Arpaio's immigration war threatens Obama administration
Ed Pilkington in Phoenix - guardian.co.uk Sheriff Joe Arpaio has proved highly popular with voters, and other states are now following his lead
Behind Arizona's new immigration law SB 1070 stands the figure of the law enforcement officer who styles himself "America's toughest sheriff". The law amounts to a state-wide extension of the war on illegal immigration that Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been waging in Phoenix.
Arpaio is in charge of policing Maricopa County, which covers the city and which has about half of the state's 500,000 undocumented immigrants. Since 1992, when he was first elected to the post, he has gained a reputation for being a media-savvy controversialist who has pioneered such headline-grabbing innovations as forcing criminals to wear pink underwear and sweatshirts.
More Rich Americans Renounce U.S. Citizenship for Lower Taxes
By JONATHAN BERR - DailyFinance.com
A U.S.-born resident of Ireland recently came into some money after he and his wife sold a farm they inherited from her parents. Instead of enjoying his windfall, the man is furious at the Internal Revenue Service for penalizing him for running afoul of the agency's confusing regulations regarding the reporting of income from foreign bank accounts. He is so mad, according to his attorney, Jane Bruno, that he's considering renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
While such a move is drastic, it's also becoming increasingly common. In fact, so many people are eager to renounce their U.S. citizenship for tax reasons, that in some U.S. embassies there's a waiting list to escape from the clutches of Uncle Sam.
America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution
By Angelo M. Codevilla - The AmericanSpectator.com
As over-leveraged investment houses began to fail in September 2008, the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, of major corporations, and opinion leaders stretching from the National Review magazine (and the Wall Street Journal) on the right to the Nation magazine on the left, agreed that spending some $700 billion to buy the investors' "toxic assets" was the only alternative to the U.S. economy's "systemic collapse." In this, President George W. Bush and his would-be Republican successor John McCain agreed with the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama. Many, if not most, people around them also agreed upon the eventual commitment of some 10 trillion nonexistent dollars in ways unprecedented in America. They explained neither the difference between the assets' nominal and real values, nor precisely why letting the market find the latter would collapse America. The public objected immediately, by margins of three or four to one.
Gary Shilling: The U.S. Is on the Cusp of Deflation
By NIKHIL HUTHEESING - DailyFinance.com
During the past two years, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been trying to ward off deflation. But now, Gary Shilling, president of A. Gary Shilling & Co and a well-known market bear, says in a video interview that the efforts have not worked and that the U.S. economy is entering a deflationary stage. Shilling says we should expect to have 2% to 3% annual rates of deflation per year for the next decade.
He could be right. Earlier this month, the consumer price index, which measures inflation, dropped by 0.1% in June following a 0.2% fall in May and a 0.1% fall in April. Shilling says that 53% of the components of the index, by weight, showed price declines on a year-over-year basis. That, combined with the country's massive government debt and consumer debt, makes the chances of deflation seem more likely and suggest that the Fed's efforts have not completely succeeded.
Hungary's IMF revolt augurs ill for Greece
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph.co.uk The collapse of Hungary's talks with the International Monetary Fund and the EU is a chilly reminder that sovereign debt crises do not end with a rescue package and a click of the fingers. As austerity drags on for year after year, democracies react.
"We told the IMF/EU that further austerity was out of the question," said Hungary's economic minister Gyorgy Matolcsy, offering no hint that the Fidesz government is willing to back down despite yesterday's surge in Hungarian default costs by 51 basis points.
The Fidesz movement - an amalgam of libertarians and nationalists with a Left-populist tilt - won a crushing victory in April on a campaign of defiance against both Brussels and the IMF. It has been spoiling for a fight ever since.
Gerald Celente interview with MiningStockTalk.com 19 July 2010
Breaking the Bank: Closures Keep Climbing in 2010
By GIL RUDAWSKY - DailyFinance.com
The economy may be showing signs of life, but the banking industry remains in critical condition. In fact, the struggling industry is on track to surpass last year's 140 bank closures this year, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reporting 96 closures as of the end of last week. At this same time last year, the FDIC had logged approximately 70 closures.
Banking closures are a lagging indicator, says independent banking analyst Bert Ely. In other words, banks are still feeling the aftereffects of bad loans and the mortgage crisis even though the economy has turned up. "There are still a lot of problems in the banking system," Ely says.
Leading Indicators Have Turned South
By Jeff Harding, on July 19th, 2010
I have been following leading indicators for a while and today David Rosenberg ran some forecasts from his favorite leading indicator measure, the Economic Cycle Research Institutes's (ECRI) Weekly Leading Index (WLI). Their chief economist, Lakshman Achuthan, is frequently seen on CNBC's programs. His WLI is turning down and has been for a while.
Rosenberg said:
The growth rate on the ECRI leading index did it again! It sank further into negative terrain, now at -9.8% during the week ending July 9, down from -9.1% the prior week. This was the tenth deterioration in a row and the growth index is now negative for six straight weeks. We have never failed to have a recession with the ECRI at current levels but there is also inherent volatility in the index that requires acknowledgment. Our reckoning is that in the past few weeks, the index has gone from pricing in even-odds of a double-dip to two-in-three odds. It may take a while, but Mr. Market will figure it out before long.
Why Banks Aren't Lending
By Jeff Harding - The Daily Capitalist Loans Fall; Credit Continues to Contract
The megabanks have settled back to earth as they all reported very modest Q2 gains as compared to Q1. Today Goldman Sachs reported that their earnings profit 82% in Q2. Previously commercial banks JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and BofA all reported declines.
The headline for the group is Goldman because of their (former) stellar reputation. They had $1.15 billion of settlements related to their SEC fraud allegation settlement of $550 million and a tax settlement with the UK regarding the taxation of bonuses. If you strip out the settlements they would have had EPS of $2.75 vs. $4.93. What was really interesting was that their mainline business, trading operations, was off 39%; apparently they bet wrong on market volatility because they didn't see the euro crisis coming:
Raising Taxes to Combat Recession: The Ultimate Fiscal Folly
By The Mogambo Guru - The DailyReckoning.com
07/20/10 Tampa, Florida - When I saw that Illinois cleverly solved its budget crisis by just not paying its bills, I knew that the end is near, or would be, if we still had a dollar that was not a stupid fiat currency, because nowadays it would be child's play for the Federal Reserve to just create as money as any state wanted! And they can do it in less time than it takes to tell you about it, too!
And then the Federal Reserve can turn right around and use that money to buy up all the state debt out there! Wipe debt completely out! And flood the economy with money!!!
Suing Obamacare
By Douglas Smith - The AmericanSpectator.com
While the lawsuit brought by twenty States challenging the constitutionality of the Obama Administration's healthcare legislation initially received much publicity, the Administration's recent response to that lawsuit has garnered relatively little attention. However, even a cursory review of the Administration's motion to dismiss the case presents an expansive view of government power and a narrow construction of individual liberties that is profoundly troubling.
President Obama to push Congress on pay-fairness bill
By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - President Obama plans to press Congress today to pass pay-equity legislation that would make it easier for women to sue employers who pay them less than their male counterparts, the White House said Monday.
"Women deserve equal pay," White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said in an interview, citing government statistics that show women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn. "It's a very fundamental right."
Obama Gives Housing Affordability High Marks in Second Scorecard
by DIANA GOLOBAY - HousingWire.com
Home affordability remains near 10-year highs, according to the second edition of the Administration's Housing Scorecard released today by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Treasury Department.
The July scorecard is the second aggregate of housing initiative reports, updated since the July scorecard showed 340,459 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) modifications had become permanent so far. HAMP servicers added 51,000 permanent modifications - before cancellations - in June, according to the new scorecard. "The housing market is performing better than the predictions made over a year ago," said HUD assistant secretary Raphael Bostic, in a statement. "We're absolutely not claiming victory, but due to the Obama Administration's efforts, improved home affordability is continuing to provide opportunities for prospective, qualified, homebuyers, while promising neighborhood stabilization efforts are helping hard hit neighborhoods start to recover."
Bob Chapman on Goldseek Radio July 17, 2010
FDIC Selling Corus Bank Loans Is Bet on Failed Condos
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Developer Norman Radow expected some thanks in April when he offered to repay a $35 million defaulted loan on a 32-story San Diego condominium project he had taken over, originally financed by failed Corus Bank. Instead, his new lender urged him to keep the money.
Even more striking to Radow was that the lender was a company majority-owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., an arm of the government swamped with bad debts, whose partners were private investors led by Starwood Capital Group LLC.
Countrywide probe snares Fannie, Freddie execs
By JAKE SHERMAN - Politico.com
Employees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - including top executives - received 173 cut-rate loans from Countrywide Financial, according to a congressional probe, the latest accusation that the lender tried to curry influence with people in power.
A Republican-led investigation revealed that Fannie Mae employees - including an assistant to the CEO, a government relations lobbyist and a vice president for sales - received 153 favorable loans, while 20 VIP loans were issued to employees at Freddie Mac. Countrywide Financial collapsed in the 2008 housing meltdown and was swallowed by Bank of America, but its connections to powerful political figures continue to reverberate in Washington.
• FHA only starting to tighten loans standards (for real this time, maybe),
• deed-in-lieu of foreclosures growing, and fining banks for neglected properties.
• BofA FHA insured delinquent loans increase nearly 200 percent in one year.
DoctorHousingBubble.com
Last week HUD came out with laser focused ways of addressing its impending insolvency because of defaulting FHA insured loans. Now some of you were under the impression that something was already done to tighten lending standards given the precarious situation the housing bubble brought to our economy. Yet that is not the case and incredibly, what passes for basic due diligence today seems excessive because only a few years ago loans were given out to people making $14,000 a year and financing their $720,000 home purchase. FHA insured loans have become the staple of moving properties especially in areas like California. The 3.5 percent minimum down payment is all people can muster up and apparently this has caused further deterioration in this market.
HUD is seeking public comments for the next 30 days on the below:
Estate tax to return in 2011, and it could hurt ordinary folks
By Sandra Block, USA TODAY
In life, George Steinbrenner beat the Red Sox. In death, he beat the IRS.
Steinbrenner's death on July 13 occurred six months after the federal estate tax expired. Forbes magazine estimates the Yankees owner's net worth was $1.15 billion, so the timing of Steinbrenner's death could save his heirs up to $500 million in federal estate taxes.
But future heirs may not be so lucky. The federal estate tax is scheduled to return with a vengeance on Jan. 1, 2011, imposing a levy of up to 55% on estates valued at more than $1 million. And the same congressional paralysis that allowed the tax to expire in 2010 could thwart efforts to pare it back, estate planning attorneys say.
Jumbo Mortgage: Prudent Borrowers Rewarded By Lowest Jumbo Rates Ever
Posted By: Jeff Bowman
July 20, 2010 (FreeRateUpdate.com) - Solid, ultra low interest rate jumbo mortgage loans are being actively funded by remembering the lending philosophy we relied on before the risk could be passed onto some unsuspecting pension fund via a CDO created by a trader at a Wall St Bank. With trillions in mortgage loan losses across the nation, major changes were needed. Regulatory reform passed Congress last week, but it wasn't hard for the jumbo mortgage market to fix our own problems.
Normalcy has returned. The jumbo loan environment has settled into a prove it, we double verify it, and we fund it environment for well qualified borrowers. The recent national statistics show about 14% loans with a principal balance of 1m+ are at least 60 days late. This is up sharply in the last six months from the 9.78% figure that we ended 2009. Hopefully these default figures will flatten out and fall as the better jumbo loans of 09-10 perform much better than the loans closed in 04-08.
Housing Starts in U.S. Slide More Than Forecast as Credit Ends
By Bob Willis
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Housing starts fell in June to the lowest level in eight months after the expiration of a U.S. government tax incentive caused sales to slump.
Work began on 549,000 houses at an annual rate last month, fewer than the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and down 5 percent from May, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.
The retreat following the end of government support shows it will be difficult for the industry that precipitated the recession to sustain a recovery. Mounting foreclosures will swell the supply of houses on the market and pressure prices, while prospective buyers shy away as a lack of jobs shakes confidence in the world's largest economy.
Man facing foreclosure tries to blow up bank
TheTruthAboutMortgage.com An Illinois man facing foreclosure reportedly attempted to blow up the bank that held his mortgage.
Last Friday at around 8 p.m., the disgruntled homeowner crashed into a PNC bank branch in his hometown of Lockport in an apparent attempt to destroy it.
The man then set off a four-inch mortar, typically reserved for fireworks shows, which blew off the roof of his car and shattered windows in the front of the bank.
Fortunately the bank was closed at the time and there were no reported injuries.
The homeowner, David Whitesell, has been charged with arson and criminal damage to property with an incendiary device, both felony offenses.
He was being held on a $30,000 bond and expected to appear in court this week.
Many don't qualify for Obama's foreclosure prevention
By Tami Luhby
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More delinquent homeowners learned last month that they don't qualify for foreclosure help in the Obama administration's program, according to federal data released Tuesday.
Fresh concerns over the housing market's health have renewed interest in the success of foreclosure prevention programs such as the president's. An increase in foreclosures, combined with the recent drop in housing sales, could send home prices plummeting again.
About 40% leave federal mortgage aid program
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY
The number of homeowners dropped from the Obama administration's signature program to modify mortgages for cash-strapped homeowners is larger than the number of those receiving permanently lower monthly payments under the program.
The program puts homeowners into five-year programs with lower monthly payments on their mortgages, but first they must provide proof of income and get through a three-month trial period making all payments on time. About 530,000 homeowners, or about 40% of 1.3 million borrowers enrolled, have had their lower mortgage payments canceled, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday.
More than 500,000 trial loan modifications canceled
TheTruthAboutMortgage.com
More than 40 percent of the trial loan modifications started under HAMP were canceled as of the end of last month, but permanent mods totaled nearly 400,000, according to the latest Treasury report.
Of the 1,282,912 trials started, 520,814 have been canceled, 364,077 are active, 389,198 are permanent, and the remaining 8,823 were permanent but subsequently canceled.
The most common causes of trial cancellations included missing documentation, trial plan default, and ineligibility due to debt-to-income ratios already being below 31 percent.
Most who were canceled were put in an alternative modification.
Poll: Faith in Social Security system tanking
By Susan Page, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - Battered by high unemployment and record home foreclosures, most Americans seem to have lost faith in another fundamental part of their personal finances: Social Security.
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that a majority of retirees say they expect their current benefits to be cut, a dramatic increase in the number who hold that view. And a record six of 10 non-retirees predict Social Security won't be able to pay them benefits when they stop working.
The Social Security Squeeze Can Be Solved
Businessweek.com's Chris Farrell says the program's shortfall is far easier to fix than Medicare or Medicaid - and smart policy could make it even stronger in the years ahead
By Chris Farrell - BusinessWeek.com
The footsteps of an aging America are hard to ignore, especially with daily alarms ringing over the federal government's debt and deficit. The leading edge of the baby boom generation is reaching its retirement years and at the core of the long-term fiscal challenge lie the three main entitlement programs, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. (The other main spending items weighing on the fiscal ledger are defense and interest on the debt.) Spending on entitlements is growing faster than the economy and revenues.
"This debt is like a cancer," said Erskine Bowles, co-chair of President Obama's bipartisan panel on deficit reduction, at the annual meeting of the National Governors Assn. on July 11.
Unemployment rate falls in 39 states in June
By Christopher S. Rugaber AP - Washington Times
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The unemployment rate fell in most states in June, mainly because more people gave up searching for work and were no longer counted.
Fewer states saw job increases, the latest evidence that the economic recovery is slowing.
The jobless rate declined in 39 states and the District of Columbia last month, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That's a slight improvement from May, when 37 states saw their rates decline.
But only 21 states saw net job gains in June, the government said. That compared with 41 the previous month and is the fewest this year.
The decline in job creation reflects the layoff of thousands of temporary census workers. Those jobs inflated total payrolls in May and then reduced them in June.
Jobless benefits extension passes Senate test
By Tami Luhby - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More than 2.5 million unemployed Americans are one step closer to having their unemployment benefits restored.
A bill that would push back the deadline to file for extended unemployment benefits until the end of November passed a key procedural hurdle in the Senate Tuesday. The vote was 60-40, the minimum margin needed to end debate on the measure.
Unemployment benefits won't cure economy
by CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER - AP -MSNBC.com
But approval to extend aid will likely mean the recovery won't evaporate
WASHINGTON - For jobless Americans struggling to pay their bills and keep their homes, the restoration of unemployment benefits could keep their crisis from getting worse.
The same might be said of the broader economy.
Senators voted 60-40 to move ahead on the bill, clearing the way for a final vote in the chamber on Wednesday. The proposal would keep providing unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks to more than 5 million long-term unemployed. The injection of an estimated $33 billion into a $14.6 trillion economy over the next five months won't be enough to energize the recovery. But economists say it could at least help sustain it.
Lobster tales: 5-year ban coming to East Coast?
By Aaron Smith
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Consider the lobster: The population of the crustaceans is at such low levels along the East Coast that a regulatory agency is proposing a five-year ban on harvesting them between Cape Cod and Virginia.
"Long Island Sound, in particular, has been in poor health since 1999," said Toni Kerns, senior fishery management plan coordinator at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. "We had a die off in the fishery."
Hawker issues letter to workers regarding future of company
KSN TV
WICHITA, Kansas - Hawker Beechcraft's CEO is confirming new details about the future of the company here in Wichita as workers fear what it could mean for their jobs.
A letter was sent to employees Tuesday discussing possible changes. It comes on the heels of some unsettling news from the union last week when it said the company could reduce the Wichita workforce by 75 percent in the coming two years.
The following is the letter in its entirety that was sent to Hawker Beechcraft employees Tuesday:
Dear Hawker Beechcraft Employees:
Last week, we confirmed to the news media that we are continuing a series of conversations with Union leadership to discuss the serious challenges that the company faces during these unprecedented economic times. ...
RNC fails to report to FEC $7 million in debt
By Ralph Z. Hallow - Washington Times
Steele dodged, memo alleges
The Republican National Committee failed to report more than $7million in debt to the Federal Election Commission in recent months - a move that made its bottom line appear healthier than it is heading into the midterm elections and that also raises the prospect of a hefty fine.
In a memo to RNC budget committee members, RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen on Tuesday accused Chairman Michael S. Steele and his chief of staff, Michael Leavitt, of trying to conceal the information from himby ordering staff not to communicate with the treasurer.
Changing Stance, Administration Now Defends Insurance Mandate
as a Tax By ROBERT PEAR - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON - When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government's "power to lay and collect taxes."
And that power, they say, is even more sweeping than the federal power to regulate interstate commerce.
Administration officials say the tax argument is a linchpin of their legal case in defense of the health care overhaul and its individual mandate, now being challenged in court by more than 20 states and several private organizations.
NAACP president: "We were snookered" by Fox and Breitbart
BY JUSTIN ELLIOTT - Salon.com
The NAACP, which had originally (and prematurely) jumped all over Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod in response to the edited Breitbart tape that "proved" she was a racist, has now issued a new statement apologizing for getting "snookered" by Andrew Breitbart and Fox News.
Said NAACP President Ben Jealous in the new statement:
With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias.
Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans.
White House wants it both ways on Sherrod firing
BY JUSTIN ELLIOT - Salon.com
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement today explaining that he asked for Georgia rural development director Shirley Sherrod's resignation yesterday because "the controversy surrounding her comments would create situations where her decisions, rightly or wrongly, would be called into question making it difficult for her to bring jobs to Georgia."
As Alex Pareene explained, the controversy Vilsack is referring to was whipped up when Andrew Breitbart released an edited video clip of Sherrod, it was mindlessly picked up by other media, and the Obama administration followed suit.
But now that Breitbart's story of Sherrod being a racist has been exposed as bogus, the White House is trying to have it both ways: They say they support Vilsack's decision but at the same time had absolutely nothing to do with his making it.
Extreme heat has killed 2,000 cattle
KSN TV
OTTAWA COUNTY, Kansas - The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is estimating some 2,000 cattle are dead as a result of the extreme heat in the last week. Now cattle handlers are just praying for cooler temperatures and more wind.
"It's not been fun, it's not been good," said Perry Owens, Ottawa County Feeders manager.
Owens is one of many cattle handlers across the state dealing with cattle deaths from the past weekend all because of the blistering heat.
"When you get into these kinds of situations, the cattle don't have the ability to cool off and especially the ones that are getting closed to being finished," he said.
Owens says cattle have a lot of weight on them, so it's harder to cool them down.
Smile For The Camera: Big Brother Is Watching You Speed Via Satellite
by Richard Read - LewRockwell.com
Satellites do many awesome things: they allow us to communicate with friends and family, they help us find our way home when we're lost, and of course, they bring us television - delicious television. But there are a few downsides to those hunks of metal and circuitry floating above the surface of the earth, and for drivers in Britain, one of those downsides is now speed traps.
In London and Cornwall, a pilot program has just been launched that combines all the fun of terrestrial speed cameras with the creepy omniscience of GPS. In a nutshell, the program - called "SpeedSpike" - uses positioning satellites to track motorists as they travel between traffic cameras. By calculating the time it takes a driver to move from one point to the other, SpeedSpike can determine whether or not the motorist has been speeding. When the car reaches the second camera, calculations are made, and if they're out of line - blammo! - a photo is taken of the license plate, and a ticket is mailed to the owner.
BOMBSHELL Washington Post Investigation:
More than a dozen Washington Post journalists spent two years developing Top Secret America.
Top Secrect Americapart 1 (from yesterday's news page): A hidden world, growing beyond control
Top Secret America - part 2 National Security Inc. WashingtonPost.com
The intent of the memorial is to publicly honor the courage of those who died in the line of duty, but it also conceals a deeper story about government in the post-9/11 era: Eight of the 22 were not CIA officers at all. They were private contractors.
To ensure that the country's most sensitive duties are carried out only by people loyal above all to the nation's interest, federal rules say contractors may not perform what are called "inherently government functions." But they do, all the time and in every intelligence and counterterrorism agency, according to a two-year investigation by The Washington Post.
Help Wanted: Professionals with security clearances
Max Keiser: NSA & CIA: The Secret America
Alex Jones Tv 1/6
Max Keiser: NSA & CIA: The Secret America
Alex Jones Tv 2/6
Max Keiser: NSA & CIA: The Secret America
Alex Jones Tv 3/6
Max Keiser: NSA & CIA: The Secret America
Alex Jones Tv 4/6
Max Keiser: NSA & CIA: The Secret America
Alex Jones Tv 5/6
Max Keiser: NSA & CIA: The Secret America
Alex Jones Tv 6/6
Congress, White House react to 'Top Secret America'
WashingtonPost.com
On Monday morning, Acting Director of National Intelligence David C. Gompert weighed in on the reporting in The Washington Post series "Top Secret America."
As the day progressed, lawmakers and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs weighed in as well.
"Do you have any problem with what the Post published? Did it in your view compromise national security?" Gibbs was asked at the daily briefing Monday.
"Well, look, I'm not going to get into some of the discussions that we had," Gibbs said. "Obviously there were some concerns. And I think The Post covered that there were some concerns, about certain data and the availability of some of that data."
The Real U.S. Government
BY GLENN GREENWALD - Salon.com
The Washington Post's Dana Priest demonstrates once again why she's easily one of the best investigative journalists in the nation -- if not the best -- with the publication of Part I of her series, co-written with William Arkin, detailing the sprawling, unaccountable, inexorably growing secret U.S. Government: what the article calls "Top Secret America." To the extent the series receives much substantive attention (and I doubt it will), the focus will likely be on the bureaucratic problems it documents: the massive redundancies, overlap, waste, and inefficiencies which plague this "hidden world, growing beyond control" -- as though everything would better if Top Secret America just functioned a bit more effectively. But the far more significant fact so compellingly illustrated by this first installment is the one I described last week when writing about the Obama administration's escalating war on whistle blowers:
Orwell's nightmare--big brother is here
by Anthony G. Martin - Conservative Examiner
In George Orwell's chilling novel, 1984, the author depicts a future society in which citizens are controlled by an all-seeing, all-knowing big government, referred to as 'big brother.' Orwell's nightmare is here, now.
A sampling of the major news stories today merely prove we are now living under the very tyranny about which Orwell warned and about which stalwart defenders of liberty such as Ayn Rand, Barry Goldwater, M. Stanton Evans, and Whitaker Chambers kept an ever-watchful eye
Obama's War on the Internet
The Ministry of Truth
Philip Giraldi - Uruknet.info
The Ministry of Truth was how George Orwell described the mechanism used by government to control information in his seminal novel 1984. A recent trip to Europe has convinced me that the governments of the world have been rocked by the power of the internet and are seeking to gain control of it so that they will have a virtual monopoly on information that the public is able to access. In Italy, Germany, and Britain the anonymous internet that most Americans are still familiar with is slowly being modified. If one goes into an internet cafŽ it is now legally required in most countries in the European Union to present a government issued form of identification. When I used an internet connection at a Venice hotel, my passport was demanded as a precondition and the inner page, containing all my personal information, was scanned and a copy made for the Ministry of the Interior -- which controls the police force. The copy is retained and linked to the transaction. For home computers, the IP address of the service used is similarly recorded for identification purposes. All records of each and every internet usage, to include credit information and keystrokes that register everything that is written or sent, is accessible to the government authorities on demand, not through the action of a court or an independent authority. That means that there is de facto no right to privacy and a government bureaucrat decides what can and cannot be "reviewed" by the authorities. Currently, the records are maintained for a period of six months but there is a drive to make the retention period even longer.
----- oil crisis -----
Tony Hayward preparing to resign from BP
By CNNMoney.com staff
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- BP's beleaguered chief executive, Tony Hayward, is preparing to step down from his position within the next 10 weeks, the Times of London reported Tuesday, citing "sources" close to the company.
Hayward and his management choices have drawn a barrage of criticism since BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig accident began spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico 92 days ago. Its share price hammered, BP is fighting to ensure that it has the resources to pay the billions it now faces in fines, cleanup expenses and compensation claims from local workers and businesses.
Transocean Employees Become Focus of BP Oil-Spill Investigators
By Joe Carroll and Laurel Brubaker Calkins
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Transocean Ltd. employees onboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig when it exploded in the Gulf of Mexico have become the focus of a U.S. government probe into the cause of the fatal disaster.
Stephen Bertone, chief engineer on the rig, and Mike Williams, chief engineer technician, were designated as parties of interest yesterday by a joint U.S. Coast Guard-Interior Department investigative panel. That boosted to five the number of Transocean workers who could face criminal charges stemming from the accident that killed 11 people.
Gulf oil spill chief says seepage at another well
By Frederic J. Frommer AP -Washington Times
The federal government's oil spill chief said Tuesday that seepage two miles from BP's oil cap is coming from another well, tamping down fears that leaks from the ruptured well mean it's unstable.
Retired Coast GuardAdm. Thad Allen also said five leaks in and around BP's well are more like "drips," and aren't yet cause for concern.
The leaks and seepage had raised concerns that the mechanical cap choking off the flow of oil was displacing pressure and causing leaks deep underground. That could cause instability in the seafloor and make the environmental disaster even worse and harder to fix.
Adm. Allen said the well appears stable, and he extended testing of the experimental cap by another day, which means the oil will remain shut in.
Natural Oil Seep Causes White House Panic
Written by Al Fin - OilPrice.com
Officials had worried that the seep - usually a flow of hydrocarbons from the seafloor - could have been evidence that oil, gas or both were escaping from the well up to the seafloor, forcing the government to order BP to remove the cap and resume oil collection.
But seeps also occur naturally, and in a briefing for reporters Monday afternoon, BP said that government and company scientists were coming to the conclusion that the seep was probably of natural origin and unrelated to the well.
BP Considers New Plan to Permanently Seal Well
By HENRY FOUNTAIN - NYTimes.com
As scientists on Monday allayed concerns that BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico was damaged, the company said it was considering an alternative plan that could permanently seal the gusher sooner than had been anticipated.
Kent Wells, a senior vice president for BP, said the company was studying the possibility of a "static kill," in which heavy mud would be pumped into the recently capped well. Also known as bullheading, the procedure would force the oil and gas back down into the reservoir.
US orders new emergency plan as seepage detected near capped well
Telegraph.co.uk
The US government ordered BP to submit an emergency plan for reopening its capped Gulf of Mexico oil well after experts detected seepage from the surrounding seabed.
Tensions emerged as the US government's point man on the worst environmental disaster in US history also told the British energy giant to report swiftly on a "detected seep" and "anomalies" near the well.
BP - which said Monday the bill from the leak had risen to $3.95 billion (£2.58 billion) - had earlier acknowledged that some bubbles had appeared near the wellhead but expressed optimism that the cap installed three days earlier could stay on.
Soros-funded group wants feds to probe talk radio
By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily
Says cable-news networks engaged in 'hate speech'
A George Soros-funded, Marxist-founded organization with close ties to the White House has urged the Federal Communications Commission to investigate talk radio and cable news for "hate speech."
The organization, calling itself Free Press, claims media companies are engaging in "hate speech" because a disproportionate number of radio and cable-news networks are owned by non-minorities.
WND previously reported Free Press published a study advocating the development of a "world class" government-run media system in the U.S.
Free Press was one of 33 organizations that drafted a 25-page petition asking the FCC to "initiate an inquiry into the extent and effects of hate speech in media and to explore non-regulatory means by which to mitigate its negative impacts."
Government Policies Pushing Towards Depression
John Browne - 321Gold.com
Despite several quarters of rising GDP, and the upbeat exertions of Administration spokespeople, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has yet to announce the recession is over. Their reluctance is well-founded. It is beginning to dawn on even the more optimistic analysts that the tepid growth we have seen over the past three quarters is only an interlude in an otherwise grave and prolonged recession. Moreover, the respite will cost dearly as the United States has racked up a generation worth of debt for dubious benefit.
The paltry number of new jobs currently being created still fall far short of the 375,000 per month needed to offset the 125,000 new entrants to the job market due to population growth and to erode the 8 million people laid off in the past year alone. Meanwhile, house prices continue to fall and credit continues to contract. With retail sales dropping in June and the Leading Economic Index (LEI) standing at minus 7.7 per cent, it should be clear that the US economy is heading back towards recession, following a temporary distortion created by some $1.3 trillion in federal stimulus. In short, the stimulus has failed.
Leading Chinese Economists Urge Government To Dump U.S. Treasuries, Buy Gold Steve Watson - Infowars.net Fears reemerge that China could resort to "nuclear option"
Prominent economists in China are calling for their government to ditch vast holdings of U.S. Treasuries in favour of tangible assets such as gold, a move that would have a far reaching impact on the economy.
Reuters reports that Yu Yongding, a former academic adviser to the Chinese central bank has appealed to state representatives to move away from U.S. debt and invest in assets denominated in other currencies, as well as other financial instruments and real goods.
"Masses of Worthless Paper"
By Frederick Sheehan - DailyReckoning.com
07/19/10 North Weymouth, Massachusetts - We wince at congressional ineptitude but in one category legislative aptitude is improving: propaganda. The on-again, off-again finance bill (it's on-again) was described by the Wall Street Journal as "the most extensive remapping of financial regulation since the 1930s." It is nothing of the kind.
Where to open a critique is as much a problem as where to close it. So, this will start and end at the source: the Federal Reserve. In a single sentence, the Journal captured the most compelling reason to heave the proposed legislation into the BP oil spill: "The Federal Reserve would emerge as the pre-eminent regulator, with responsibility for the most complex financial companies."
Debt Overhang Hinders Recovery
Euro and European crises, a stress test, no solution in sight, lenders without sanity, banks nervous, austerity measures could force a depression, stage two of the credit crisis, most debt yet to be written off.
The crisis affecting Europe is nothing new. It goes back three years and the beginning of the credit crisis, 60% of the subprime CDOs, collateralized debt obligations, had been sold to European institutions. These were the mortgage bonds, which contained a variety of toxic waste, which the rating agencies, S&P, Moody's and Fitch, in collusion with banks and brokerage houses, had sold as AAA bonds, when in fact their ratings should have been considerably lower. The holders of these bonds in many instances became insolvent and had to be bailed out by capital injections from central banks, most of the funds were lent by the Federal Reserve.
These debt problems, as in the US, have never been resolved. Those companies and institutions have over the past three years been allowed to keep two sets of books.
Unions to banks: modify more mortgages or we'll pull our deposits
TheTruthAboutMortgage.com
Several very large unions representing some 500,000 working families may pull their money out of certain financial institutions if they don't do more to help those facing foreclosure.
The so-called "Move Your BIG Money campaign" aims to put pressure on large banks that have done what they feel has been very little to prevent avoidable foreclosures and prop up the fragile housing market.
The movement is tied to a letter sent to the big banks from NYC Comptroller John Liu and union leaders last week, which laid out a number of concerns and asked for solutions by September 1.
Specifically, they want to know what banks are doing to increase loan modifications, including principal balance reductions, what's being done to expedite the process, and what's being done to improve performance so homeowners don't lose their homes in the process.
Congress Passes Bankster Consolidation Bill
Kurt Nimmo - Infowars.com
Change has arrived. But it is not the sort of change imagined by the fawning mobs of 2008 at Obama's campaign rallies. Obama and Congress have pulled a three-card Monte on the American people. It's called "financial regulatory reform" and it hands unprecedented power over to the Federal Reserve.
"This historic reform creates the strongest protections for consumers in history and the toughest financial regulations since the Great Depression," declares a triumphant White House.
Ron Paul's call for putting the bankster Fed under a microscope has evaporated. "Just a few months ago, amid populist anger at the Fed for failing to prevent the financial crisis of 2008 and bailing out Wall Street, Congress was talking of stripping the central bank of its supervisory oversight of banks or forcing it to submit to congressional audit of its interest-rate decisions," the Wall Street Journal wrote yesterday. "Instead, the new law gives the Fed more power and a better tool box to help prevent financial crises."
Europe freezes out Goldman Sachs
Elena Moya - The Observer Shocked by past deals with Italy and Greece, governments are excluding the Wall Street bank from sovereign bond sales
European governments are turning their backs on Goldman Sachs, the all-conquering investment bank that has suffered a series of blows to its reputation, capped by the biggest ever fine imposed on a Wall Street firm.
According to data from Dealogic, Greece, Spain, France and Italy have all denied the bank a lead role in their recent sovereign bond sales.
Last Thursday, Goldman agreed to pay a $550m fine to settle US regulators' claims that the bank misled investors in a mortgage-backed security. Goldman admitted that its marketing materials were incomplete, because they failed to state that the same third party that helped choose the assets had taken a bet against them.
Moody's cuts Irish credit rating over debt woes
By Shawn Pogatchnik AP - WashingtonTimes.com
DUBLIN (AP) - The Moody's agency cut Ireland's credit rating Monday, citing the country's swelling national debt, the unpredictable cost of its bank-bailout plans and its weak growth prospects for the next three to five years.
Shares on the Irish Stock Exchange slumped after Dietmar Hornung, Moody's lead analyst for Ireland, announced that the New York-based agency was dropping its credit-worthiness rating one notch to Aa2. Moody's previously cut Ireland's rating to Aa1 from the top grade, Aaa, in July 2009 as Ireland plunged into its worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Why Hasn't Ben Bernanke Warmed Up the Helicopters Yet?
by Peter Gorenstei - Tech Ticker
For all the talk of "Helicopter Ben" and how the Federal Reserve's extraordinary measures in 2008 and 2009 were going to set off hyper-inflation, it now appears deflation is the greater threat to the economy. The Consumer Price Index fell 0.1% in June, more than expected and a third-straight decline. Core CPI did gain 0.2%, a positive, but still far from a reading of rapid inflation.
Given the looming deflation threat, should the Fed be doing more? That's the question Aaron discusses in the accompanying clip with Dan Gross, columnist with Newsweek.
In 2008, the Fed pulled out every tool in the shed to save the financial system; Bernanke & Co. even invented some new ones. Most notably, the Fed backed the commercial paper market, bought a trillion dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities and rescued AIG.
George Soros Says U.S. Shouldn't Cut Stimulus
By MELLY ALAZRAKI - DailyFinance.com
Billionaire investor George Soros has once again added his voice to the ongoing debate over stimulus versus budget cuts. After recently criticizing Germany for its budget cuts, he clearly says the U.S. shouldn't cut stimulus measures yet because the economy hasn't strengthened enough and there are no signs of inflation, Bloomberg reported.
"I think the timing is wrong with withdrawing the stimulus," Bloomberg quotes Soros, who spoke at the Hamptons Institute in East Hampton, N.Y., on July 16. "Cutting employment benefits, cutting aid to states that are losing tax revenue, these are counterproductive because you can only grow your way out" of the financial crisis, said Soros.
Bad Day for the WSJ
By Howard S. Katz - GoldSeek.com
A recurrent theme in my articles has been that our current economic system is intended to steal your wealth and that a vast amount of information being taught as economics is intended to justify this stealing and to trick you into falling for its program.
As with any misinformation, one must make a distinction between a deliberate lie and an honest mistake. As I have studied this, it is clear to me that, at the very top, it is deliberate. For example, John Maynard Keynes was a deliberate fraud. He did not believe Keynesian economics. It was a useful tool toward his goal of attracting the bankers to support him and his followers. Keynes was a confidence man; our current economic system is a confidence game, and the intent is to steal the wealth of all the marks.
How and Why The World Financial System Has to Collapse
By: Jeff Berwick - The Dollar Vigilante
"Bond Vigilante" - Definition: "A bond vigilante is a bond market investor who protests monetary or fiscal policies they consider inflationary by selling bonds, thus increasing yields." - Wikipedia
"Dollar Vigilante" - New Term: "A dollar vigilante is a free market individual who protests the government monopoly on money and financial policies such as fractional reserve banking and un-backed fiat currencies by selling those same fiat currencies in favor of other assets, often including gold and precious metals."
Many people today don't even realize it because anyone alive today has always lived under an artificial, non-free market financial system. No one even questions the fact that every country has a "central bank" and that every country outlaws any use of currency except for the one it produces.
HAS THE DOLLAR CRISIS BECOME EVEN MORE LIKELY?
Submitted by John Butler - FincialSense.com
Back in 2006, while working for a major US investment bank, I was asked by the Chief Global Economist to participate in a small survey to estimate the probability of the US economy facing a currency crisis - that is, one that forces interest rates higher - during the coming two years. Concerned that an eventual bursting of the US credit/housing bubble could lead to the dollar losing its pre-eminent reserve currency status, I placed the probability at some 60%, which was the highest response in the survey.
In 2007, he repeated the same survey. This time, I raised the probability to some 75%, as I believed there was clear evidence at that point that the credit/housing bubble was indeed bursting. Once again, this was the highest response in the survey.
The End-Game and The Illusory Gold Bubble
Darryl Robert Schoon - 321Gold.com
When the end-game began, gold was $35 per ounce. Today, gold is $1200. When the end-game is over, gold will be far higher.
Midway through 2010 we are approaching the end of the end-game, the resolution of the monetary imbalances that began in 1971. For more than 2500 years, gold was money: but, in 1971 that changed. After 1971, money was no longer connected to gold. For the first time in history, money had no intrinsic value.
After the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1945 until 1971, the world's currencies were anchored to the US dollar which was convertible to gold. Thus, directly or indirectly, all currencies could be exchanged for gold; but on August 15,1971 the US cut the ties between the US dollar and gold; and all currencies became fiat.
These 72 Analysts Believe Gold Will Go Parabolic To Between $2,500 and $15,000! By: Lorimer Wilson - GoldSeek.com
Believe it or not but I have identified 72 economists, academics, gold analysts and market commentators who have developed sound rationale as to why gold could quite possibly go to a parabolic top of at least $2,500 an ounce to even as much as an unimaginable $15,000 before the bubble finally pops!
When I first began writing about such projections I was satisfied with identifying 10 individuals who were of the opinion that gold would attain a peak greater than $2,500. That list has grown to 72 (see below) of which 44 believe that $5,000 or more for gold is likely. I encourage you to check out their articles and their rationale for such high gold prices in the years (and in some cases just months) to come.
Should the Fed Buy Gold At $5,000 per Ounce? Should Mexico Go to a De Facto Silver Standard?
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
These are two different interviews on two related topics: the place of specie in the reconstitution of national currencies in facilitating the recovery from a financial crisis.
I have to confess that there were some historical observations made by Lee Quaintance that made me scratch my head, wondering if we were coexisting in the same or parallel universes. I have tried to note them as they occurred in the text. What was most puzzling is that they seemed to be inserted in a line of thinking with which I was in completely agreement. Perhaps I just need another cup of coffee.
But in sum I found both interviews innovative and thought provoking. The concept of using Gresham's Law to induce people to save is interesting. I think the valuation model which my friend Hugo puts forward for a silver coin needs some work and some further thought, most likely on my part.
Government Mules
By David Galland, Managing Director, Casey Research
Watching my children grow older, now heading into the treacherous shoals of the teenage years, has been a visceral reminder of how the human mind develops. As young children, we see the world with fresh eyes and wonderment, and then quickly begin testing the physical and societal bounds as part of morphing into our more mature selves.
As we age into our teens and beyond, the testing of boundaries evolves into a series of calculations. If I do "A," we wonder, will it lead to "B" or maybe "Z"?
From a young age, most of us are told to advance
our education and otherwise better ourselves so that we will be able to find a good job, or a succession of good jobs, that will provide sustenance and security lasting most of a lifetime before retiring to dawdle about in our golden years.
At least that is the modern view of life pursued by the vast majority of the citizenry in the developed world.
But having spent some time in rural Argentina recently - where it seems to me that most people spend more time living and less time planning to live - I have had some time to ponder the assumptions embedded in this view.
What if, I wonder, the whole modern construct of what passes for making the right moves in an advanced society is plain wrong?
True Lack of Deleveraging in the Housing Market
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/17/10 Baltimore, Maryland - Has there been significant deleveraging in the US housing market? Not really. Instead, with already $7 trillion in home equity lost, mortgages have come down only $270 billion. It's a significant discrepancy that's going to have to come into alignment somehow.
Jesse's CafŽ AmŽricain explains:
"This debt must be resolved. There are two major ways to do it: repayment and default.
"Repayment is probably a fantasy, if not beating a dead horse. The homeowners do not have the money with which to pay the loans given the current state of employment and wage stagnation, and the mortgages are for the most part on houses whose value is significantly under water compared to the debt, as in ' just mail in the keys.'
"Straight up default, writing off the debt even through foreclosure, is also probably out of the question, because it would essentially vaporize the balance sheet of the US banking system which is also insolvent, to a greater degree than most understand, and if they understand it, would admit."
Stocks waver after homebuilder confidence drops
By STEPHEN BERNARD - The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Stocks are fluctuating in a narrow range after a report showed that the nation's homebuilders are losing faith in the economy.
The market gave up most of its early gains Monday after the National Association of Home Builders said its homebuilders' confidence index sank to 14, its lowest level since March 2009.
The report is the latest in a series of disappointing housing numbers that began appearing after the government's home buyer tax credit expired at the end of April.
How do I find out who owns my mortgage?
by John W. Schoen - Senior producer - MSNBC.com
Homeowners who are having trouble with their mortgages seem to get the same advice wherever they turn: at the first sign of trouble, call your lenders and see if you can work out a payment plan. But that means figuring out who owns your mortgage - which is not as easy as it looks. I have been trying unsuccessfully to find out who owns my mortgage but the servicing company just gives me a run around. Don't I have a right to know who owns my mortgage? I need to work out a loan modification but can't find out who to call and the servicing company isn't helping. - J. W., Chesapeake City, Md.
Of the many nightmares facing homeowners caught up in the mortgage mess, this one is perhaps the most frustrating. From individual lenders to the government-sponsored Hope Now Alliance devoted to untangling this mess, the advice to borrowers is the same: as soon as you think you're headed for trouble, contact the lenders to see about working out an alternate payment plan.
Six million to lose homes in next two years
TheTruthAboutMortgage.com
As a result, the national home ownership rate will fall to just 61.7 percent.
Here's the math: [see stats]
The numbers might be even worse if you factor in the additional five million homeowners with no equity in their homes, assuming they strategically default.
Fortunately, most borrowers don't walk away voluntarily until equity falls to -62 percent of their home's value, at least that's how the study from the Federal Reserve goes.
You could also argue that homeowners with less than five percent equity in their homes could default as well, as you need an equity cushion to unload a home to pay for associated closing costs (and to buy a new one).
Homeowners Use Airbnb's Room-Renting Site to Dodge Foreclosure
By Ari Levy and Dan Levy
July 19 (Bloomberg) -- Nichelle Morant was on the verge of losing her three-unit house in Brooklyn, New York, earlier this year, after tenants renting the second and third floors lost their jobs and moved out.
With bills mounting and foreclosure looming, Morant converted the space into a bed and breakfast. Using the San Francisco-based rental site Airbnb.com to take reservations, she was soon raking in $4,500 a month, enough to cover her mortgage.
"This has been our stimulus package," said Morant, a pastry chef, who lives with her family on the ground floor of the home. "We were going to lose our house."
After Training, Still Scrambling for Employment
By PETER S. GOODMAN - NYTimes.com
In what was beginning to feel like a previous life, Israel Valle had earned $18 an hour as an executive assistant to a designer at a prominent fashion label. Now, he was jobless and struggling to find work. He decided to invest in upgrading his skills.
It was February 2009, and the city work force center in Downtown Brooklyn was jammed with hundreds of people hungry for paychecks. His caseworker urged him to take advantage of classes financed by the federal government, which had increased money for job training. Upgrade your skills, she counseled. Then she could arrange job interviews.
Elizabeth Warren on the Foreclosure Crisis
Elizabeth Warren is the only person I've seen in Washington D.C. that is both aware of what consumers are facing today, and I believe truly cares about homeowners in this country. She gets it in ways that no one else in government does, and she appeared just a few days ago on PBS to talk about the new agency and the foreclosure crisis. And I found it breathtaking to watch, and hear what she she had to say.
She says... "It's about respect. I believe that the American people ought to be part of the conversation about what's happening in our economy, and what's happening in Washington D.C. and what's happening on Wall Street. I truly believe that if the insiders get together and rewrite all the rules, those will be rules that will benefit the insiders and the rest of America will just be left out of it."
America's 'disappeared': The homeless of the big cities
By Wayne Madsen - Online Journal Contributing Writer
They were always seen by all who passed by, broke and idle in a number of Washington, DC, parks and grassy nooks. After 9/11, however, they began to disappear and in large numbers. "They" were the familiar faces of Washington's homeless.
From Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue
from the White House, to Virginia Avenue across from the State Department, and Franklin Square, amid the city's glass and steel towers housing DC's power elite to tony Georgetown, many homeless people, both those truly down on their luck and those who were mentally ill, began to disappear.
As one Washington homeless advocate told this editor, "These people simply vanished."
23,808 homeless people in Iowa
Quad-City times
DES MOINES - There were 23,808 people in Iowa classified as homeless and another 15,351 people were considered "at risk" of becoming homeless last year - both figures representing double-digit increases compared to 2008, according to a state study issued Tuesday.
Within the overall counts, families made up 14,068 of Iowa's homeless and 13,153 of those at-risk of becoming homeless.
The report was prepared by the Iowa Institute for Community Alliances and issued to Gov. Chet Culver on behalf of the Iowa Council on Homelessness. It indicated there likely was some overlap between the homeless and at-risk populations but the total of 38,078 people who received emergency and transitional services was an unduplicated count for 2009. Homeless were reported in every county in Iowa.
Cities Rent Police, Janitors to Save Cash
By TAMARA AUDI - WSJ.com (free)
Faced with a $118 million budget deficit, the city of San Jose, Calif., recently decided it could no longer afford its own janitors. So the city's budget called for dropping its custodial staff and hiring outside contractors to clean its city hall and airport, saving about $4 million.
To keep all its swimming pools open and staffed, the city is replacing some city workers with contractors.
"These are cases where the question is being asked, 'Is this a core service at the city level?' " said Michelle McGurk, senior policy adviser to the San Jose mayor.
After years of whittling staff and cutting back on services, towns and cities are now outsourcing some of the most basic functions of local government, from policing to trash collection. Services that cities can no longer afford to provide are being contracted to private vendors, counties or even neighboring towns.
The Jobless Effect: Is the Real Unemployment Rate 16.5%, 22%, or. . .?
By PALLAVI GOGOI - DailyFinance.com
Raghavan Mayur, president at TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, follows unemployment data closely. So, when his survey for May revealed that 28% of the 1,000-odd households surveyed reported that at least one member was looking for a full-time job, he was flummoxed.
"Our numbers are always very accurate, so I was surprised at the discrepancy with the government's numbers," says Mayur, whose firm owns the TIPP polling unit, a polling partner for Investors' Business Daily and Christian Science Monitor. After all, the headline number shows the U.S. unemployment rate today is 9.5%, with a total of 14.6 million jobless people.
Good dog? Homeland Security may want you
By Ken Dilanian, Tribune Washington Bureau
The department is recruiting 3,000 'alert, active, outgoing' canines to sniff for drugs, bombs and cash.
Reporting from Washington - Wanted, to serve their country: a few (thousand) good dogs.
As it guards the borders and hunts for terrorists, the Department of Homeland Security relies on an elite squad of about 2,000 canines to sniff for bombs, drugs and smuggled cash.
Now the department is moving to expand its four-legged force by 3,000 - about 600 dogs a year over the next five years - according to a recent bid solicitation aimed at small breeders across the country.
The Serious Tracking of Americans Begins
EconomicPolicyJournal.com
They have passed the health bill, they have passed the financial regulations bill and they have snuck stuff into the stimulus package bills. They are going to track your money and your body. Here's the first few things they are doing. This is step one. It will only get worse from here.
WHEN THERE IS NO RULE OF LAW
Submitted by Ron Paul - FinancialSense.com
Last week ended with some promising news on finally stopping the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, the administration still seems to believe that shutting down working oil wells is a higher priority than effectively dealing with the broken one. They are again issuing a moratorium on off-shore drilling, while maintaining a de facto ban on new permits even for shallow water drilling, which they previously stated would be unaffected. The courts have twice declared this unconstitutional, over 70 percent of the people see this as unreasonable, yet the administration seems determined to simply end off-shore drilling, at least for those producers that cannot afford to sit idle for an unknown period of time until the ban is lifted.
Road Warrior-level collapse imminent
Alex Jones says we must take corrective action now
Roads to Ruin: Towns Rip Up the Pavement
By LAUREN ETTER - WSJ.com (free)
Asphalt Is Replaced By Cheaper Gravel; 'Back to Stone Age'
SPIRITWOOD, N.D. - A hulking yellow machine inched along Old Highway 10 here recently in a summer scene that seemed as normal as the nearby corn swaying in the breeze. But instead of laying a blanket of steaming blacktop, the machine was grinding the asphalt road into bits.
"When [counties] had lots of money, they paved a lot of the roads and tried to make life easier for the people who lived out here," said Stutsman County Highway Superintendant Mike Zimmerman, sifting the dusty black rubble through his fingers. "Now, it's catching up to them."
Kagan's cookbook: The joy of tyranny
By David P. McGinley - WashingtonTimes.com
In Kagan's world, Congress can tell you what to eat
Does Congress have the power to tell people what to eat? Maybe you think that's a stupid question. Nonetheless, it was a question that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was unwilling to answer. The question was posed to Ms. Kagan by Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, during her Senate hearings. In trying to avoid answering the question, Ms. Kagan responded by saying, "Sounds like a dumb law," but she did admit that just because a law might be dumb does not make it unconstitutional. And that was the extent of her answer.
So, can Congress tell us what we should eat? Well, back in 1942, the Supreme Court decided that, indeed, Congress basically can do just that. In the infamous case of Wickard v. Filburn, the U.S. government ordered the owner of a small farm in Ohio, Roscoe Filburn, to cease and desist growing wheat to feed his chickens. Filburn had no intention of selling the wheat, but, nonetheless, he was ordered to destroy it and pay a fine for having the temerity to think he could grow wheat for is own consumption without permission from the U.S. Congress.
A hidden world, growing beyond control
by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin - WashingtonPost.com
The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.
***** Important Investigation! *****
Top Secret America
Project Subterrene and
Top Secret Undergound Tunnels Under America
----- oil crisis -----
Allen: BP well can remain shut another day because seepage appears minor -USAToday.com
The recently capped well, no longer spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, can remain closed another day because seepage from it does not appear "consequential," a senior U.S. official said Monday.
"We'll go forward with another 24 hours," National Incident Commander Thad Allen, who's in charge of the U.S. oil spill response, said at a news briefing in Washington. He said a seep detected Sunday three kilometers from the Macondo Well does not appear associated with the spill. He said other anomalies --bubbles near the base of the well's blowout prevent and a leak that developed overnight in the cap itself -- don't indicate damage to the well bore.
Feds let BP keep oil cap closed despite seepage
By Colleen Long and Harry R. Weber - AP - WashingtonTimes.com
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The federal government Monday allowed BP to keep the cap shut tight on its busted Gulf of Mexico oil well for another day despite a seep in the sea floor after the company promised to watch closely for signs of new leaks underground, settling for the moment a rift between BP and the government.
The Obama administration's point man for the spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said early Monday that government scientists had gotten the answers they wanted about how BP is monitoring the seabed around the mile-deep well, which has stopped gushing oil into the water since the experimental cap was closed Thursday.
BP Hopes to Keep Well Closed, but Seep Is Detected
By HENRY FOUNTAIN - NYTimes.com
After three days of encouraging pressure tests, a senior BP official said Sunday that the company's recently capped well in the Gulf of Mexico was holding up and that BP now hoped to keep the well closed until it could be permanently plugged. But government officials were more skeptical and cited a new potential problem.
That BP plan differs sharply from the one the company and the federal government had suggested only a day earlier, to eventually allow the flow of oil to resume temporarily, collecting it through pipes to surface ships.
Breaking: Seep Found Near Blownout Well, BP Not Complying With Government Demands for More Monitoring
George Washington's Blog
AP notes:
A federal official says scientists are concerned about a seep and possible methane near BP's busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico
Both could be signs there are leaks in the well that's been capped off for three days.
The AP article implies that the seeps are new since BP shut off the oil flow into the Gulf as part of its "well integrity test", but doesn't directly address that issue.
But as I pointed out on June 24th:
The Washington Post made a very important point yesterday:
Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University, said additional leaks are a possible source of deep-sea plumes of oil detected by research vessels. But this part of the gulf is pocked with natural seeps, he noted. Conceivably the drilling of the well, and/or the subsequent blowout, could have affected the seeps, he said.
"Once you started disturbing the underground geology, you may have made one of those seeps even worse," he said.
Remember that geologists have said that if the well casing is substantially breached, the oil and methane gas will find a way through fractures in the surrounding geology and make it into the ocean. For example, the Houston Chronicle notes:
If the well casing burst it could send oil and gas streaming through the strata to appear elsewhere on the sea floor ....
Obviously, if there are natural oil or gas seeps nearby, there are already pre-existing channels up to the seafloor ... so that may very well be the path of least resistance for the subterranean oil to flow up to the seafloor.
The well is capped. But what else lurks below the surface for BP?
Tim Webb - The Observer,
Success in sealing the gulf spill does not mark the end of BP's problems. Even amid the 'cowboy culture' of offshore drilling, its operational record raises concerns, and allegations are flying about its disregard for safety procedures and propensity to pass the buck
On Friday afternoon, BP senior vice-president Kent Wells was trying hard to contain his elation. The well in the Gulf of Mexico, which had been leaking oil for 88 days, was holding up. The cap, lowered onto the well on Thursday, remained in place. And after numerous failed attempts, the torrent of oil had finally stopped.
"It felt very good to see no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico," Wells told reporters on the daily conference call he hosts from Houston on BP's attempts to stop the leak. An end appeared to be in sight to the worst environmental disaster in US history. Shares in BP rose again on Friday as investors hoped that the company, whose value has plunged by more than a third in the wake of the disaster, was over the worst of the crisis.
BP Well Boss Won't Shed Light on Cause of Oil Spill
By Joe Carroll and Alison Fitzgerald
July 19 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc's chief decision maker on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig declined for the second time to give his version of the events that killed 11 workers and triggered the biggest U.S. oil spill in history.
Donald Vidrine, a BP well-site manager, was asked to attend hearings that start today in Kenner, Louisiana, as investigators from the U.S. Coast Guard and Interior Department try to determine what caused the April 20 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Vidrine declined, citing health problems, said Sue Kerver, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
Geologist: Depletion of Oil Reservoir "Unlikely"
George Washington's Blog
There are 4 alternative explanations for the unexpectedly low oil pressure in the BP well: (1) A leak in the pipe in the well bore; (2) flow under the well between sand layers; (3) a blockage in the well; or (4) depletion of the oil reservoir.
This essay focuses on the fourth possibility: depletion of the oil reservoir. Specifically, BP claims that the oil well pressure is perhaps 1,200 pounds per square inch less than expected because the oil reservoir has been depleted.
The size of the reservoir is crucial in testing BP's theory. While there are other factors which determine oil pressure, the size of the reservoir is probably the most important.
Giant oil skimmer 'A Whale' deemed a bust for Gulf of Mexico spill
Paul Rioux, The Times-Picayune - nola.com
The massive "A Whale" oil skimmer has effectively been beached after it proved inefficient in sucking up oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill.
The oil is too dispersed to take advantage of the converted Taiwanese supertanker's enormous capacity, said Bob Grantham, a spokesman for shipowner TMT.
He said BP's use of chemical dispersants prevented A Whale, billed as the world's largest skimmer, from collecting a "significant amount" of oil during a week of testing that ended Friday.
Has the Gulf Spill Opened Pandora's Box for Obama?
By Marin Katusa
07/17/10 Vancouver, British Columbia - The White House might be gaping in shock that the US federal court overturned the six-month drilling moratorium, but it really isn't all that surprising. Amid the finger pointing and political posturing, the Obama administration seems to have missed a vital detail - the US oil industry is in a spot of bother.
It's not just America's oil supply and energy security that's in danger after the BP oil spill and the subsequent drilling ban. The Gulf economy is hanging by a thread, and it won't take much to send it over the edge.
Thousands upon thousands of rig workers were effectively laid off when the 33 rigs operating in the Gulf stopped drilling. The full economic impact of the ban is still unrealized, with the layoffs just starting, but estimates put the figure for lost wages as high as US$330 million per month.
BP canvassing investors on possible break up
(Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by David Holmes)
(Reuters) - Under-fire oil company BP Plc has started canvassing shareholders about a restructuring in the wake of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill which could include a break up of the business, the Sunday Times reported.
The newspaper, citing unnamed BP insiders, said options included selling the group's refineries and petrol stations, scaling back its U.S. operations and ramping-up in-house engineering instead of outsourcing.
These are on top of the sale of about 10 percent of its assets, including its stake in the giant Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska, the Sunday Times added.
Residents outraged: BP dumping oily waste in Gulf landfills
By David
The Gulf area may have to live with oil long after the beaches have been cleaned. Some residents are outraged that BP has been dumping oily waste in landfills in their areas.
After BP crews scoop up the oil off Gulf beaches, the waste is transported to Mississippi's Pecan Grove landfill. Even workers' protective suits, gloves, shovels, rakes and anything else that touches oil is buried there.
The Board of Supervisors in Harrison, Mississippi passed a resolution saying they don't want any BP waste in their community but there is little they can do. BP has cut deals with Waste Management, the owners of the landfill. They answer to the state instead of local county government.
"We don't want it," President of the Board of Supervisors Connie Rocko told CNN's Randi Kaye. "It is valuable landfill space and hazardous to our citizens. Take your waste somewhere else or please find an alternative."
BP's secret 3rd Oil Spill The Big Red One
BP OIL SPILL: Worst case scenario -
Super Volcano of Methane Erupts in the Gulf
Peyton Report: Where Does The Oil Go?
Residents near landfill object to BP oil waste dumping
Regulators shut 6 more banks, making 96 failures for the year
By Marcy Gordon, Associated Press - USAToday.com
WASHINGTON - Regulators on Friday shut down three banks in Florida, two in South Carolina and one in Michigan, bringing to 96 the number of U.S. banks to succumb this year to the recession and mounting loan defaults.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday took over the banks: Woodlands Bank, based in Bluffton, S.C., with $376.2 million in assets; First National Bank of the South, based in Spartanburg, S.C., with $682 million in assets; and Mainstreet Savings Bank of Hastings, Mich., with $97.4 million in assets.
The FDIC also seized Miami-based Metro Bank of Dade County, with assets of $442.3 million; Turnberry Bank of Aventura, Fla., assets of $263.9 million; and Olde Cypress Community Bank of Clewiston, Fla., assets of $168.7 million.
Comparisons to the Great Depression keep popping up
By Adam Shell, USA TODAY
NEW YORK - The images of bread lines, dust storms and squatters' camps are missing in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Stocks have rebounded sharply from the 12-year low hit in March 2009 during the Great Recession. The U.S. economy, while still sluggish, is growing again. And fears of financial Armageddon have mostly faded.
Yet comparisons to the woeful 1930s continue to pop up in Wall Street research reports, newspaper op-ed pieces, doomsday books and the financial blogosphere. There is a nagging sense that the roller coaster ride investors have been on since the 2008-09 financial meltdown may not be over - and that a '30s-style boom-bust, boom-bust cycle can't yet be ruled out - as the economy and markets muddle through the difficult post-bubble workout period.
TRETYAKOV'S WARNING
Submitted by JR Nyquist - FinancialSense.com
Spymaster, double agent and Russian defector Sergei Tretyakov reportedly died on June 13 of cardiac arrest. The story of Tretyakov's life may be read in Pete Earley's book, Comrade J. According to Earley, Tretyakov was the most important defector in many years, and his motive was to warn the American people about Russia. On Earley's official website we are told that Tretyakov "was fond of saying that the Cold War never ended." The American people, however, are not fond of listening.
It is frustrating to deal with this issue because the "end of the Cold War" is the undying myth of our time. We simply cannot abandon this myth, since our hopes and dreams are predicated upon it. America's last four presidents reiterated, again and again, that the Cold War was over. The news media uses the "end of the Cold War" as a standard line in stories related to Russia. It is convenient to believe what our presidents and our media have been saying. But it is flat wrong. "I want to warn Americans," Tretyakov told Earley. "As a people, you are very naive about Russia and its intentions. You believe because the Soviet Union no longer exists, Russia is now your friend. It isn't, and I can show you how the SVR [formerly KGB] is trying to destroy the U.S. even today and even more than the KGB did during the Cold War."
Lost in Taxation
WSJ.com (free) The IRS's vast new ObamaCare powers.
If it seems as if the tax code was conceived by graphic artist M.C. Escher, wait until you meet the new and not improved Internal Revenue Service created by ObamaCare. What, you're not already on a first-name basis with your local IRS agent?
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, who operates inside the IRS, highlighted the agency's new mission in her annual report to Congress last week. Look out below. She notes that the IRS is already "greatly taxed" - pun intended? - "by the additional role it is playing in delivering social benefits and programs to the American public," like tax credits for first-time homebuyers or purchasing electric cars. Yet with ObamaCare, the agency is now responsible for "the most extensive social benefit program the IRS has been asked to implement in recent history." And without "sufficient funding" it won't be able to discharge these new duties.
Social Security money stolen by government
By ALLEN W. SMITH - PPJ Gazette “The 1983 payroll tax hike has generated more than $2.5 trillion that is supposed to be in the trust fund” note: The theft of SS funds has been ongoing since President Johnson took the fund out of trust and put it into the general fund to help finance the Viet Nam War. The Bush2 Administration used SS funds to hide the loss of revenue from his tax cuts the upper 3%; redesignating these stolen funds as “revenues” to hide the theft.
In December, the Obama deficit-reduction commission will make recommendations for budget cuts that will then be voted on, with an up or down vote, by the lame-duck Congress.
Already, there is much speculation that Social Security will be one of the big targets. The rationale for cutting Social Security seems to be that, during such difficult economic times, everything should be a candidate for the chopping block, and that the public should support such cuts out of a sense of patriotism.
The flaw in this argument is that Social Security has not contributed a dime to the budget deficits or the soaring national debt. Social Security is funded exclusively by payroll taxes (also known as FICA taxes), paid into the fund by working Americans.
Changing Stance, Administration Now Defends Insurance Mandate as a Tax
By ROBERT PEAR - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON - When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government's"power to lay and collect taxes."
And that power, they say, is even more sweeping than the federal power to regulate interstate commerce.
Administration officials say the tax argument is a linchpin of their legal case in defense of the health care overhaul and its individual mandate, now being challenged in court by more than 20 states and several private organizations.
5 places to look for the next financial crisis
By Ezra Klein - WashingtonPost.com
Financial reform has passed. The sprawling legislation is meant to be an air bag protecting us from the next major crash, which of course raises the question: Will it work?
"We would have loved to have something like this for Lehman Brothers," said Hank Paulson, the Treasury secretary when the financial system melted down in 2008. "There's no doubt about it."
And he's right: The next time there's a financial crisis, regulators will say a quick prayer of thanks to Barney Frank and Chris Dodd for giving them the power and information to quickly figure out what's happened and how to respond.
Blanchflower Says Keep Stimulus to Avoid Deflation 'Nightmare'
By Greg Quinn
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Former Bank of England policy maker David Blanchflower said the risk of a deflation "nightmare" means officials including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke should keep stimulus in place until there's more evidence that private companies are spending again.
"Deflation is Ben Bernanke's and my nightmare," Blanchflower said in an interview with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Radio. Most of the global economic recovery "is being driven by stimulus," he said. "Caution to you if you start to take it off."
Dollar Declines to 2010 Low Against Yen; Euro Reaches $1.30
By Catarina Saraiva
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar dropped to its weakest level in 2010 against the yen as signs the U.S. economy is losing momentum supported speculation that the Federal Reserve will keep borrowing costs low for the rest of the year.
The greenback touched a level weaker than $1.30 versus the euro for the first time since May as a gauge of U.S. consumer confidence dropped more than economists expected and corporate revenue missed analyst forecasts. The yen rallied against all of its major counterparts as a decline in U.S. stocks discouraged demand for higher-yielding assets.
The Men Who Ended Goldman's War
By LOUISE STORY - NYTimes.com
LAST Wednesday at around 3 p.m., the Securities and Exchange Commission and Goldman Sachs settled an epic, seismic battle - one waged over whether the storied investment bank defrauded investors in a transaction that regulators said Goldman had built to self-destruct.
The final terms of the settlement were hashed out over the telephone. On one end, Gregory K. Palm, Goldman's general counsel, agreed to the exact language his bank would use in statements about the settlement. As one of the longest-serving executives of the bank and a Goldman shareholder, Mr. Palm also had his own reputation and his personal fortune on the line.
Goldman Sachs needs to change
FT.com
Compared with what might have been, Goldman Sachs escaped lightly in its settlement with US regulators this week. Having suffered three months of reputational damage since being accused of fraud, it admitted only a "mistake" and paid a record-breaking $550m in fines and compensation.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is already facing criticism that it should have been tougher on Goldman. In practice, however, it has regained its own reputation for enforcing securities law toughly on Wall Street. If the SEC had pushed its luck further, it would have been at risk of losing.
CFOs Pick Dollar Bonds as Faith in Euro Wanes: Credit Markets
By Katrina Nicholas and Bryan Keogh
July 19 (Bloomberg) -- European borrowers are selling more of their bonds in dollars than at any time since the euro's record low in 2000 as issuers lose faith in the common currency.
Companies in Western Europe sold $162.8 billion of bonds in dollars this year, 24 percent of their total issuance and up from 16 percent in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Euro-denominated sales fell to 63 percent from 68 percent, the lowest share since 2007 and below the average of the past decade.
Banks eye higher fees to boost declining revenue
By Stevenson Jacobs, Associated Press
NEW YORK - Big banks facing big drops in revenue are looking to Main Street to make up the difference.
Checking accounts, bank statements, even popping into your local bank branch could carry a hefty cost as the nation's mega-banks scramble to offset expected damage from the sweeping financial overhaul. The uncertain future has overshadowed otherwise strong second-quarter earnings at JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America.
All three companies beat expectations this week with profitable results. Yet their stocks tumbled, helping send the wider market sharply lower Friday.
Unintended Consequences
BY TIMOTHY P. CARNEY - The American Conservative
Ironically, lobbyist John Castellani put it best. "While we're each free to choose our actions," Castellani wrote in a recent blog post, "we're not free to choose the consequences of our actions."
It's ironic because Castellani, outgoing head of the Business Roundtable, has spent the last 18 months rallying the business community behind President George W. Bush's and President Obama's big-government agenda of handouts and boondoggles: Wall Street bailouts, Detroit bailout, stimulus, greenhouse cap-and-trade scheme, health care "reform" and more.
But in recent weeks Castellani has darkly warned of the "unintended consequences" of some of Obama's latest proposed regulations -- particularly on Wall Street and labor.
The Debt Supercycle
By: John Mauldin - GoldSeek.com
.... Essentially, the Debt Supercycle is the decades-long growth of debt from small and easily-dealt-with levels, to a point where bond markets rebel and the debt has to be restructured or reduced or a program of austerity must be undertaken to bring the debt back to manageable proportions. As Bank Credit Analyst wrote back in 2007:
"The history of the U.S. is characterized by a long-run increase in indebtedness, punctuated by occasional financial crises and subsequent policy reflation. The subprime blow-up is the latest installment in this ongoing Debt Supercycle story. During each crisis, there are always fears that conventional reflation will no longer work, implying the economy and markets face a catastrophic debt unwinding. Such fears have always proved unfounded, and the current episode is no exception.
Stress-testing Europe's banks won't stave off a deflationary vortex
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
Euroland's authorities are inflicting a triple shock of fiscal, monetary, and currency tightening on a broken economy. They are doing so in a region where industrial output is still 14pc below its peak, where growth barely scraped above zero over the winter "recovery", and where youth unemployment is at 40pc in Spain, 35pc in Slovakia, 29pc in Italy, and 26pc in Ireland.
They seem unaware that China is slowing and the US is tipping into a second leg of the Long Slump. Last week's collapse in America's ECRI leading indicator to -9.8 marks the end of the V-shaped rebound. If this means what it normally means - recession within three months - Europe must take immediate action to prevent being drawn into a deflationary vortex. Spiralling public debt precludes further Keynesian spending, so this must come from central bank stimulus. Tight fiscal policy offset by ultra-loose money is the only option for Europe, the US, and Japan.
When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Collapse
by ADAM FERGUSSON
WILLIAM KIMBER - LONDON, 1975 WHEN a nation's money is no longer a source of security, and when inflation has become the concern of an entire people, it is natural to turn for information and guidance to the history of other societies who have already undergone this most tragic and upsetting of human experiences. Yet to survey the great array of literature of all kinds - economic, military, social, historic, political, and biographical - which deals with the fortunes of the defeated Central Powers after the First World War is to discover one particular shortage. Either the economic analyses of the times (for reasons best known to economists who sometimes tend to think that inflations are deliberate acts of fiscal policy) have ignored the human element, to say nothing in the case of the Weimar Republic and of post-revolutionary Austria of the military and political elements; or the historical accounts, though of impressive erudition and insight, have overlooked - or at least much underestimated - inflation as one of the most powerful engines of the upheavals which they narrate.
The Coming Economic Collapse
Economist argues 2011 tax hikes will cause financial disaster
Chinese lesson: Better red than Fed
By Bill Fleckenstein - MSN Money The US could learn something about monetary discipline and pro-capitalistic tax policies from a couple of unlikely sources: China and Russia.
As we continue to walk our economic tightrope between recession and recovery, in many people's eyes one of the biggest factors keeping us upright continues to be China.
As the bond buyer of first resort -- for now -- in our everything-must-go debt bonanza, as well as supplier of cheap labor and consumer goods, China has wedded its fate to our own. Its economic future and, perhaps more importantly, its policies are inextricably linked to ours.
Over the past few weeks, there have been a few developments in China that I'd like to comment on here.
Gold & Silver Rise vs. Falling Dollar as Chinese "Take Refuge" in Precious Metals, World Faces "Shortage of Safe Assets"
By: Adrian Ash - GoldSeek.com
THE PRICE OF wholesale gold bullion and silver rose against the US Dollar on Thursday, nearing new highs for July at $12.15 and $18.50 an ounce respectively, but slipping in terms of other currencies as government bonds fell and commodities gained.
Asian stock markets closed lower - and Eurozone equities held flat - despite investment-bank J.P.Morgan following chip-maker Intel and metals giant Alcoa with stronger than expected quarterly results amid the current US earnings season.
Sterling hit a new 11-week high against the falling Dollar, squashing the gold price in British Pounds back below £790 an ounce.
Ron Paul Silver Ounces Accepted at Michigan Gas Station; Chiropractor Accepts Gold, Silver, Apple Pie;
Back to the Stone Age; Chickens Invade Lansing
by Mike Shedlock
Here's four interesting ways businesses, private citizens, and counties are coping with the economic depression. The first is the most important one. Let's hope it catches on.
Gold, Silver, Copper, Freely Accepted as Money
Connect Mid-Michigan reports Competing currency being accepted across Mid-Michigan.
New types of money are popping up across Mid-Michigan and supporters say, it's not counterfeit, but rather a competing currency. Right now, you can buy a meal or visit a chiropractor without using actual U.S. legal tender.
Feds Ignore Due Process, First Amendment, Shut Down Thousands of Blogs
Kurt Nimmo - Infowars.com
Once again, the Obama administration has violated the Bill of Rights. Earlier this month, the feds took down a free Wordpress blogging platform and disabled more than 73,000 blogs. The action was completely ignored by the corporate media. The site, Blogetery.com, was told by its hosting service that the government had issued orders to shut down the site due to a "a history of abuse" related to copyrighted material.
Ron Paul: The People Can Handle The Truth About Unemployment and Inflation
States curb car title lending
By SUDEEP REDDY - WSJ.com States to Protect Borrowers Who Turn to Cars for Cash
Several states are putting curbs on loans backed by car titles - short-term, high-interest debt that critics say too often results in consumers losing their vehicle when they can't keep up with the payments.
Auto-title lending, where the owner of a car hands over its title as collateral, will become illegal in Wisconsin later this year. Virginia will impose new regulations Oct. 1, structuring the loans to keep consumers from falling into a cycle of debt. Illinois last year capped car-title loans at $4,000 and slapped numerous restrictions on the industry.
Collapse in Living Standards in America: More Poverty By Any Measure
by Christine Vestal - GlobalResearch.ca 15 million unemployed, homelessness has increased by 50 percent in some cities
More than 15 million Americans are unemployed, homelessness has increased by 50 percent in some cities, and 38 million people are receiving food stamps, more than at any time in the program's almost 50-year history.
Evidence of rising economic hardship is ample. There's one commonly used standard for measuring it: the U.S. Census Bureau's poverty rate. It guides much of federal and state spending aimed at helping those unable to make a decent living.
Housing, Leading Index Probably Slumped: U.S. Economy Preview
By Bob Willis
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- The housing market took another step back in June as construction and purchases dropped, and a gauge of the outlook for growth signaled the expansion will lose steam, economists said before reports this week.
Builders began work on 580,000 houses last month at an annual rate, down 2.2 percent from May and the slowest pace this year, according to the median estimate of 61 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Commerce Department data due July 20. Other reports may show sales of existing homes decreased for a second month and the index of leading indicators declined for the first time in more than a year.
Banks selling more homes than homebuilders
The Truth About Mortgage.com
Interesting little tidbit from the good people over at Housing Intelligence. Based on their market data, banks have been selling more homes than homebuilders over the past year and a half.
In December 2005, the share of regular resale home sales peaked at 80 percent.
About a year later, in November 2006, new home sales accounted for nearly 20 percent of transactions, a peak share.
That's about the time things went wrong, what with everyone trying to get in on the frenzy, utilizing things like option arms and zero down financing to get deals done.
At the same time, housing inventory swelled as builders put more and more units on the market in anticipation of a strong buying environment.
Housing outlook clouded by expiration of tax credit
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Bernanke will be grilled by Congress about further policy steps
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- For the first time in more than two years, the U.S. housing market is standing on its own, without extraordinary help from the government.
It hasn't been pretty. Following the expiration of the home-buyers' tax credit, home building, home sales, and home prices have fallen. It could be months before a clear view of the housing market is revealed.
In the coming week, four major housing indicators will be released. Although everyone expects the numbers in the medium-term to be consistent with a very weak housing market, economists are more uncertain than usual about which way the latest numbers will swing.
Doctors among those arrested in $251M Medicare scams
By Kelli Kennedy, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI - Federal authorities said Friday they are conducting the largest Medicare fraud bust ever in five different states and arrested dozens of suspects accused in scams totaling $251 million.
Several doctors and nurses were among those arrested in Miami, New York City, Detroit, Houston and Baton Rouge, La., accused of billing Medicare for unnecessary equipment, physical therapy and HIV treatments that patients typically never received. Ninety-four suspects were indicted, and authorities said 36 people had been arrested as of Friday morning.
Insurers Push Plans That Limit Choice of Doctor
By REED ABELSON - NYTimes.com
As the Obama administration begins to enact the new national health care law, the country's biggest insurers are promoting affordable plans with reduced premiums that require participants to use a narrower selection of doctors or hospitals.
The plans, being tested in places like San Diego, New York and Chicago, are likely to appeal especially to small businesses that already provide insurance to their employees, but are concerned about the ever-spiraling cost of coverage.
Obesity Rating for Every American Must Be Included in Stimulus-Mandated Electronic Health Records, Says HHS
By Matt Cover, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - New federal regulations issued this week stipulate that the electronic health records--that all Americans are supposed to have by 2014 under the terms of the stimulus law that President Barack Obama signed last year--must record not only the traditional measures of height and weight, but also the Body Mass Index: a measure of obesity.
The obesity-rating regulation states that every American's electronic health record must: "Calculate body mass index. Automatically calculate and display body mass index (BMI) based on a patient's height and weight."
Auto dealers shut down too fast
By Catherine Clifford - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Automakers GM and Chrysler were pressured to quickly close hundreds of dealerships by the Treasury department without regard for the job losses that would result, according to a government watchdog report out Sunday.
Treasury was charged with helping the car companies out of bankruptcy through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Together they've received over $80 billion in government funding.
"Treasury made a series of decisions that may have substantially contributed to the accelerated shuttering of thousands of small businesses ... potentially adding tens of thousands of workers to the already lengthy unemployment rolls," said the report, released by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), Neil Barofsky.
Biden Owes $219,000 for Campaign Violations
By ROBERT PEAR - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON - The Biden for President campaign committee owes the Treasury more than $219,000 because it accepted excessive campaign contributions and understated the value of a trip taken on a private plane in the 2008 campaign, the Federal Election Commission said in a new report.
Auditors from the agency found numerous violations of campaign finance rules by the committee that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. used in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
One in Five Federal Student Loans Go Into Default
By ZAC BISSONNETTE - DailyFinance.com
New data from the Department of Education shows that of federal student loan borrowers whose loans entered repayment in 1995, fully one in five -- or 20% -- have since gone into default.
To put that number in perspective, the default rate on first mortgages hit a record high of 5.67% in 2009 and has since pulled back to 3.71%. The default rate on credit cards is 9.14%, and the default rate on car loans peaked at 2.75% last year.
And while defaults on those loans generally require just three months of missed payments, a federal student loan must go close to one year without payments before it is considered to be in default.
Max Keiser-Max Keiser talking to Paul Craig Roberts
07-16-2010 (Part1)
Max Keiser-Max Keiser talking to Paul Craig Roberts
07-16-2010 (Part2)
Max Keiser-Max Keiser talking to Paul Craig Roberts
07-16-2010 (Part3)
Arizona immigration battle turns bitter
Ed Pilkington in Phoenix - guardian.co.uk
The US state's new immigration law is threatening to divide America with panicking Hispanic families fleeing
The intersection of 43rd Avenue and Thomas Road on the west side of Phoenix is lined with the same monotonous range of petrol stations, fast-food outlets, pharmacies and clothes stores that you'll find in any modern city in America's heartlands. It is distinguished only by the exceptionally mundane.
Look closer, though, and a disturbing pattern emerges. Here is a real estate office that is shuttered and empty, here a panaderia - a bread shop - that has closed, and next door to that, a children's clothes store also shut. Across the road a cellphone outlet is boarded up and a large grocery store has vanished. A Mexican restaurant still has its sign proudly boasting "Tacos Since 1975", but there are no tacos being made here any more. A rival restaurant nearby, Marly's Mexican Food, has a sign saying "Drive Thru Open", yet the building has been stripped bare. A handwritten note in the front entrance says "Se cierra el negocio porque nos mudamos de estado" - the restaurant is closed because we've moved out of the state.
Shooting war at the U.S. Mexican border
PPJ Gazette - Michael Webster: Syndicated Investigative Reporter.
On June 7, during a scuffle with some rock-throwing Mexican teenagers in a concrete drainage canal near El Paso, Texas, a U.S. Border Patrol officer shot Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, 15, in the head, killing him. Uniformed, combat ready Mexican forces in the Rio Grande River channel bordering the two cities of El Paso and Juarez brandishing their weapons, assisted by Mexican bystanders throwing rocks and firecrackers, later chased off FBI agents investigating the shooting.
Bye-Bye Batteries: Radio Waves as a Low-Power Source
By ANNE EISENBERG - NYTimes.com
MATT REYNOLDS, an assistant professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at Duke University, wears other hats, too - including that of co-founder of two companies. These days, his interest is in a real hat now in prototype: a hard hat with a tiny microprocessor and beeper that sound a warning when dangerous equipment is nearby on a construction site.
What's unusual, however, is that the hat's beeper and microprocessor work without batteries. They use so little power that they can harvest all they need from radio waves in the air.
IS WAR ON THE HORIZON IN IRAN?
Submitted by Monty Guild - FinancialSense.com
Although many have predicted over the past five years that Iran would be at war with the west or Israel, such an outcome has not developed. We seldom comment on war preparation activities and have not done so recently, and although it is not our normal modus operandi, we would like to point out that currently many signs point to the potential for hostility with Iran to develop. Please note the following points.
Iran is becoming more isolated.
Russia has stated that they believe Iran may be close having a nuclear weapon. Many believe that they may already have developed nuclear weapons. It appears that Russia is starting to moderate their view on Iran to a view more similar to that of the western powers.
Iran's friends in the Arab world, who have helped them in many ways, are starting to move a way from them.
Iran has sold much of the oil they had stored in tankers offshore. It occurs to us that they maybe raising cash for an expected war.
We have noticed several countries buying gold, and a few are selling gold and/or borrowing against their gold holdings. We do not know if Iran is engaged in this activity but if they are expecting war, they are undoubtedly trying to raise cash in order to support that effort.
We notice that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama had a cordial conversation at the White House and Obama has recently expressed more support for Israel.
----- oil crisis -----
Hayward to Get 'Life Back' as BP Shrinks After Blowout Cap
By Brian Swint and Eduard Gismatullin
July 17 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, who drew fire for saying he wanted his life back at the peak of the U.S. oil spill crisis, may get his wish.
With its Gulf of Mexico well under control for the first time in three months, Europe's largest oil producer may look to change leadership as it starts rebuilding its reputation, management experts, industry analysts and investors said.
Rig's Final Hours Probed
By RUSSELL GOLD - WSJ.com (free) Spill Investigators Focus on 20 'Anomalies' Aboard Doomed Deepwater Horizon
Federal authorities investigating BP PLC's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are zeroing in on bad decisions, missed warnings and worker disagreements in the hours before the April 20 inferno aboard the Deepwater Horizon that spawned one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
In particular, the panel is examining why rig workers missed telltale signs that the well was close to an uncontrolled blowout, according to an internal document assembled by the investigators and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The document lists more than 20 "anomalies" in the well's behavior and the crew's response that particularly interest the investigators.
Gulf oil spill cap is holding, says BP
Ed Pilkington in New York - guardian.co.uk BP's cautious, cryptic statement says firm will 'take this day by day', but Louisianans see light at the end of a long tunnel
When the history books come to be written about America's worst environmental disaster, Sunday 18 July may be seen as the day the cry went up that the oil had permanently stopped spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.
But things being the way they are, the announcement came in a cryptic statement from BP that was so shrouded in techno-garble and caveats that its huge significance was perilously close to being lost. "Right now there is no target set to open the well back up to flow," said Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, adding: "We're hopeful that if the encouraging signs continue that we'll be able to continue the integrity test all the way to the point that we get the well killed."
BP, Obama May Keep Macondo Oil Well Shut Until Final Kill
By Katarzyna Klimasinska
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc's use of a tight-fitting cap to shut off oil flowing from its Gulf of Mexico Macondo well may be the solution the company has sought since the undersea gusher was triggered by an explosion three months ago.
"We are pleased that no oil is currently being released into the Gulf of Mexico and want to take all appropriate action to keep it that way," National Incident Commander Thad Allen said in a statement today.
Three days of tests on the capped gusher have so far shown no problems that would prompt BP to reopen the well, Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for exploration and production for BP, said today in a conference call from Houston.
BP, Allen voice dueling views on fate of oil cap
By David A. Fahrenthold - Washington Post Staff Writer BP, federal officials confer on closed gulf oil well cap
The Gulf of Mexico's gushing oil well remained shut off Sunday afternoon, as BP and federal officials conferred over when -- and whether -- it should ever be re-opened.
The leaking BP well was the subject of dueling media announcements on Sunday, as BP and the government offered different glosses on the same basic facts. The well was still capped, as it has been since Thursday, and it hasn't shown signs of a feared underground leak.
Optimistic BP Hopeful That Damaged Well Can Stay Closed
By HENRY FOUNTAIN - NYTimes.com
After three days of encouraging test results, BP said Sunday that it planned to leave its well in the Gulf of Mexico closed until it could be permanently plugged, perhaps in several weeks.
There has been no oil leaking into the gulf since Thursday, when valves on a new cap atop the well were closed for the test, an effort that was initially seen as a stopgap measure. But if conditions allow BP to continue to keep the cap closed, the gusher, which spewed tens of millions of gallons of oil for nearly three months, would effectively be at an end.
Florida: BP's next big mess
By Catherine Clifford - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil just stopped gushing out of the leak on the ocean floor Thursday, but its impact in Florida has only just begun to surface.
More claims have now been submitted to BP in Florida than in Louisiana. Of the claims submitted in Florida, 60% have been filed in the last month, according to Pat Wright, BP spokeswoman.
As of Friday, Floridians have submitted TK claims, more than the TK claims submitted in Louisiana. "Louisiana became affected before anyone else so as the oil has moved east, the impact has moved," said Wright. Florida overtook Louisiana in the number of claims filed on July 6.
Well Cap Causing Seabed to Leak -- Engineer
by Ken Price
There are cracks in the seafloor leaking, and the pressure tests are revealing that the casing will not hold; it has already been perforated in numerous places.
[This is in contradiction to the latest mainstream press reports that there are no leaks either in the well cap or the sea floor.]
I believe it is time to leave the gulf coast in case the sea floor expands then collapses delivering a tsunami to the region.
There is no way that this device can hold the pressures that are involved with this super-pressurized gas reserve. Advise loved ones to leave the region, now, and for a few days; this well cap poses a much more dangerous situation than they probably know.
"IF YOU LOSE THE CASING,
IT'S GAME OVER" SAYS EX-SHELL CEO 7-15-2010
BP Oil Spill 7 Interview with AC Griffith
Oil Expert Cavnar:
"They know this well can't be shut in for a long period of time"
ROV captures seep from crack / fissure / fault in seafloor nearby BP oil gusher; Reported on CNN
CNN @ 6pm: "Cause for deep concern",
well pressure still "at 6,700 psi" -- "They're way short"
Rep. Markey says Congress unable to "PUBLICLY disclose" integrity of wellbore
Chris Landau: BP Cap will not stop leak from ocean floor
MSNBC July 15: Matt Simmons still says BP covering up MASSIVE HOLE miles away, cap test is "absurd"
Expert suspects BP has ulterior motive behind oil well cap
By David Edwards and Muriel Kane - The Raw Story
Since a blowout preventer cap was placed over BP's damaged oil well in the Gulf of Mexico last weekend, there have been repeated delays in the so-called "well integrity tests" to determine whether the cap can be effective in holding back the oil.
On Tuesday, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen delayed the tests for 24 hours out of fears that they would lead to "irreversible leakage" if it was found that the well bore had been damaged below the sea floor. After a White House review, BP was told on Wednesday that it could proceed with the test, but a leak in a line leading from the cap then forced an additional one-day delay for repairs.
Oil Spill Halts, for Now, As BP Tests Out New Cap
By SUSAN DAKER And RUSSELL GOLD - WSJ.com (free)
HOUSTON - Oil stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from BP PLC's blown-out well for the first time in nearly three months. But BP and U.S. officials warned it was far too early to declare victory.
BP said Thursday afternoon it shut the valves on a new cap on the well as it tested its latest effort to contain the massive spill.
That temporarily stopped the surge of crude oil that has fouled a wide swath of the Gulf from Texas to Florida, upended domestic politics in the U.S. and raised the prospect that the oil industry will face significant new government curbs on its activities on and offshore.
Deepwater Horizon oil spill stopped, say BP
Telegraph.co.uk
BP says that the cap over the oil well has completely stopped the spill, with no oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.
The news was released via Twitter and news agencies. A live video feed of the well shows no oil flowing.
BP has been slowly reducing the flow as part of a test on a new cap. Engineers are now monitoring the pressure to see if the broken well holds.
The victory - long awaited by weary residents along the coast - is the most significant milestone yet in BP's effort to control one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
When the States Go Bankrupt
By Chris Mayer - The DailyReckoning.com
07/15/10 Gaithersburg, Maryland - While the private economy has done a good job adjusting during the recession and paving the way for the growth we see now, we can't say the same holds true for the government. In fact, as fiscally irresponsible as the US government has been, the next big shoe to drop for the US may be the revealed insolvency of some of its big states.
Already, we hear the "B" word being tossed around. A San Diego County panel - faced with $2.2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and $1.3 billion in unfunded health care liabilities - recommended, among a number of other possible actions, filing for bankruptcy. According to Grant's Interest Rate Observer, four major American cities (Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles and Harrisburg) have all hinted at the same this year.
Fed's volte face sends the dollar tumbling
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, - Telegraph.co.uk
Rarely before have a few coded words in the minutes of the US Federal Reserve caused such an upheaval in the global currency system, or such a sudden flight from the dollar.
The euro rocketed to a two-month high of $1.29 and sterling jumped two cents to almost $1.54 after the Fed confessed that the US economy may not recover for five or six years. Far from winding down emergency stimulus, the bank may need a fresh blast of bond purchases or quantitative easing.
Usually the dollar serves as a safe haven whenever the world takes fright, and there was plenty of sobering news from China and other quarters on Thursday. Not this time. The US itself has become the problem.
Obama-Dodd-Frank FinReg Monstrosity Delays Derivatives Curbs until 2022!
Webster G. Tarpley - TARPLEY.net
The Obama-Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill, a miserable excuse for real Wall Street reform, is now about to gain final approval in the Senate. This wretched bill is now supported by the New England liberal (meaning Wall Street) Republican clique including Olympia Snow, Susan Collins, and Scott Brown, who are joined by the notoriously corrupt reactionary Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska. This bill will create a multitude of new regulations and a number of large new bureaucracies, but it is utterly devoid of any bright-line prohibitions against the causes of the financial panic which struck the United States in 2008, and which continues to the present day in the form of a world economic depression.
Tarpley: 'Obama, the Wall St. puppet'
Law Remakes U.S. Financial Landscape
By DAMIAN PALETTA And AARON LUCCHETTI - WSJ.com (free)
Senate Passes Overhaul That Will Touch Most Americans; Bankers Gird for Fight Over Fine Print
WASHINGTON - Congress approved a rewrite of rules touching every corner of finance, from ATM cards to Wall Street traders, in the biggest expansion of government power over banking and markets since the Depression.
The bill, to be signed into law soon by President Barack Obama, marks a potential sea change for the financial-services industry. Financial titans such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. may be forced to make changes in most parts of their business, from debit cards to the ability to invest in hedge funds.
Risks in the Municipal Bond Market: Follow the Signs
By Addison Wiggin - The DailyReckoning.com
07/15/10 Baltimore, Maryland - Demand was so intense for $900 million of bonds issued yesterday by the state of Illinois, it drove yields 15 basis points below expectations.
Yes, we know. This is the same state that's about $5 billion behind on its bills and whose pension system is in the worst shape of any state in the union. It's the same state Moody's downgraded last month.
It's also the same state that the credit default swap (CDS) market rates a 3-to-1 shot for default.
Still, 29% of the bids came from overseas - where the 6.95% yield isn't even tax-free - evidence enough that the global markets are pining for anything with a decent yield.
True, under the Illinois constitution, bond obligations are the first bills paid every month - before schools, law enforcement, pensions or anything else. But "in the meantime," warns Allstate CEO Thomas Wilson, "the value of those securities will go down as people readjust risk. We're more worried about the market value than ultimately not getting our money back."
Tim Geithner Opposes Nominating Elizabeth Warren To Lead New Consumer Agency
by Shahien Nasiripour HuffPost Reporting
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has expressed opposition to the possible nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a source with knowledge of Geithner's views.
The financial reform bill passed by the Senate on Thursday mandates the creation of a new federal entity charged with protecting consumers from predatory lenders.
But if Geithner has his way, the most prominent advocate for creating the agency may not be picked to lead it.
Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School whose 2007 journal article advocating the creation of such an agency inspired policymakers to enact it into law, has rocketed to prominence since the onset of the financial crisis as one of the leading reform advocates fighting on behalf of American taxpayers.
Jim Rogers on CNBC
The U.S. Economy Is A Dead Horse And
The American People Are Starting To Get Really Pissed Off And Frustrated
The economic frustration of the American people is reaching a fever pitch. Millions of Americans can't seem to get a good job no matter what they do. Millions of others are working as hard as they can but find that they keep coming up short at the end of the month. Record numbers of Americans are still going bankrupt. Record numbers of Americans are still losing their homes. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is a dead horse at this point. It just doesn't have any more to give. At this point the U.S. economy is like an aging rock star that requires larger and larger doses of drugs each night just to be able to perform. The U.S. economy is addicted to "drugs" such as debt and government stimulus, and years ago those things really supercharged the U.S. economic system, but at this point they aren't provoking much of a response at all. In fact, the things that once "stimulated" the economy are now slowly killing it. But the vast majority of the American people do not understand this. All they know is that the economy is broken and they want someone to "fix" it.
Could deflation be in our future? Some seeing wages fall
By David J. Lynch, USA TODAY
Union electricians in the St. Louis area recently swallowed an 8.23% cut in pay and benefits. With roughly one of every three of them unemployed, they didn't have much choice.
"We are in the throes of a construction depression. ... We have catastrophic unemployment," says Steve Schoemehl, business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1.
Such outright wage declines hint at deflation - a generalized drop in wages and prices. The last time that happened in the United States: 1931-33, when prices fell at an average annual rate of more than 8%.
Job Creation Tax Credit For Hiring The Unemployed May Be Killed
Huffington Post | Nathaniel Cahners Hindman
One of the few job creation bills that squirmed through the halls of Congress earlier this year is back on the chopping block.
The HIRE Act of 2010 (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment), signed into law last March, is designed to boost the hiring of long-term unemployed workers who in June made up a record 46 percent of unemployed people in the US.
The program currently exempts employers from payroll takes on new workers who've been unemployed for at least 60 days. Normally, an employer must pay 6.2 percent payroll taxes on the wages paid to a new hire. If the newly hired employee stays for at least a year, companies get an additional $1,000 tax credit.
No end in sight to Fannie, Freddie bailout
by John W. Schoen - Senior Producer - MSNBC.com
Sweeping new financial reform package has a gaping hole
They're big, they're bad, they're sucking up billions of taxpayer dollars and they're not even addressed in the most sweeping overhaul of the financial system since the Great Depression.
Two years after a wave of rogue mortgage lending sent the global financial system to the brink of collapse, Congress is putting the finishing touches on a hotly debated set of regulations to try to prevent it from happening again. The bill is likely to pass a key procedural vote early Thursday and then swiftly be passed by the full Senate and land on President Barack Obama's desk soon after.
Federal housing program complicates short sales
by J. Craig Anderson - The Arizona Republic
A recently implemented federal housing-market stimulus program designed to encourage short sales appears to be doing just the opposite, according to Phoenix-area real-estate agents, title companies and mortgage lenders.
Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, the fourth initiative to be launched under the banner of the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable program, offers a cash incentive of up to $3,000 to homeowners on the brink of foreclosure who stick around to complete a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure, rather than just walking away.
Skip The HOA Payment And Lose The House
By twist - HousingDoom.com
Some folks can't pay all of their bills given the current economic environment, so they prioritize them. The mortgage is often given priority to the HOA payment. In some instances, that can be a big mistake. Consider the case of Tony Goodman of San Antonio who lost his home to foreclosure because he owed the HOA $769.
"I owed the HOA very little money in comparison to what I owed my mortgage company and my mortgage company, which is Chase , bent over backwards to help me," Goodman adds. Even as he was working on a loan modification, Goodman's HOA, Lookout Canyon Creek in San Antonio, TX took title to his home on the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse. They purchased the home for $2,019, about the amount of the dues plus attorneys fees.
Senate VIP Loans Mount
By JOHN R. EMSHWILLER - WSJ.com (free) Countrywide Dealt With More Lawmakers and Staffers Than Previously Known
U.S. senators or Senate employees received 30 loans - far more than had previously been known - under a controversial lending program at Countrywide Financial Corp. that provided cut-rate terms to favored borrowers.
The information is contained in a letter sent to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics by Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), who has been spearheading the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's investigation into Countrywide's so-called VIP mortgage program.
No specific loan recipients were named in the letter. But Mr. Issa's letter said borrowers on a dozen loans listed their place of employment as the office of "Senator Robert Bennett." Available public records don't indicate that Sen. Bennett, a Utah Republican and member of the Senate Banking Committee, received a Countrywide home loan.
When the States Go Bankrupt
By Chris Mayer - The DailyReckoning.com
07/15/10 Gaithersburg, Maryland - While the private economy has done a good job adjusting during the recession and paving the way for the growth we see now, we can't say the same holds true for the government. In fact, as fiscally irresponsible as the US government has been, the next big shoe to drop for the US may be the revealed insolvency of some of its big states.
Already, we hear the "B" word being tossed around. A San Diego County panel - faced with $2.2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and $1.3 billion in unfunded health care liabilities - recommended, among a number of other possible actions, filing for bankruptcy. According to Grant's Interest Rate Observer, four major American cities (Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles and Harrisburg) have all hinted at the same this year.
FDIC warns of counterfeit cashier checks
JACKSONVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL - BY Christian Conte
First Bank of Jacksonville has reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the bearing the banks name are in circulation, according to an alert from the FDIC.
First Bank of Jacksonville does not issue cashier's checks.
The alert describes the counterfeit cashier's checks as having the bank's routing number listed, as well as the words "1ST BANK," "CASHIER'S CHECK" and "Notice to Purchaser."
First Bank of Jacksonville has one branch location.
Foreclosure could claim more than 1 million homes in 2010
By Alex Veiga, AP Real Estate Writer
LOS ANGELES - More than 1 million U.S. households could lose their homes to foreclosure this year, as lenders work their way through a huge backlog of borrowers who have fallen behind on their loans, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure tracking service.
Nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year, a rate that is on track to eclipse the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, RealtyTrac says.
"That would be unprecedented," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.
Lenders Slow Foreclosures By 5% in 2010, Boosting Shadow Inventory
by JON PRIOR - HousingWire.com
Foreclosure filings dropped 5% over the first half of 2010 as lenders continue to delay proceedings in lieu of short sale and loan modification efforts, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.
More than 1.6m homes received at least one filing, including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions over the last six months, according to the report. That translates to one in 78 homes. Foreclosure filings remain 8% above the amount issued in the first half of last year.
U.S. Home Seizures Rise 38% to Record as Banks Process Backlog
By Dan Levy
July 15 (Bloomberg) -- A record 269,962 U.S. homes were seized from delinquent owners in the second quarter as lenders set a pace to claim more than 1 million properties by the end of 2010, according to RealtyTrac Inc.
Home seizures climbed 38 percent from a year earlier and 5 percent from the first quarter, the Irvine, California-based data company said today in a statement. More than 1.65 million properties received a foreclosure filing, including notices of default, auction and bank repossession, in the first half. That was up 8 percent from the first six months of 2009.
Troubled Tylenol plant to lay off 300 workers
By Parija Kavilanz
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The drugmaking arm of Johnson & Johnson said late Thursday that it is laying off hundreds of workers at the manufacturing plant at the center of a recall of millions of units of children's Tylenol, Motrin and other over-the-counter drugs.
Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare division said 300 of more than 400 positions at the Fort Washington, PA facility will be eliminated as the company conducts a complete quality overhaul at the facility.
Dayton-area foreclosures jump in June
DAYTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
While May offered a pause in growing foreclosure activity, the trend resumed last month, as June filings increased in the Dayton area.
There were 793 total foreclosure filings in the Dayton metropolitan statistical area in June, up more than 14 percent from the 695 filings in May. However, filings were down 10 percent when compared to June 2009, according to RealtyTrac Inc.
Foreclosures up 1.2% in New York
THE BUSINESS REVIEW (ALBANY)
A total of 24,506 properties in New York state were in some stage of the foreclosure process during the first half of this year, a 1.2 percent increase over the same period in 2009.
Although more properties were in foreclosure than last year, the state continued to have one of the lowest per-capita foreclosure rates in the United States, according to RealtyTrac, an online seller of distressed properties.
New York ranked No. 41 in terms of per-capita foreclosures, with one of every 326 housing units receiving a filing, or 0.31 percent of all units.
Expect Second-Half Housing and Durable Goods Crash
Those who think manufacturing is going to lead the way to a sustainable recovery need to think again. Data suggest durable goods sales are about to collapse.
Let's tie this together starting with the Mortgage Application Weekly Survey (Emphasis Mine)
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 9, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. This week's results include an adjustment to account for the Independence Day holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 12.6 percent compared with the previous week.
Americans Disapproving Obama May Enable Republicans
By John McCormick and Catherine Dodge
July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Americans disapprove of U.S. President Barack Obama's handling of almost every major issue and are deeply pessimistic about the nation's direction, offering a bullish environment for Republicans in the November congressional elections.
A majority or plurality disapproves of Obama's management of the economy, health care, the budget deficit, the overhaul of financial market regulations and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted July 9- 12. In addition, almost 6 in 10 respondents say the war in Afghanistan is a lost cause. The Senate is scheduled to begin voting on the financial regulation bill today.
Carbonated Drinks: Learn the Truth!
A study by a Brazilian Professor from Matto Grosso Federal University has revealed the shocking truth about the effects of having a can of a carbonated drink. Learn what happens inside your body in the sixty minutes after you glug down your refreshing sizzling drink... and think carefully!
After just ten minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your body, 100% of the daily recommended
dose. You do not immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because the
Phosphoric acid in the drink cuts the taste.
After twenty minutes, the level of sugar in your blood erupts, forcing a rush of insulin. The liver responds by turning all the sugar it receives into fat.
After forty minutes, the caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, blood pressure
rises, the liver responds by pumping more sugar into your bloodstream. Adenosine receptors in the brain are now blocked, preventing drowsiness and giving you an energy rush.
BP's Well May Leak for 55 Years or More Into the Gulf of Mexico?
by: Vern Radul, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis
On June 15, 2010 the US Department of Energy announced that a group of federal and independent scientists convened by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and Chair of the National Incident Command's Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG) Dr. Marcia McNutt (Director of the U.S. Geological Survey), had developed a new estimate for the amount of oil gushing from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico that indicated the leak could be spewing up to 2.52 million gallons of crude oil per day from BP's Macondo Well.
"This estimate brings together several scientific methodologies and the latest information from the sea floor, and represents a significant step forward in our effort to put a number on the oil that is escaping from BP's well," said Chu, who then expanded with, "As we continue to collect additional data and refine these estimates, it is important to realize that the numbers can change. In particular, the upper number is less certain - which is exactly why we have been planning for the worst case scenario at every stage and why we are continuing to focus on responding to the upper end of the estimate, plus additional contingencies."
Scientists Say Gulf Spill Altering Food Web
by Matthew Brown and Ramit Plushnick-Masti - AP
NEW ORLEANS - Scientists are reporting early signs that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is altering the marine food web by killing or tainting some creatures and spurring the growth of others more suited to a fouled environment.
Near the spill site, researchers have documented a massive die-off of pyrosomes - cucumber-shaped, gelatinous organisms fed on by endangered sea turtles.
Along the coast, droplets of oil are being found inside the shells of young crabs that are a mainstay in the diet of fish, turtles and shorebirds.
And at the base of the food web, tiny organisms that consume oil and gas are proliferating.
If such impacts continue, the scientists warn of a grim reshuffling of sealife that could over time cascade through the ecosystem and imperil the region's multibillion-dollar fishing industry.
On the Edge with Max Keiser & Damon Vrabel (1/3)
On the Edge with Max Keiser & Damon Vrabel (2/3)
On the Edge with Max Keiser & Damon Vrabel (3/3)
Richard Reeves:
Trans Texas Corridor Back with a Vengeance
Alex Jones Tv 1/3
Richard Reeves:
Trans Texas Corridor Back with a Vengeance
Alex Jones Tv 2/3
Richard Reeves:
Trans Texas Corridor Back with a Vengeance
Alex Jones Tv 3/3
America Stands On The Precipice Of Total Collapse
Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones - Prison Planet.com
World government to be built from the ashes of the United States unless nightmarish agenda for new world order is defeated
There can be little doubt that America, along with the west as a whole, is being set up for a total collapse in which life as we know it will be fundamentally altered and rebuilt around a collectivist model managed and controlled by the same criminals who engineered the crisis in the first place.
America has been targeted for an economic, military, and social coup d'état by globalists who know that to get people to accept a new way of life under the heel of the new world order requires that the pillars of everything they knew before are completely pulverized. Freedom, prosperity, and community have no place in a "post-industrial revolution," and every assault on the living standards of American citizens is designed to infect and wither these ideals.
Americans in 70% Majority See More Jobless in Poll
By Mike Dorning and Catherine Dodge
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- More than 7 out of 10 in the U.S. say the economy is mired in recession, and the country is conflicted over how to balance concerns over joblessness and the federal budget deficit, according to a Bloomberg National Poll.
Just like the experts, Americans are torn about whether the federal government should focus on curbing spending or creating jobs, the poll conducted July 9-12 shows. Seven of 10 Americans say reducing unemployment is the priority. At the same time, the public is skeptical of the Obama administration's stimulus program and wary of more spending, with more than half saying the deficit is "dangerously out of control."
Fed Officials Saw No Need for More Stimulus in June
By Craig Torres
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve officials saw no need to boost stimulus to the economy while trimming their forecasts for growth and noting that risks to the recovery had increased, minutes of their June meeting showed.
"The economic outlook had softened somewhat and a number of members saw the risks to the outlook as having shifted to the downside," minutes released today in Washington said. "The changes to the outlook were viewed as relatively modest and as not warranting policy accommodation beyond that already in place."
Fears grow as millions lose U.S. jobless benefits
By Nick Carey -
(Reuters) - Deborah Coleman lost her unemployment benefits in April, and now fears for millions of others if the Senate does not extend aid for the jobless.
"It's too late for me now," she said, fighting back tears at the Freestore Foodbank in the low-income Over-the-Rhine district near downtown Cincinnati. "But it will be terrible for the people who'll lose their benefits if Congress does nothing."
For nearly two years, Coleman says she has filed an average of 30 job applications a day, but remains jobless.
"People keep telling me there are jobs out there, but I haven't been able to find them."
Empty Store Shelves Coming to America
Recession Is Not Over Yet, Americans Say
By DOUGLAS MCINTYRE - DailyFinance.com
More than 70% of Americans think that the country is still in a recession, according to a new Bloomberg survey. Only 17% of those surveyed believe they are better off now than when President Obama took office.
Is it any wonder? Americans face unemployment that is just below 10% and may remain there for several more months, perhaps longer. The housing market is still troubled with 11 million or more home loans underwater -- about 25% of all mortgages. Foreclosures are still near record highs. Consumer credit is tight.
The Clash to Come
BY NEIL REYNOLDS - The American Conservative
What we've seen in Greece - a bankrupt government facing people protesting at the loss of some of their cradle-to-grave benefits - we'll see elsewhere. Perhaps it's the inevitable endpoint of democracy, a system in which politicians buy votes, to be paid for at some indeterminate point in the future. But the future is fast approaching. Neil Reynolds examines the prescient work of two Italian academics, who predict unrest when continued debt financing becomes impossible, but the lessons apply to the entire Western world.
Democracies produced Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, fulfilling the expectation of Socrates and Machiavelli that democracies end in tyranny. Now democracies are fulfilling the complementary expectation of Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman that democracies end in bankruptcy. Put a democracy in charge of the Sahara, Mr. Friedman once said, and sand itself will become scarce. Democracies are indeed profligate trustees - or have been for the past 30 or 40 years. Mr. Friedman's primary fret, though, was the tendency of democracy to centralize political and economic power in the same hands. Most critiques of democracy reflect this elemental distrust. "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb," Benjamin Franklin reputedly said, "voting on what to have for lunch."
Bailouts Failed to Aid Small U.S. Banks, Warren Says
By Ian Katz and Betty Liu
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren, who leads the congressional panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said U.S. taxpayer bailouts helped Wall Street and not small banks.
TARP "worked really well for the Wall Street banks, but it didn't work well for the rest of the banks in the system," Warren said today on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop with Betty Liu."
Small banks that took money from TARP may struggle under the weight of their repayment obligations, Warren's Congressional Oversight Panel said in a report released today. The Treasury Department may be stuck with stakes in banks that can't raise replacement capital, the panel said. Banks that don't repay TARP capital by 2013 will have their dividend payment grow to 9 percent from the current 5 percent.
Small businesses stifled by lack of loans
By Hal Weitzman in Chicago, Jeremy Lemer in New York, Robin Harding in Washington - FT.com
Keith Van Scotter has spent a lot of time recently looking for a new bank. The chief executive of Lincoln Paper and Tissue, a manufacturer with 380 employees based in Lincoln, Maine, had been looking to refinance his company's existing loans at a lower rate.
Mr Scotter says that although the company has a spotless record since he and a consortium bought it from bankruptcy in 2004, its original bank turned it down, forcing it to find an alternative source of funds.
For small businesses, loans are plentiful as long as they're plastic-backed By Paul Smalera, senior editor - CNNMoney.com
FORTUNE -- On Monday Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took up the growing issue of lack of lending to small businesses by banks, and the havoc it's causing in the economy. Lending to small businesses contracted by $40 billion for the first quarter of 2010 as compared to 2008. Only a third to half of small businesses were able to secure a loan or line of credit in 2009. And Small Business Administration lending all but disappeared in June, thanks to the end of a popular stimulus program. Because of the dry-up, Bernanke said small businesses "have had difficulty obtaining the credit that they need to expand and, in some cases, even to continue operating."
Finance Overhaul Casts Long Shadow on the Plains
By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS - WSJ.com (free)
GILTNER, Neb. - Farmer Jim Kreutz uses derivatives to soften the blow should the price of feed corn drop before harvest. His brother-in-law, feedlot owner Jon Reeson, turns to them to hedge the price of his steer. The local farmers' co-op uses derivatives to finance fixed-price diesel for truckers who carry cattle to slaughter. And the packing plant employs derivatives to stabilize costs from natural gas to foreign currencies.
Far from Wall Street, President Barack Obama's financial regulatory overhaul, which may pass Congress as early as Thursday, will leave tracks across the wide-open landscape of American industry.
Wall Street Fix Seen Ineffectual by Four out of Five in U.S.
By Rich Miller
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Americans harbor doubts that a financial-regulation bill about to be passed by Congress will do what President Barack Obama says it will: help avoid another crisis and make their finances safer.
Almost four out of five Americans surveyed in a Bloomberg National Poll this month say they have just a little or no confidence that the measure being championed by congressional Democrats will prevent or significantly soften a future crisis. More than three-quarters say they don't have much or any confidence the proposal will make their savings and financial assets more secure.
A plurality -- 47 percent -- says the bill will do more to protect the financial industry than consumers; 38 percent say consumers would benefit more.
"Banks and the government are making out, not the ordinary person," says Lenore Critzer, a 70-year-old retiree and poll participant who lives in Nelson, Ohio, about 40 miles from Cleveland. "We're going to have another crisis and worse."
How Brokers Became Bookies: The Insidious Transformation of Markets Into Casinos
by: Ellen Brown, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
"You all are the house, you're the bookie. [Your clients] are booking their bets with you. I don't know why we need to dress it up. It's a bet." - Sen. Claire McCaskill, Senate Subcommittee investigating Goldman Sachs (Washington Post, April 27, 2010)
Ever since December 2008, the Federal Reserve has held short-term interest rates near zero. This was not only to try to stimulate the housing and credit markets, but also to allow the federal government to increase its debt levels without increasing the interest tab picked up by the taxpayers. The total public US debt increased by nearly 50 percent from 2006 to the end of 2009 (from about $8.5 trillion to $12.3 trillion), but the interest bill on the debt actually dropped (from $406 billion to $383 billion), because of this reduction in interest rates.
What to do About Gold
Submitted by madhedgefundtrader - ZeroHedge.com
Gold, gold, gold. What to do about gold? I get asked this question a dozen times a day, by some who have been long since the current move started a more than a decade ago at $260, and others who stood on the sidelines and watched in awe as it went to the moon, kicking themselves all the way. Is it too late to get in? They call the yellow metal the barbaric relic for a reason. Let's face it. We've had a great run.
Gold is one of the top performing assets of 2010 by a long shot, soaring 15% YTD to its peak last week, nearly topping the meteoric rise of the 30 year Treasury bond. Investors did even better in futures, leveraged ETF's like the (UGL), and gold mining shares.
Gold Has a Determined Seller Over 1215:
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
the Pressure Under the Price Capping Continues to Build
There is a determined seller of gold over 1215.
This is not profit taking. One does not smash price rallies down to obtain profits from selling actual positions.
This is price manipulation, pure and simple, from hedge funds and bullion banks in not only in the gold and silver markets, but in stocks and most other dollar denominated financial instruments.
Most recently Karl Denninger gave clear evidence of the manipulation in the SP futures market. The US is caught in the grip of financial fraud, and it is becoming increasingly blatant, almost arrogant.
BIS swap operation signals wider use of gold-GFMS
By Jan Harvey and Jane Grieve
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - The 346 tonnes of gold swap operations conducted by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in recent months highlight gold's central role in the financial system and are unlikely to lead to dumping of the metal on the market, GFMS chairman Philip Klapwijk said.
The operations, detailed in the bank's latest annual report, show the bank was holding 346 tonnes of gold as part of swap operations in exchange for currencies.
Iceland Faces Bank Failures as Ruling Drains Capital
By Omar R. Valdimarsson
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Iceland's creditor-controlled banks face a second round of failures as a court ruling depletes their capital while the government and pension funds balk at providing additional financing, according to regulators and investors.
Lenders, including the successors to failed Kaupthing Bank hf, Glitnir Bank hf and Landsbanki Islands hf, may lose as much as $4.3 billion, equal to a third of Iceland's economy, after a June 16 Supreme Court decision banned loans indexed to foreign currencies, according to the Finance Ministry. That would push the capital of some banks below the legal minimum, said Gunnar Andersen, head of the Financial Supervisory Authority.
Dollar Slips After Disappointing Retail Data
By BRADLEY DAVIS - WSJ.com
NEW YORK -The dollar declined against the yen after worse-than-expected U.S. retail sales numbers added to a string of disappointing economic data that have cast a shadow on a U.S. recovery.
U.S. retail sales tumbled a second straight time in June, falling more than expected in a sign consumer spending is slowing and draining steam from an economy saddled with high joblessness. The dollar hit an intraday low against the yen in the wake of the figures, slipping more than 0.3% against the Japanese currency.
The disappointing retail sales data "in principle, is bad for the dollar because it raises the possibility of slower growth in the second half [of the year]," said Ron Leven, currency strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York. Weak U.S. data raise the possibility the Fed will have to resort to additional stimulus measures to prop the economy, he said.
Americans in 70% Majority See More Jobless in Poll
By Mike Dorning and Catherine Dodge
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- More than 7 out of 10 in the U.S. say the economy is mired in recession, and the country is conflicted over how to balance concerns over joblessness and the federal budget deficit, according to a Bloomberg National Poll.
Just like the experts, Americans are torn about whether the federal government should focus on curbing spending or creating jobs, the poll conducted July 9-12 shows. Seven of 10 Americans say reducing unemployment is the priority. At the same time, the public is skeptical of the Obama administration's stimulus program and wary of more spending, with more than half saying the deficit is "dangerously out of control."
Business leaders: Obama policies 'job-destroying'
By Julianne Pepitone
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce slammed President Obama's economic policies Wednesday, saying administration officials "took their eyes off the ball" and "neglected" to focus on job creation.
A letter posted to the business group's site and a summit with 500 business leaders were the latest moves in an ongoing battle between big business and the Obama administration.
The two are at odds over the best way to keep the recovery from slipping into a double-dip recession. The Chamber believes tax cuts are key to job creation. The Obama administration, however, has focused on stimulus and spending to create jobs.
US consumer fears hit retail sales
By Alan Rappeport in New York - FT.com
US retail sales fell for the second month running in June and businesses slowed their build-up of inventories, signalling that the fragile consumer recovery could sputter through the summer.
The figures follow a string of disappointing data on housing, employment and trade that has led many economists to downgrade their economic growth forecasts for the second quarter. Retail sales are viewed as a key indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 per cent of economic activity in the US, and analysts say that the stubborn unemployment rate is hindering spending.
Sales at U.S. Retailers Decreased for a Second Month
By Shobhana Chandra
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at U.S. retailers fell in June for a second month, indicating the pace of economic recovery moderated heading into the second half of 2010.
Purchases decreased a more-than-projected 0.5 percent following a 1.1 percent May drop, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Excluding auto dealers, demand fell 0.1 percent, matching the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Mortgage Applications Sink To 13 Year Low
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
The attempt to reflate housing seems to be officially dead. The Mortgage Brokers' Association reported that demand for loans to purchase U.S. homes sunk to a 13-year low last week, and refinancing demand also slid despite near record-low mortgage rates. As Reuters noted, "requests for loans to buy homes dropped 3.1 percent in the week ended July 9, after adjusting for the Independence Day holiday, to the lowest level since December 1996, the industry group said....Rock-bottom borrowing costs are helping borrowers with pristine credit to buy and those who still have equity in their homes to refinance." Also, from the MBA release, "the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.69 percent from 4.68 percent, with points increasing to 0.96 from 0.86 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate increased from last week." If even at sub-5% rates potential homeowners are not interested, it will take a whole lot of Intel CPU purchases to reverse the double dip in the economy as consumers refuse to purchase that primary bank balance sheet "asset."
Commercial real estate development stalled until 2012, architects say
LATimes.com
With vacancies still on the rise in commercial properties in most parts of the U.S., construction of new buildings is expected to be rare this year and next, the American Institute of Architects said Wednesday.
Even with modest improvements in the economy, construction spending on hotels, office buildings, warehouses and malls is expected to decrease by more than 20% in 2010, followed by a marginal increase of about 3% in 2011, the architecture trade group said.
"There are a number of factors at play here that are contributing to one of the steepest construction downturns in generations," said Kermit Baker, the AIA's chief economist. "We have businesses nervous about expanding their facilities, a fragile financial sector, excess commercial space and general unease in the international economy."
Oregon sues Countrywide Financial
Portland Business Journal
The state of Oregon has joined several other parties in suing Countrywide Financial Corp. for misleading investors into buying risky mortgage-backed securities.
The lawsuit accuses Countrywide of misrepresentation involving a $200 million investment from the Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund. The fund lost $29 million on the investment.
The Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System is the lead plaintiff in the case. Other plaintiffs include the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church and the Orange County, Calif., Employees' Retirement System.
Struggling Illinois eyes $900m bond sale
By Nicole Bullock in New York and Hal Weitzman in Chicago - FT.com
The cash-strapped state of Illinois on Wedesday will set terms for a bond sale as it seeks to borrow $900m in a test of investor appetite for troubled US local issuers.
States and municipalities, which raise money in the $2,800bn municipal bond market, have come into the spotlight after several years of budget deficits and worries about global public finances.
Home price cutting steep in Columbus, report says
BUSINESS FIRST OF COLUMBUS
Homeowners trying to sell their residences in Columbus chopped away at their asking prices, lopping off a combined $20.4 million of value, a report from real estate researcher Trulia Inc. says.
Nearly a third of homeowners within the city had reduced their listing prices over the 12 months ended July 1, according to the report. The average reduction from the original list price: 8 percent.
The data does not take foreclosures into account, the San Francisco-based Trulia reported.
The national average in price cutting was 24 percent of houses on the market at the start of the month.
The price cutting put Columbus 10th in the nation for the percentage of houses on the market at the start of the month that have seen at least one reduction in listing price since July 1, 2009.
The 10 best movies about money
by David M. Ewalt Forbes - MSNBC.com
Forbes.com readers, film critics pick the top financial flicks
NEW YORK - Greed is good. What's worth doing is worth doing for money. Lunch is for wimps. If you need a friend, buy a dog.
So goes the wisdom of Gordon Gekko, ruthless investor, legendary financier - and the star of the best movie ever made about money.
That's the honor conferred upon Oliver Stone's 1987 film "Wall Street" by the readers of Forbes.com and a panel of film critics. With more than 2,600 ballots cast, "Wall Street" pulled in a stunning 35 percent of the readers' vote, more than triple the number of votes for the second-best film, 1983's "Trading Places."
Sony: YouTube 3D coming within a year
Posted by Seth Weintraub -
A Sony exec revealed that YouTube would be part of Sony's upcoming 3D offering.
Mick Hocking, a studio exec at Sony, last week was drumming up support for Sony PlayStation's future capability to game in 3D when he let loose this little tidbit:
YouTube will be supporting 3D content over the next 12 months as well - and you'll be able to watch that on the PlayStation 3. And as you start taking 3D pictures of your family or 3D camcorder movies, you can play those back on PS3, too.
Obviously, people who want to enjoy 3D content will need to buy all new hardware that supports 3D, all of which Sony plans to sell you. To watch YouTube, in 3D for example, you'll need a 3D display and a HDMI 1.4 compliant video card. you'll also need a TV or computer OS that supports
Obama Administration Moves to Reduce Online Privacy
BY ARNOLD VINTNER - Fort Liberty
The Obama administration is proposing a new identity management system for the Internet which is calls "Identity Ecosystem." This new system will replace individually managed usernames and passwords with a taxpayer-funded federally-managed system.
The scheme is outlined in the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. The planned system will tie together all of your accounts into one national online identity. This will enable the federal government to easily track all online activity of every American.
The system will start with the federal government requiring the ID's for use in accessing federal web sites - such as for filing your taxes online. The federal government will then force businesses to adopt the system, starting with banks and credit card companies and slowly spreading to encompass the entire online environment. Once fully implemented, Internet users will no longer be able to comment anonymously on blogs or web forums, because all online identities will be verified with the U.S. government.
Both parties mull raising retirement age
By Patrice Hill - WashingtonTimes.com
House leaders get frank about Social Security cost
In a rare departure from this year's intense political posturing over the soaring budget deficit, House leaders of both parties recently signaled that they are prepared to tackle a leading long-term liability - Social Security - by raising the retirement age.
Politicians often talk in generalities about cutting the deficit, but discussing specifics about how Congress may curb the growth of the biggest and most popular programs such as Social Security and defense is controversial and usually taboo in an election year.
New York Presses Banks on Foreclosures
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE - NYTimes.com
Hoping to succeed where Washington has largely failed, New York City's comptroller, John C. Liu, and six large unions plan to begin a campaign on Wednesday to press the biggest banks to do more to prevent foreclosures in the New York area.
Mr. Liu said the group would send Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, among others, a letter that criticizes them for dragging their feet on modifying mortgages that are underwater or delinquent, and that urges them to do "everything possible" to avert foreclosures.
Depending on the response the coalition members get, they might move pension funds and bank deposits to other institutions, according to union officials.
About those decapitations in the Arizona desert
By: Joan Neuhas Schaan - Washington Examiner.com
With some concern and disbelief, I have been astounded at the lack of understanding of the severity of the situation in Mexico and the possibility that it has crossed the border.
Last week, Dana Milbank of The Washington Post severely ridiculed reports from Arizona of decapitated heads found in the desert. This comment was made within a day or two of the discovery of two decapitated bodies in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, just south of El Paso, Texas.
While I cannot comment on the veracity of specific reports of headless bodies in the Arizona desert, the occurrence of headless bodies in Mexico has been epidemic. It is only a matter of time until the phenomenon is regularly encountered in the U.S.
Shadowstats' John Williams Exposes The Media's Propaganda Spin
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com Or Why Watching CNBC Can Be Hazardous To Your Wealth
In his latest letter to subscribers, Shadowstats' John Williams dissects recent economic data, and after providing yet more evidence that after the recent period of "bottom-bouncing at a low-level plateau of business activity" the economy has once again entered a double dip. Overall, it has cost the US taxpayers several trillion in debt (which will never be repaid), and a major hit to the value of the paper in their wallets, just to play the game of extend and pretend for a just under 18 months. The positive effects of the sugar high are now gone, leaving just the negative, one of which is the propaganda spin engulfing the entire legacy media complex whose survival depends on the ongoing perpetuation of the Ponzi lie that all is well. And courtesy of Mr. Williams we have prima facie evidence of precisely why formerly reputable channels such as CNBC are in the process destroying their credibility and causing an exodus of viewers, with the few remaining viewers remaining primarily for the opportunity to heckle the openly lying talking heads.
Obama at odds with Petraeus doctrine on 'Islam'
By Rowan Scarborough - WashingtonTimes.com
The White House's official policy of banning the word "Islam" in describing America's terrorist enemies is in direct conflict with the U.S. military's war-fighting doctrine now guiding commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan.
John O. Brennan, President Obama's chief national security adviser for counterterrorism, delivered a major policy address on defining the enemy. He laid out the White House policy of detaching any reference to Islam when referring to terrorists, be it al Qaeda, the Taliban or any other group.
Canada HST implementation:
From the Canadian Mint website:
How will the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) affect my purchase?
Following the implementation of harmonized sales tax (HST) regimes in Ontario and British Columbia on July 1, 2010, all gold and silver products meeting the following conditions will be HST exempt:Minimum purity must be 99.5% for gold and platinum and 99.9% for silver;Products must be in bar, ingot, coin or wafer form; and Coins satisfying minimum purity levels must have also been issued by a government authority as legal tender.
More than 1,000 exposed to dengue in Florida: CDC
(Reuters) - Five percent of the population of Key West, Florida -- more than 1,000 people -- have been infected at some point with the dengue virus, government researchers reported on Tuesday.
Most probably did not even know it, but the findings show the sometimes deadly infection is making its way north into the United States, the researchers said.
"We're concerned that if dengue gains a foothold in Key West, it will travel to other southern cities where the mosquito that transmits dengue is present, like Miami," said Harold Margolis, chief of the dengue branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"These cases represent the reemergence of dengue fever in Florida and elsewhere in the United States after 75 years," Margolis said in a statement.
Could this happen in the Gulf . . . ?
Indonesia's mud volcano flows on
By John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times
After four years, spewing about 100,000 tons a day, the Lusi mud volcano in East Java shows no signs of letting up. Initially linked to an earthquake, the spill is now being linked to drilling.
Reporting from Sidoarjo, Indonesia - For four long years, Reni Sualeha has lived in the shadow of a monster, a menacing chemical flow of fetid gray mud that belches unchecked from the bowels of the earth near her home.
Known as the Lusi mud volcano, its spread is so relentless - burping noxious gas, swallowing communities, killing 14 people and forcing the evacuations of 60,000 - that some say it could star in its own sci-fi thriller.
Those in the United States who are wondering just how long the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could possibly keep gushing should listen to Sualeha's cautionary tale.
Gaddafi's aid ship for Gaza surrounded by Israeli Navy
AsiaNews.it
The ship, the al-Alam, is idle at 120 kilometres from Gaza because of engine troubles, surrounded by eight Israeli warships. Israel has ordered the ship to dock at the Egyptian port of el-Arish, but its destination remains unclear. According to the ship's organisers, it is Gaza; for Israel and the ship's captain, it is Egypt.
Tel Aviv (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Libyan-chartered ship carrying 2,000 tonnes of food, medical supplies, and pre-fabricated houses for Gaza has stopped 120 kilometres off Gaza with engine problems, surrounded by eight Israeli warships. There is confusion over its destination.
Threatened Israeli strike on Iran would lead to regional war, report says
LATimes.com
The ultimate nightmare scenario could soon become a reality:
Israeli strike aircraft cross into Iranian airspace and hit the nuclear facilities at Natanz, Esfahan and Qom, as well as the laboratories of the University of Tehran, killing one of Iran's leading nuclear scientists along with dozens of researchers and a janitor.
Iran retaliates by hitting Tel Aviv with long-range missiles and fanning the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, engulfing the Middle East in a protracted regional war and triggering a global economic crisis over oil prices.
This terrifying outcome is increasingly likely if Israel carries out a reportedly impending military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, according to a new study by the Oxford Research Group, a leading security think tank.
Cannibalizing Iran
Joel Hilliker - The Trumpet.com The leadership in Tehran is being devoured by a violent Islamic military movement.
Iran is being swallowed by a terrorist paramilitary organization.
These zealots are propping up Iran's supreme leader - some observers say their power now surpasses his. They have gained ridiculous control over Iran's economy, and indications are that sanctions are actually increasing their authority. They are extremely well funded. They have the blessing of the president, who is one of their own.
And they oversee Iran's nuclear program.
If you thought Iran was dangerous as a fundamentalist Islamic theocracy, just wait.
The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution was founded in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini himself, with the constitutionally prescribed mandate to serve as "guardian of the revolution and of its achievements."
For those readers following prophecy . . .
The 5770 Tisha B'av March of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement
"We will call to the people and to the government of Israel to immediately build the end-time third Temple"
The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement will march to the Holy Temple Mount on Tisha B'Av 5770, Tuesday, 20 July 2010, calling to the people and to the government of Israel to immediately build the end-time Holy Third Temple. This important event will take place during a very special time in the history of the people of G?d. The Holy Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) and Jewish tradition, particularly after the destruction of the Second Temple, have indicated that three events shall happen before the coming of Messiah Ben David:
the first event is the regathering of the Jewish people from all corners of the world back to the Promised Land of Israel;
the second event is the re-establishment of the sovereign Kingdom and State of Israel; and
the third event is the rebuilding of the Holy Temple of G?d on the Holy Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The first two events have been fulfilled, and the Jewish people continue to be regathered to the Holy Land of Israel. Now is the time to bring to pass the third event, the rebuilding of the Holy Temple of G?d.
EU - Crucifix or Not?
BY RON FRASER From theTrumpet.com European liberal secularists are involved in a drive to purge religion from public places within the EU.
European liberals, realizing they are up against a stoically conservative pope intent on returning Europe to cultural and political recognition of its Roman Catholic roots, are becoming increasingly aggressive in their efforts.
Deeply disturbed by Pope Benedict's intransigence on succumbing to their liberalizing efforts, the secularists are active on two fronts-denigration of the Vatican through press publicity of the venal sins of the priesthood, and legal efforts to remove religious imagery from public places.
In one such move, the liberal secularist push in Europe, in an effort to quash the power of religion over the minds of the people, obtained a favorable ruling from the European Court last November on the matter of the public display of the Catholic crucifix. This decision has resulted in a considerable backlash from European Catholics, with powerful support from the Vatican.
----- Oil Crisis -----
Why BP is readying a 'super weapon' to avert escalating Gulf nightmare
Terrence Aym - helium.com - via PrisonPlanet.com In a desperate attempt to stop a huge area of the Gulf ocean floor from possibly rupturing due to subterranean methane gas (leading to a calamity no human has ever seen) BP has ripped a page from science fiction books.
The giant oil company is now quietly preparing to test a small nuclear device in a frenzied rush against time to quell a cascading catastrophe. If successful they will have the capability to detonate a controlled fusion generated pulse.
While the world watches BP's attempt to contain the oil gusher at the former Deepwater Horizon site, company officials have given the green light on an astounding plan to use what is known as a nuclear EPFCG charge if all else fails.
Sea floor compromised
Reports still indicate that methane is flooding the Gulf waters at a rate one million times more than normal, and the NOAA research vessel, Thomas Jefferson has reported spotting new fissures.
DIRE REALITIES OF THE METHANE PREDICAMENT
by Dr. Tom Termotto Methane Gas, Methane Hydrate & Methane Clathrate Formations and Behavior
There has been a spate of articles recently throughout the MSM and alternative media depicting the methane gas predicament associated with the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Many of these perspectives portray an alarming state of affairs concerning extremely high concentrations of methane that have accumulated in numerous areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The two primary issues of concern are the methane effects in the aquatic environment and the methane gas accumulations in the atmosphere above the Gulf and within contiguous land masses. In regard to the latter, the weather patterns will reign supreme. Once methane rises above the surface of the Gulf, where it goes, how it accumulates and what its toxic effects on life will be, is going to be dictated to a great extent by the weather.
Long-Term Fate of Gulf Oil Spill: Computer Simulations Show Oil Reaching Up the Atlantic Coastline and Toward Europe
ScienceDaily (July 6, 2010) - The possible spread of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig over the course of one year was studied in a series of computer simulations by a team of researchers from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The simulations suggest that the coastlines near the Carolinas, Georgia, and Northern Florida could see the effects of the oil spill as early as October 2010, while the main branch of the subtropical gyre is likely to transport the oil film towards Europe, although strongly diluted.
U.S. clears way for 'integrity test' of BP oil well
By Joel Achenbach - Washington Post Staff Writer
BP has taken the first steps in a white-knuckle "integrity test" that will close off the flow of the gulf oil well for the first time in 86 days and could potentially put a permanent stop to the gusher.
Federal officials greenlighted the test Wednesday afternoon after a 24-hour delay in which government scientists and outside experts demanded more information from BP about possible hazards created by the operation. The fear was -- and remains -- that the test will make the situation worse, damaging the well and creating new leaks below the gulf floor.
Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen, the national incident commander, said that, notwithstanding the concerns by scientists, he is "gung ho" about the test.
Government Stops Oil Well Integrity Test; Relief Well Drilling Temporarily Stopped Chaos Reins
Washington's Blog
Yesterday, I explained what is happening with the efforts to stop the oil gusher.
I have some important updates.
Initially, it turns out that it was the government which ordered the delay in the well integrity test. As Bloomberg points out:
BP Plc delayed testing on its latest effort to stop the largest U.S. oil spill in history after the Obama administration ordered further study of the plan to seal a well that's been spewing crude into the ocean since April.
***
The delay came after Energy Secretary Steven Chu and a team of experts said more analysis was needed, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said in a statement last night.
Rather than a one-day delay, as was being reported yesterday, AP notes that this is an "if-when" situation:
"Our basic position was, if you can give us the answers we need ... then go ahead," the [anonymous government] official said. Until then, "they can't go forward."
The official stressed that the government was acting out of "an abundance of caution" and still hopes the temporary cap can be placed on the well.
How Accurate Can Any BP/Unified Command Info Be?
ZeroHedge.com
Short and sweet folks.
What, or maybe I should say how, can we believe anything that is said by either BP or the government when it's in the interest of both to mitigate or minimize the severity and extent of the problem Macondo well 1 mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico?
It is clearly in the best interest of BP and the government to downplay the amount of the oil released as well as the severity of the problem. BP assured the government, and the government through the MMS accepted the assurances, that BP could handle a blowout of their well. They clearly could not. Either the assurances were a farce to begin with or the assurances were realistic but BP didn't intend to actually set aside the resources needed to deal with the potential of a blowout.
BP Official Admits to Damage BENEATH THE SEA FLOOR
Gulf oil to keep flowing while cap is analyzed
By COLLEEN LONG and HARRY R. WEBER (AP) - Google News
NEW ORLEANS - The plan to start choking off oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico was suddenly halted as government officials and BP said further analysis must be done Wednesday before critical tests could proceed.
No explanation was given for the decision, and no date was set for when testing would begin on the new, tighter-fitting cap BP installed on the blown-out well Monday.
In the meantime, oil continued spewing into the Gulf.
The oil giant had been scheduled to start slowly shutting off valves Tuesday on the cap, aiming to stop the flow of oil for the first time in three months. BP was initially ahead of schedule on its latest effort to plug the leak. The cap was designed to be a temporary fix until the well is plugged underground.
BP Oil pipe can't be capped
BP Well Test Delayed as Scientists Study Procedures
By Jim Polson and Jessica Resnick-Ault
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc delayed testing on its latest effort to stop the largest U.S. oil spill in history after the Obama administration ordered further study of the plan to seal a well that's been spewing crude into the ocean since April.
Industry and government scientists will meet at midday to devise procedures for a pressure test that will be done once the company stops the flow of oil with a 40-foot (12-meter) valve stack secured to the well July 12, BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells told reporters today on a conference call. The test will determine whether the cap can remain in place without causing the Gulf of Mexico well to burst open elsewhere.
Fed Urges Banks to Help Customers Affected by BP Oil Spill
By Sarah Lynch - WSJ.com (free)
Financial institutions whose customers are affected by the BP PLC oil spill should try to expedite loans, ease credit terms and consider waiving late fees and penalties, U.S. banking regulators said Wednesday.
The announcement, made by the Federal Reserve and all the other U.S. banking regulators, comes as the Gulf region's economy continues to struggle with the impact of the spill. BP has already paid out more than $132 million in claims filed for economic damages, but many Gulf coast residents continue to worry about how they will get enough money to pay their bills and keep their businesses running. Many of the businesses affected by the spill are already in debt from past loans they had to take out after the area was hit by Katrina and several other major hurricanes.
America's Debt 'Will Destroy the Country From Within'
From theTrumpet.com
This debt is like a cancer," warned co-chairman of the U.S. president's debt and deficit commission, Erskine Bowles, at the National Governors Association annual meeting in Boston, on July 11. "It is truly going to destroy the country from within," he said.
The other co-chairman, Alan Simpson, pointed out that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid alone absorb all federal discretionary revenue. "The rest of the federal government, including fighting two wars, homeland security, education, art, culture, you name it, veterans - the whole rest of the discretionary budget is being financed by China and other countries," said Simpson.
Bowles was White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, and Simpson is a former Republican senator from Wyoming.
Who's Buying All That U.S. Debt?
Tim Iacono
James Hamilton looks at who's been lending the U.S. Treasury Department so much money over the last couple of years in this item over at his Econbrowser blog....
Aside from a bigger increase in the Banks category, I'm not sure what I was expecting to see. Weren't the big banks supposedly borrowing from the Fed at zero percent and using that money to buy Treasuries at a higher rate?
We're in a Recession Because the Rich Are Raking in an Absurd Portion of the Wealth
The Nation / By Robert Reich - via Alternet.org
Our economy can't thrive when the richest 1% get an ever larger share of the nation's income and wealth, and everyone else's share shrinks.
Wall Street's banditry was the proximate cause of the Great Recession, not its underlying cause. Even if the Street is better controlled in the future (and I have my doubts), the structural reason for the Great Recession still haunts America. That reason is America's surging inequality. Consider: in 1928 the richest 1 percent of Americans received 23.9 percent of the nation's total income. After that, the share going to the richest 1 percent steadily declined. New Deal reforms, followed by World War II, the GI Bill and the Great Society expanded the circle of prosperity. By the late 1970s the top 1 percent raked in only 8 to 9 percent of America's total annual income. But after that, inequality began to widen again, and income reconcentrated at the top. By 2007 the richest 1 percent were back to where they were in 1928 - with 23.5 percent of the total.
Hank Paulson Likes Financial Reform Bill
By Joseph Lawler The American Spectator.com
Bush Treasury secretary Hank Paulson gave a semi-endorsement to the pending financial reform bill to the New York Times' Andrew Russ Sorkin yesterday. Sorkin writes that Paulson initially hesitated to judge the bill but then argued that the bill would have prevented the Wall Street collapse had it been implemented before the housing market cratered. Sorkin also notes that it is very self-serving for Paulson, as the architect of the 2008 bailouts, to play up the necessity of a bill like Dodd-Frank:
As he recalled those sleepless days in September, he suggested that had he had resolution authority [as he would have under the currently proposed bill], he would have been able to take over Lehman Brothers and the American International Group without the financial system crumbling. (Of course, there remains a running debate about why Mr. Paulson didn't seek to have the government bail out Lehman Brothers; he says he didn't have the powers.)
Fund Sues Banks for $1.2 Billion Loss Tied to Subprime
By Tom Hals - ABCNews
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - A hedge fund is taking aim at the world's biggest banks in an effort to recoup $1.2 billion it lost on subprime mortgages, entering a legal fight where so far Wall Street has largely been unscathed.
The lawsuit by Cambridge Place Investment Management against Morgan Stanley , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and about 10 other banks, is one of the biggest cases of its kind to be filed so far in U.S. courts.
The case cites a sizable number of so-called "confidential witnesses" quoted in the lawsuit, who said underwriting standards were abandoned in order to meet demands for mortgages from Wall Street.
American capitalism gone with a whimper
Stanislav Mishin - SilverBearCafe.com
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.
INFLATION: THE RUNAWAY TRAIN
By Kieran Osborne, CFA, Merk Investments - GoldSeek.com
Inflationary risks have seemingly fallen out of the mindset of many investors recently, with the European debt crisis causing many to reevaluate their outlook for global economic growth in concert with record low headline CPI numbers being released. Despite this, gold, traditionally a hedge against inflation, continues to move up in price. Is this dynamic inconsistent? We don't think so. Of course, some of gold's price movement may reflect its safety aspect, given renewed concerns over the long-term health of the economy, but in our opinion, inflationary concerns are very much valid and should be front and center of any investment strategy going forward.
We believe there may be considerable inflationary pressures built into the system, which may become apparent over the coming years. Importantly, we believe structural changes to the global economic landscape have raised the risk of inflation in the U.S. substantially, regardless of whether the U.S. economy experiences strong or weak economic growth through the medium term.
The Case for the Yuan: Why China's Currency Isn't the Problem Policymakers Make it Out to Be
BY JASON SIMPKINS, Managing Editor, Money Morning
By allowing the yuan to appreciate, China at least temporarily placated foreign trade partners that had expressed concern about the currency's value. However, the decision has done little to quell criticism from many U.S. policymakers and trade groups who are angry that the Obama administration refuses to brand China a "currency manipulator."
Still, while the yuan does need to appreciate, critics in the United States should remember that the dollar too is flawed, and that the uneven relationship between the two currencies has often worked to America's advantage.
Economic Problems?
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
With each passing news cycle, it seems like the economic headlines just keep getting worse. And unfortunately, the highly integrated global economy that we have constructed means that what happens on one side of the world is going to very likely have a big impact on the other side of the world. A meltdown in New York or Los Angeles is going to affect London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing and Tokyo. That is just the way the world works now. Back in 2007 and 2008, the financial crisis that began in the United States devastated economies across the globe. So are there any economic problems brewing out there right now that could send another wave of panic across the globe?
Well, yes, actually there are a whole bunch of them. In fact, if certain things break the wrong way it could create a gigantic mess in the financial world. Let's take a few moments to examine a few of the questions that economists are asking right now....
Will The Eurozone Break Up And Devastate The Global Economy?
The CIVETS: Windfall Wealth From the 'New' BRIC Economies
BY MARTIN HUTCHINSON, Contributing Editor, Money Morning
First it was the "BRICs." Now it's the "CIVETS."
In fact, the CIVETS are the "new" BRICs: Expect some of the CIVETS economies (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa) to be among the world's hottest markets in the decade to come. They have the potential to generate the same kind of windfall wealth as the BRIC markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China did over the last 10 years - but only if you pick the right markets at the right time.
Is Portugal pawning its gold at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)?
Is it just a coincidence that Portugal has (or had) 382 tonnes of gold in reserve and that the amount of gold the Bank for International Settlements recently inventoried via a swap arrangement was 380 tonnes?
Let's put 2+2+2+2+2 together here. (Nothing in the gold market is ever simply 2+2.)
I don't know how many of you watch the "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel, but if you don't, let me introduce you to the key question asked of anyone who brings something into the store:
Do you want to "pawn it" or "sell it"?
A Modern Day Gold Rush
Businesses try to cash in on surging gold prices by selling prospecting gear, storage-and even gold-bar vending machines
By Chris Prentice - BusinessWeek.com
Fear of financial collapse has enhanced gold's glitter, with prices soaring more than 300 percent the past decade, including 30 percent just in the last 12 months. And just as strong U.S. real estate prices a few years ago created a burgeoning ecosystem of entrepreneurs exploiting that bubble, gold's surge has led to a new crop of prospectors seeking gold and the business around gold.
Keiser Report No.59
We look at the latest scandals of IMF forecasts and commercial banks pawning their nations' gold reserves. In the second half of the show, Max has a most excellent interview with The Market Ticker's Karl Denninger about market manipulation and flash crashes.
Incompetent Russian Spies Get Speedy Justice, While Wall St. Criminals Face No Consequences
AlterNet / By Danny Schechter
Our government can sort out international espionage affairs in the blink of an eye. So where's the justice for our financial criminals?
We just witnessed justice on steroids. Ten Russian "spies" -- even if we still don't know what they were spying on or why - were brought to court, copped a plea, and were on their way out of the country by midnight.
The wheels of justice move quickly when governments want them to. Wam, bam, thank you ma'am.
When a crisis is looming -- in foreign affairs or even potential embarrassment for a country in the spotlight, Courts jump to; cases are rapidly disposed of; and the wrath of the law is felt with dispatch.
Los Angeles Stiffens Foreclosure Penalties
by JACOB GAFFNEY - HousingWire.com
The city of Los Angeles last week passed a city ordinance allowing for fines up to $100,000 to lenders and servicers of properties under foreclosure for failing to adequately preserve properties.
According to coverage in PropertyWire, community activists are joined in wide support of the provision. The article states that by charging huge fees for noncompliance the city is looking to motivate lenders and servicers to upkeep properties in foreclosure, in order to keep communities from widely falling into disrepair.
Suffer These Crimes in Oakland? Don't Call the Cops
Dozens of layoffs effective at midnight, barring last minute deal
By LORI PREUITT and KRIS SANCHEZ - NBC Bay Area
Oakland's police chief is making some dire claims about what his force will and will not respond to if layoffs go as planned. Here's a partial list:
burglary
theft
embezzlement
grand theft
grand theft:dog
identity theft
false information to peace officer
required to register as sex or arson offender
dump waste or offensive matter
discard appliance with lock
loud music
possess forged notes
pass fictitious check
obtain money by false voucher
fraudulent use of access cards
stolen license plate
embezzlement by an employee (over $ 400)
extortion
attempted extortion
false personification of other
injure telephone/ power line
interfere with power line
unauthorized cable tv connection
vandalism
administer/expose poison to another's
These Numbers Paint a Bleak Picture for Housing
By CHARLES HUGH SMITH - DailyFinance.com
Financial analyst Meredith Whitney recently joined the ranks of those who foresee a serious decline in housing prices in the second half of 2010. Her reason: Banks are starting to unload higher-priced homes in their bulging "shadow inventory," and with sales dropping sharply now that the federal tax credit for homebuyers has expired, there's a massive mismatch between supply (rising) and demand (falling).
Evidence for falling demand is plentiful: Pending home sales have tumbled 30%, hitting two records. Mike Larson of Weiss Research recently said: "Demand has fallen off a cliff in the wake of the tax credit expiration, with pending sales falling by the biggest margin ever to the lowest level ever."
No Jobs Yet: CFOs Say Hiring May Not Revive Until 2011 or 2012
By MATTHEW SCOTT - DailyFinance.com
Long-suffering job seekers may be in for a longer period of pain, because the corporate executives who handle the money aren't making plans to hire anytime soon.
Chief financial officers at U.S. companies are increasingly pessimistic about the job market over the next six to 12 months: Results from two independent surveys say most companies don't plan to do any significant hiring until 2011 or beyond. Although both surveys showed that most CFOs expected some revenue or earnings growth over the next six to 12 months, that wasn't enough to make them enthusiastic about adding headcount.
Many of retirees' savings will run out too soon
By David Pitt, The Associated Press - USAToday.com
A third of middle-income workers will likely run out of money after 20 years of retirement, and significantly more lower-income workers will deplete their savings after 10 years, according to a study released Tuesday.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute, a non-partisan research group based in Washington, said its retirement-readiness study found that living longer, saving too little and inadequate planning for health care costs will leave many retirees short of money to pay basic living expenses.
Strategic Defaulters as the New Welfare Queens
A well placed Washington contact wrote:
I was in a discussion with the staff at one of the Federal agencies involved in housing to ask them about the new policies on strategic defaults. It became clear almost immediately that regulators obviously have no idea how to identify strategic defaulters except by asking big banks. They cited the Oliver Wyman study, which is garbage, and other than that had NO evidence except anecdotal reports from ABC News that strategic defaults are happening. Strategic defaulters, they said, are people who won't even contact their servicer to renegotiate their mortgage. Now, a lot of people are saying that they can't get in touch with their servicer, so I put the question about whether servicers would tell the truth about strategic defaulters, and they were just shocked that anyone could believe servicers might lie. In other words, the agencies and regulators are simply taking the word of Bank of America and Citigroup that people are strategic defaulters rather than the victims of predatory loans or abusive service.
***** some things to watch; be forewarned *****
Applied DNA Sciences Collaborates with Government to Create DNA-Based Real ID
June 10, 2009 by Gary Rea - The PPJ Gazette
Forget about RFID. Oh, it will probably be used, also, but the Real ID cards the government is intent upon forcing us to have in order to drive a car, board a plane or enter a building paid for with our tax dollars may very well not even need RFID in order to positively identify each of us.
A company called Applied DNA Sciences, located in Stony Brook, New York, announced on June 9, 2009 that it has, in collaboration with "a world leader in security laminated materials," validated its proprietary SigNature DNA into "laminates typically used in travel documents, credit cards, drivers licenses and other government issued identification cards."
So, the bottom line is that all they will need is a sample of your DNA and this can be laminated right into the Real ID card in such a way that your unique DNA sequence can be read by any card reader.
Calling in the World Court against the Gun Trade
Posted by Walter Olson
Writing at Cato@Liberty, Reason Contributing Editor Walter Olson reports on how anti-gun advocates like Chicago Mayor Richard Daley are hoping to use international human rights law to target American gun manufacturers. . . . .
These notions are at odds with longstanding ideas of sovereignty and national independence, as held by (among many others) the Founders of this Republic. That they could also pose more direct dangers to individual liberty is suggested by a news item that drew only passing attention a few weeks ago: Chicago Mayor and long-time anti-gun advocate Richard Daley convened an assembly on global issues at which (per the Chicago Sun-Times) he "convinced more than a dozen of his counterparts from around the world to approve a resolution urging 'redress against the gun industry through the courts of the world' in The Hague." According to another local news report, Daley "said American gun manufacturers should be held responsible in the World Court, since American-made guns are used in violent crime elsewhere in the world."
ACLU Study Highlights U.S. Surveillance Society
By David Kravets - Wired.com
Welcome to the surveillance society.
That's what the American Civil Liberties Union concluded Tuesday with a report chronicling government spying and the detention of groups and individuals "for doing little more than peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights."
The report, Policing Free Speech: Police Surveillance and Obstruction of First Amendment-Protected Activity (.pdf), surveys news accounts and studies of questionable snooping and arrests in 33 states and the District of Columbia over the past decade.
The survey provides an outline of, and links to, dozens of examples of Cold War-era snooping in the modern age.
Terahertz Detectors Could See Through Your Clothes From a Mile Away
By Jess McNally - Wired.com
Someone may soon be able to tell what types material are in your pockets from tens, and possibly thousands, of feet away.
Using terahertz remote sensing, detectors could see through walls, clothing and packaging materials and immediately identify the unique terahertz waves of the materials contained inside, such as explosives or drugs.
Until now, detecting terahertz waves - the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared and microwave light - hasn't been possible from distances more than inches because the waves are absorbed by ambient moisture in the air, killing the signal.
Obama team's lawsuit against Arizona could expand
The Oval - Tracking the Obama Presidency - USAToday.com
The Obama administration's lawsuit against the Arizona immigration law could turn into a long-term affair.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the suit -- which claims only that Arizona pre-empted federal authority to police the border -- could be expanded if the Justice Department determines that the law is used to target Hispanics.
The lawsuit doesn't mean that "six months from now, a year from now, we might not look at the impact the law has had" and determine "whether or not there has been that racial profiling impact," Holder said yesterday on CBS' Face The Nation. "And if that was the case, we would have the tools and we would bring suit on that basis."
Judge Napolitano: "Arizona Statute is UnConstitutional"
Mexican Drug Cartel soldiers shot in Arizona desert: Los Zetas officer says shoot to kill Americans in retaliation
By Michael Webster: Syndicated Investigative Reporter
July 8, 2010 - PPJ Gazette
One of my informants whom I have called Juan in previous news reports, called me recently on the cell phone he provided me at our last meeting a month or so ago. He told me that his boss, a Los Zetas Mexican drug cartel officer, wanted to meet with me and give me some important information regarding the so called war on drugs raging on the border. A date and time was set up for this meeting at a public place.
GOP delays Kagan vote to July 20
WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- Senate Republicans say they are delaying the confirmation vote on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as a protest against her.
Kagan is expected to be confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the Republican contingent on the panel is saying she will just have to wait.
"There are concerns about the nomination in a host of different areas," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told The Hill. "The nominee lacks the experience and intellectual rigor of practicing law and serving as a judge."
Obama strategy against Palin, or other GOP foes?
The Oval - Tracking the Obama Presidency - USAToday.com
Run against Bush
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs didn't talk about Sarah Palin specifically yesterday, but he did address any Republican who is thinking about challenging President Obama in 2012.
The bottom line: Regardless of who the Republicans nominate, the White House is likely to run against the previous GOP president, George W. Bush.
Both the congressional campaign this year and the 2012 presidential race will feature talk "about the direction that this country is going to go," Gibbs said.
PM: Peace plan possible by end of '11
By HERB KEINON AND JORDANA HORN - JerusalemPost.com
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Council of Foreign Relations in New York on Thursday that all core issues could be discussed in direct negotiations, and that if it were up to him, a peace deal with the Palestinians could be signed by the end of 2011.
"If it's up to me, we'll have an agreement," Netanyahu said.
But he stressed that an accord would require a willing and able partner in Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. While he expressed a reluctance to criticize Abbas, Netanyahu said, "I tend to confound the critics and the skeptics, but I need a partner. You can't go out on a trapeze, hold out your hand and not have a partner on the other side."
A three-front war?
By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE, UPI Editor at Large
WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- There is no better illustration of the futility of the $1 trillion Iraq war than news photos of a long line of gasoline tankers lined up bumper to bumper as they leave Iraq to enter Iran.
The U.N. Security Council decision to strengthen economic measures against Iran and U.S. President Barack Obama signing into law draconian new legislative sanctions against Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions, leave Iraq's defeated government unable to act.
The Iraq Study Group, led by Lee Hamilton, the prominent Democrat who heads the Woodrow Wilson International Center, and James Baker, whose Institute for Public Policy is at Houston's Rice University, warned in 2006 that Iran, now rid of erstwhile enemy Saddam Hussein, was already wielding more influence in Iraq than the United States
Will Afghanistan's $1 Trillion of Minerals Secure Foreign Investment
Written by Ashraf Haidari - OilPrice.com
In mid-June, an article in the New York Times revealed to the world something that many Afghans already knew: Afghanistan sits on about $1 trillion-worth of minerals.
Afghans are now hoping the news will help the government attract much-needed foreign investment.
On July 20, the Afghan government will host the first International Conference on Afghanistan in Kabul. At the conference, Afghan officials intend to outline a national development strategy to international participants, including regional and international bankers and private-sector representatives. The government's development strategy is organized around five clusters. Economic growth is one such cluster, focusing on poverty reduction, job creation, and sustainable development.
Sanctions, 'declaration of war on Iran'
PressTV.ir
A senior Iranian lawmaker says the new round of anti-Iran UN Security Council sanctions is an open declaration of war against Iran by the six major powers.
Speaking to Fars news agency on Sunday, member of the Iranian Parliament's Foreign Policy and National Security Commission Mohammad Karami-Rad said the administration of US President Barack Obama was never truly after a nuclear fuel exchange with Iran.
Referring to Tehran's willingness for a nuclear fuel swap, the Iranian lawmaker said, "The US sees the issue of the exchange of uranium as a political one while it is a routine, commercial matter."
"President Obama did not expect Iran to accept to exchange its 3.5 percent enriched uranium with a 20 percent enriched batch outside Iranian soil," Karami-Rad said.
The Russian Bear Awakens
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Today most Americans consider the United States to be "the sole remaining superpower" - absolutely unparalleled economically and militarily. But the truth is not anything close to that. As we detailed in a previous article, China has become a very dominant economic and military superpower. But there is another world superpower that the American people and the American media are not taking seriously. The Russian Bear has awakened, and yet most people in the U.S. think of Russia as a Cold War opponent that we "defeated" and which is now a shell of its former self. The recent Russian spy case is a perfect example of the tremendous lack of respect which the American public has for Russia these days. It is almost as if the media is saying: "Oh look, isn't it so cute that these little Russians are spying on us as if the Cold War was still going on?" But the truth is that it is a massive error to underestimate Russia. Today it is a fact that Russia is stronger both economically and militarily than it ever has been before. You doubt this?
Quick - name the number one oil producer in the world.
Here's a hint - it is not Saudi Arabia. It is Russia.
***** More on the Gulf oil DISASTER -
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Doomsday:
How BP Gulf disaster may have triggered a 'world-killing' event
Terrence Aym - SilverBearCafe.com
Ominous reports are leaking past the BP Gulf salvage operation news blackout that the disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico may be about to reach biblical proportions.
251 million years ago a mammoth undersea methane bubble caused massive explosions, poisoned the atmosphere and destroyed more than 96 percent of all life on Earth. Experts agree that what is known as the Permian extinction event was the greatest mass extinction event in the history of the world.
55 million years later another methane bubble ruptured causing more mass extinctions during the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum (LPTM).
The LPTM lasted 100,000 years.
Scientist Denies He Ever Predicted BP Oil Spill Would Cause Extinction Of Mankind
Gus Lubin - BusinessInsider.com
Suddenly everyone's talking about the methane-driven oceanic eruption and mass extinction theories of Dr. Gregory Ryskin, claiming that elevated methane levels from the oil spill could cause the end of mankind.
Absent from this discussion has been Ryskin, who Northwestern University says is out of his office until September. The professor gave us the real story by email:
I also want to emphasize that in my theory, methane hydrates (clathrates) do not play any role.
Methane hydrates are the volatile compounds that have been released in large quantities in the Gulf of Mexico. They may suffocate aquatic life or cause a pressure explosion. But they probably won't poison the atmosphere and destroy 96 percent of life on earth.
Toxic Oil Rain in Canada, Coast to Coast; 7/13/10. pt1
Toxic Oil Rain in Canada, Coast to Coast; 7/13/10. pt2
Obama Administration Uses New 'Restore the Gulf' Web Site to Spin Its 'Quick' Response to the Oil Spill
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - The Obama administration has launched a new, informational Web site that puts a positive spin on its handling of the Gulf oil spill.
The restorethegulf.gov Web site, launched last week, describes itself as "a one-stop repository for news, data and operational updates related to the administration-wide efforts to stop the BP oil leak."
But the Web site also touts the administration's "quick" response to the disaster, stating that the administration has been on the scene "since the moments after the oil rig explosion" and "from the very beginning."
Has the Gulf Spill Opened Pandora's Box for Obama?
By Marin Katusa, Chief Energy Strategis - GoldSeek.com
The White House might be gaping in shock that the U.S. federal court overturned the six-month drilling moratorium, but it really isn't all that surprising. Amid the finger pointing and political posturing, the Obama administration seems to have missed a vital detail - the U.S. oil industry is in a spot of bother.
It's not just America's oil supply and energy security that's in danger after the BP oil spill and the subsequent drilling ban. The Gulf economy is hanging by a thread, and it won't take much to send it over the edge.
BP Committing Ecocide on Islands in Gulf
Written by Wayne Madsen - OilPrice.com
From environmentalists and wildlife specialists
to fisherman and businessmen along the Gulf Coast the message is the same: BP is not only strangling the news of what is actually occurring in the Gulf of Mexico with the oil disaster but has co-opted key federal regulatory and oversight agencies to advance its agenda and that of its oil partners, including Halliburton, Anadarko, and Transocean.
Coast Guard Photos Show Spill Workers Without Protective Gear
by Sasha Chavkin - ProPublica.org
There's something missing in the Coast Guard's latest PR photos of oil spill cleanup workers: protective gear.
No less than three items required for beach cleaning operations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration -- coveralls, rubber boots, and in one case, gloves -- are absent in pictures of workers cleaning potentially oiled debris from beaches in Galveston, Texas on Sunday.
No promises as BP set to test if new cap stops oil
Jul 13 09:20 AM US/Eastern
By COLLEEN LONG and HARRY R. WEBER
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP plans to begin tests by midday on the new cap over the Gulf of Mexico oil leak and should know within two days if it can hold back the gushing crude.
Kent Wells, a senior vice president at the oil giant, made no promises in a Tuesday morning news briefing about whether the cap will work.
BP will stop siphoning oil to two ships and then close valves in the cap to see if all the oil stays inside.
BP to begin slowly choking off Gulf oil geyser
By TOM BREEN and HARRY R. WEBER - AP - DailyFinance.com
NEW ORLEANS -In a potentially pivotal moment in the Gulf crisis, BP was preparing Tuesday to begin closing valves in a slow and methodical process that could finally choke off the geyser of crude at the bottom of the sea after three gloomy months and up to 180 million gallons spilled.
A new, tighter-fitting cap was lowered over the blown-out well Monday night, designed to be a temporary fix until the well is plugged underground.
The next phase was to shut the openings in the 75-ton metal stack of pipes and valves gradually, one at a time, while watching pressure gauges to see if the cap would hold or any new leaks erupted.
BP's Crisis Could Soon Become Great Britain's
By Frank Dohmen and Marco Evers
With the oil continuing to flow into the Gulf of Mexico, BP is facing ever greater challenges. Already, the company has lost half its market value. Should it be unable to cap the leaking well soon, the British oil giant may be forced to sell of assets. That could spell disaster for Great Britain.
Such a crash has never before been seen. Fewer than 12 weeks ago, the multinational oil giant BP still held an uncontested fourth place on the list of the world's largest companies. Its impressive balance sheet boasted annual sales of roughly $246 billion (€195 billion), a market value of more than $190 billion and after-tax profits of almost $17 billion.
BP Testing Delayed on Gulf Oil Fix
Gulf Gusher to Keep Flowing as Cap Test Delayed; Government Officials Say More Analysis Needed on the Plan
(CBS/AP) A pivotal moment in the Gulf oil crisis hit an unexpected snag Tuesday evening when officials announced they needed more time before they could begin choking off the geyser of crude at the bottom of the sea.
BP and federal officials did not say what prompted the decision or when the testing would begin on a new, tighter-fitting cap it had just installed on the blown-out well. The oil giant had been scheduled to start slowly shutting off valves on the 75-ton cap, aiming to stop the flow of oil for the first time in three months.
Breaking News: Due to Public Outcry, Coast Guard Rescinds Ban of Reporters and Photographers from Oil Spill
Washington's Blog
Due to popular rage at the ban on reporters and photographers from within 65 feet of the oil spill, Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen has rescinded the ban.
Specifically, Allen announced tonight that the media will have full access, as long as they do not interfere with safety or security:
National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen today announced new procedures to allow media free travel within the 20-meter boom safety zones if they have followed simple procedures for credentialing, and provided they follow certain rules and guidelines.
"I have put out a direction that the press are to have clear, unfettered access to this event, with two exceptions -- if there is a safety or security concern," said Allen. "This boom is critical to the defense of the marshes and the beaches.
DIRE REALITIES OF THE METHANE PREDICAMENT IN THE GULF OF MEXICOMethane Gas, Methane Hydrate & Methane Clathrate Formations and Behavior
There has been a spate of articles recently throughout the MSM and alternative media depicting the methane gas predicament associated with the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Many of these perspectives portray an alarming state of affairs concerning extremely high concentrations of methane that have accumulated in numerous areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The two primary issues of concern are the methane effects in the aquatic environment and the methane gas accumulations in the atmosphere above the Gulf and within contiguous land masses. In regard to the latter, the weather patterns will reign supreme. Once methane rises above the surface of the Gulf, where it goes, how it accumulates and what its toxic effects on life will be, is going to be dictated to a great extent by the weather.
WDSU Talks To Former BP Contractor Turned Whistleblower
07-09-2010_22.02.1
Countdown: Oil ind. expert Bob Cavnar -
another grim day at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico
PROPHECY ALERT!!! (BP OIL SPILL = WORMWOOD?)
THE EARTH'S OCEAN FLOOR HAS BLOWN OUT! - June 9, 2010
URGENT!! MSNBC REPORTING THAT COREXIT IS KILLING CLEAN UP WORKERS!!
CNN: Dispersants Will Kill You!
Gulf Oil Disaster: Proof of Toxic Rain
Toxic COREXIT Oil Dispersant Eating Through Boats in the Gulf!
Corexit 9500 is a solvent originally developed by Exxon and now manufactured by the Nalco in Illinois. Corexit is is four times more toxic than oil (oil is toxic at 11 ppm (parts per million), Corexit 9500 at only 2.61ppm).
In a report written by Anita George-Ares and James R. Clark for Exxon Biomedical Sciences, Inc. titled "Acute Aquatic Toxicity of Three Corexit Products: An Overview" Corexit 9500 was found to be one of the most toxic dispersal agents ever developed.
According to the Clark and George-Ares report, Corexit mixed with the higher gulf coast water temperatures becomes even more toxic.
'Gulf Oil Syndrome' Sickening Workers? - June 23, 2010
Oil Disaster's Unknown Effects on Health Examined
Once pristine Island east of Grand Isle Destroyed by BP
BP Oil Spill Is Corexit to FL.! Plants and Wildlife
Lord Monckton - On the BP oil spill - June 10, 2010
U.S. Economy Dancing On Quicksand
By: Bob Clark - MarketOracle.co.uk
"Pssst, want to make a trillion dollars. We control government policy. We control fiscal and monetary policy and we will tell you where we are headed with our policies. They will be the opposite of what the majority is expecting. We will change direction when the consensus is extreme and the other side of the trade is available so we can take on huge new positions. Then we will switch course. It is risk free and the gains will be spectacular. They will help us survive this financial debacle." Question from a bank president. "But what about the citizens Ben?" Bernanke replies. "To hell with them"
When the government is manipulable it gives new meaning to the concept of a contrarian trade.
We will all be rich
When the benefits run out - and still no job
By Hibah Yousuf
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Two years on the unemployment line is devastating. You deplete your savings. You borrow from your family. You feel that your life is slipping out of your control.
And then you spend your last unemployment check.
As the ranks of the long-term unemployed grow, the politicians in Washington are fighting over whether to extend deadlines so more people can get the maximum of 99 weeks of benefits.
The big crash – America plunges into Depression
by Alexander Cockburn: The FirstPost.com
Young Americans have given up watching the news. It’s too depressing
It's the worst of times. America is plunging back into Depression. Only one out of every two Americans of working age has a job. Forty years ago that would have been okay. Dad went to the factory. Mom stayed at home to mind the kids. These days, just to keep the show on the road, mom and pop both work and the kids go to daycare.
Start looking for work now and on average it will take till next April for you to find something. Across the last two months, more than a million Americans simply gave up seeking employment, even as benefits are running out. Ironically, if you quit looking for work you count as officially "discouraged", and don't figure in the official unemployment stats, which is the only reason that number hasn't shot up to record highs.
Profound Trouble Ahead
CHCH ObamaNation item by John LeBoutillier
We have now entered a period of extreme danger for the United States. The American economy is fragile. Jobs are not being created. At best we have a jobless recovery. At worst we are headed back into a period of slow or non-growth. Maybe not a technical recession (6 months of negative growth) but is certainly feels like one. Anecdotally, there suddenly appear to be more For Sale signs on residential properties and more Store Closed signs on soon-to-be empty storefronts.
The Gulf Oil Disaster - G.O.D. - is an eerie precursor for the incompetence of the Obama Administration. They are indeed the Gang that Can't Govern Straight.
As Jobless Americans Go Broke, Politicians Care More About Politics
By SAM GUSTIN - DailyFinance.com
As Congress returns to the Capitol this week, the 2010 midterm political season is already well underway. With Republicans hungrily eyeing vulnerable Democratic seats in the House and Senate, and Dems desperate to maintain their majorities in both chambers, most pretenses of policymaking have given way to purely political positioning.
And sometimes, inaction can be more useful politically than action. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Senate, which has basically ground to a halt, thanks to legislative maneuvers like the Republican filibusters (or the threat thereof), which can be defeated only by 60 votes -- two short of the Democrats' current seat count.
Homeowners vs. Home-Loan Buyers
By RUTH SIMON - WSJ.com
Eddie Patrick thought he had a deal with Kondaur Capital Corp. to restructure the mortgage on his Baltimore house after he fell behind on his payments. The 54-year-old taxi driver dropped a lawsuit against the company after he says it promised to "work with me" on a loan modification, according to a court filing.
Kondaur foreclosed anyway - and then offered to sell the house back to Mr. Patrick for $140,000. "I don't know why they are so inhumane," he says about the Orange, Calif., company, one of the nation's largest buyers of troubled mortgages.
The appetite is huge among companies like Kondaur, hedge funds and investors to buy shaky mortgages, credit-card debts, auto loans and even payday loans from lenders eager to cut their losses. So far this year, nearly $10 billion in troubled mortgages has changed hands, according to Private National Mortgage Acceptance Co., or PennyMac, a mortgage-loan buyer started in 2008.
No extension of unemployment benefits in sight for the long-term jobless By Michael A. Fletcher - Washington Post Staff Writer
TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- Even before his unemployment checks ended, Dwight Michael Frazee's days were filled with the pursuit of any idea that could earn him a buck. But few are working out, and now his nights are filled with dread.
In the coming weeks, the Senate is expected to resume its debate about whether to extend the emergency jobless benefits that were passed in response to the steep increase in unemployment caused by the recession. But people like Frazee, who have suffered the longest in the downturn, will not be part of that conversation. They are among the 1.4 million workers who have been unemployed for at least 99 weeks, according to the Labor Department, reaching the limit for the insurance. Their numbers have grown sixfold in the past three years.
Small business owners, banks and Fed look for lending Some sound businesses are shut because of a lack of credit: Bernanke By Ronald D. Orol and Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Banks and small business borrowers on Monday squabbled with each other and regulators over how to expand lending to entrepreneurs and create jobs to bolster a stagnating economic recovery.
Kicking off an all-day conference at the Federal Reserve on the financing needs of small businesses, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged that some businesses in good standing have had difficulty obtaining the credit they need to expand or, in some cases, to even stay afloat.
"Some creditworthy businesses -- including some whose collateral has lost value but whose cash flows remain strong -- have had difficulty obtaining the credit that they need to expand, and in some cases, even to continue operating," Bernanke acknowledged.
Duke Says Fed Has 'No Plans' to Use More Monetary Policy Tools
By Joshua Zumbrun and Michael McKee
July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke said the central bank has no current plans to deploy additional tools for stimulating the economy.
The Fed could alter its communications strategy, lower the interest rate it pays on excess reserves or replace mortgage- backed securities that are rolling off its balance sheet, Duke said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television, when asked what tools the central bank has at its disposal.
"I would emphasize there are no plans to do that at this point," she said.
Fragile Recovery or Great Correction
By Bill Bonner - The DaiilyReckoning.com
07/12/10 Paris, France - Today, we weep!
Yes...pity the poor rich. Or those who thought they were rich. They're losing their houses.
The New York Times reports that the rich are defaulting on their mortgage loans faster than the poor:
The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed to the suburban middle class is striking the upper class in privileged enclaves like this one in Silicon Valley.
Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.
More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic.
Deflation Becomes the Dominant Economic Trend
By: Clif Droke - SafeHaven.com
One of the abiding fears since the government stimulus effort began in earnest last year has been the fear that runaway inflation will once again rear its ugly head. Legions of market commentators have predicted the return of inflation in spite of the deflationary environment we find ourselves in.
Can we reasonably expect a return of inflation in the foreseeable future? The Kress Cycles say "No!" and tells us to expect just the opposite, namely a deflationary trend. This has certainly been the dominant economic trend since the credit crisis of 2008 and, in some areas, even before then.
The greatest con since 1776
Ilargi: Right. So Fannie and Freddie have now been delisted from the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges. They'll still be traded though, in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. If any knows of any valid reasons why government entities should be traded at all, never mind very profoundly bankrupt ones, do pray tell. Buying and selling broke government agencies can only be profitable if the taxpayer gets stuck with the difference, as far as I can make out.
Financial Reform Bill Passed by House Would Create 'Office of Minority and Women Inclusion' in Every U.S. Financial Regulatory Agency
By Matt Cover, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - The financial regulations package recently passed by the House of Representatives would create a new diversity overseer at each of the major federal financial regulatory agencies, including the new ones created by the legislation itself.
This new office, called the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, would take over from any existing diversity or civil rights office already working at the agencies in question.
Chinese rating agency strips Western nations of AAA status
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
China's leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West.
Dagong Global Credit Rating Co used its first foray into sovereign debt to paint a revolutionary picture of creditworthiness around the world, giving much greater weight to "wealth creating capacity" and foreign reserves than Fitch, Standard & Poor's, or Moody's.
The US falls to AA, while Britain and France slither down to AA-. Belgium, Spain, Italy are ranked at A- along with Malaysia.
Meanwhile, China rises to AA+ with Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, reflecting its €2.4 trillion (£2 trillion) reserves and a blistering growth rate of 8pc to 10pc a year.
EU Banking System on the Brink
By MIKE WHITNEY - CounterPunch.com
The EU banking system is in big trouble. Many of the Union's largest banks are sitting on hundreds of billions of dodgy sovereign bonds and non performing real estate loans. But writing down their losses will deplete their capital and force them to restructure their debt. So the banks are concealing their losses through accounting sleight-of-hand and by borrowing money from the European Central Bank. This has helped to hide the rot at the heart of the system.
Presently, 170 banks are having difficulty accessing the wholesale markets where they get their funding,. Financial institutions are wary of lending to each other because they're not sure who is solvent or not. It's a question of trust.
IMF plans mega bail-out for next crisis
By John Dizard - FT.com
We try to respond to our readers' needs here, which means it is not enough to predict the forthcoming plagues of frogs, pestilence, famine, quantitative expansion withdrawals, etc. You need to know how the particular order of the plagues should determine your asset allocation decisions.
So here is some news you can use. Be very careful about allowing any bad macro news over the coming months to tempt you into taking large short positions on risk assets. It's not just that short sellers, or buyers of credit protection, have been officially determined to be Bad People, though of course they have been. It's that there is a new set of mega-bail-out plans being put together in preparation for the next international financial crisis.
8 Days Left Until Greece Raids the Island Estates of its Wealthiest Citizens By Rocky Vega - TheDailyReckoning.com
07/12/10 Baltimore, Maryland - This past Friday, the Greek government warned its tax-dodging countrymen it has begun a roughly ten-day countdown until it will be coming after tax cheats with a vengeance. Desperate times call for desperate measures and, to get the money it's owed, the tax authorities will start taking over and selling the Aegean island estates owned by its most affluent, but not tax-compliant, citizens.
According to The Scotsman: "Finance ministry checks showed 990 people who owed more than 6.7 million euros in taxes owned a total of 2,917 real estate assets on the scenic islands of Mykonos and Santorini, worth more than 288 million euros. The ministry gave tax dodgers until July 20 to settle their debts.
Merkel's Rules for Bankruptcy
By Christian Reiermann - Spiegel.de
Fearing a lasting burden on taxpayers, the German government is preparing a set of insolvency rules for countries in the euro zone. It would require private investors to bear some of the financial burden and force the affected countries to give up some sovereignty. The plan is guaranteed to meet with resistance.
As a physicist and an avowed admirer of the Swabian housewife, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leader of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), is seeking to establish binding rules in the midst of the chaos of financial and monetary crises. Her desire for order was reinforced recently when the prospect of Greece collapsing under a mountain of debt triggered turmoil in the European Monetary Union.
Trichet's Fake Stress Tests Bring European Banking System to Edge of Abyss by Webster G. Tarpley
Seventy-nine years ago this month, the German banking system disintegrated. The Danat Bank closed its doors, and only a government-declared bank holiday saved the Deutsche Bank from liquidation. This July, it may well be that the entire European banking system is poised on the brink of a similar cataclysmic event. The $31 trillion European banking system, three times bigger than the US banks, may be about to dissolve.
Tarpley: EU to little too late
Buck without bang
FT.com
Alessandro Profumo, UniCredit's chief executive, has received lukewarm reactions from other European banks to his proposal for a €20bn privately financed fund to support cross-border banks in distress. The continent's bankers are presumably more warmly united around the main purpose such a fund would serve - to dam a rising tide in favour of a bank levy.
Some of the mixed feelings about Mr Profumo's idea, floated in an FT comment article on Monday, can be put down to confusion about exactly what the proposal entails. He explicitly says it is not a resolution or bail-out fund intended to cover the losses of insolvent banks. The idea, rather, seems to be for Europe's cross-border banks to voluntarily pay into a fund that, if wholesale markets were to freeze up as they have done in this crisis, would carry solvent banks through their dire straits until they could again raise funding in the markets.
With 3 GOP Votes, Democrats Near Wall Street Reform Passage
By SAM GUSTIN - DailyFinance.com
Senate Democrats moved one step closer to passing a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street regulations -- and handing President Barack Obama an election-year victory -- after securing the support of three Republicans.
In a statement issued late Monday, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said she would join Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who had announced his support earlier in the day, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who was already on record backing the Wall Street reform bill. The measure would create new consumer protections and impose limits on Wall Street activity.
3rd D.C. lawmaker faces debt problems
By Jim McElhatton - WashingtonTimes.com
Michael A. Brown owed IRS $50,000
A D.C. council member who serves on a powerful finance committee is facing a federal lien seeking more than $50,000 in unpaid income taxes - the third city lawmaker to face scrutiny over personal or tax debts in recent months.
The Internal Revenue Service filed the lien against Michael A. Brown, at-large independent, in April citing debts on four years of income taxes dating back to 2004.
Though the IRS does not comment on individual tax cases, the lien filed against Mr. Brown states, "We have made a demand for payment of this liability, but it remains unpaid."
Get ready, New York, for smaller Wall Street
By Aaron Elstein - CranesNewYork.com Stronger regs, weaker profits could shrink industry to 1993 size.
Ever since the 2008 crash destroyed American life as everyone knew it, Wall Street bankers have feared that Washington lawmakers would throw a wrench into their money-making machine. That future is almost here.
The Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, which could be approved by the Senate as early as this week, would mark the dawn of a significantly less profligate era for Wall Street and years of painful adjustment for the millions of New Yorkers who feed off the financial industry's largesse, from city and state government employees to real estate agents and restaurateurs.
Crisis Awaits World's Banks as Trillions Come Due
By JACK EWING - NYTimes.com
FRANKFURT - The sovereign debt crisis would seem to create worry enough for European banks, but there is another gathering threat that has not garnered as much notice: the trillions of dollars in short-term borrowing that institutions around the world must repay or roll over in the next two years.
The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund have all recently warned of a looming crunch, especially in Europe, where banks have enough trouble raising money as it is.
Will Gold ever be a Means of Exchange? Will Gold be a measure of Value? By: Julian D. W. Phillips - Safehaven.com
When gold is written about as money, it means different things to different people. Money is, after all, what most people see as a means of exchange; you use money to pay for goods and services, simply that.
As a measure of value, gold need not be money in the same way at all. Many supporters of gold would like it to be money in the system but there is so little gold out there is this realistic? Now that central banks are buying gold and some banks are using gold as collateral, gold has returned to a deeply realistic monetary role in the money system. The BIS set of transactions confirmed this emphatically. So what's the difference?
Seasonal impact means recent pull backs in gold could be short lived
David Levenstein - MineWeb.com Despite continued strong demand, gold may trade sideways for a few weeks before the next break to the upside.
JOHANNESBURG - According to reports that appeared in the Wall Street Journal and Financial Express some of the central banks that had recently increased their gold reserves have entered into gold swaps (exchanging their gold in return for cash, agreeing to repurchase the gold at a later date) with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in order to take advantage of the recent high prices we have seen in the yellow metal. The report, released last week, shows the international agency has taken 349 tons of gold since December - allowing central banks to raise a record $14 billion.
Panicky investors keep gold strong as they look for security
The gold price may go beyond its record high to top $2,000 an ounce as bullion sales rocket and central banks stock up
by Richard Wachman - MineWeb.com
LONDON (THE OBSERVER) - Having narrowly averted a financial Armageddon in 2008, investors are worried the authorities have transferred western indebtedness from banks and consumers to national governments.
In their worst moments, panicky investors and savers visualise a world that has been turned upside down by a sovereign debt crisis that breaks both the euro and flattens the once mighty dollar. As the west sinks into a quagmire of its own making, demand plummets and the world is dragged into another Great Depression. Even the emerging markets of China, India and Brazil are affected as export markets shrivel. Political instability follows, with riots on the streets and unemployment at levels not seen since the 1930s.
Gold Falls as Dollar's Gain Erodes Demand for Alternative Asset
By Pham-Duy Nguyen - Businessweek.com
July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Gold futures fell as the dollar's rally eroded demand for the precious metal as an alternative asset.
The greenback gained as much as 0.6 percent against a basket of six major currencies. Last week, investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, dropped 0.4 percent, ending a 10-week climb. Gold prices have dropped 5.4 percent from a record $1,266.50 an ounce on June 21.
Blame Gold and Market Volatility on Summer Doldrums, Not Deflation
By: The Gold Report - MarketOracle.co.uk Everyone is concerned with the volatility in the markets. What's going on out there? John Lee: Well, there's the proverbial "sell in May and walk away" going on, even though commodity prices have stayed fairly buoyant. In the junior market, there's a lot of paper that came out and began trading from the financings conducted in November and December. I think we're experiencing a little bit of a weak season where equity markets are vulnerable. TGR: I was reading some of your presentations and one thing that you talk about is paper currencies being at the mercy of government and you consider gold a hedge against paper. On July 1st, one of the more popular gold futures contracts lost $40, its biggest drop since February. Investors seem to be gravitating toward T-bills because they fear deflation. Should we fear gold's prospects in a deflationary economic environment or should we expect gold ultimately to continue its record bull run?
Silver's Historical Correlation with Gold Suggests A Parabolic Top As High As $714 per Ounce!
By: Lorimer Wilson - MarketOracle.co.uk
Almost 70 respected economists, academics, gold analysts and market commentators (see list below) are of the firm opinion that gold is going to go to at least $2,500 if not as high as $10,000 per ounce (or more) before the parabolic top is reached. As such, just imagine what is in store for silver given its historical price relationship with gold. We're looking at an extreme case scenario of a future parabolic top of perhaps as much as $714 per ounce for silver, the 'poor man's gold'. Let me explain.
The current price of gold and the price of silver - the silver:gold ratio - continues to hover around the 67:1 range which is way out of whack with the historical relationship between the two precious metals. It begs the question: "Is now the perfect time to buy silver instead of the much more expensive gold metal?"
Staggering Stats About Silver Supply
By The Mogambo Guru - TheDailyReckoning.com
07/12/10 Tampa, Florida - I got a June 2010 brochure from silverinsidersreport.com that contained an interesting fact about SLV, the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) for silver, which is that Peter Keusgen, the writer, says that SLV is "the main alternate source of storage" of silver and "which accounts for around 50% of world silver inventory"! Wow!
Well, interestingly, he doesn't get into that whole controversy about whether there is actually any silver in SLV, but he writes that SLV has "been raided heavily over the past seven weeks," and indeed since February 26, "17.9 million ounces - or 2,2557,000 ounces - have been withdrawn from the ETF by authorized participants."
Tax Increases on the Horizon
by Jillian Bandes - TownHall.com
Democrats in Congress haven't made any moves to extend the Bush tax cuts of 2006, so workers of all income levels can expect to see a 5% increase in their income taxes, and additional tax increases from a number of other areas.
The taxes affected include the capital gains tax, the alternative minimum tax, education deductions, and sales tax exemptions. They also include small tax increases, like a rollback in tax breaks for tuition expenses and donations of books to public schools.
Another Take on Munis as the Next Big Short
By: John Rubino - SafeHaven.com
Here's a piece on municipal bonds by Rich Bookstaber, an SEC adviser and author of Demon of Our Own Design, a well-received book on derivatives. The article is a few months old, but -- since the muni market has yet to blow up -- it's still timely. See the last paragraph for a succinct explanation of the main risk to muni holders in particular and the economy in general.
U.S. Queries 64 Issuers of Mortgage Securities, Others
By NICK TIMIRAOS
A federal regulator said it sent 64 subpoenas to issuers of mortgage-backed securities and other entities in an effort to probe whether the firms misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the biggest investors in privately issued bonds.
The subpoenas, issued on Monday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the government-backed mortgage titans, could lead the government to recoup some of the billions of dollars that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost when they scooped up mortgage-backed securities issued by Wall Street banks during the housing boom.
FHFA probes subprime, Alt-A lending
BY INMAN NEWS Regulator seeking loan applications, appraisals
Federal regulators overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said today they will seek to recoup losses from companies that securitized "private-label" subprime and Alt-A mortgage-backed securities in cases where they discover misrepresentations and breaches of warranty.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it has issued 64 subpoenas from unnamed companies to obtain loan documents that would shed light on whether such misrepresentations were made.
FHFA said it's seeking the contents of loan files, including documents used in the underwriting process such as loan applications and property appraisals. The subpoenas are part of an ongoing inquiry, which may lead to additional subpoenas.
Rising foreclosures cut home sales prices in Muncie, Ind.
By Christine Dugas, USA TODAY
Muncie, Ind., a Midwest Rust Belt city, has grappled with the recession as the local auto manufacturers have closed their doors.
Until recently, the housing market in Delaware County, where Muncie is the county seat, had steadily slipped from its peak sales and prices in 2006.
As unemployment has risen, Muncie, known as Middletown, has been hit by home foreclosures, says Phyllis Johnson, president of Mid-Eastern Indiana Association of Realtors. Even more expensive homes are now being seized by banks.
Obama Approves $1.5 Billion Hardest Hit Fund for Foreclosure Prevention by Kathy Wolf - NewsFuzion.com
Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) can begin using $1.5 billion in "Hardest Hit Fund" foreclosure-prevention funding under plans approved by the Obama Administration. The fund is geared for assisting struggling homeowners in those states who are attempting to keep their homes from being foreclosed on. The plans for first round funds were approved on June 23, 2010.
Signs of the Times
by Thomas Sowell - Townhall.com
If you could spend vast amounts of other people's money just by saying a few magic words, wouldn't you be tempted to do it? Barack Obama has spent hundreds of billions of dollars of the taxpayers' money just by using the magic words "stimulus" and "jobs."
It doesn't matter politically that the stimulus is not actually stimulating and that the unemployment rate remains up near double-digit levels, despite all the spending and all the rhetoric about jobs. And of course nothing negative will ever matter to those who are part of the Obama cult, including many in the media.
More Americans' credit scores sink to new lows
By Eileen Aj Connelly, AP - USAToday.com
NEW YORK - The credit scores of millions more Americans are sinking to new lows.
Figures provided by FICO Inc. show that 25.5 percent of consumers - nearly 43.4 million people - now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders. It's unlikely they will be able to get credit cards, auto loans or mortgages under the tighter lending standards banks now use.
Because consumers relied so heavily on debt to fuel their spending in recent years, their restricted access to credit is one reason for the slow economic recovery.
"I don't get paid for loan applications, I get paid for closings," said Ritch Workman, a Melbourne, Fla., mortgage broker. "I have plenty of business, but I'm struggling to stay open."
A shift in meaning for 'luxury' as shopping habits change
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
Steve Hundley dumped his Jaguar convertible. He stopped taking Baltic cruises. And he stopped buying his wife pricey jewelry.
But last year, just as the recession raised its head, the San Diego resident paid $6,500 for an outdoor artisan pizza oven.
"We don't need the Jaguar or cruises to the Baltic," says Hundley, who at 56, is semiretired following a heart attack two years ago. "But cooking healthy food is a big priority."
Americans are dipping their toes back into the luxury pool - but with a mindset that's been smacked down and radically reshaped by the recession, the lure of new technologies and emerging lifestyle twists that are often as much personal as cultural.
Government "Controlled" Healthcare - vs - Government Run Census
CHCH - ObamaCare item by J. D. Longstreet
Allow me to relate to you a story of an American citizen's experience with the 2010 Census: When the census began earlier this year, he did not receive the form. Then, if you recall, the government said there would be a second mailing. He did not receive the form in the second mailing. Soon afterwards he saw a notice in his regional newspaper that informed those having still not received their census forms to call a certain telephone number and request a form be sent to them. So, as a dutiful citizen, he called the number and made his request. In a couple of days, or so, he received the form. Within 48 hours he sat down and took the 5 to 6 minutes required to fill out the form and he mailed it back to the US Census Bureau.
It was finally done, he thought. . Thinking that all was well with the US Census, and himself he put the matter out of mind.
Census Countdown Brings Fear of Exclusion
By ANA CAMPOY - WSJ.com
HIDALGO, Texas - As census takers wrap up door-to-door counting, community organizers in hard-to-count areas are worried that some of their residents will be missed, again.
Interest in the 2010 population count - used to distribute federal funds and assign House seats during redistricting - has surged across the U.S., with some 250,000 community groups signing up to help in hopes of a more accurate count than in previous decades.
But even with their input, leaders in many communities remain doubtful about the census results.
"I'm just not confident that we're going to have a 100% accurate count," said Judge Rene Ramirez, Hidalgo county's top administrator.
The War on Arizona
by Pat Buchanan - TownHall.com
Not since President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock and JFK sent U.S. marshals to the University of Alabama has the federal government seemed so at war with a state of the union.
Arkansas and Alabama were defying U.S. court orders to desegregate. But Barack Obama's war on Arizona is not a war of necessity. It is a war of choice -- an unprovoked war, undertaken not to defend constitutional or civil rights, but to pander to his party's left and Hispanic voters.
'AZ Ceded to Mexico and the Rise of the Obama Police State?'
CHCH - Constitution/Republic item by Sher Zieve
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." This is the opening paragraph of the thirteen United States colonies' declaration of independence from the then tyrannical England on 4 July 1776. It was then and remains today the primary seminal founding document of the United States of America.
The Manifestation of Aztlan: Mexicanization of America
CHCH - Immigration/Border Security item by Frosty Wooldridge
An arrogant billboard exploded on the Los Angeles skyline a few years ago by a local TV station: "Los Angeles, Mexico: Your Town, Your Community." It was spelled out in Spanish. CA was crossed out with a red X and replaced by the word 'MEXICO'. Two smiling Latinos representing over two million illegal aliens in the City of Angels smiled from their anchor desks. Behind them stood the LA skyline replete with skyscrapers. Most disconcerting was a statue, also in the billboard picture, that stands in the middle of Mexico City.
GOP poised to grab control at state levels
By Joseph Weber - WashingtonTimes.com Democrats in danger of losing legislatures
When it rains, it pours.
Democratic leaders already braced for losses in November in congressional and gubernatorial races may be looking at grief on yet another front: A record number of state legislatures could change party control this year, with Democrats at risk of losing their majorities in more than 20 state chambers, according to a comprehensive analysis.
Electing state lawmakers will be especially important this year because the party that controls at least one chamber of the legislature typically wins a seat at the table - and a veto - in the once-a-decade redrawing of congressional districts after the 2010 census.
Gingrich weighing run for White House
By Mike Glover AP - WashingtonTimes.com Sees Obama as not winning in 2012 against a Republican
DES MOINES, Iowa | Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday he is seriously considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination and will announce his decision early next year.
Mr. Gingrich, 67, told the Associated Press that he would focus on helping Republican candidates through the midterm elections in November, then decide in February or March whether to seek the GOP nomination.
"I've never been this serious," Mr. Gingrich said.
"It's fair to say that by February the groundwork will have been laid to consider seriously whether or not to run," he said.
German Car Makers Fear US Trade Sanctions
Spiegel.de
The German automobile industry is recovering rapidly from the economic downturn. But new challenges may await. Politicians in Washington may be considering a levy on cars imported from Germany.
The news in June was heartening. The German automobile industry, hit hard by the global economic downturn, was experiencing a rapid comeback, according to a report three weeks ago. Sales in the US were particularly strong.
Now, though, some are concerned that US trade sanctions might bring the party to a premature end. Sources within the German government and in the automobile industry have told SPIEGEL that Washington may be considering raising tariffs on German cars imported into the US.
Funding Corruption and Waste in Afghanistan
By: Ron Paul - Safehaven.com
Last week, GOP chairman Michael Steele came under fire for daring to say what a lot of Americans already know - that our involvement in Afghanistan is an ill-advised quagmire with no end in sight. After nearly 10 years and approaching $1 trillion spent, the conflict is going nowhere because there is nowhere for it to go. After all, if victory is never really defined, defeat is inevitable.
With our economy at home in serious trouble, this wasteful occupation is something we clearly cannot afford. Each soldier costs us $1 million per year, and yet most in Washington are only considering how many more soldiers to send. Fuel costs an astonishing $400 per gallon for our military in Afghanistan! Yet somehow, many politicians feel it is acceptable to squeeze this money out of our taxpayers, who are truly struggling economically, to fund this non-war. Our economy here is not showing any real signs of improvement. Official unemployment is pushing 10% and getting worse. (Real unemployment is over 20% according to the free-market economists) The growing debt and inflation used to fund this occupation only dooms us to more economic hardship for a long time to come. And - for what?
Large Hadron Collider rival Tevatron 'has found Higgs boson'
By Tom Chivers - Telegraph.co.uk
Rumours are emerging from the rival to the Large Hadron Collider that the Higgs boson, or so-called "God particle", has been found.
Tommaso Dorigo, a physicist at the University of Padua, has said in his blog that there has been talk coming out of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, that the Higgs has been discovered.
The Tevatron, the huge particle accelerator at Fermi - the most powerful in the world after the LHC - is expected to be retired when the CERN accelerator becomes fully operational, but may have struck a final blow before it becomes obsolete.
Gulf Oil Disaster: Military Moving In, People Moving Out
Deepwater-Drilling Ban Renewed by U.S. After Court Rejected Initial Pause By Jim Efstathiou Jr.
Offshore Oil Industry Finds Little Gain in Revamped U.S. Ban
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Revisions to a U.S. ban on deep- water drilling will do little to restart Gulf of Mexico operations brought to a standstill by the worst oil spill in the country's history, industry groups and analysts said.
The policy announced yesterday may let some deep-water work resume earlier than the six-month pause ordered by the Obama administration May 27, according to the Interior Department. A federal judge rejected the initial moratorium, imposed in response to the BP Plc oil spill in April.
Bp Preparing 'Super Weapon' To Avert Escalating Gulf Nightmare
by Terrence Aym - BeforeItsnews.com
In a desperate attempt to stop a huge area of the Gulf ocean floor from possibly rupturing due to subterranean methane gas (leading to a calamity no human has ever seen) BP has ripped a page from science fiction books.
The giant oil company is now quietly preparing to test a small nuclear device in a frenzied rush against time to quell a cascading catastrophe. If successful they will have the capability to detonate a controlled fusion generated pulse.
While the world watches BP's attempt to contain the oil gusher at the former Deepwater Horizon site, company officials have given the green light on an astounding plan to use what is known as a nuclear EPFCG charge if all else fails.
Gulf Oil Spill - Operation "DEEP SLEEP"
Operation Deep Sleep: Nuclear Blast In Gulf Of Mexico At 4:17 A.M. On 7/12/2010???
NOTICE ARMAGEDDON MOVED FORWARD
FROM 7/17 TO 7/11 2010
A solar eclipse will occur on the 11th of July 2010, precisely 19 years after the 7 minute totality of 1991, when the Illuminati came up with the plan to destroy America.
The plan of Lucifer is to deploy the HAARP beam to heat the water molecules above the Gulf, raising a low pressure air pocket up into the stratosphere. The low pressure will be a sign that they will cause a quake intended to target the sea bed under the Deepwater Horizon spill.
At the same time a West Australian deep earth sonar test will be deployed, in conjunction with HAARP this will cause a giant quake, similar to the quake caused by the Illuminati owned company that deployed the sonar activity during the days leading up to the Haiti quake.
At the end of June 2010 the West Australian government granted a license to the same Illuminati Company to resume sonar 'exploration'.
BP GULF SPILL - DID HAARP CAUSE THE BLOWOUT - INSIDE JOB!!
BP oil spill: Barack Obama's investigation hears of 'friction'
Suzanne Goldenberg in New Orleans - The Guardian
A commission appointed by Barack Obama to uncover the cause of America's worst environmental disaster turned its sights today on the clash of wills between BP and the operator of the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig.
In the high-stakes world of offshore drilling, there was in-built conflict between oil companies, such as BP, and rig operators, such as Transocean, the commission was told on the opening day of public hearings at a New Orleans hotel.
"There is natural friction between safety and caution and meeting schedules," said Larry Dickerson, who is the chief executive of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Transocean's main rival. "Our customers push us."
BP Said to Discuss Asset Sales With Apache for Spill
By Stanley Reed, Jeffrey McCracken and Katarzyna Klimasinska
July 12 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc is in talks to sell assets to Apache Corp. as it seeks funds to pay for the biggest U.S. oil spill in history, two people familiar with the discussions said.
Apache, the largest independent U.S. oil company by market value, is negotiating for assets that include a share in BP's Alaska business, for a price of less than $12 billion, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren't public.
BP gulf oil:
Proof of Toxic Air "ill winds" predicted by Webbots causing mass evacuation
BP's Hayward flies to Mideast to meet 'partners'
By Adam Schreck AP - WashingtonTimes.com
Oil giant believed trying to raise cash for Gulf cleanup
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - BP's embattled CEO flew to the wealthy emirate of Abu Dhabi to meet officials amid speculation the oil giant is looking to raise cash to cover clean up costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Chief Executive Tony Hayward arrived in the Emirati capital Tuesday and would be staying "a couple of days," BP spokesman Andrew Gowers said. He would not say whether Mr. Hayward planned to sit down with the region's powerful investment funds, which have provided needed cash to Western multinationals in past times of crisis.
"He's visiting partners as he does from time to time. He's conducting normal business," Mr. Gowers said.
What the BP Disaster Really Means For America
By H.P. Albarelli, Jr - Rense.com
By the time you read this I may be gone, vanished from my home on Florida's Gulf of Mexico. For the past two weeks I've been barricaded, along with about 400 other holdouts, on the small barrier island where I live. We are cut off from the mainland and the FEMA and Homeland Security forces are surrounding us by land and sea. They're attempting to forcibly relocate us to a once-abandoned army base in Georgia. About three-quarters of the town passively already agreed to go, but some of us refused. When Homeland Security officials announced that those of us who choose to stay behind would have their property seized and would all be arrested and taken to a federal prison facility, we felt we had no choice but to take up arms to defend our homes and families. It's been a tense standoff ever since.
TRACKING CLEANUP HEALTH EFFECTS:
How many workers are getting sick?
Sealing cap placed on oil well as Interior Dept. issues ban on offshore drilling
By Joel Achenbach and Mary Pat Flaherty - Washington Post Staff Writer
The fate of the gushing Gulf of Mexico oil well, and of deep-water oil drilling in general, remained very much unresolved Monday, even as BP engineers finally installed a massive new sealing cap that could potentially enable them to shut down the well permanently.
The drama in the depths off the coast of Louisiana unfolded as, in Washington, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a new moratorium on offshore drilling, trying a new tack to get around an injunction issued recently by a New Orleans federal judge. Instead of banning offshore drilling based on water depth, he barred drilling by the types of rigs and equipment used in deep water. An Interior Department spokesman said that none of the 33 rigs whose work was interrupted in May would be able to resume their activity.
BP puts tighter cap on leaking well
Richard Simon and Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times
Oil gushing into the gulf might be fully stopped soon if pressure tests are successful.
Reporting from Washington and Atlanta - BP lowered a new, tight-fitting containment cap over its renegade well in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday, which may give the company the ability to shut off the flow of oil completely if tests show that the well is in good enough structural shape to be bottled up at the top.
Live video from undersea robots showed the massive piece of machinery being lowered onto the well Monday evening, raising the possibility that after 84 days of gushing oil, the wound in the earth a mile below the gulf's surface could soon be stanched.
BP Installs Sealing Cap on Errant Well
Apparent Success of Company's Latest Effort Holds Promise of Containing a Nearly Three-Month Long Environmental Crisis
By SUSAN DAKER And CASSANDRA SWEET - WSJ.com
HOUSTON - BP PLC said Monday night it had installed a new sealing cap that could halt the oil spewing from its broken well in the Gulf of Mexico, raising the possibility that a nearly three-month long environmental crisis could soon be contained.
It could be another 48 hours before the company knows if the cap has entirely sealed the well. During that period, the company will perform a series of pressure tests to check the well's integrity. Concerns have been raised that the well could be even more damaged than previously known and that another uncontrolled leak could occur at any time.
The sealing-cap system hasn't been used before at these depths or conditions, BP said, adding that the system's "ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured."
Censored Gulf dispersant news: Act of war (Pt II) The art of chemical warfare
by Deborah Dupre - Human Rights Examiner
EPA, DoD, PetroChem corporations: bed fellows to rid "pests"
Chemical warfare on Americans in the Gulf Coast region and beyond has been planned and researched by the EPA, DoD and petro-chemical companies for decades according to government documents, some cited within this report below.
It is tragically naive to think that the Gulf region aerial pesticide spraying will stop before the mission is complete. The major agency holding the key to halt the genocide, the agency portrayed as the government body protecting the public and environment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has been collaborating with chemical companies and the Department of Defense (DoD) for decades rather than protecting the public from their kill-off agenda. This collaboration increased during the Bush administration, its fruits finally overtly witnessed in Obama' Gulf operation.
AC Griffith's Take On The BP Oil Spill In The Gulf,
Scalar Weapons and HAARP
Monday 07.12.2010
Regulators Shut 4 Banks in Md., Okla., N.Y.
Number of Bank Failures Hits 90 for the Year - AP - CBSNews.com
(AP) Regulators on Friday shut down banks in Maryland, Oklahoma and New York, lifting to 90 the number of U.S. bank failures this year.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it was appointed receiver of Bay National Bank and Ideal Federal Savings Bank, both based in Baltimore. Bay National Bank had $282.2 million in assets and $276.1 million in deposits as of March 31. Ideal Federal Savings Bank had $6.3 million in assets and $5.8 million in deposits.
The FDIC also took over Home National Bank in Blackwell, Okla., with $644.5 million in assets and $560.7 million in deposits, and USA Bank in Port Chester, N.Y., with $193.3 million in assets and $189.9 million in deposits.
more on the 'Snitch Tax'. . . . IRS seeking public comment
IRS starts mopping up Congress's tax-reporting mess
By Neil deMause, contributing writer - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With a new mandate looming that will require business owners to file millions more tax forms, the Internal Revenue Service has begun the daunting process of figuring out how to turn the law's sweeping demands into actual rules for taxpayers.
The new regulations, which kick in at the start of 2012, require any taxpayer with business income to issue 1099 forms to all vendors from whom they purchased more than $600 of goods and services that year. That promises to launch a fusillade of new paperwork: An estimated 40 million taxpayers will be subject to the requirement, including 26 million who run sole proprietorships, according to a report released this week by National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. . . .
The agency is currently seeking public comment on how it should implement the new rules.
IRS Requests Public Input on Expanded Information Reporting Requirement IR-2010-79, July 1, 2010
WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service today invited public comment on how to most effectively carry out a law change that, starting in 2012, will require businesses to report a wider range of payments to contractors, vendors and others, usually on Form 1099. These comments will help the IRS issue guidance that implements this provision in a manner that minimizes burden and avoids duplicate reporting.
Under a proposed regulation, many business purchases made with credit or debit cards would be exempt from the new reporting requirement because they are already reported by banks and other payment processors. The IRS seeks comments on additional circumstances in which duplicate reporting might otherwise occur and on rules that would prevent such duplicate reporting.
Financial Regulatory Bill Approved by House Gives Feds Power to Subpoena Any Record from Any Financial Institution Without Establishing Any Probable Cause
By Matt Cover, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - The final version of President Barack Obama's financial regulatory bill, hammered out in negotations between House and Senate Democrats, contains a provision that grants the federal government the power to subpoena any financial information it wants from any financial institution without showing probable cause that a crime has been committed.
The 4th Amendmnent to the U.S. Constitution says: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
America: Optimism on hold
By Alan Beattie and Robin Harding - FT.com
A month ago, it all seemed to be going so well. Growth in the US economy was picking up. The financial system was, mainly, functioning. The risk of contagion from Europe had diminished after an unprecedented €110bn ($139bn, £91bn) bail-out from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Things were creeping back towards normality.
Then in early June, as Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman, put it, the economy hit "an invisible wall". The US had a run of bad news - disappointing job growth; unexpectedly low employment; indices suggesting manufacturing and services losing momentum; renewed jitters from Europe's sovereign debt markets and its banks. While most economists think it unlikely this heralds the famous double-dip recession feared by policymakers, it does come at a time when America's monetary and fiscal authorities are struggling for room to manoeuvre.
As the United States Collapses, Media Worships LeBron James
Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes - InfoWars.com
Alex Jones gives the inside scoop on basketball MVP LeBron James' pivotal trade decision ... err, I mean, rather breaks down how society has become obsessed with celebrity culture and taken its eye off of important world events, allowing corruption and global domination to take root. While LeBron announces his move to Miami, the mindless sports fans of America have essentially ignored larger problems.
The IMF Black Helicopter Gang Wants Your Social Security
Dean Baker - Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research - Politico.com
A few years back there was a fear in some parts about black UN helicopters that were supposedly taking part in the planning of an invasion of the United States. While there was no foundation for this fear, there is basis for concern about another international organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This week the IMF told the United States that it needs to start getting its deficit down and put cutting Social Security at the top of its "to do" list. This one is more than a bit outrageous for two reasons.
Miami Herald Invents a "Consensus Among Economists" to Push Social Security Cuts Dean Baker - CEPR.net
The Miami Herald took first place in the contest to have the most inaccurate article on Social Security when it printed without challenge an assertion that: "For awhile, there's been a consensus among economists that raising the retirement age makes a lot of sense." This is obviously not true, since there is no shortage of economists who do not agree with this view and it is quite possible that a majority of economists do not agree with this position. Any reporter who had researched this topic at all would know that the assertion is not true and would not present it to readers as being true.
Federal Balance Sheet: Is The Fed Funding The Treasury Through The Banks?
ZeroHedge.com
Recently I decided to take another look at the Fed's balance sheet, and while I am none too surprised, I must report that the Fed has printed approximately $200B from April 7th 2010 to June 30th 2010. What is interesting is *how* they went about doing it.
Here is the graph which shows this. The blue line represents the total increase in the size of the Fed balance sheet since September 10th 2008. The red line represents the marginal increase in the Fed balance sheet, net of 'Excess Reserves' held at banks but not yet loaned out, and net of Treasury sterilization:
Dollar Devaluation and Destruction of America Pick Up Steam
Kurt Nimmo - Infowars.com
Back in January Lindsey Williams' insider sources told him the dollar will be devalued within a year. In response, oil and food prices will rise significantly and the elite and banksters will move assets into gold and silver.
On Friday Fortune reported that central banks are now abandoning the dollar as the world's reserve currency. Morgan Stanley says the dollar is rapidly losing its status. "We already knew that central banks have preferred gold to dollars," writes Fortune, but it now "seems that those central banks prefer almost anything to dollars."
Both the United Nations and the IMF urge dumping the dollar as the world's reserve currency. Last year, both China and Russia questioned why the dollar should hold this status.
Gerald Celente: Go for the gold! June 30, 2010
Treasury: Chinese currency still undervalued
By Patrice Hill - WashingtonTimes.com
The Treasury Department late Thursday said China's currency remains undervalued despite the Asian giant's move last month to loosen its strict link to the U.S. dollar.
China let its currency gain a small amount in value against the dollar just before a meeting of the Group of 20 major economic powers last month to quiet a growing chorus of criticism from the United States and European nations that it maintains an advantage in trade by artificially depressing the value of its currency, the yuan. A cheaper yuan makes Chinese goods more competitive for buyers in the U.S. and Europe.
China's Trade Surplus Soars Again
By DOUGLAS MCINTYRE - DailyFinance.com
China's trade surplus rose 140% in June from the same month last year, to a total of $20.02 billion, attributable primarily to an increase in exports. The numbers were released on July 10 by the China Customs Bureau.
The news immediately set off more debate about the value of the yuan and whether the Chinese government is keeping it low to improve the attractiveness of its exports in global markets. The surplus "points to the need for Chinese authorities to allow continued appreciation of the yuan against the U.S. dollar, given their pledge to allow market forces to determine the exchange rate," Wang Qing, a Hong Kong-based economist at Morgan Stanley, told Bloomberg Businessweek.
US Economic Shockwaves Slam China With Unemployment
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
In the below video, originally aired on Current TV, journalists travel to China to document how the US consumer spending slowdown has devastated the Chinese manufacturing sector. Factories there have had to wind down production and lay off millions of workers as Americans buy fewer goods made in China.
The video is well put together and is produced by Vanguard, the same award-winning documentary group that had two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, detained in North Korea for several months until Bill Clinton personally met with Kim Jong-il and brokered their release.
Chinese credit firm says US worse risk than China
BY JOE MCDONALD - AP BUSINESS WRITER - miamiherald.com
BEIJING -- A Chinese firm that aims to compete with Western rating agencies declared Washington a worse credit risk than Beijing in its first report on government debt Sunday amid efforts by China to boost its influence in global markets.
Dagong International Credit Rating Co.'s verdict was a break with Moody's, Standard & Poors and Fitch, which say U.S. government debt is the world's safest. Dagong said it rated Washington below China and 11 other countries such as Switzerland and Australia due to high debt and slow growth. It warned the U.S. is among countries that might face rising borrowing costs and risks of default.
Gold Can Perform Well In Both Monetary Inflation and Deflation
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
The average punter understands the first graph to the right. Gold tends to increase in price in times of monetary inflation, because as an alternative store of wealth it provides a safe haven from central bank debasement of the currency.
By monetary inflation, we do not mean the simple, nominal growth in money supply, and of course the same can be said of a simple decrease and deflation. This is obvious when one considers that money must have a natural relationship to the demand for it relative to population growth, but most importantly to the growth of real GDP.
Why Gold Investments Will Shine
Tony Abbate - SeekingAlpha.com
With world economies on the cusp of a downturn, I think gold related investments will do well as one of two scenarios unfolds. Scenario one involves continued money printing by the Federal Reserve as a measure to intervene and minimize the effect of deleveraging. The Federal Reserve has more than illustrated time and again they will intervene at all costs. From 1987 to 2007, whenever there was a crisis, they intervened by cutting interest rates. During the financial crisis in 2008 they tried cutting interest rates to almost zero and the economy and markets did not respond. Hence, they had to resort to about a dozen quantitative easing strategies which were facilitated by massive money printing.
Gold Taking a Breather After Recent Plunge
By: Merv Burak - MarketOracle.co.uk
Unless you are a very short term or day trader you would want to know the direction of the existing gold trend, but there is no one trend. The market is always moving in different directions depending upon your investment or speculative time horizon. It could be in a very short term down trend but still within an intermediate term upwards trend all within a long term bear trend.
Before you invest or speculate you should know two things as far as the trend of your investment or speculation is concerned. You need to know the existing trend within your time horizon so that you can invest or speculate with the trend. The other thing you need to know is the next shorter time period trend. Trend reversals usually start in these shorter periods. Regardless if the trend looks good for your preferred time period, if the trend is in the opposite direction for the next shorter time period you would be prudent to wait for that trend to change into your preferred trend direction before jumping in. No use investing or speculating in your preferred trend direction only to see it turn around shortly there after.
Is Gold About To Rocket and SP500 Tank Video
By: Chris Vermeulen - MarketOracle.co.uk
Last week we saw stocks move sharply higher as traders started to cover their short position which added fuel to an already oversold market ready to bounce. Overall volume was not that strong on the move up which is a bearish sign. On Friday afternoon we saw the SP500 continue to move into the $1075 resistance level on very light volume. This indicates to me that buyers are not willing to pay these higher prices because the market has moved up so quickly and the fact that it's trading at a resistance level.
Gold is definitely not a bubble
By Lorimer Wilson
Many market participants and commentators are obviously having a hard time distinguishing between a bull market and a bubble. More and more articles are referring to the imminent burst of the "gold bubble" and to an alleged "crowded trade" but the facts quickly put such fear-mongering into perspective.
Five Reasons Gold Will Keep Its Luster
Kevin Grewal - SeekingAlpha.com
As market volatility continues to prevail and economic recovery concerns continue to draw attention, the appeal of gold remains intact and for good reason.
First, the shiny metal has appeal due to its scarcity. The primary driver behind this is a 3% decline in global mine production. This, coupled with increased demand, will leave a supply and demand imbalance which will likely result in positive price support.
Secondly, the inevitable fear of inflation continues to loom. With the Federal Reserve continuing to keep interest rates at record low levels, the printing of excess money and the massive amount of debt that is accumulating from excessive borrowing, these decisions will eventually catch up to the country and result in inflation, if not hyperinflation.
Irrational Gold Selling
By The Mogambo Guru - The DailyReckoning.com
07/09/10 Tampa, Florida - Last Monday I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that the price of gold had dropped $44.20, which was weird enough since Kitco was showing the "Gold Price Change due to Weakening dollar" was up by $23.00, meaning gold should be going up thanks to the weakening dollar, while the "Gold Price Change due to Predominant Selling" was down a whopping $67.20! Wow! Selling!
Since most of the problems with my medications regimen seem to be finally solved, what could I do but laugh, although weakly, in a kind of dull, sedated babble, "Hahahahahahaha!" at the sheer incongruity of it all, instead of going off on a Manic Mogambo Tangent (MMT) of some kind, probably either about how the Federal Reserve has destroyed the dollar by creating too many of them, or, on a more timely topic, about what idiots the sellers of gold are.
Secret gold swap has spooked the market
By Garry White and Rowena Mason - Telegraph.co.uk
IT takes a lot to spook the solid old gold market. But when it emerged last week that one or more banks had lent 380 tonnes of gold to the Bank of International Settlements in return for foreign currencies, there was widespread surprise and confusion
The news that a mystery bank has just pawned the family jewels gave traders a jolt - nervous about the sudden transfer of almost 20pc of the world's annual gold production and the possibility of a sell-off.
In a tiny footnote in its annual report, the bank disclosed its unusually large holding of gold, compared with nothing the year before. The disclosure was a large factor in the correction of the gold price this week, which fell below $1,200 for the first time in more than a month.
Gold keeps rising as panicky investors look for security
Richard Wachman - The Observer - Guardian.co.uk
Gold price may go beyond record high to top $2,000 an ounce as bullion sales rocket and central banks stock up
Goldfinger, the villain of the eponymous James Bond film, hatched a plot to increase the value of his bullion by detonating a nuclear device inside Fort Knox, making America's gold supply radioactive for 60 years. No less exciting, though rather more unsettling, is the real-life drama taking place on the world's financial markets, where investors have piled into gold on fears that capitalism is about to crumble.
Banks Still Stand in the Way of Full Recovery
James K. Galbraith: Restoring the Rule of Law Is the Key to Financial Recovery
The financial crisis in America isn't over. It's ongoing, it remains unresolved, and it stands in the way of full economic recovery. The cause, at the deepest level, was a breakdown in the rule of law. And it follows that the first step toward prosperity is to restore the rule of law in the financial sector.
First, there was a stand-down of the financial police. The legal framework for this was laid with the repeal of Glass-Steagall in 1999 and the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000. Meanwhile the Basel II process relaxed international bank supervision, especially permitting the use of proprietary models to value complex assets-an open invitation to biased valuations and accounting frauds.
Elizabeth Warren Discusses AIG and Bailout - June 10, 2010
Lenders threaten to derail green-energy financing
By Dana Hull/Medianews Group
A pioneering green-energy financing program designed to help property owners pay for energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes has been stopped in its tracks by push-back from the nation's leading mortgage lenders.
Twenty-two states, including California, have passed legislation to enable Property Assessed Clean Energy, known as PACE, and the Department of Energy has supported the programs with $150 million in federal stimulus funds.
Advocates stress that PACE will help homeowners afford the upfront costs of making major energy-efficiency improvements to their homes and create jobs. But mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac argue that PACE ultimately results in a lien on the property. In foreclosures, liens are typically paid off first before the banks -- so the lenders see PACE programs as adding risk in an already wobbly housing market.
Gibbs Evades Question of Whether Obama Agrees With His Medicare Director That Health-Care System Must Redistribute Wealth - By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has evaded answering the question of whether President Barack Obama agrees with Dr. Donald Berwick, his newly appointed administrator of Medicare and Medicaid, who has insisted that health-care systems must redistribute wealth.
"Excellent health care is by definition redistributional," Berwick said in a speech delivered on July 1, 2008.
When asked directly at the July 7 White House press briefing whether Obama agreed with this, Gibbs would not answer the question. Instead, he parried it with jocular statements about the provenance of the quote.
Strapped states seek aid
By Liz Sidoti ASSOCIATED PRESS - WashingtonTimes.com
BOSTON (AP) - Governors hamstrung by the sluggish economic rebound in their states and bound to balance their own budgets are pressing anew for Washington to step up with more help, some say even if it means adding to the nation's red ink.
Republicans and Democrats alike wrestled with how to capitalize on a fledgling rebound as they talked dollars and sense at their summer meeting just days into a new state budget year and as the economy shapes dozens of gubernatorial races across the country.
US long-term unemployment
FT.com
Some of a recession's worst effects are the least visible. It is easy to spot asset values imploding, but human capital erodes only gradually. With almost 7m Americans now out of work for more than 27 weeks - a postwar record 46 per cent of those unemployed, from 18 per cent two years ago - the US faces a long-lasting and intractable problem.
It is not just that job creation barely keeps pace with growth in the workforce, let alone returning to work the 8m people who have lost jobs since the start of 2008. The likelihoood of finding a job shrinks as the duration of unemployment rises: the Bureau for Labor Statistics calculates that a member of the long-term unemployed this month has a one-in-10 chance of finding a job next month, three times worse than the recently redundant.
'Cash-in' refinancing lets underwater homeowners take advantage of low interest rates By Lew Sichelman - LATimes.com
Homeowners who owe so much on their mortgages that they can't refinance may want to consider bringing some money to the table to take advantage of today's near record-low interest rates.
That's what Frank Nothaft did. And he isn't alone. Millions of people in recent months have become part of a phenomenon known as "cash-in" refinancing.
"It's picked up dramatically," says Nothaft, chief economist at mortgage giant Freddie Mac, the government-chartered enterprise that purchases mortgages from lenders.
Some HOAs sue or foreclose to collect dues
By Tammy Joyner - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Helen Burgess fell behind on her bills after being diagnosed with cancer, she was able to work out payment plans on her mortgage, car note, credit card and tax obligations to the Internal Revenue Service.
Her neighbors weren't so accommodating.
Because Burgess was late on her condo fees, the Magnolia Lane Condominium Association cut off her water soon after she returned home from surgery. That was June 27, 2009.
Since then, Burgess has been hauling water from her niece's house 10 miles away. The condo group also tried in vain to garnishee the Marietta woman's pay to collect the dues it's owed, which, including attorneys' fees, now totals more than $5,000. Most recently, it banned Burgess or her guests from using the clubhouse and other facilities in the 76-unit Marietta community.
Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages Are the Rich
By DAVID STREITFELD - NYTimes.com
LOS ALTOS, Calif. - No need for tears, but the well-off are losing their master suites and saying goodbye to their wine cellars.
The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed to the suburban middle class is striking the upper class in privileged enclaves like this one in Silicon Valley.
Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.
Debt collectors get nasty
By Blake Ellis, staff reporter
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Debt collectors are getting desperate and dirty.
Harassing phone calls, abusive language and physical violence are becoming a bigger part of business as debt collectors struggle to round up money from people who don't have it.
"The American consumer is really hurting and collectors are having to fight harder to get money," said Robert Andrews, a senior analyst specializing in the debt industry at research firm IBISWorld.
Complaints of harassment by debt collectors surged 50% to 67,550 in 2009, according to the Federal Trade Commission. And they are on track to jump 13% this year, based on the number of FTC complaints filed in the first six months
Missouri man's incendiary sign on U.S. 71 draws fire
By DONALD BRADLEY - The Kansas City Star
David Jungerman farms 6,800 acres of river bottom land in western Missouri.
He's not the kind of guy who posts on Twitter or has a Facebook profile.
So when the 72-year-old Raytown man wanted to speak out politically, he used what he had handy: a 45-foot-long, semi-truck box trailer.
Are you a Producer or Parasite
Democrats - Party of the Parasites
He planted the trailer with its professionally painted message in his Bates County cornfield along heavily traveled U.S. 71 about an hour south of Kansas City. He wanted lots of people to see it.
They did. Including at least one with a good case of outrage, matches and a can of gas.
Democrat Govs warn that AZ lawsuit will cost in fall elections Governors Voice Grave Concerns on Immigration
By ABBY GOODNOUGH - NYTimes.com
BOSTON - In a private meeting with White House officials this weekend, Democratic governors voiced deep anxiety about the Obama administration's suit against Arizona's new immigration law, worrying that it could cost a vulnerable Democratic Party in the fall elections.
While the weak economy dominated the official agenda at the summer meeting here of the National Governors Association, concern over immigration policy pervaded the closed-door session between Democratic governors and White House officials and simmered throughout the three-day event.
Governors avoid debate on Arizona's immigration law
By Michael Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau - LATimes.com
The topic's not on their convention agenda, but it's on everyone's mind as demonstrators rally nearby.
Reporting from Boston - Arizona's sweeping illegal immigration law has reignited debate throughout the country about calls for comprehensive reform. But as the nation's governors gathered this weekend, the topic was absent from their agenda, even as demonstrators rallied nearby.
Organizers of the National Governors Assn.'s summer meeting said there was no conscious effort to avoid the topic, but they conceded that differences among state leaders made it an unlikely discussion point.
Arizona immigration law could lead to a second suit, Holder says
By Katherine Skiba, Tribune Washington Bureau - LATimes.com
The attorney general says that if the state's tough law goes into effect, another suit could result if the U.S. believes racial profiling is taking place. The suit filed last week on constitutional issues could delay the law's implementation.
Washington - Atty. Gen. Eric Holder, the nation's top law enforcement officer, said Sunday he might sue Arizona a second time if he finds its tough-on-illegal-immigrants law leads to racial profiling.
Holder, speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," said the federal government's lawsuit against Arizona, filed last week, makes scant mention of racial profiling because a stronger argument against the law is that it preempts the federal government's responsibility in deciding immigration policies.
Coast Guard dispatching ships and personnel to Costa Rica to threaten Nicaragua
By Wayne Madsen - Online Journal Contributing Writer
After conducting its successful coup d'etat in Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya, the imperialistic Barack Obama administration is now bent on ousting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega by massing a huge U.S. Coast Guard and Marine Corps presence in neighboring Costa Rica, a base of operations for Reagan administration-backed CIA operations in the 1980s in support of the Nicaraguan contras.
Costa Rican government officials, including President Laura Chinchilla, Vice President Luis Lieberman Ginsburg, Security Minister Jose Maria Tijerino, counter-narcotics Commissioner Mauricio Boraschi, and the Costa Rican Congress agreed to Operation Joint Patrol, which will see 7,000 US Marines, 46 mainly U.S. Coast Guard vessels, and 200 helicopters and 10 combat aircraft descend on Costa Rica, which does not have a military force, from July 1 to December 31.
Clarke & Dawe on the US Oil Spill - SPOOF!
BP oil spill: the Red Adair of relief well drilling says 'no doubt about successful outcome'
By Jacqui Goddard - Telegraph.co.uk
From a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, John Wright, the Red Adair of relief well drilling, says in an exclusive interview that he is confident he will soon control the BP oil spill.
He is the man in whose hands many fortunes rest.
From global stock markets to crippled coastal
communities, from the White House to BP's boardrooms, his every move is awaited anxiously as he executes the hoped-for end game for the world's worst accidental oil spill.
With the future of Gulf of Mexico in the balance after a disaster that has emptied up to five million barrels of oil into the sea, there is a burden of expectation on John Wright's shoulders as he toils aboard the Development Driller III.
Intel Supercomputers Say BP Oil Spill Will Spread Up the East Coast
By ALEX SALKEVER - DailyFinance.com
As BP (BP) has struggled to cap the gushing Deepwater Horizon well for the past three months and tens of millions of gallons of oil have escaped into the Gulf of Mexico, scientists have speculated about how far the spilled crude would range from the initial disaster site.
Complex models crunched on supercomputers suggest that the oil will wash not only ashore on the West Coast of Florida but will also reach much of the entire Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.
Two teams of researchers, from the University of Hawaii and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), have relied on some of the planet's fastest supercomputers to compile these models, which take into account myriad factors including tides, currents, winds, water temperatures and the relative weights of oil versus water.
Supercomputer builds 3D model of Gulf oil spill
Simulations run at the University of Texas are helping researchers adapt the Advanced Circulation Model to map a trajectory of the Deepwater Horizon spill
By Elizabeth Montalbano, InformationWeek USA, May 31, 2010
The National Science Foundation has freed up one million computer hours on a supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas in Austin to create simulations for a 3-D model to help predict the trajectory of the Gulf oil spill.
Two researchers at the university -- Clinton Dawson and Gordon Wells -- are working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Pollution Surveillance team to help forecast the spill's movement and location, Wells said in an interview.
Gulf oil spill: Undersea oil masses confirmed in tests
June 21, 2010 - LATimes.com
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Monday released new data from the agency's latest research trip through the Gulf of Mexico, showing concentrations of oil below the surface at more than 3,600 feet below the surface, about 7.5 nautical miles southwest of the BP's blown-out well.
The Thomas Jefferson research ship found evidence of depleted oxygen, a potential sign of microbes digesting oil, in the area. Acoustic and fluorometric instruments likewise indicated the presence of oil. Water samples taken on the trip have not been analyzed.
Anadarko refuses to help BP pay for spill cleanup
HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is rejecting BP Plc's demand that it help foot the bill for cleaning up the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
The Woodlands-based Anadarko, which has a 25 percent stake in the Macondo well where the Deepwater Horizon exploded, said on Friday that it will not pay BP the $272 million the London oil giant has requested.
On June 18, Anadarko Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Hackett declared that the April 20 tragedy was a preventable one and "the direct result of BP's reckless decisions and actions."
BP Cuts Payments to 40,000, La. Official Says
CBSNews.com
State Cabinet Member Tells Federal Gov't of "Devastating" Cuts for Thousands with Incomplete Claim Files
(AP) BP has decided to reduce payments to tens of thousands of people whose claim files are incomplete, the secretary of Louisiana's Department of Children and Family Services said.
"This action is irresponsible and in complete contrast to BP's repeated promise that they will 'make things right,'" the secretary, Kristy Nichols, wrote in a letter sent Friday to federal oil spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg.
It was not immediately clear how severe the payment cuts would be. BP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oil Flows Freely in Gulf as BP Readies New Cap
By Mark Strassmann - CBSNews.com
Three-Day Process of Switching Caps Expected to Let as Many as 15,000 Barrels of Oil Gush into Gulf
(CBS) On Saturday, the fight to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico took one step backward with the hope of making one huge step forward.
Robotic subs removed the well cap so it can be replaced with a more complete seal, CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports. Oil will flow freely for at least two days until the tighter dome is put in place, which could potentially capture all the oil leaking into the ocean.
BP maneuvers underwater to secure new oil cap
By Lyndsey Layton - WashingtonPost.com
In a complicated subsea dance involving robots and hardware, BP made some progress Sunday in its effort to install a new, secure cap on the gushing oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, but the company says that it is early in the week-long project and that the oil is spewing as skimmers try to capture the newly vigorous flow of crude.
BP engineers are hopeful that by week's end they will have placed a perfect seal over the well, which began bleeding oil into the gulf on April 20 after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, in which 11 workers died.
A Key Piece in the Oil Leak Story: Two Sections of Drill Pipe Lodged in the Blowout Prevent Washingtonsblog.com
On June 30th, I noted that the Department of Energy had found that there were two section of drilling pipe lodge in the blowout preventer.
Yesterday, the Times-Picayune gave an update on this story, which includes competing interpretations about where the second section came from and what that means for the relief wells:
For the first time Friday, the Coast Guard and BP acknowledged that a mysterious second pipe, wedged next to the drill pipe in what remains of the Deepwater Horizon's riser, is fouling up the works where the well is spewing hundreds of millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
"We used a diamond saw and we got inside. We found there was actually two sets of drill pipe there," said retired Adm. Thad Allen, the top U.S. Coast Guard official overseeing the response to America's worst-ever oil spill.
More bad news for BP as arsenic levels rise around Gulf of Mexico
AFP - HeraldSun.com.au
BELEAGUERED energy giant BP was hit with further bad news this morning as it emerged dangerous arsenic levels have been found in seawater around the Gulf of Mexico.
British scientists warned that the oil spill is increasing the level of arsenic in the ocean, and could further add to the devastating impact on the already sensitive environment.
BP's Deepwater Horizon rig has been spilling between 3,681,500 litres and 911,454,000 litres of oil into the sea per day since it exploded on April 22.
BP Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones
DK Matai writes: Gas and Methane Levels At Record
As much as one million times the normal level of methane is showing up near the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher, enough potentially to create dead zones in the water. "These are higher levels than we have ever seen at any other location in the ocean itself," according to sources cited by Reuters. The "flow team" of the US Geological Survey estimates that 2,900 cubic feet of natural gas, which primarily contains methane, is being released into the Gulf waters with every barrel of oil.
You Are Not Authorized to See These Pictures of the Oil Spill, Citizen ... Do Not Look! Washingtonsblog.com
Preface: The title is a parody of the fact that the government has effectively made it a felony to take pictures of oiled wildlife.
While most of these pictures have previously been published by the mainstream media - and presumably will remain publicly available - that assumption is not 100% certain. By way of analogy, the government sometimes reclassifies as top secret information which was previously declassified.
Schlumbergers secret smoking oil rig documents
By Wayne Madsen - Online Journal Contributing Writer
Oil drilling industry inside sources have reported to WMR that smoking gun documents, including what are known as mud logs are being kept at the Tulsa, Oklahoma headquarters of Schlumberger Oilfield Services.
Mud logging entails the detailed analysis of rocky material and sediment from a borehole for signs and pressure levels and types of gas being encountered during the drilling process. Mud logging is always carried out by a third party and in the case of the Deepwater Horizon, this function was performed by Schlumberger.
Hours before the Deepwater Horizon explosion, Schlumberger engineers detected an increase in gas pressures as BP sank a bore to an unprecedented depth of 35,055 feet below sea level. It is clear that their warnings about an impending disaster were ignored by BP supervisors and the evidence of BPs criminal malfeasance sits in a secured room at Schlumbergers offices in Tulsa.
Gulf Oil Gusher: Danger of Tsunamis From Methane?
mi2g.com
A new and less well known asymmetric threat has surfaced in the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher. Methane or CH4 gas is being released in vast quantities in the Gulf waters. Seismic data shows huge pools of methane gas at the location immediately below and around the damaged "Macondo" oil well. Methane is a colourless, odourless and highly flammable substance which forms a major component in natural gas. This is the same gas that blew the top off Deepwater Horizon and killed 11 people. The "flow team" of the US Geological Survey estimates that 2,900 cubic feet of natural gas, which primarily contains methane, is being released into the Gulf waters with every barrel of oil.
Toxicologists: Corexit "Ruptures Red Blood Cells, Causes Internal Bleeding", "Allows Crude Oil To Penetrate Into The Cells" and "Every Organ System" WashingtonsBlog.com
As I have previously noted, Corexit is toxic, is less effective than other dispersants, and is actually worsening the damage caused by the oil spill.
Now, two toxicologists are saying that Corexit is much more harmful to human health and marine life than we've been told.
Specifically Gulf toxicologist Dr. Susan Shaw - Founder and Director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute - dove into the oil spill to examine the chemicals present.
Dr. Shaw told CNN:
If I can tell you what happens - because I was in the oil - to people
Shrimpers throwing their nets into water [then] water from the nets splashed on his skin.
If Explosives Are Used to Seal the Leaking Oil Gusher, Extreme Caution Should Be Used to Prevent Landslides WashingtonsBlog.com
I have previously argued that "the odds that the release of methane from the leaking oil will cause a tidal wave or a firestorm are infinitesimally small."
I am sticking by that assessment.
But Reuters notes that the use of explosives to seal the oil gusher could cause a landslide:
"I think this situation has taught us from the start to have a backup," retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the top official overseeing the spill response, told reporters this week.
If both relief wells fail, Allen said BP has a plan to fabricate a new pipeline, place it on the seabed and hook it up to the leaking wellhead.
GULF RESIDENTS "LAB RATS"! GRAND ISLE NATIVE REVEALS BP'S COREXIT SECRETS!
MAJOR HEALTH DISASTER
Gulf Oil Disaster:
Reporter On the Scene Believes Evacuation is Imminent
Ron Paul Slams Federal Interference In Oil Spill Relief Efforts
Gerald Celente on Jeff Rense 08 July 2010
John Stadtmiller Jul 07 2010 - GULF and Lindsey Williams
162 cases of illness + 2,000 people with other problems in LA;
Trans-alaska pipeline shut down about same time of oil spill;
No evacuations possible, due to politics and collapse of derivatives market worldwide
WARNING! OIL ON EAST COAST!!!
Tar Balls Wash Ashore At Cocoa Beach
CONFIRMED - LAB TESTED Gulf Coast Water Samples are 'VERY TOXIC' - Sea Spray is POISONOUS !!!
Sea Shepherd at Deepwater Ground Zero
Sea Shepherd on Larry King Live
Alex Sink on The Dylan Ratigan Show
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (1 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (2 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (3 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (4 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (5 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (6 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (7 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (8 of 9)
Gulf Oil Spill- Disaster, Metane, Toxic Dangers, R.C. Hogland
Coast to Coast show (9 of 9)
DEATH Of The Gulf (Part 1).
DEATH Of The Gulf (Part 2).
BP Gulf Oil Spill - Cloud of Death
(Toxic Rain followed by Tsunami 1 of 2 - June 21, 2010
BP Gulf Oil Spill - Cloud of Death
(Toxic Rain followed by Tsunami 2 of 2 - June 21, 2010
BP Gulf Oil Spill Exposure to Toxic Chemicals - Human Health Risks
Dr. Larry Lowry of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler shares his thoughts on these important issues. What are the chemicals found in the oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico? What are some of a the dangers to children? What are the long-term effects of exposure to the oil, it's vapors, or the dispersants?
R.C. Hoagland & J. Marvin Herndon - Methane Fears part 1/7
R.C. Hoagland & J. Marvin Herndon - Methane Fears part 2/7
R.C. Hoagland & J. Marvin Herndon - Methane Fears part 3/7
R.C. Hoagland & J. Marvin Herndon - Methane Fears part 4/7
R.C. Hoagland & J. Marvin Herndon - Methane Fears part 5/7
R.C. Hoagland & J. Marvin Herndon - Methane Fears part 6/7
R.C. Hoagland & J. Marvin Herndon - Methane Fears part 7/7
[note: many Youtube videos today; please give page time to load]
America is in a Societal Meltdown
Freedom and Liberty item by Chuck Baldwin - Jul 8, 2010 - CHCH
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." So said Founding Father and America's second President John Adams. And he was absolutely right. And that is what is absolutely wrong with our country today: America is in a complete moral, societal, and cultural meltdown.
More Power for the Fed
by Ron Paul
Last week I was pleased to see my Republican colleagues take up the cause to fully and completely audit the Federal Reserve by including my language from the Federal Reserve Transparency Act in a Motion to Recommit the financial regulation reform bill. Although this effort was defeated by the Democrat majority, there were many good reasons to support it.
The Federal Reserve Transparency Act would eliminate restrictions on GAO audits of the Federal Reserve and open Fed operations to Congressional oversight. Additionally, audits could include discount window operations, open market operations, and agreements with foreign central banks, such as the ongoing dollar swap operations with European central banks.
Obama Sees 'Hard Days Ahead,' Despite Pockets of Economic Recovery
By GIL RUDAWSKY - DailyFinance.com
Speaking to employees at the Smith Electric Vehicles plant in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, President Barack Obama painted a grim picture of the economy, calling it "as bad an economic situation as we've had since the Great Depression." But he was also quick to tout solid pockets of recovery due to government investment and small-business ingenuity.
As part of his reassurance that the economy's on the right track, he pointed to Smith Electric Vehicles, which won a $32 million grant and now employs 50, a number it expects to grow beyond 100 by the end of the year. The company had taken over an empty warehouse, he said.
'Liar Loans' Make a Comeback
By Stephane Fitch, Forbes.com - ABC News Banks Are Quietly Reestablishing Mortgages That Don't Require Income Documentation
Did you think the housing collapse killed off "liar loans"--those infamous bubble-era mortgages for which people were allowed to get creative in portraying their ability to make the payments? Well, they're back, and that may be a good thing.
All the rage during the peak of the housing boom, these mortgages went by names like "no-doc" (meaning no documentation of income required), "low-doc" or "stated-income" mortgages. In all cases, banks set aside their underwriting standards based on what borrowers could prove they were earning with pay stubs, tax returns and the like. Instead, lenders started trusting borrowers to "forecast" future income and underwrote loans based on those projections (using as a fallback the house itself as collateral).
Gold to cross $1300 soon
MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Those who are skeptical about buying gold considering its high prices may have to wait forever as the yellow metal is set to cross the $1,300 per ounce mark in the second half of 2010.
Consumers, especially in India, have been waiting for gold prices to come down to make purchases. But, according to market analysts, gold prices are set to cross the $1,300 level in the coming months.
Currently, gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) are ruling at $1192.10 per ounce.
World's leading precious metals consultancy GFMS said the growth expected, especially in value terms, of investment demand will probably be sufficient to drive prices above the $1,300 mark during the second half.
Why the gold rush may not be over
By Annalyn Censky
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Less than three weeks after gold surged to record highs, the precious metal has scaled back about 5% and is hovering once again around $1,200 an ounce.
On Thursday morning, gold for August delivery -- the most actively traded contract -- was down $7.50, or 0.63%, at $1,191.40 an ounce.
But the two major factors behind the precious metal's recent highs around $1,250 -- Europe's debt woes and volatile stock markets -- are still major concerns. So what gives?
Mysterious BIS gold swaps are likely a bullion bank bailout
By: Adrian Douglas - GoldSeek.com
The latest twist in the gold swap saga of the Bank for International Settlements is intriguing, as indicated by last night's GATA Dispatch, "Gold Swap Mystery Deepens as BIS Gets Correction from Wall Street Journal": http://www.gata.org/node/8799
As always, news of anything to do with the gold market is cloaked in secrecy, misinformation, and innuendo.
What we can be sure of is that the BIS news is gold-friendly.
Why?
Because the BIS was intending to keep the matter secret.
The BIS gold swaps were not announced but instead "discovered" by an analyst snooping around the BIS accounts.
Witness The Recent Gold Market Takedowns
Bob Chapman - The InternationalForecaster.com
Recently we were again witness to three gold market takedowns. The first was engineered just prior to and into gold and silver options expiration. Then prior to the ETF GLD gold option expiry and the last manipulative attack commenced just prior to the dreadful unemployment housing and inventory statistics. This sort of action began in 1988 with the signing of the Executive Order by President Ronald Reagan entitled the "President's Working Group on Financial Markets," ostensibly created to neutralize events such as the October 1987 collapse of the US stock market. Needless to say, that was not the real intention of the creation of such an order. As it has turned out the Treasury and the N.Y. Fed manipulates markets 24/7 worldwide, and they have a particular interest in the suppression of gold and silver prices; they being the antitheist of the US dollar. It should be noted that there were several times that the US Treasury and the privately owned Fed manipulated gold and silver prior to August 1988. We have found in 50 plus years of tracing this manipulative activity by the US government that it happens over and over again.
Fannie, Freddie Dropped from New York Stock Exchange
by DIANA GOLOBAY - HousingWire.com
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common stock was removed today from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in June to de-list from the NYSE and any other national securities exchange. The direction came after the price of their common stock hovered near the minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days for most months since the conservatorship took effect in September 2008.
28% Plunge In Our Standard Of Living (October 22, 2009)
Greece Approves Pension Overhaul Despite Protests
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. and NIKI KITSANTONIS - NYTimes.com
ATHENS - The Greek government took a major step forward in overhauling its debt-plagued economy by forcing through, in principle, a pension bill that would dramatically cut the cost of Greece's welfare state by increasing the retirement age and slashing benefits.
For Prime Minister George Papandreou, who commands a seven member majority in his country's fractious parliament, the bill's many provisions represent the beginning of end of the cradle-to-grave state compact that his father put in place in the early 1980s.
IMF calls for deficit cuts in US
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER - DailyFinance.com
WASHINGTON -The International Monetary Fund is calling for the United States to make a stronger effort to curb its budget deficits.
The IMF said Thursday that in addition to cutting government spending, the Obama administration will have to consider raising taxes to get the U.S. deficit down to a manageable level.
The IMF proposed a range of possible tax increases that would be certain to generate huge political opposition, from reducing the popular tax deduction for home mortgages to instituting a national sales tax.
IMF tells Europe to inject more stimulus
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph.co.uk
The International Monetary Fund has called on the European Central Bank to prepare fresh emergency action to stabilise debt markets, throwing its weight behind calls for renewed monetary stimulus to offset budget cuts
"Markets are not yet convinced of the central bank's commitment to scaling up purchases if necessary to prevent a further deterioration in market functioning," said the IMF's Global Financial Stability Report.
The IMF called on Europe's authorities to make their Û500bn (£420bn) rescue fund is "fully operational" and to explain how they intend to shore up banks that fail stress tests. "Test results will need to be complemented by a plan that specifies how capital-deficient institutions would be handled. Bank reporting and disclosure standards, in general, need to be improved," it said.
Greece Approves Pension Overhaul Despite Protests
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. and NIKI KITSANTONIS - NYTimes.com
ATHENS - Greece took a big step toward overhauling its debt-plagued economy on Thursday by forcing through a pension bill that would sharply pare down the country's welfare state by increasing the retirement age and reducing benefits.
For Prime Minister George Papandreou, who commands a seven-member majority in Parliament, the bill represents the beginning of the end of the cradle-to-grave state compact that his father put in place as prime minister in the early 1980s.
The plan was approved in principle late Wednesday. Individual provisions were approved on Thursday as workers protested outside the Parliament building, and the whole package passed Thursday night by a vote of 157-134.
Meredith Whitney Slashes Earnings Estimates on Goldman Sachs From $4.75 to $1.70
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
This was reported on Bloomberg. Here is a copy of a story on this change in forecast by la belle dame sans merci, who is renowned for having called out the fakery in Wall Street prior to the financial collapse.
Although this news piece cited below does not provide details, analyst comments suggest the slump in earnings is likely to come from a drop in gains from fixed income trading, as the great wealth subsidy from Timmy and the Fed to a few crony banks runs dry. As one analyst commented:
"All you are really doing is rewinding the camera -- we are going to replay the fixed income cycle," said Brad Hintz, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein. "During that replay, fixed income gives up a lot of that profitability, especially on the credit side."
Tax on Large Government Contractors Proposed As Way of Paying for Public Campaign Finance System
By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press - CNSNews.com
Washington (AP) - Two groups that have long advocated public financing of elections plan to spend at least $8 million this year to prod Congress to vote on proposed legislation aimed at reducing the influence of big donations in politics.
The joint effort by Common Cause and Public Campaign, called the Campaign for Fair Elections, will launch its first wave of advertising this week aimed primarily at Democrats who have yet to sign on in support of the bill.
The legislation would give candidates $4 of public financing for every $1 dollar raised through contributions of $100 or less. Participation would be voluntary, and candidates could opt out from the system.
U.S. marks 3rd-largest, single-day debt increase $166 billion jump spurs concerns over policy
By Stephen Dinan - WashingtonTimes.com
The nation's debt leapt $166 billion in a single day last week, the third-largest increase in U.S. history, and it comes at a time when Congress is balking over higher spending and debt has become a key policy battleground.
The one-day increase for June 30 totaled $165,931,038,264.30 - bigger than the entire annual deficit for fiscal year 2007 and larger than the $140 billion in savings the new health care bill will produce over its first 10 years. The figure works out to nearly $1,500 for every U.S. household, or more than 10 times the median daily household income.
EXTEND & PRETEND: Stage I Comes to an End
By: Gordon T Long - GoldSeek.com The dog ate the report card
Both came to an end at the same time: the administration's policy to Extend & Pretend has run out of time as has the patience of the US electorate with the government's Keynesian economic policy responses. Desperate last gasp attempts are to be fully expected, but any chance of success is rapidly diminishing.
Whether an unimpressed and insufficiently loyal army general, a fleeing cabinet budget chief or G20 peers going the austerity route, all are non-confidence votes for the Obama administration's present policies. A day after the courts slapped down President Obama's six month gulf drilling moratorium, the markets were unpatriotically signaling a classic head and shoulders topping pattern. With an employment rebound still a non-starter, President Obama as expected was found to be asking for yet another $50B in unemployment extensions and state budget assistance to avoid teacher layoffs. However, the gig is up: the policy of Extend and Pretend has no time left on the shot clock nor for another round of unemployment benefit extensions. A congress that is now clearly frightened of what it sees looming in the fall midterm elections is running for cover on any further spending initiatives. The US electorate has been sending an unmistakable message in all elections nationwide.
China, U.S. dodge currency brawl Treasury does not cite China as currency manipulator
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch Geithner says U.S. will watch new exchange-rate regime closely
ASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- China once again avoided Thursday the label of currency manipulator that would have made the country a target for punitive actions from Congress.
In a long-awaited report, the Treasury Department declined to officially cite China for manipulating the foreign-exchange value of its currency even though the country had maintained a de-facto peg to the dollar since mid-2008 until last month.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had engineered a delay of the currency report to give China space to move on its foreign-exchange policy.
This maneuver paid off just prior to the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Toronto last month when China announced it would allow its currency to move against the dollar.
In the report, Treasury called the policy shift a "significant step."
U.S.: Yuan still too cheap
By Annalyn Censky
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A Treasury report on foreign exchange rates has lawmakers in a tizzy about China's cheap currency.
In its latest report to Congress following China's decision to end its peg to the dollar, the U.S. Treasury said that while the People's Republic did not "manipulate" its currency, the yuan is still "undervalued."
The semi-annual document reports on whether countries manipulated their exchange rates to gain an unfair advantage in international trade. The most recent edition covers the second half of 2009 and part of 2010, and during that time, no countries, including China, manipulated their currencies, the Treasury said.
Keeping the Genie in the Bottle
By Bill Baker - The DailyReckoning.com
07/08/10 Baltimore, Maryland - The fiat currency system is elegant and innovative. It has served us well, and might continue to do so if we could as a society change our culture so drastically that we might reign in credit growth - both public and private - responsibly.
This would be the fairy-tale solution, one where the paper and electronic money supply behaves as if it were backed by gold, but actually isn't. But that restrictive system would institutionalize mild deflation as the deterrent against runaway credit.
Instead, central bankers everywhere aspire to target inflation at a minimal nominal percentage, say 1 to 2 percent. Even so, saying and doing are two very different things.
Road to Perdition
Jim Willie - SilverBearCafe.com
Time to awaken to a new dreadful reality. Just like autumn 2008, all over again, the stock market is breaking down in a powerful visible manner, after nothing was fixed with the vast financial structures but much money was spent. If only the USGovt had decided to address the problems instead of funding the myriad liquidity facilities, which by the way serve as a virtual banking system. If only the USGovt had decided to address the problems instead of funding the US Federal Reserve equity reserves, as in excess bank reserve lures. If only the USGovt had decided to address the problems instead of funding the bank preferred stock and bank executive bonuses. If only the USGovt had decided to address the fundamental need for capital formation toward job growth instead of simple extensions of jobless benefits. If only the USGovt had decided to address the dire need to liquidate impaired assets instead of warehousing them, which happens by the way, to produce irreconcilable bank system constipation within the loan processing system.
Consumer Credit Plunges in May, April Revised Downward
By JOSEPH LAZZARO - DailyFinance.com
Americans' use of credit unexpectedly plunged by $9.1 billion in May, a 4.5% annualized rate, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Thursday. Equally significant, April's consumer credit statistic was revised to a large $14.86 billion decrease, a substantial change from the previously-released $1.0 billion credit increase.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg survey expected consumer credit to fall by $2.0 billion in May. Consumer credit fell $5.2 billion in March.
With the April revision, May marked the fourth consecutive monthly drop in consumer credit, and the 18th decline in the past 20 months. In the past 12 months, total consumer debt has fallen 3.9% to $2.415 trillion from $2.514 trillion in May 2009.
Sedgwick County foreclosures up 44%
BY DAN VOORHIS - The Wichita Eagle
Sedgwick County foreclosures in the first half of the year were up 44 percent over the same six months in 2009, when the city descended into its downturn.
According to the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, 2,058 houses were scheduled for foreclosure sale in the six months ending June 30.
The surge is largely the result of job losses, say experts, as house payments that were affordable before suddenly became unaffordable.
"The top reason is jobs, or the lack thereof," said Ryan Deitchler, housing counselor for Consumer Credit Counseling Service.
But, he said, the same factors that pushed people into foreclosure in good times also remain: death, divorce and high medical bills.
California to workers: It's minimum wage for you
By Julianne Pepitone
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A year ago, California dealt with its budget crisis by handing out hundreds of thousands of IOUs to contractors and taxpayers. This year, it's threatening to cut state workers' wages to the bone.
Most of California's 240,000 state employees could see their salaries temporarily cut to the federal minimum wage because government officials can't reach agreement on a new fiscal-year budget for the financially troubled state.
It's the latest manifestation of state budget dysfunction, and workers have found themselves caught in the crossfire as the state's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, tussles with the Democrat-led legislature.
Obama bypasses Senate for new Medicare chief
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer - SF Chronicle
President Barack Obama bypassed the Senate Wednesday and appointed Dr. Donald Berwick, a Harvard professor and patient care specialist, to run Medicare and Medicaid.
The decision to use a so-called recess appointment to install Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services drew immediate fire from the GOP. Republicans have raised concerns about Berwick's views on rationing of care and other matters and said it was wrong for Obama to go around the normal Senate confirmation process. That view was echoed by a key Democratic committee chairman, although the recess appointment is a tool used by presidents of both parties.
Many U.S. Retailers Report Sluggish June Sales
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - NYTimes.com
Americans focused on deeply discounted clothing that they needed in June amid escalating worries about jobs, resulting in sluggish sales for many retailers, according to early reports released Thursday.
June's lackluster performance is raising concerns about the back-to-school shopping season and the health of the overall recovery.
As merchants reported their results Thursday, the Costco Wholesale Corporation posted a solid revenue gain, but it was fueled by its international business. Many merchants that cater to teenagers, including the Buckle, Hot Topic and Wet Seal reported drops in revenue.
June Sales Were Tepid At Low End And High
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD - NYTimes.com
Department stores are attracting shoppers again, but not enough to indicate a full recovery for all retailers.
In June, department stores, led by Nordstrom and Macy's, posted strong sales compared with a year ago, according to figures released Thursday. It was the largest June increase for department stores since at least 2003, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which tracks sales of 31 publicly traded retailers.
Clueless in Illinois
ChicagoTribune.com " Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has handed out raises - some of more than 20 percent - to his staff while proclaiming a message of 'shared sacrifice' and planning spending cuts of $1.4 billion because the state is awash in debt." -The Associated Press, July 6, 2010. "Illinois ended (Fiscal 2010) in the worst fiscal position in its history. É (T)he delay in paying vouchers was 153 working days this June compared to 99 days at this time last year." - Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, quarterly report, July 7, 2010.
Either of those passages is enough to suggest that the governor of Illinois is oblivious to the plight of his recession-battered constituents - and too undisciplined to do the job he inherited from Rod Blagojevich. Coming on successive days, though, the Associated Press report and the comptroller's year-end numbers suggest that Pat Quinn's administration just isn't up to running a multibillion-dollar operation
Census Director Admits 'We May Have Duplicates'
By Edwin Mora - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the Census has "no way, unfortunately, of knowing" whether or not homeless individuals were counted twice, and added, "we may have duplicates."
As CNSNews.com reported on June 10, the Office of the Inspector General of the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census, published a report in May indicating that Census workers were instructed by a Census manual to recount homeless people who said they already had been counted.
Merck to Cut 16,000 Workers as Drugmaker Closes 16 Plants, Labs
By DAVID SCHEPP - DailyFinance.com
Merck, the world's second largest drugmaker, said Thursday it plans to close eight manufacturing plants and eight research facilities around the world in its bid to save $3.5 billion a year.
The Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based company is also reducing its workforce by 15%, or some 16,000 jobs, it said.
The actions are part of a restructuring the company has undertaken following its $41 billion acquisition of rival Schering-Plough in November. In addition to the plant closings, Merck said it will consolidate some offices worldwide, as part of the restructuring begun last December.
"Today's announcement is another important step as we successfully integrate our global operations on schedule and move forward with Merck's strategic priorities," said Richard T. Clark, Merck chairman and chief executive.
Microsoft Workers Disgruntled Amid Layoffs
Posted by Susan Hall ITBusinessEdge.com
As TechFlash reported earlier, Microsoft is making job cuts, though the numbers appear to be in the hundreds, rather than the thousands axed last year.
The company has not filed notice of mass layoffs with the state as required by the federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act, suggesting the numbers might not meet the threshold for that.
Microsoft has not commented on the layoffs.
Based on employee comments on the Mini-Microsoft blog, Mary-Jo Foley at ZDNet reports that cuts are being made to Microsoft's Central Marketing Group, Enterprise Partner Group, the SharePoint/Office team and the search/advertising teams. She says those who worked on the Kin, a phone killed within two months of its launch, apparently are being moved to the Windows Phone 7 team.
Amid layoffs, Microsofties reveal further turmoil in Redmond
Now that the anonymous blogger Mini-Microsoft has chimed in on the demise of Kin and the rumored confirmed layoffs, disgruntled 'Softies are coming out of the woodwork.
One anonymous commenter: My morale has never been lower.
A billion dollars wasted on Kin, 500 phones sold and a huge amount of ground lost in the mobile space. Everything I hear about Windows Phone is negative. Leadership is shrugging its shoulders like this disaster is no big deal.
Enterprise Agreement renewals continue to trend downward, and at an alarming rate. Even major DoD deals can't be landed. We position Microsoft for selling solutions and compensate the field for moving product. The disconnect is frustrating. ...
Why you're not making more money than a decade ago
By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Losing a job is a scary prospect for families during a recession, but there's a less-noticed problem that also hurts workers: stagnating wages.
Median weekly wages, when adjusted for inflation, fell slightly for both high school and college graduates from 2000 to 2009, according to a recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank.
"The story is often told that college graduates have done well and everyone else has not. But that's not true," said Josh Bivens, an economist at EPI.
Compared to running out of money, fear of death is no biggie
Sarah Gilbert - WalletPop.com
For older Americans surveyed by Allianz Life Insurance Co., death is not such a big deal. Not, that is, when it compares to the spectre of a dwindling bank account. In a poll of people between the ages of 44 and 75, 61% said that running out money was their biggest fear. The remaining 39% thought death was scarier.
With a couple of banking crises under our belts, we've become almost entirely focused on the monetary aspect of advanced age. The context is important. The poll of 3,257 people, released last month, found that a whopping 92% of respondents agreed that "the United States is facing a crisis in its retirement system," the AARP wrote about the report.
U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rates Decline to Record 4.57%
By Brian Louis
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Mortgage rates for 30-year U.S. loans fell to the lowest on record for the third straight week, reducing borrowing costs for homebuyers as unemployment and foreclosures weigh on demand.
The average rate declined to 4.57 percent in the week ended today, the lowest since Freddie Mac began compiling the data in 1971, the mortgage-finance company said in a statement. It was 4.58 last week. Rates for 15-year loans rose to 4.07 percent from 4.04 percent, McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac said.
Borrowing costs have tumbled in the past three months amid investor demand for bonds including mortgage-backed securities. Lower rates have failed to lift housing sales, which sank after the expiration of a tax credit for home buyers. An index of applications to buy homes fell to the second-lowest level since 1997 last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages Are the Rich
By DAVID STREITFELD - NYTimes.com
LOS ALTOS, Calif. - No need for tears, but the well-off are losing their master suites and saying goodbye to their wine cellars.
The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed to the suburban middle class is striking the upper class in privileged enclaves like this one in Silicon Valley.
Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.
Arizona Governor Cancels Border Meeting After Boycott
By Michelle Price, Associated Press - CNSNews.com
Phoenix (AP) - Gov. Jan Brewer has called off a September border conference in Phoenix because Mexican governors object to Arizona's tough new immigration enforcement law, though some officials are discussing holding the annual gathering elsewhere.
It was Arizona's turn to host the 28th annual U.S.-Mexico Border Governors Conference for four U.S. governors and six from Mexico. But Brewer said Wednesday the meeting was canceled because the Mexican governors planned to boycott it.
Brewer said she was disappointed about the boycott and hoped the governors of New Mexico, Texas and California would support her decision.
Gates defends clampdown on talking to media
By: ANNE GEARAN - AP - WashingtonExaminer.com
WASHINGTON - New requirements that even top brass get Pentagon approval before talking to the press will not muzzle the media's watchdog role or stop soldiers on the front lines from speaking freely, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.
Gates defended the directive issued last week but offered few new specifics about how it will work.
The brief, stern memo from Gates also restated prohibitions on release of classified material. But it is the requirement for pre-approval of media contacts that has raised free-speech concerns and sown confusion about what and who is covered.
Obama: More Adult Americans
Disapprove of His Presidency Than Approve
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
As so many forget George W. Bush was in a similar position in his lackadaisical early presidency, prior to 911 and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
One thing that W never forgot, in fact it was almost a central tenet of his political life, is to never lose your base, always keep their interests in mind.
Who is Obama's base? He has lost the independents, the new voters who came out for his promises of change and reform. He has lost his party from the left to the middle, when he dropped the pretenses after the election and packed his administration with big business shills and Chicago cronies. The core of the Republican party will never accept him no matter what he does, because they cannot trust him, and do not easily compromise as they are ideologues, as inflexible as the far left whom they despise. He does maintain the hard core of the Democratic faithful, but their support is stronger in the public faces than in their private conversations.
Attorney says injunction likely on Arizona immigration law
PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL - BY Molly Kissler
The preliminary injunction sought by the U.S. Department of Justice to halt implementation of Senate Bill 1070 most likely will stop the bill from becoming law as scheduled July 29, said Arizona attorney Mike Manning.
It also could discourage creation of similar bills in the future, he said. "The passing of this injunction would ultimately stem enthusiasm for passing immigration laws in Arizona," Manning said. "I do expect it to be granted, and then believe both sides will ask for an appeal and attempt to expedite the issue up the legal system."
Foxnews - We Tolerate The Cultivation Of Opium Poppies
Russian spies told to 'never attempt to return to US'
By Alex Spillius in Washington and Andrew Osborn in Moscow - Telegraph.co.uk
A US court has ordered ten Russian spies to be deported as part of a Cold War-style spy exchange with Moscow, with the judge warning them to "never to attempt to return to the US."
All pleaded guilty to being unregistered agents of a foreign government at a federal court in New York, following their arrest 12 days ago at various locations in the eastern United States where they had led middle-class, all-American lives as part of a long-term effort to infiltrate the US establishment and society at large.
The judge ordered the spies to be deported immediately and they "agree never to attempt to return to the US". They were expected to get on a bus and travel directly to an airport following the court appearance.
As always . . . Caveat Lector - "Let the reader beware" for ALL News Articles. Use your own judgement as to what and whom to believe.
Bp Turning Gulf Coast Into Corporate Police States
by freepressinternational.com - BeforeItsNews.com
According to the Examiner,
Reporters and photographers are reporting numerous incidents where they have been prohibited from approaching areas where oil has fouled Gulf beaches and have been prevented from taking photos or gathering enough information to publish reports.
BP clean up workers have been forbidden from talking to the press. The incidents of BP officials and the U.S. Coast Guard barring reporters from recording the effects of the disaster have beenÊrecorded in mainstream media, and date as far back as the third week of May.
Who owns the Gulf coast, the American people or BP? One may be tempted to answer that the federal government owns it. Keep in mind, however, that all federal officials - elected, appointed or hired - supposedly work for the taxpayers that pay their salaries.
North Dakota Raining Oil
Deadly downpour at Columbus
By KIM FUNDINGSLAND - MinotDailyNews.com
COLUMBUS - Normally the Fourth of July weekend at Short Creek Dam is a joyous and festive occasion. It wasn't this year.
When local Columbus Sportsmen's Club member Shannon Burau went to Short Creek last Friday morning to mow the campground in preparation for the big weekend, he discovered what he described as a sickening scene.
"It just made me ill. The whole shoreline was pretty much solid with dead fish and it was stinking like a lagoon," said Burau. "It was just a disaster, a disaster. I've never seen anything like it." . . .
An oily film could be seen floating on top of much of the reservoir Wednesday morning. Where the water had receded, shoreline vegetation was black in color. A sulfur-like smell was in the air. Water flowing over the spillway was dark brown in appearance and created a thick foam downstream, a situation not unusual when summer kills occur. Dying vegetation can quickly remove oxygen from water, particularly when still conditions persist during the overnight hours.
Hundreds Of Fishermen Missing Checks From BP
WSDU.com BP Gives No Indication Of When Payments Resume
GRAND ISLE, La. -- Hundreds of fishermen from Lake Charles to Moss Point, Miss., were supposed to get checks from BP on Wednesday but didn't.
Wednesday night, their lawyer wanted answers.
Jeffrey Briet represents more than 500 fishermen, and he said the payment system he set up with BP required his clients to be paid every 30 days. Now that process has suddenly changed without warning, Briet said.
Uh oh: BP stops paying the bills?
BY ED MORRISSEY - HotAir.com
Workers attempting to clean up the worst oil spill in American history have another disaster on their hands - an economic disaster. According to TV station WDSU, crews expecting a monthly paycheck came up empty yesterday, as BP failed to meet its agreed payroll date. The lawyer representing hundreds of the workers says BP won't tell him when their money will come, either:
Hundreds of fishermen from Lake Charles to Moss Point, Miss., were supposed to get checks from BP on Wednesday but didn't. Wednesday night, their lawyer wanted answers. Jeffrey Briet represents more than 500 fishermen, and he said the payment system he set up with BP required his clients to be paid every 30 days.
Now that process has suddenly changed without warning, Briet said.
U.S. NAVY EVACUATES GULF
Under the guise of the "war on drugs" the U.S. Military is evacuating its ships and hardware from the Gulf of Mexico to safety off the sheltered coast of Costa Rica.
The "war on drugs" cover story is laughable being that we can't even get that level of engagement on our border with Mexico where all the drugs come through.
The Navy is obviously worried about either poison from the methane/corexit 9500 mix or a massive methane explosion/tsunami. A tsunami fits with the NOAA blackout of the U.S. tsunami warning system. It also explains why BP is not actively cleaning up the oil on the beaches. Why clean them up if they are going to be gone.
On the 2nd July 2010 the Costa Rica Congress authorized the entry of 46 U.S. warships capable of carrying 200 helicopters and warplanes, plus 7,000 U.S. Marines "who may circulate the country in uniform without any restrictions" , plus submarine killer ships to the Costa Rican coast for "anti-narcotics operations and humanitarian missions between 1st July 2010 until 31st December 2010.
Ga. lawyer org heads to oil spill
ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE
As lawsuits mount against BP plc for its ongoing massive oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico, a Georgia lawyers organization is headed to the beach for its annual summer convention.
Members of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA) will hold the organization's annual summer convention July 29 - 31 in Destin, Fla. GTLA had been under pressure to cancel or move the event. But GTLA President Michael Warshauer said canceling the convention was not an option.
Coast Guard unwilling to assume BP timetable
By Russ Britt, MarketWatch
Allen says he's sticking to mid-August target date for completion of relief well
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- The top federal official overseeing the government's response to the BP PLC oil spill said Thursday that he's unwilling to assume the company will be able to meet a more optimistic timetable for stifling the rogue well that has poured millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Reports that BP (BP 33.66, -0.08, -0.24%) (UK:BP. 366.85, +4.80, +1.33%) said it would finish a relief well by July 27 offered no comfort for Thad Allen, the recently retired Coast Guard admiral, as he spoke with reporters from a staging facility in Alabama. The relief well, begun shortly after the fatal April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig that resulted in the blown-out well, is designed to permanently halt the flow of oil into the waters of the Gulf.
White House suspends First Amendment rights in coverage of oil spill damage
Manhattan Conservative Examiner - Howard Portnoy
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln famously suspended rights of habeas corpus. Now the man who likes to think of himself as a latter-day Lincoln-and would prefer that you share that view, this despite the fact he couldn't pack Lincoln's lunch-has taken a page out of his idol's handbook. On Thursday, the Obama White House tightened its already stringent rules preventing news organizations from showing images of the damage done by the Gulf oil spill.
News photographers and reporters are no longer allowed to come within 65 feet of any response vessel or booms on the water or on beaches. As CNN's Anderson Cooper reported on his Thursday evening broadcast, "[I]n order to get closer, you have to get direct permission from the Coast Guard captain of the Port of New Orleans. You have to call up the guy. What this means is that oil-soaked birds on islands surrounded by boom, you can't get close enough to take that picture."
First Amendment Has been Suspended
BP oil spill - Anger starts in the Gulf as seen on CNN July 8,'10
6'4" Cop Bullies 4'11" Videographer as She Videos a BP Worker Taken Away in Ambulance
Gulf Coast Mass Evacuation Bus for oil spill states?
CNN: 128 BP oil cleanup workers sickened in Louisiana
Told not to go to public hospitals
BP Oil Spill Cleanup Workers Getting Sick Part 1
BP Oil Spill Cleanup Workers Getting Sick Part 2
BP Oil Waste Being Dumped at Landfill in Mississippi
BP covers oil with sand !!!!!
on Orange Beach as the Coast Guard looks on !!!!
Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak, Deadly Cocktail 1/3
Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak, Deadly Cocktail 2/3
Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak, Deadly Cocktail 3/3
Gulf Workers SICK AS DOGS. Gulf Spill & Cleanup
BP OIL SPILL HEALTH EMERGENCY! DIRE!
Corexit Being Sprayed From Coast Guard
UN FEMA COVER UP Maps Glitch Hiding White Vans
You think the dispersant isn't harmful? WATCH THIS
BP Oil Disaster WORST CASE SCENARIO w/ Kindra Arnesen,
BP Community Liaison
Oil/Water samples from Gulf...VERY TOXIC
Oil Spill pushing fish and sealife to shore?
Using Dispersant Corexit 9500 To Hide the oil?
Dr Deagle Show 100525 1/4
Michael Coffman - Oil Volcano
Dr Deagle Show 100525 2/4
Michael Coffman - Oil Volcano
Dr Deagle Show 100525 3/4
Michael Coffman - Oil Volcano
Dr Deagle Show 100525 4/4
Michael Coffman - Oil Volcano
National Guard Helps Confiscate Guns in New York State
American middle class slowly disappearing under mounds of debt
MyBudget360.com How Wall Street and government sucked working and middle class Americans into perpetual debt serfdom.
People quickly forget about the nearly 1,000 point "flash crash" brought on by glitches in the Wall Street casino machinery. Still no sensible explanation has been given but today the stock market now stands below the flash crash moment. The middle class is witnessing the largest wealth transfer in history take place and it is all happening because of the Wall Street infrastructure and the government's lack of respect for the working class of the United States. Even last month as we lost 125,000 workers the unemployment rate actually went down because over 500,000 Americans simply dropped out of the workforce. In other words people simply threw their hands up in exhaustion and gave up. The government is literally not counting tens of thousands of Americans. What does this tell you about how much they value the middle class?
Currency Wars: Selling The Rope
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN "The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin There were a number of Wall Street scions who most infamously associated themselves with Hitler's financiers, and were more than willing to ride the National Socialist tide in Europe for their own benefit come what may, to the extent that they did not stop their activities in supporting the Reich until called out by the government through the Trading with the Enemy Act in 1944.
Why bring that up now? Because that same sort of short term, greedy, amoral thinking is taking the US down a similar path with nations who, while the comparison with Hitler is inappropriate, are certainly no kindred spirits or friends of liberty.
When the truth comes out, the perpetrators will claim ignorance, or victimization, when in fact they have been roundly selling out their country through the blind pursuit of crony capitalism, to the detriment of the people and their country.
Dow signals 1932 repeat, metals to prosper
By Dr Jeff Lewis
The Great Depression is a time that stands out as a time of great debate. During the Great Depression, FDR acted nearly exactly as we have in the Great Recession, expanding the size and scope of the government and pushing through new spending bills to incite economic activity. However, as the dust begins to settle from the first boom, investors are again looking for the bust.
The Dow Shows Weakness
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is repeating history all over again, forming the dreaded head and shoulders technical pattern that first sent stocks into a second bear market in 1932, following a few short years of stimulus-driven recovery. In 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average formed a head and shoulders pattern, and a bear market followed, just as it had 78 years earlier in 1929. Today, the Dow Jones has formed another head and shoulders, just as it had following recovery in 1930 in which the stock markets prepared for another down leg. However, if those technical indicators aren't enough to send you screaming sell, take a look at what traders like to call the "death cross."
Europe presents main threat to global recovery, IMF says
By Howard Schneider - Washington Post Staff Writer
Europe's weakened economy is now the central threat to global recovery, as its countries struggle with heavy debt, banks face a reckoning over their lack of capital and growth is slowing, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday in its first assessment of the world economy since a crisis over government borrowing in Greece.
While the agency estimated that growth in the United States and emerging Asian and Latin American countries remains on track, it scaled back projections for Europe and outlined a series of issues there that could -- unless controlled -- spark problems rivaling those that caused the 2008 collapse of Lehman Bros.
"Downside risks have risen sharply" in recent months, the IMF said. "The ultimate effect could be substantially lower global demand."
The Myth of the Global Economy
Ian Fletcher - HuffingtonPost.com Adjunct Fellow at the San Francisco office of the U.S. Business and Industry Council
If there's one thing everyone knows these days, whether they're happy about it or not, it's that we live in a "global" economy. This fact is taken as so obvious that anyone who disputes it is regarded as not so much wrong as simply ignorant -- not even worth arguing with. So it may come as a shock to many that, in reality, the cliche that we live in a borderless global economy does not survive serious examination. The key is to ignore the Thomas Friedmanesque rhetoric the media is flooded with and get down to some hard numbers.
The easiest hard number is this: Because the U.S. is roughly 25 percent of the world economy, a truly borderless world would imply that imports and exports would each make up 75 percent of our economy, since our purchase and sale transactions would be distributed around the world. This would entail a total trade level (imports plus exports) of 150 percent of GDP. Instead, our total trade level is 29 percent: imports are 17 percent and exports 12 percent. So our economy is nowhere near borderless.
EMU break-up risks global deflation shock that would dwarf Lehman collapse, warns ING
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
A full-fledged disintegration of the eurozone would trigger the worst economic crisis in modern history, devastate every country in Europe including Germany, and inflict a deflationary shock on the US. There would be no winners, warns the Dutch bank ING in a new report "Quantifying the Unthinkable".
"Complete break-up would have effects that dwarf the post Lehman Brothers collapse. Governments would find themselves having to bail out banks again, worsening already fragile government finances. The risk of at least a temporary break-down in payments systems would be enormous, " said the report by Mark Cliffe, Maarten Leen, and Peter Vanden Houte.
"Initial trauma is sufficiently grave to give pause for thought to those who blithely propose EMU exit as a policy option," it said, a rebuke to those German politicians and economists who have talked openly of shaking out weaker members.
Chilling Facts About the Global Economic System
Written by Editorial Dept - OilPrice.com
The global economic system which easily facilitates tax evasion, money laundering and government corruption, is the same system employed by gun runners, drug cartels and terrorist groups to perpetuate their illegal, and sometimes deadly, activities.
Last December an ageing Russian Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane flying from Pyongyang, was detained during a scheduled refueling stop in Bangkok. When the belly of the plane was inspected security personnel found 35 tons of illicit military equipment that, it was later discovered, was on its way to Iran.
US Still Spending Despite Global Shift Toward Austerity
By Bill Bonner - The DailyReckoning.com
07/07/10 Paris, France - In the sushi again just like we said!
The US stock market managed a weak rally yesterday. The Dow rose 56 points. Gold fell, closing the day below $1,200.
This morning, stocks are generally going down again all over the world.
Why does everything seem to be going down? Because it's a Great Correction, what else?
The correction is doing its work. The feds tried to stop it with trillions in loans, guarantees, and 'stimulus' spending. They failed. Over the last three weeks we have had confirmation after confirmation - the recovery ain't happening. Unemployment is getting worse. Prices are falling - even the price of labor. The banks don't lend and the people don't spend.
Cities and states are running out of money. Households are going broke. And the stock market looks like it wants to roll over and die.
Is that a great correction, or what?
Ron Paul - A Right to Know
Central banks need to be transparent.
Sovereign Debt: The Death of Nations vs. the Wealth of Nations
By Damon Vrabel - ZeroHedge.com
The gap between the truth vs. the lies that pass for truth in the media has never been so wide. But living a lie is very destructive, so it's important to cross this gap. Today I want to clear up one of the most important lies reinforced by the media-the idea that we have sovereign countries.
No doubt most of you have heard of the sovereign debt crisis that so many countries are facing. We hear endless economists, reporters, and billionaire hedge fund raiders talk about it. But the phrase they use is fictitious. It is a fabrication of the Ivy League, Wall Street, and erudite periodicals like the Financial Times of London. Sovereign debt is an impossibility. It cannot exist.
It seems ridiculous to point this out, but sovereign debt implies sovereignty. Right? Well, if countries are sovereign, then how could they be required to be in debt to private banking institutions? How could they be so easily attacked by the likes of George Soros, JP Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs? Why would they be subjugated to the whims of auctions and traders?
Central Banks Are Part Of The Problem Not The Solution
Global "Pawn Shop" Loans Central Banks Cash for Gold at Record Rate
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/07/10 Alexandria, Virgina - The gold price level has pulled back of late and there's a new reason to explain the move. Commodity Online suggests the price of gold could be taking a hit from the record rate at which the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has been growing its holdings of central bank gold. The BIS has the ability to serve as a sort of global "pawn shop" for central bank gold and could be in the process of executing "the biggest gold swap in history."
The BIS is known as "the central bank for central banks," and as such coordinates the financial cooperation of its 57 member countries. Not surprisingly, its board includes central bank heads like Ben Bernanke, Jean-Claude Trichet, Mervyn King, and others.
The latest reports indicate that the BIS has taken in 349 tonnes of gold since December, worth about $14 billion, which it has then loaned out to central banks as cash.
Is deflation the problem that will throw us into a depression? Many economists are worried about inflation. But others say they're looking the wrong way.
By Heidi N. Moore, contributor - Fortune CNNMoney.com
The national knowledge is creeping in that the good times of the stimulus may soon be over. The United States is running an 11% deficit and our gross debt is 83% of our GDP and may rise to 100% in as little as three to five years.
So when we saw a recent note about the "Keynesian endgame" from Scott Minerd, the chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners, we decided to pay attention:
"At its core, the Keynesian theory says governments should be called on to prime the economic pump as needed. This works as long as the government has the ability to borrow money. But what happens when a government can no longer borrow money?"
Federal Reserve weighs steps to offset slowdown in economic recovery
By Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Federal Reserve officials, increasingly concerned over signs the economic recovery is faltering, are considering new steps to bolster growth.
With Congress tied in political knots over whether to take further action to boost the economy, Fed leaders are weighing modest steps that could offer more support for economic activity at a time when their target for short-term interest rates is already near zero. They are still resistant to calls to pull out their big guns -- massive infusions of cash, such as those undertaken during the depths of the financial crisis -- but would reconsider if conditions worsen.
To Fix Sour Property Deals, Lenders 'Extend and Pretend'
By CARRICK MOLLENKAMP And LINGLING WEI - WSJ.com
Some banks have a special technique for dealing with business borrowers who can't repay loans coming due: Give them more time, hoping things improve and they can repay later.
Banks call it a wise strategy. Skeptics call it "extend and pretend."
Banks are applying it, in particular, to commercial real-estate lending, where, during the boom, optimistic borrowers got in over their heads to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.
Wells Fargo Financial Consolidates; 683 offices close, 3800 jobs gone Wells Fargo & Company to Consolidate Its Wells Fargo Financial Consumer Finance Division into the Company's Newly Expanded Coast to Coast Community Banking Network; 638 Independent Consumer Finance Offices to be Closed
Restructuring does not impact Wells Fargo's industry-leading network of 6,600 Wells Fargo and Wachovia Community Banking stores and 2,200 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage stores; Wells Fargo will recognize a $0.02 per share restructuring charge in second quarter 2010
DES MOINES, Iowa - July 7, 2010
Wells Fargo & Company today announced the restructuring of its Wells Fargo Financial division, including closing its 638 Wells Fargo Financial stores across the U.S. and exiting the origination of non-prime portfolio mortgage loans. The remaining consumer and commercial loan products offered through Wells Fargo Financial will be realigned with those offered by other Wells Fargo business units and will be available through Wells Fargo's expanded network of community banking and home mortgage stores, now the nation's largest.
Wells Fargo to cut 3,800 jobs, shut subprime lending unit
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Wells Fargo & Co. said late Wednesday it will cut 3,800 jobs and the banking giant will close a business unit that specialized in subprime and other loans issued through its consumer finance stores.
Wells Fargo said that as part of the restructuring, it will close 638 Wells Fargo Financial stores, consolidate its consumer-finance division and get out of the business of making non-prime portfolio mortgages and auto and credit-card loans.
In a statement, Wells Fargo said that at the end of 2009, its outstanding loans totaled almost $783 billion, $42.3 billion of which were car, truck or secured real-estate loans.
Wells Fargo Cuts 3,800 Jobs, Shuts Consumer-Loan Unit
By Dakin Campbell
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co., the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, said it will eliminate 3,800 jobs, or about 1.4 percent of its total workforce, and close its consumer- finance unit.
The lender will take a charge of $185 million, with $137 million, or 2 cents a share, in the second quarter, the San Francisco-based company said today in a statement. Wells Fargo will close 638 independent consumer-finance branches and stop making non-prime home loans, the statement said.
Sell Bonds, Buy Precious Metals, Rice as 'Refuge,' Rogers Says
By Ranjeetha Pakiam
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Investors should sell bonds and buy commodities like silver and rice as a "refuge" as the world economy may continue having problems, Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings said.
"Bonds are not a good place to invest in," Rogers said at a conference in Kuala Lumpur today. "You should own commodities because that's your only refuge" whether it's silver or rice, said Rogers, who predicted the start of the global commodities rally in 1999.
Seriously Underpriced Silver
By The Mogambo Guru - The DailyReckoning.com
07/07/10 Tampa, Florida - At breakfast I told the kids that I was instituting some new austerity measures around here, and they became so insistent that I heard all about how this was going to "ruin" them and their stupid social lives that I did not have to tell them that I was going to use the money to buy silver, which would have sent them ballistic.
The impetus for my New Mogambo Crusade (NMC) to acquire more silver came as a result of reading in Ed Steer's Gold & Silver Daily where he noticed in the Comptroller of the Currency's "Q1/2010 Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities" that "the bottom-line numbers show that two US banksÉ JPMorgan and HSBC, USA hold between 97% and 99% of all the gold and silver derivatives held by all US banks." Yow!
Central banks' gold with BIS?
NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): When Reserve Bank of India bought 200 tonnes of International Monetary Fund (IMF) gold in November last year, the bullion market received one of the biggest boosts ever and the gold prices soared in the subsequent weeks to new record heights. Reason for this was that all central banks across the globe have been increasing their gold holdings fearing the recession looming large over the world.
But, things have changed again. Now it has come to the light that several central banks, which had increased their gold reserves, have pawned their gold with Bank for International Settlements at a record rate, taking advantage of the precious metal's historically high value to raise cash.
It is not clear whether India's Reserve Bank has pawned its gold with the BIS but many banks have already done it.
Gold Falls Below $1,200
By Chuck Butler - The DailyReckoning.com
07/07/10 St. Louis, Missouri - Front and center this morning, gold is retreating again today and has fallen well below $1,200... Here's the skinny... Yesterday, it was announced that China's Agricultural Bank of China reported a very successful public offering, raising more than $22 billion. Now, what does this have to do with a gold sell-off, I hear you saying? Ahhh grasshopper Come, sit, let's discuss...
Basically, it's like this... If a Chinese Bank can pull off a very successful IPO without breaking a sweat, then the daggers can be put away on global risks, and that could be seen in the performance of equities all across the board yesterday.
So Where does gold go from here? Well... I would have to think that the selling has been overdone, probably some real big profit taking was mixed in, and we should see buying emerge from this sell-off. In the recent past, $1,200 has been a launching pad, and the time gold has spent below $1,200 has been brief So, this would qualify for a dip, eh?
What to do About Gold
Written by Mad Hedge Fund Trader Gold, gold, gold. What to do about gold?
I get asked this question a dozen times a day, by some who have been long since the current move started more than a decade ago at $260, and others who stood on the sidelines and watched in awe as it went to the moon, kicking themselves all the way.
Is it too late to get in? They call the yellow metal the barbaric relic for a reason. Let's face it. We've had a great run. Gold is one of the top performing assets of 2010 by a long shot, soaring 15% YTD to its peak last week, nearly topping the meteoric rise of the 30 year Treasury bond.
Roaring outlook for platinum
LONDON (Commodity Online): CPM, a New York-based commodities analysis firm, has predicted that platinum group metals are set to make a roaring investment option in the coming years.
In its long-term outlook for platinum group metals, CPM said investment demand for PGMs, which has had an effect on recent prices, has been motivated by expectations of future price rises as global economic activity emerges from recession. It is worth bearing in mind that, unlike gold, PGMs are largely industrial metals - in round figures, three-quarters of the world's annual platinum demand is for industrial uses, particularly for vehicle exhaust catalysts.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac delist from NYSE
By Julianne Pepitone,
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Troubled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said goodbye to the New York Stock Exchange at the end of trade Wednesday.
At the market open Thursday, Fannie and Freddie will start trading on the over-the-counter bulletin board -- also known as pink sheets -- under the symbols "FNMA" and "FMCC."
The Treasury Department poured $83.6 billion into Fannie and $61.3 billion into Freddie to cover losses on the trillions of dollars' worth of mortgage-backed securities they own or guarantee. While that bailout money helped put a floor under the housing market, the two companies have still been shedding money -- with billions of additional losses predicted in coming years.
Obama Commits Act of High Treason
Sides with Foreign Power Against Arizona
Alex Jones examines the factors leading towards the Obama Administration's intention to sue Arizona over its controversial immigration laws, an unconstitutional act of treason under the 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which bars the suing of states under certain circumstances.
U.S. Plans Cyber Shield for Utilities, Companies
By SIOBHAN GORMAN - WSJ.com
The federal government is launching an expansive program dubbed "Perfect Citizen" to detect cyber assaults on private companies and government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people familiar with the program.
The surveillance by the National Security Agency, the government's chief eavesdropping agency, would rely on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack, though it wouldn't persistently monitor the whole system, these people said.
Defense contractor Raytheon Corp. recently won a classified contract for the initial phase of the surveillance effort valued at up to $100 million, said a person familiar with the project.
An NSA spokeswoman said the agency had no information to provide on the program. A Raytheon spokesman declined to comment.
American Dream Is Elusive for New Generation
By LOUIS UCHITELLE - NYTimes.com
GRAFTON, Mass. - After breakfast, his parents left for their jobs, and Scott Nicholson, alone in the house in this comfortable suburb west of Boston, went to his laptop in the living room. He had placed it on a small table that his mother had used for a vase of flowers until her unemployed son found himself reluctantly stuck at home.
The daily routine seldom varied. Mr. Nicholson, 24, a graduate of Colgate University, winner of a dean's award for academic excellence, spent his mornings searching corporate Web sites for suitable job openings. When he found one, he mailed off a résumé and cover letter - four or five a week, week after week.
Nevada Leads Country with 70% of Mortgages Underwater
by JON PRIOR - HousingWire.com
Roughly 70% of mortgages on the LendingTree network in Nevada are worth less than what is owed on the loan.
LendingTree, a subsidiary of Tree.com, is an online lender exchange and personal finance resource for consumers. According to LendingTree, the average percentage of mortgages in negative equity for each state was 18.1%. The state with the lowest percentage was Oklahoma with 6%. New York was not far behind. There, 6.3% of all mortgages on the LendingTree network were underwater.
But Nevada holds the worst at 69.9%. The next closest is Arizona with a negative equity ratio of 51.3%, followed by Florida at 47.8%.
Average Homeowner In Obama Foreclosure Program Deeply Underwater, Drawing Calls From GOP To Cut Off Help
HuffingtonPost.com
The average beneficiary of the Obama administration's flagship homeowner-assistance program owes their mortgage lender more than $1.50 for every dollar their home is worth, which means they fall into the stratum of homeowners most likely to simply walk away from their mortgages, recent government data show.
This little-noticed statistic was disclosed in a June 24 report by the Government Accountability Office. Citing government data collected through mid-April, the report found that even homeowners who receive lower monthly payments through the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program are still struggling "under water," meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
40,000 Illinois State Workers To Get 14% Payraises
By Mike Flannery, FOX Chicago News
Springfield, Ill. - More than 40,000 unionized state workers got a pay raise last Thursday, bringing to 7 percent the amount they're gotten since last year. These same state employees are in line for another 7 percent by next July 1, all at a cost of a half-billion tax dollars a year.
It's more than the virtually bankrupt state can afford, and some Republican lawmakers say the raises need to be rolled back.
"I'm outraged," said State Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno. "It's very difficult to buy this rhetoric that, 'We need to borrow, we need increased revenue,' when these kind of poor management decisions are going on."
Ron Paul - More Power for the Fed
By: Dr Ron Paul - MarketOracle.co.uk
Last week I was pleased to see my Republican colleagues take up the cause to fully and completely audit the Federal Reserve by including my language from the Federal Reserve Transparency Act in a Motion to Recommit the financial regulation reform bill. Although this effort was defeated by the Democrat majority, there were many good reasons to support it.
The Federal Reserve Transparency Act would eliminate restrictions on GAO audits of the Federal Reserve and open Fed operations to Congressional oversight. Additionally, audits could include discount window operations, open market operations, and agreements with foreign central banks, such as the ongoing dollar swap operations with European central banks.
Big Government and the Fed: A Sinister Alliance
Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah may follow Arizona's lead on immigration law By Michael W. Savage - WashingtonPost.com
Attention is focused on Arizona and the federal government's challenge to the state's strict new immigration law, but three other states could adopt similar legislation next year.
Lawmakers in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah, which have already taken steps against illegal immigration, say that Arizona-style measures have a realistic chance of passing when their legislatures reconvene in 2011.
The Obama administration sued Arizona in federal court Tuesday, charging that the state law usurps federal authority, would hamper immigration enforcement and would lead to police harassment of those who have no proof of lawful status. The government asked that a federal judge stop the law from taking effect July 29.
Legislators in at least 17 other states introduced bills this year similar to the Arizona law, which allows officers to question anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. But most of those measures are not considered likely to be adopted or signed by governors.
Municipal Pathologies Come to a Head
By Frederick Sheehan - The DailyReckoning.com
07/07/10 North Weymouth, Massachusetts - Discussions about municipal finance generally assume three absolute conditions. First, the principal and coupon of municipal bonds are guaranteed:"Municipal bonds don't default," according to trusted experts. Second, the guarantees are backed by the taxing authority of the state or municipality. Third, accrued pension benefits are guaranteed.
It is universally believed (and rightly so) that services provided to those who pay taxes are not guaranteed. In this formulation, the taxpayers are the true victims of injudicious and ignorant spending on the part of municipal governments. Federal government mandates, often injudicious and ignorant, are an additional burden.
Homeowners Working with Servicers Often Blindsided by Foreclosures
by Paul Kiel - ProPublica
In May, we published a story about how disorganization at the big banks has led to mistaken foreclosures: homeowners were under review for a modification, but were suddenly foreclosed on because of a communication breakdown within the mortgage servicer.
A recent survey of California housing counselors demonstrates that's a widespread problem, at least in the Golden State.
The California Reinvestment Coalition surveyed more than 50 foreclosure-avoidance counselors throughout the state last month. The counselors who responded to the survey work at organizations that serve more than 11,000 homeowners each month.
Hobos and welfare for America's Rich
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
My apologies to the people of New England. I mistakenly said in my Monday column that Representative Dean Heller comes from Vermont. He comes from Nevada, where 64pc of all home sales are from foreclosures and unemployment has reached 14pc.
Be that as it may, there is no dispute that he described America's long-term unemployed as "hobos". Was he just careless, or deliberately evoking the spirit of the Great Depression?
Reading William Manchester's Glory And The Dream over the weekend, I came across this remark from President Herbert Hoover, blurted out famously in the cruellest year of 1932.
More private planes are being repossessed
By Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
The recession isn't just stripping the middle class of their prize possessions. The wealthy are losing out, too.
In the past few weeks, Ken Cage, who specializes in repossessing private planes, says he's recovered two jets worth a combined $7.1 million.
And while business has ebbed a bit compared with last year, it remains four times what Cage saw before the recession.
"I think we picked up 15 (planes) that were $1 million or more, including one $20 million jet," says Cage, president of International Recovery & Remarketing Group in Orlando, reflecting on the past 12 months. "We'd never picked up anything close to that before."
Sarah Palin To Run The RNC?
China's Strategy for a Post Western World
Written by William A Callahan - OilPrice.com
A number of different visions of China's future as a leading world power are competing for public attention and influence. Among them are populist ideas that challenge Beijing's official rhetoric about "building a harmonious world".
There is growing debate inside the People's Republic of China about the country's proper strategic goals. Many intellectuals and policy-makers are asking how China can convert its new economic power into enduring political and cultural influence around the globe. The key question they are seeking to answer is: "How would China order the (post-western) world?"
China Stalls U.N. Efforts Against North Korea
By JOE LAURIA
UNITED NATIONS-China is blocking a United Nations Security Council move to condemn North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship, say diplomats familiar with the negotiations, marking a rankling divide on the issue between the Washington and Beijing.
China is refusing to blame North Korea for the March sinking of the corvette Cheonan, in which 46 South Korean sailors died, and won't label the incident an "attack," according to two Western diplomats. That comes about a week after U.S. President Barack Obama drew an angry response from China for suggesting it was guilty of "willful blindness" toward North Korea.
"Talks are continuing," a U.S. official said Wednesday. A Chinese spokesman in New York didn't respond to requests for comment.
Papers reveal Nixon plan for North Korea nuclear strike
Chris McGreal in Washington - guardian.co.uk Planes on alert after US spy plane shot down had weapons 20 times size of Hiroshima bomb
It is more than 35 years since he was shunted out of office, but the thought of Richard Nixon's finger on the nuclear trigger still has the power to terrify.
Now it has been revealed that the highly erratic president's metaphorical digit was hovering even closer than was widely realised as his administration laid plans for an atomic strike against North Korea in 1969 following the shooting down of a US spy plane.
According to newly revealed government documents, Nixon is even believed to have ordered nuclear bombers to be put on standby for an immediate strike after North Korean jets downed the American plane as it flew over international waters collecting electronic and radio intelligence.
Central Banks Are Part Of The Problem Not The Solution
Betting Against The States to Fall? Get your Credit Defualt Swaps Now
Russia and US 'planning spy swap' Russian nuclear researcher Igor Sutyagin could be freed in exchange for alleged agents held in US, his brother says
Tom Parfitt in Moscow and Chris McGreal in Washington - Guardian.co.uk
Moscow and Washington are moving rapidly towards a spy swap that would exchange 10 accused Russian agents arrested in the US last week for alleged western spies jailed by Russia.
The Russian authorities were preparing to send a scientist, convicted six years ago of passing atomic secrets to US intelligence, to Britain as part of the swap, his family said. Igor Sutyagin was transferred from a remote Arctic penal colony to Moscow in preparation for the exchange. His father told the Guardian he was one of those to be used as "collateral" in the deal.
ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police
by Lance Rosenfield, Special to ProPublica Today,
Freelance photographer Lance Rosenfield was working on assignment for ProPublica in Texas City, Texas, last week, when a BP security guard began following him. Rosenfield was later detained by police after taking photos for two ProPublica stories. One revealed that BP's Texas City refinery had illegally emitted 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into the air in April and May. The other reported that the Texas City refinery continues to have serious safety violations five years after an explosion at the plant killed 15 workers.
What follows is Rosenfield's account of what happened on Friday night after the police, accompanied by the BP security guard, stopped him at a local gas station.
Oil Spill Tip Of "Epidemic"
by Steve Alexander - WKRG.com - Mobinle, AL
MOBILE, Alabama - Scary words about possible health problems in the future from our Coastal Crisis.
They come from a marine toxicology expert who worked at the scene of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.
Dr. Riki Ott told a packed house at a Sierra Club meeting in Mobile Tuesday night about health problems some cleanup workers are facing.
Ott said, "I think this is the tip of the public health epidemic. I think the public health officials are downplaying it because they can't seem to find unsafe levels."
Ott said BP should be giving cleanup workers like fishermen respirators instead of hard hats.
She said, "Our federal government standards are set up for 40 hour work weeks where you have time to clear your body, and this is not happening and this is what made our fishermen sick. Exxon managed to cover up the 'Valdez Crud,' called it cold and flu. What is BP doing? Food poisoning, heat stroke, staph infections, because, now, we're getting skin infections as well."
Rough weather remains Gulf obstacle for connecting ship, well
By the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) -- Rough seas are delaying the connection of the vessel Helix Producer to the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, a spokesman at the oil cleanup command center in Louisiana said Wednesday. The linkup "may be in place by Saturday," he said.
Officials have said that the hookup is partially completed despite the bad weather, but once it is done it could draw up to 53,000 barrels of oil a day. But Charles Gaiennie of the Unified Command's Joint Information Center in Houma, Louisiana, says the current "sea state" is delaying the operation and that many Louisiana cleanup activities, such as skimming and flights delivering aerial dispersants, have been "stood down" because of the rough weather.
More Gulf Oil Leaking From Other Well Heads?
July 7, 2010 - 3:14 PM | by: Phil Keating
Government scientists estimate as much as 60,000 barrels of oil per day are gushing into the Gulf of Mexico due to the ongoing BP oil spill. But now there are new questions as to whether additional oil is spilling from hundreds or thousands of other well heads in the Gulf.
An Associated Press investigation found that 27,000 well heads are sealed shut in the sea floor, 600 of which are owned by BP. According to the AP, no one is really keeping an eye on these well heads, checking the seals and concrete casings. Not the Oil Industry and not the U.S. government. Out in Federal Waters, it appears that out of sight is out of mind.
BP Texas Refinery Had Huge Toxic Release Just Before Gulf Blowout
by Ryan Knutson - ProPublica
This story is part of an ongoing collaboration between ProPublica and FRONTLINE (PBS).
TEXAS CITY, TEXAS -- Two weeks before the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the huge, trouble-plagued BP refinery in this coastal town spewed tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the skies.
The release from the BP facility here began April 6 and lasted 40 days. It stemmed from the company's decision to keep producing and selling gasoline while it attempted repairs on a key piece of equipment, according to BP officials and Texas regulators.
BP says it failed to detect the extent of the emissions for several weeks. It discovered the scope of the problem only after analyzing data from a monitor that measures emissions from a flare 300 feet above the ground that was supposed to incinerate the toxic chemicals.
The company now estimates that 538,000 pounds of chemicals escaped from the refinery while it was replacing the equipment. These included 17,000 pounds of benzene, a known carcinogen; 37,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to respiratory problems; and 186,000 pounds of carbon monoxide.
Critics Call Valdez Cleanup a Warning For Gulf Workers
by CNN
Two decades ago, Roy Dalthorp helped clean up the rocky shores of Prince William Sound after the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground, producing what was then the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
Today, with that record surpassed by the 11-week-old disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Dalthorp struggles to breathe. He coughs, and his failing eyes sometimes tear up uncontrollably.
Dalthorp told CNN that he was "slowly poisoned" during the Alaska cleanup effort -- and he says some of those now working to clean up the BP spill off Louisiana and neighboring states are risking the same fate.
They Must Be Hiding Something Really Big
Author: Mac Slavo - SHTFPlan.com
As the BP oil leak continues to gush into the Gulf, and the only solution being actively pursued seems to be relief wells that are about 30 days from completion, the nation is starting to wonder - what is really going on down there?
The initial BP report at the time of the oil rig explosion was that 1,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking into the Gulf. Over seventy days later, we now know that it is roughly 100 times bigger than BP originally "estimated." Our readers were aware that the problem was much bigger than originally reported had they read the article The BP Oil Disaster is a WAY BIGGER Problem Than You May Think published on May 6, 2010. Still, there were BP and government officials who completely denied that the leak was severe and were adamant about being able to shut it down with top kills, junk shots and a dome.
Oil Spill: The Government is Hiding Something BIG!
Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. The Obama administration has teamed up with BP to create a media blackout of the Gulf Oil spill area. National Incident Commander Thad Allen is leading the charge is banning reporters from coming within 65 feet of water booms and boats. He calls it a "safety zone." In fact, they're so obsessed with banning the media from key sites that they are willing to throw witnesses in jail. If you are caught breaking their "safety rules", you can be charged with a $40,000 fine And Class D Felony. Yes, a felony for coming to close to a ship. So here's the question: What are they trying to hide?
Obama admin bans press from filming BP oil spill areas in the Gulf
Gulf Oil Disaster:
BP Cover Up of Sick Humans and Dead Animals
Lindsey Williams on The Oil Spill catastrophe
Jeff Rense June 23, 2010
Foreign Troops Training To Confiscate Guns of Americans
Kurt Nimmo - Infowars.com
In Operation Vigilant Guard, a Prison Planet.tv exclusive, Infowars.com reporters and filmmakers Rob Dew and Jason Douglass venture to Chicago, Illinois, to document the militarization of domestic response during disasters and terrorist events in the United States.
It is not simply the U.S. military - specifically the National Guard federalized under the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act - and Homeland Security along with local police participating in exercises held state-wide in Illinois, but the Polish and Latvian military as well.
The National Guard told the media that foreign soldiers would be "observers," but as this Prison Planet.tv exclusive video reveals Polish soldiers participated in the activities, including a raid on what appeared to be a meth lab but is described as a weapons of mass destruction facility.
The Lights Are Going Out For Free Speech On The Internet
Paul Joseph Watson - Prison Planet.com
Type the keywords "Internet censorship" into Google News and you will immediately understand to what degree the world wide web is under assault from attempts by governments globally to regulate and stifle free speech. From Australia to Belarus, from Turkey to Vietnam, from Pakistan to Egypt, from Afghanistan to Iran, huge chunks of the Internet are going dark as the Chinese model of Internet regulation is adopted worldwide.
But why should Americans concern themselves with countries halfway across the globe adopting Chinese-style net censorship? Because under Senator Joe Lieberman's 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, the United States would formally mimic China's "great firewall" of web censorship.
Gold in short supply, prices can go parabolic
By Arnold Bock - CommodityOnline.com
Gold, the precious metal most often thought of as money, is in short supply. In fact, the existing above ground horde is so small one has to question whether it is realistic to think of it as having a serious role as money in the future. The fact is there just isn't enough of it and - once institutional and private investors realize that the supply is so disarmingly and alarmingly insignificant - prices are likely to go parabolic. Which Countries Own Gold?
The top 8 countries owning gold are the United States, with 8,133.5 tons, followed in descending order by Germany, Italy, France, China, Switzerland, Japan and the Netherlands. None of these countries formally back their currency with this precious metal so why do they possess such substantial quantities? One can only speculate but it is probably because of their continuing belief that gold is the only 'real money' compared to the coloured paper and numeric symbols on computer screens that are the ultimate in 'make believe' fiat currency.
Gold at 6-week low, snapping link with dollar
By Barani Krishnan and Jan Harvey
(Reuters) - Gold hit six-week lows on Tuesday after the precious metal reacted to an early rebound in equities to fall below the key $1,200-an-ounce support, staying there even as the dollar tumbled and stocks later fell.
Spot gold, which tracks trades in physical bullion, fell to a session low of at $1,189.30 an ounce, versus the $1,206.95 level seen in New York late on Monday.
U.S. gold futures' most-actively traded contract, August, dropped $12.60, or 1 percent, to finish at $1,195.10 an ounce. It was the lowest close since May 21 for a benchmark gold contract traded in New York.
IMF - BIS Engaged in Gold Swaps to About 380 Tonnes;
Organized Looting of Sovereign Wealth
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
These swaps have significance because of the speculation that the public sale of gold by the IMF, which was secretive and selective, was not a legitimate sale to raise funds, but a means of bailing out the bullion banks who had taken gold previously on lease and sold it into the public markets, but were unable to return it because of the tightness of supply in the physical bullion market, increasingly disconnected from the NY based paper market.
Several private bullion buyers, including Eric Sprott, are reported to have made firm and well priced offers to buy large tranches of gold from the IMF, only to be curtly turned away as 'ineligible.' The IMF is selling at the prices they determine ex-market to the people to whom they wish to sell. It appears that they may be managing this through BIS.
Dollar Falls to Six-Week Low on Slower U.S. Growth in Services
By Oliver Biggadike and Catarina Saraiva
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell to a six-week low against the euro and slid to within half a yen of its weakest level in seven months versus Japan's currency after a report showed slower growth in U.S. service industries.
The greenback fell against almost all of its major counterparts on speculation the economy is too fragile for the Federal Reserve to start raising borrowing costs. Australia's dollar rose versus the yen after the nation's central bank said business investment is poised to expand. The euro advanced versus the dollar as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index outpaced the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
Niall Ferguson Discusses U.S. Debt...
inflation, or default on unfunded liabilities, like social security and medicare?
Greenback pares loss as stocks give up gains
By Deborah Levine and William L. Watts
Australian dollar up more than 2% after central bank policy meeting
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar pared losses after trading near a two-month low against the euro on Tuesday after U.S. stocks turned lower in afternoon trading, giving up notable gains notched earlier in the session.
Still weighing on the greenback, an upbeat policy statement from the Reserve Bank of Australia boosted the Australian dollar and encouraged investors to move out of the safety of the U.S. currency.
Euro Worst to Come for Top Analysts as TD Sees Parity
By Matthew Brown
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- The most accurate foreign-exchange forecaster says the euro will continue to weaken and may approach parity with the dollar as the European Central Bank buys more government bonds to support the region's economy.
Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities Inc. in Toronto, said the euro will depreciate to $1.13 in the third quarter, $1.08 by year-end and may near $1 in 2011 before recovering. Osborne, whose predictions were within 4.1 percent of the mark on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, was echoed by the nine following most-accurate forecasters in anticipating a lower euro in the next two quarters.
U.S. Banks Risk 'Untold Problem' as Muni Debt Swells
By Dakin Campbell
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., State Street Corp. and U.S. Bancorp are among U.S. banks whose municipal bond holdings have reached a 25-year high just as state budget deficits swell to $140 billion, the most since the start of the recession.
Commercial lenders added more than $84 billion to their holdings since 2003, according to the Federal Reserve, pushing total investments to $216.2 billion at the end of the first quarter. Bank regulators and ratings companies are ramping up scrutiny of banks most at risk of being forced to raise more capital should debt prices slide.
Government and Economy Decline In Tandem
By The Mogambo Guru
07/06/10 Tampa, Florida - I did not hear it, but I read that Ben Bernanke, chairman of the satanic Federal Reserve, admitted that "Our nation's fiscal position has deteriorated appreciably since the onset of the financial crisis and the recession."
Well, neither he nor the Federal Reserve are going to take any of the blame, even though they are solely responsible, and he says that the problem is the government's fiscal position, as "The exceptional increase in the deficit has in large part reflected the effects of the weak economy on tax revenues and spending, along with the necessary policy actions taken to ease the recession and steady financial markets."
Keiser Report No.57:
The Double-Edged Sword of Financial Fear
By: Clif Droke - GoldSeek.com
Worries over the fragility of the economic recovery continues to haunt investors and dominate the new headlines. The latest headlines point to a widespread expectation of a double-dip recession by later this year. The latest round of worries are focused on potential European debt troubles, soft unemployment numbers and the latest round of U.S. economic numbers that proved to be disappointing to investors.
To give you an idea of the tone of last week's market, the word "fear" led the front page headlines of the Wall Street Journal at least twice last week. Last week saw asset prices across the board hit by panic surrounding Europe's sovereign debt crisis, among other concerns.
Red Flags for the Economy
Mike Whitney - SilverBearCafe.com
Warning Signs From the Bond Market
Bonds are signaling that the recovery is in trouble. The yield on the 10-year Treasury (2.97 percent) has fallen to levels not seen since the peak of the crisis while the yield on the two-year note has dropped to historic lows. This is a sign of extreme pessimism. Investors are scared and moving into liquid assets. Their confidence has begun to wane. Economist John Maynard Keynes examined the issue of confidence in his masterpiece "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money". He says: "The state of long-term expectation, upon which our decisions are based, does not solely depend, therefore, on the most probable forecast we can make. It also depends on the confidence with which we make this forecast - on how highly we rate the likelihood of our best forecast turning out quite wrong....The state of confidence, as they term it, is a matter to which practical men always pay the closest and most anxious attention."
European banks walk tightrope with no net
by Heidi N. Moore, contributor - CNNMoney.com The options available to central banks on the Continent are circular, insufficient, and dwindling
Corporate retreats sometimes feature a trust-building exercise in which participants fall backwards into the arms of their colleagues. European banks are now involved in the same exercise, but there is considerable doubt whether they will be actually caught before they crash.
Earlier today we wrote about the European Central Bank's plans to stress-test European central banks; the results will be released on July 23.
However, we neglected to mention the various discussions of backup plans for troubled European lenders. Well, not so much "neglected" as "regarded with such intense skepticism that we didn't bother to mention them," but it still may be worth exploring to see just how few options Europe's banks have if they are found not to pass muster.
Greece is Restructuring Debt Now
The alert John Dizard of the Financial Times has taken notice of a development that has passed most commentators by, namely, that Greece is starting to restructure state debts. This hasn't yet gotten the attention it merits because it's bonds issued by particular government bodies (in this case, the Greek state hospital system) and the investors aren't big Eurobanks but suppliers. Old outstanding coupon bonds are being replaced with zero coupon bonds. The relevant ministries contend this amounts to a 19% haircut; Dizard thinks the discount rate is too low (hence the proper discount is even greater) and an expert who deals in particularly exotic debt thinks this paper will trade down a lot further.
"Creative" Wall Street and Money-Laundering
By: emptywheel
I have long maintained that we will eventually learn that Citibank took over where BCCI and then Riggs Bank left off: serving as a money laundering vehicle used by drug cartels and other organized crime, terrorists, and spooks. But this article (h/t scribe) on the role of big banks in laundering Mexican drug money reports that-while Citibank has been implicated in money laundering (but took the appropriate regulatory steps in response)-there are a number of other banks deeply implicated:
Wachovia (now owned by Wells Fargo)
Bank of America
American Express
HSBC
Banco Santander
Most of these banks were implicated in Mexican legal filings. But in March, Wachovia entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the government that reveals some of the details behind its money laundering.
Treasury run-up won't last forever
by Allan Sloan
FORTUNE -- Financial markets can make you look really foolish, even if you thought your analysis was right, and still do. Today's humbling example: the best investment by far for the first half of this year has been the one that people like me have been warning against: long-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
I've also said (and said) that you have to protect yourself against a decline in the value of the dollar because our need to borrow huge amounts to cover trade and budget deficits is eroding the greenback's standing as the world's reserve currency.
But guess what? Even though it's been a crummy year for U.S. stocks, foreign stocks have performed considerably crummier.
Fed Audit Failure Lends Credence to QE Rumors
By: Dr. Jeffrey Lewis - GoldSeek.com
Just last week, Congress had a critical piece of legislation before it. Congress, through House bill HR 1207, could pass the bill in its entirety with a simple majority vote, and it would be included in the Financial reform overhaul bill which is currently being pushed through Congress. Should the audit bill have been added to the financial reform legislation, upon passage, the books at the Federal Reserve would be opened for audit by the GAO - at which point every citizen, politician, and investor would know within six months the extent of the actions taken by the Fed over the past 97 years of pure secrecy.
Federal Government Helped Pay Home Air-Conditioning Bills for Federal Employees, Prisoners and More Than 11,000 Dead People
By Matt Cover, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government helped pay the home air conditioning bills for more than 11,000 dead people, 1,100 federal employees, and 725 convicts in fiscal year 2009.
The payments were made by a $5 billion program known as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is designed to provide federal assistance, administered by the states, to help people pay the energy bills to heat their homes in the winter and cool them in the summer. The funds are disbursed by the Department of Health and Human Services and are distributed based on a formula that takes into account a state's weather and the size of its low-income population.
Rogoff Says China Property Starting to 'Collapse'
By Susan Li and Jacob Greber
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- China's property market is beginning a "collapse" that will hit the nation's banking system, said Kenneth Rogoff, the Harvard University professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.
As China's economy develops, "especially at the speed it's growing, it's going to have bumps," said Rogoff, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. He also said that while recoveries across the global economy are "very slow," the danger of a return to recession isn't "elevated."
Chinese bank may be world's biggest IPO
By David Ellis
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- One of China's biggest banks is on track to become the largest IPO in history.
Agricultural Bank of China, a lender which boasts more customers than the entire U.S. population, has raised $19.2 billion from investors, according to several news reports. Should the company agree to exercise its option to sell more shares, that number is expected to exceed $22 billion.
"It will, barring extenuating circumstances, be the world's largest IPO," said Scott Sweet, senior managing partner of the IPO research firm IPO Boutique.
China Bank I.P.O. Raises $19 Billion
By MICHAEL WINES - NYTimes.com
BEIJING - It was established by Mao Zedong for China's rural peasants. But on Tuesday, the Agricultural Bank of China embraced a capitalist's dream: it went public.
In a move that would have been unimaginable in Mao's time, the Chinese bank sold $19.2 billion of stock in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The offering could grow to $22.1 billion - the largest in history.
The Agricultural Bank was the latest in a long series of Chinese companies to go public since China reopened its stock markets 20 years ago.
Banks Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Bail Out: Roubini
By: CNBC.com
European governments face the quandary of being unable to afford to bail out banks that are still considered too big to fail, while the global economy is heading for a slowdown in the second half of the year, economist Nouriel Roubini of Roubini Global Economics told CNBC Tuesday.
Governments are running out of ways to counter a "massive slowdown" or the risk of a double-dip recession, Roubini said.
"A year ago we had all these policy bullets," he said. "We could push down rates to zero, we had (quantitative easing), we could do a budget deficit of 10 percent of GDP (or) backstop the financial system."
Banks Already Moving to Evade Volcker Rule
Although it was unclear how the high concept behind the Volcker rule would translate into legislation, we had doubts from the get-go. The idea is sound: firms that are ultimately playing with government money should be involved only in socially valuable transaction intermediation and fundraising (and all major dealers around the world are backstopped, pretenses about "living wills" and resolution regimes are fig leaves). Speculating or investing solely to boost profits for the house should be a no-no. The banks can raise funds on artificially cheap terms, thanks to government support, and they have incentives to direct them to high risk activities, the very sort that have the most upside to them and the most potential to leave the taxpayer with losses.
Commercial Real Estate Continues its Drag on the Economy
By Addison Wiggin - The DailyReckoning.com
07/06/10 Baltimore, Maryland - In April 2007, we issued a report headlined The Second Wave of the Housing Tsunami: 2007-2011 in which we suggested commercial real estate was likely to be the second shoe to drop in what was already an unnerving collapse in the residential housing market.
Some of the more speculative plays we issued in the report panned out well for those inclined to follow them. A Countrywide put closed at a 417% gain. Another put on the "financial select" SPDR closed up 172%. And a third put on Lowe's home improvement closed at 93%.
Today, we take another look at commercial real estate (CRE) because, despite headline-grabbing debt crises in Dubai, Greece, California and Illinois, CRE has continued to get worse.
New Loan Delinquencies on the Rise Again
By: Diana Olick - CNBC Real Estate Reporter Just when you thought things might be turning around, the mortgage crisis takes yet another little dip to the downside.
Lender Processing Services just put out its May "Mortgage Monitor," and some promising trends aren't so promising anymore, specifically new delinquencies and cure rates.
While the total delinquency rate rose 2.3 percent, which is not surprising given how much is in the pipeline, the 30-day delinquent bucket jumped 10 percent. That is surprising because the that number had been coming down of late. The LPS data report says that's because the "seasonal improvement period has expired," but I'm not sure normal seasonal patterns really apply to this market anymore.
FRACTURED FAIRY TALES: GOLDILOCKS, "EXIT STRATEGY," AND "AUSTERITY" by Bill Fleckenstein - FinancialSense.com
Weekend newspapers were quite grim and markets that were open on Monday traded lower. There is no shortage of reasons for that angst, but one making the rounds - i.e., the notion that governments worldwide will enact strict austerity measures - I find somewhat preposterous.
A Bloomberg story over the weekend gave weight to that illusion with the headline, "Deficits Shrinking Most In Decades," as it turned a theory - namely that fiscal policy is about get quite tight - into a reality. While it's true that some austerity measures have been proposed, nothing has taken place, and we all know how cheap talk is, especially in government circles. Given the serious problems inside the European banking system, not to mention economic and employment issues both in Europe and here, I do not think that austerity is going to make it very far past the planning stages. Much like Bernanke's "exit strategy" received a great deal of attention for a while, but has since been forgotten, as the opposite strategy, Q.E. II, seems far more likely.
America is 234 Years Old Today - Is It Finished?
By Phil at Phil's Stock World "The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence.
From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual
faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage." - Professor Joseph Olson
Is America, then, living on borrowed time? Are we so far past our prime and so into old age as a civilization that we are now senile and oblivious to our present surroundings, causing a danger to ourselves and others? Do we find ourselves living in the past and repeating the same old tales of our former glories over and over again to anyone who will listen? Are we barely kept alive by various medications that only stave off conditions that are getting worse every day while still imagining that, if there were a need, we could rise up and be strong again - but not today as there's rice pudding for desert and we don't want to miss that!
Is the sun setting on the American Empire?
Postal Service Seeks 2-Cent Rise in First-Class Mail
By Todd Shields
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Postal Service proposed raising first-class stamp prices by 2 cents, to 46 cents, while rates increase 8 percent for periodicals and 23 percent for some parcels to narrow a deficit projected at $7 billion this year.
The increases would generate $2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2011, the service said today in a statement before filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission. The proposal was challenged by a group that represents publisher Time Inc. and mail-order pharmacy supplier and Medco Health Solutions Inc.
Fiddling While the Economy Burns
By Eugene Robinson
The good news is that unemployment has fallen to "only" 9.5 percent. The bad news is that the jobless rate is down only because so many people have given up hope of finding work. Perversely, the jobless who aren't actively looking for jobs are not counted as "unemployed."
Perhaps there should be a new category titled "mired in existential despair."
If anyone in Washington wants to know why people in the hinterlands are angry, one simple answer is that our political leaders seem to be so calculating and unmoved about the parlous state of the economy.
Expect lots of government layoffs at state, local level
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
Here's another headwind for a sputtering job market: State and local governments plan many more layoffs to close wide budget gaps.
Up to 400,000 workers could lose jobs in the next year as states, counties and cities grapple with lower revenue and less federal funding, says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.
The development could slow an already lackluster recovery. Friday, the Labor Department said employers cut 125,000 jobs, mostly because 225,000 temporary U.S. Census workers completed their stints. The private sector added 83,000 jobs, fewer then expected, as the jobless rate fell to 9.5% from 9.7%.
Making (State Budget) Sacrifices
By Rocky Vega - The DailyReckoning.com
07/06/10 Alexandria, Virgina - Much like the federal version, budgets at the state level are bloated. The fat needs trimming, yet few politicians seem able to muster up the will to do so.
For example, the Post-Gazette reports that "technically the [Pennsylvania] budget is balanced, critics said, but that balance depends on two shaky sources of revenue." Those sources are $850 million in federal Medicaid funding that Congress hasn't actually approved and a predicted 3.2 percent increase in tax revenue despite lower than expected tax revenue the past two years running.
Older, More Educated Workers Are Getting Crushed By The Jobs Crisis
by CalculatedRisk
Reader Ann (retired lawyer with economics degree) has obtained some publicly available raw data on the long term unemployed from the BLS Current Population Survey. Ann was able to break down the long term unemployed into two age cohorts, 1) 25 to 45, and 2) 45+.
She also broke down the data by four levels of education: 1) no high school degree, 2) high school only, 3) some college or Associates degree, and 4) BA degree or higher.
The following table summarizes the data (click on link to see table - it doesn't fit here): Table Long Term Unemployed
U.S. consumer bankruptcies up 14 percent in first half
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Leslie Gevirtz
(Reuters) - U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased 14 percent in the year's first half to the highest level since the nation's bankruptcy code was overhauled in 2005, the American Bankruptcy Institute said on Friday.
The number of filings rose to 770,117 from 675,351 a year earlier, the group said, citing data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.
Sam Gerdano, the ABI's executive director, said the increase stemmed from years of rising consumer debt levels and low savings rates, together with high unemployment and the nation's housing difficulties.
Foreclosures Make Up a Third of All Home Sales
By: Reuters - CNBC.com
Nearly one out of every three US home sales in the first quarter was a foreclosure property as steep price discounts boosted demand for distressed real estate, RealtyTrac said in a new report on Wednesday.
Foreclosure homes accounted for 31 percent of all residential sales in the first quarter of 2010, with the average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure nearly 27 percent below homes that were not in the process, Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac said.
"In a normal market, only 1 to 2 percent of home sales are foreclosures, so this is certainly a significant level," Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, said in an interview.
Office Vacancy Rate in U.S. Climbs to 17-Year High, Reis Says
By Hui-yong Yu
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Office vacancies in the U.S. rose to the highest level since 1993 in the second quarter as the sluggish economic recovery damps demand from corporate tenants, Reis Inc. said in a report.
The vacancy rate climbed to 17.4 percent from 16 percent a year earlier and 17.3 percent in the first quarter, the New York-based research company said today in a statement. Effective rents, the amount tenants actually pay landlords, fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier and 0.9 percent from the previous three months, according to Reis.
Gov. Brewer calls immigration lawsuit an attack on Arizona
PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer characterized the federal lawsuit challenging the immigration law she signed in April as an "attack" from President Barack Obama and the Department of Justice.
The governor promised to assert the state's rights and said Arizona will prevail against the lawsuits.
"It is wrong that our own federal government is suing the people of Arizona for helping to enforce federal immigration law. As a direct result of failed and inconsistent federal enforcement, Arizona is under attack from violent Mexican drug and immigrant smuggling cartels," she said in a statement Thursday.
Sacramento County's assessed value drops by $3 billion
SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL
Sacramento County's combined assessed property value dipped 2.2 percent to $128.77 billion for the current fiscal year, about $3 billion less than last year - and the second-consecutive annual decline.
The cash-strapped county depends on property tax as a major revenue source, and has cut hundreds of jobs and services in recent months.
A high number of assessment appeals - basically owners who believe their property is worth less than the recorded value - and a first-time "negative inflation" factor under Proposition 13 contributed to the lower assessed values, county Assessor Ken Stieger said in a news release. In addition, about 10,000 properties are changing hands and a heavy workload with a lack of stuffing have slowed property reassessments.
U.S. sues to block Arizona immigration law
By Kevin Johnson and Alan Gomez, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - The U.S. government filed its long-anticipated legal challenge to a controversial Arizona immigration law Tuesday, claiming that the state law encroaches on the federal responsibility for immigration enforcement and that Arizona had "crossed a constitutional line."
The federal lawsuit escalates the volatile national debate on illegal immigration and comes just 23 days before the Arizona law is set to take effect. The law requires police to question the immigration status of suspects when there is reasonable suspicion that they are in the country illegally.
Arizona contingent backs federal challenge to immigration lawsuit
PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL - BY Lynn Ducey
A group of Arizona lawmakers and members of the religious and Latino communities applauded the Department of Justice's decision to sue Arizona over the state's immigration law.
Led by Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, the group convened for a press conference Tuesday and included Arizona State Reps. Cloves Campbell, D-16, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-15; Daniel R. Ortega Jr., a lawyer representing Los Abogados, the Hispanic Bar Association; Phoenix City Councilman and Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski; retired Phoenix City Councilman Calvin C. Goode; Lydia Guzman of Somos America; Warren Stewart Sr., pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church and others representing groups including Chicanos Por La Causa.
"We are pleased that the Department of Justice has taken action to block this unconstitutional and unjust law," said Wilcox.
Statements reacting to federal lawsuit
challenging Arizona immigration law
PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL
Reaction continues from political circles and private-sector groups about the federal government's lawsuit filed today challenging Arizona's new immigration law.
Here are more of those statements. We will be updating this throughout the day:
J.D. Hayworth, U.S. Senate candidate:
STATEMENT FROM HAYWORTH ON DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LAWSUIT
Phoenix, AZ (JULY 6) - U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) issued the following statement regarding the Department of Justice lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law:
"The federal government has failed to protect the people of Arizona from illegal aliens, so the state government, quite sensibly, moved to fill the void. This lawsuit should fail because it is based on the absurd assertion that Arizona should be punished for enforcing federal immigration laws which our current President and current attorney general have no interest in enforcing."
Bilderberg Breaker Estulin:
US builds 13 secret bases for 'Endgame' war with Russia
The Bilderberg Group is one of the most secretive and exclusive clubs that attracts world's most powerful people. Its meetings are invitation only and take place under tight security, away from the prying eyes of the public and the press.
Investigative journalist Daniel Estulin, who has made it his mission to uncover the secrets of the Bilderberg Group, has shared some of his revelations with RT. He claims the group makes decisions on international policy in a way far removed from democracy.
Obama Says Netanyahu Will Take 'Risks for Peace'
By Jonathan Ferziger and Roger Runningen
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said today he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take "risks for peace" with the Palestinians, as the two leaders met at the White House in a sign of improved relations.
Obama told reporters Netanyahu had affirmed the goal of moving toward the creation of a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel and with "Israel's security needs met." The president described U.S.-Israeli ties as an "unbreakable" bond, in remarks in the Oval Office after a discussion with Netanyahu that he called "excellent."
All Gulf States Are Now Feeling BP's Oil Spill
By HUGH COLLINS - DailyFinance.com
Every Gulf state has now been hit by oil from the busted BP (BP) oil well after tar balls washed up on a beach in Texas.
Around five gallons of tar balls were found Saturday on the Bolivar Peninsula to the northeast of Galveston, the Associated Press reported. It's not clear what pushed them ashore, but authorities speculate it could be due to Hurricane Alex or even to boats working in the clean-up operation.
"Any Texas shores impacted by the Deepwater spill will be cleaned up quickly, and BP will be picking up the tab," Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said in a news release. Two more gallons of tar balls were found Sunday.
Oil seeps into New Orleans' Lake Pontchartrain
By CAIN BURDEAU - AP - WashingtonPost.com
NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans, which managed to escape the oil from the BP spill for more than two months, can't hide any longer.
For the first time since the accident, oil from the ruptured well is seeping into Lake Pontchartrain, threatening another environmental disaster for the huge body of water that was rescued from pollution in 1990s to become, once more, a bountiful fishing ground and a popular spot for boating and swimming.
"Our universe is getting very small," Pete Gerica, president of the Lake Pontchartrain Fishermen's Association, said Tuesday.
Recovery effort falls vastly short of BP's promises
By Kimberly Kindy - Washington Post
In the 77 days since oil from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon began to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, BP has skimmed or burned about 60 percent of the amount it promised regulators it could remove in a single day.
The disparity between what BP promised in its March 24 filing with federal regulators and the amount of oil recovered since the April 20 explosion underscores what some officials and environmental groups call a misleading numbers game that has led to widespread confusion about the extent of the spill and the progress of the recovery.
pt 1 Gerald Celente Greg & Dan WMBD 02/07/10
BP clean-up leaves U.S. vulnerable to another spill
By Joshua Schneyer
(Reuters) - The Obama administration may succeed in pushing through its offshore drilling ban, despite fierce resistance from the oil industry, since a piece of machinery in short supply has left oil companies and the environment glaringly vulnerable to another oil spill.
The offshore skimming devices -- seagoing vessels that suck up spilled crude -- are the first line of defense in the contingency plans that big oil companies are required to submit when they drill in the deep waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
If Only Information Flowed as Freely as Oil
By Amy Goodman - TruthDig.com
"Deep Spill 2" sounds like a sequel to a Hollywood thriller.
Unfortunately, it is more of a reality show. "Deep Spill 2" is the name of an ambitious series of proposed scientific experiments that should be happening right now. Scientists from around the globe are ready, literally, to dive in to understand what is happening with the oil and gas that are spewing into the Gulf of Mexico with the force of a volcano.
There is one problem, though: BP won't let them.
Fed's Fisher Warns of US Economic Slowdown
By: Reuters - CNBC.com
Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said the timing of monetary tightening will depend on conditions in the U.S. economy, which will slow in the latter half of this year, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Weakness in private consumption may hurt growth and politicians might call for an expansion of monetary easing, although there is little more the Fed can do, Fisher said in an interview with the economic daily.
But Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker was more optimistic, telling the Nikkei that private consumption and corporate capital investment will expand enough to keep the U.S. economy on a sustained recovery later this year and through next year.
Americans are waking up to $150 trillion in debt
Bob Moriarty
Economic rebound? Not with 22% unemployment. Banking reform legislation? Loaded with pork. Bankrupt nations? Rock-solid, lead-pipe cinch. "We need to start all over," says the inimitable Bob Moriarty in this exclusive Gold Report interview. "And in the end, we will." Meanwhile, he's keeping an eye out for the few-and-far-between juniors that manage to get things exactly right. . . .
Actually, what we need is another Glass-Steagall Act. We need to take banks back to being banks instead of casinos underwritten by the United States government and with their losses paid by taxpayers. If they actually reported their assets, you'd see every bank in the U.S. underwater financially.
The biggest of the big banks are doing something called High Frequency Trading. Basically, they are getting data a half second before the rest of the market and they are front-running their own customers. HFT is 70% of the market trading and it's stealing. Congress didn't even address the issue. Because they have been bought and paid for by Wall Street and the biggest of the banks. It's all corrupt and nothing is going to get fixed until we demand an honest monetary system.
Europe's 'toothless' bank tests making matters worse
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
RBS and other City institutions have warned that Europe's stress tests for banks are almost useless and may further damage confidence if they fail to cover the risk of large losses on sovereign defaults by Greece and other Club Med states.
"I don't think it is going to work," said Jacques Cailloux, Europe economist at RBS. "These stress tests are not rigorous enough. Investors are already pricing in a 50pc "haircut" on some Greek bonds so this has to be included, and perhaps 30pc for Spain."
"We have had a complete failure of communication by the eurozone over recent months with 16 countries all saying different things, and there is a very high chance of another failure this time."
Dow Repeats Great Depression Pattern
By: CNBC.com
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is repeating a pattern that appeared just before markets fell during the Great Depression, Daryl Guppy, CEO at Guppytraders.com, told CNBC Monday.
"Those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat itÉthere was a head and shoulders pattern that developed before the Depression in 1929, then with the recovery in 1930 we had another head and shoulders pattern that preceded a fall in the market, and in the current Dow situation we see an exact repeat of that environment," Guppy said.
The Dow retreated 457.33 points, or 4.5 percent last week, to close at 9,686 Friday. Guppy said a Dow fall below 9,800 confirmed the head and shoulders pattern.
China eyes shake-up of bank holdings
By Henny Sender in Hong Kong - FT.com
China is considering stripping its $200bn sovereign wealth fund of the country's banking stakes, in a move that could free it of some restrictions when it invests in the US.
People familiar with the matter said that, under the proposal, China Investment Corporation would no longer be responsible for holding the state's majority stakes in the country's biggest banks, such as Bank of China.
The move would end CIC's status as a bank holding company in the eyes of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Gary Shilling: Advice for Investors Facing a Decade of Slow Growth
By NIKHIL HUTHEESING - DailyFinance.com
Gary Shilling, president of A. Gary Shilling & Co. may be the economist investors most love to hate. They love him because he is right, but they hate him because he has long been the bearer of bad news.
So who is this controversial man? In this video (below), we see the personal side of Gary Shilling. He talks about his childhood and how his parents influenced him. He explains that despite his reputation, he has been, in the past, a Wall Street bull. And he gives some advice about how investors, at various stages of their lives, should now be preparing for a decade ahead of sluggish growth.
Gold consumption soars to record high in China
By Brenda Bouw
China's consumption of gold is soaring alongside the price, as the Asian economic superpower and its citizens increasingly turn to the precious metal as a way to diversify their finances.
Gold prices have risen so quickly - 11.6 per cent in the last quarter alone and 84 per cent in the past three years - that it is becoming out of reach for some of the world's jewellery buyers and investors. Yet even at about $1,200 (U.S.) an ounce, Chinese demand from both is soaring. Retail investment demand in China rose 57 per cent in the first quarter of this year from a year ago, while jewellery demand increased 11 per cent, according to World Gold Council estimates.
What's Next for Gold?
By: Howard S. Katz - GoldSeek.com
This past week was a scary time for gold bugs. But do not be afraid. I am going to look into the future and tell you what is next in the gold market. Last week we studied the art of speculation and concluded that speculation was a zero-sum game. For every dollar gained, there is a dollar lost. It is like the neighborhood poker game. At the end of the evening, the players as a group have the exact same amount of money they had at the beginning. However, this is not true of each individual player. The smarter players, who can foresee the future, will win. The other players will lose.
Castlestone's Murray Says Gold Still Shines
By TARA LOADER WILKINSOM - WSJ.com
Angus Murray, chief executive of Castlestone Management, tells The Wall Street Journal why gold remains a shining investment.
After some resistance, the gold price has finally burst past the $1,250 mark and the only direction it will continue is upward. We estimate it could surpass $1,500 in the near future and possibly $2,400 later in the decade.
Why so bullish for a "safe haven" asset? Just look at the fundamental drivers of the gold price.
Gold is getting more expensive to produce. The average cost to produce an ounce of the metal increased by 135% in the seven years to 2009. Credit Suisse predicts the cost could be more than double its current $478 average by 2015.
Gold investors go for bullion bars and coins
By Darryl Robert Schoon
Deceit becomes fraud only when you can't deliver. Many of those interested in Austrian economics have been waiting for what Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises called the crack up boom. My advice: Don't wait. The crack-up boom may already have happened. Get ready for what's next.
From Ludwig von Mises, Human Action, 1949:
The credit expansion boom is built on the sands of banknotes and deposits. It must collapse. If the credit expansion is not stopped in time, the boom turns into the crack-up boom [bold, mine]; the flight into real values begins, and the whole monetary system founders. Continuous inflation (credit expansion) must finally end in the crack-up boom and the complete breakdown of the currency system.
US Dollar Unreliable Global Reserve Currency - UN
Recently by Gerald Celente - LewRockwell.com
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs slammed the US dollar in a new report, saying it is an unreliable international currency and should be replaced.
The UN body recommends the US currency be replaced with a new global reserve regime based on a new supranational currency comprised of a mix of currencies from developed nations.
"People jumped out of the Euro and into the Dollar. That's like leaving the Titanic to take a ride on Lusitania. They're both going down. There's a global financial crisis going on," said Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute.
Roubini Sees German, U.S Debt as Havens in Face of 'Fragility'
By Francine Lacqua and Mark Deen
July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist credited with predicting the financial crisis, said that government bonds of countries such as Germany, Canada and the U.S. will represent a haven from increasingly volatile markets in coming months.
"It is going to be a period of economic and financial fragility," Roubini said in an interview in Aix en Provence, France. "The short-term and long-term debt of countries not yet subject to sovereign debt concern will be havens," he said.
Easy Fed Loans Are Cheapening the Recovery
By DAVID REILLY - WSJ.com
Making money too cheap carries danger. First, it fueled the housing bubble. Now, counterintuitively, it may be crimping an economic revival. That wasn't the plan. By cutting rates to near zero, the Federal Reserve helped forestall economic collapse. Yet with the recovery flagging, some worry that super-loose monetary policy may actually turn the Fed into an agent of deflation.
At issue is why banks aren't lending, especially to small businesses that are the engine of growth. One answer is there isn't demand for loans. Clearly, that is a factor. A lack of loan supply, though, also may be playing a role-and not just because credit risk is high.
Rogoff Says China Property Starting to 'Collapse'
By Susan Li and Jacob Greber
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- China's property market is beginning a "collapse" that will hit the nation's banking system, said Kenneth Rogoff, the Harvard University professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.
As China's economy develops, "especially at the speed it's growing, it's going to have bumps," said Rogoff, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. He also said that while recoveries across the global economy are "very slow," the danger of a return to recession isn't "elevated."
Chinese Premier Says Global Crisis More Serious Than Expected
Joe Weisenthal - businessinsider.com
Some interesting comments made by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao this weekend.
WSJ:
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday the country's economic policies "face increasing dilemmas" because the impact of the global financial crisis is more serious than expected, but he reiterated that China won't hold back steps to restructure the economy for growth.
"China's current economic situation is sound, but the domestic and global economic environment is extremely complicated," Mr. Wen said. He said Beijing will try to maintain relatively fast economic development while managing inflation.
Chinese Economy Is 'Good' but Vulnerable, Premier Says
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - NYTimes.com
BEIJING (AP) - China's economic health still faces threats from the halting global recovery, but Beijing has no plans to make major changes to its economic policies, Premier Wen Jiabao said in a report posted on the central government's Web site on Sunday.
China rebounded quickly from the global crisis on the strength of a huge stimulus spending plan and record bank lending. But government leaders, who expect Europe's debt crisis to hurt demand for Chinese goods, say the recovery is still vulnerable to a downturn in trade.
Rogoff Says China Property Starting to 'Collapse'
By Susan Li and Jacob Greber
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- China's property market is beginning a "collapse" that will hit the nation's banking system, said Kenneth Rogoff, the Harvard University professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.
As China's economy develops, "especially at the speed it's growing, it's going to have bumps," said Rogoff, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. He also said that while recoveries across the global economy are "very slow," the danger of a return to recession isn't "elevated."
Shariah Loans Reach Five-Year Low on Property: Islamic Finance
By Haris Anwar and Soraya Permatasari
July 5 (Bloomberg) -- Shariah-compliant loans slumped to a five-year low in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the first half on credit-ratings downgrades and falling property prices.
Islamic syndicated loans declined 40 percent to $2.2 billion, compared with a 5 percent drop in total lending to $304 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Real-estate prices have dropped 50 percent in the United Arab Emirates from their peak in August 2008, according to estimates from Colliers International.
$100 Oil: Sooner Than You Think
By Dian L. Chu - ZeroHedge.com
Sentiment in the crude oil market has been quite pessimistic lately after some disappointing economic data fueling fear over the strength of the U.S. recovery, and signs of a possible China slowdown. This is on top of the market distress already exerted by the Europe sovereign debt and banking crisis.
Oil price was down 8% for the week, with the front-month August delivery settled at $72.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Low rates aren't helping the housing market
by ALAN ZIBEL, ALEX VEIGA - AP - MSNBC.com
Lending standards prevent many from refinancing, qualifying for mortgage
An odd scene has been playing out lately in the offices of mortgage brokers and bankers around the country.
Mortgage rates have sunk to levels not seen in more than a half-century - a seductive 4.58 percent for an average 30-year fixed loan. Yet brokers and lenders report not a flood but a trickle of customers.
So what's going on?
Call it a tale of the haves and have-nots.
The haves are those who stand to save money from refinancing and have the financial standing to do so. Since mortgage rates have been low for so long, most of them already have refinanced in the past 18 months. Doing so again wouldn't be worth the cost for most.
Where We Are Today: Interest Rates 'Too High,' Double Dip on Deck, the Failure of Economics
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff is a daily read of mine. His most recent breakfast message does a remarkably concise job of summarizing the US financial markets.
The reason for the gold market rally is obvious; declining production in the face of record monetization and increasing demand. The same financial engineers in the central banks that ruined the economy had been suppressing the price of gold through managed sales for almost thirty years in a desperate reaction to the Nixon assault on Bretton Woods in 1971. And now we see the fruits of their long contrivance, and its inevitable failure. The world will have to develop a replacement to this incredible farce we call globalization and world trade based on arbitrary and easily manipulated values.
Are We Sure States Can't Declare Bankruptcy?
John Rubino - SilverBearCafe.com
Saturday's New York Times has an article on Illinois' finances that is must reading for anyone who thinks the U.S. has turned the corner. The crucial takeaways are 1) even though states can't technically declare bankruptcy, they apparently can just stop paying their bills, 2) while salaries and pensions for current public sector workers are untouched, services that provide lifelines to the most vulnerable are being decimated, and 3) though Illinois is arguably the worst-run state, a whole bunch of others are close behind, so what happens there will soon be replicated across the country.
Health overhaul first provisions start to kick in
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR AP Writer - HoustonChronicle.com
WASHINGTON - The first stage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is expected to provide coverage to about 1 million uninsured Americans by next year, according to government estimates.
That's a small share of the uninsured, but in a shaky economy, experts say it's notable.
Many others - more than 100 million people - are getting new benefits that improve their existing coverage.
Overall costs appear modest at this point, split among taxpayers, employers and individuals who directly benefit, although the biggest part of the health care expansion is still four years away.
'Beastly' system can track every purchase you make
By Bob Unruh - WND.com
Lawsuit challenges state's demand for reporting of online transactions
Want to buy a "long live the tea party" bumper sticker online? Soon, the state government in Colorado could know th
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