Filed under: Barack Obama, Communism, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, deflation, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Fascism, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Income Tax, Inflation, IRS, Neolibs, obama, obama deception, obama stimulus, socialism, Stock Market, tax, tax rebates, Taxpayers, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: golf cart credit, golf cart rebate, golf cart stimulus, The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
$5,500 Golf Cart Tax Credit in Obama Stimulus Bill
Taxprof
October 22, 2009
We thought cash for clunkers was the ultimate waste of taxpayer money, but as usual we were too optimistic. Thanks to the federal tax credit to buy high-mileage cars that was part of President Obama’s stimulus plan, Uncle Sam is now paying Americans to buy that great necessity of modern life, the golf cart. The federal credit provides from $4,200 to $5,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle, and when it is combined with similar incentive plans in many states the tax credits can pay for nearly the entire cost of a golf cart.
This golf-cart fiasco perfectly illustrates tax policy in the age of Obama, when politicians dole out credits and loopholes for everything from plug-in cars to fuel efficient appliances, home insulation and vitamins. Democrats then insist that to pay for these absurdities they have no choice but to raise tax rates on other things—like work and investment—that aren’t politically in vogue. If this keeps up, it’ll soon make more sense to retire and play golf than work for a living.
Filed under: 9/11 Truth, Barack Obama, big pharma, Bill Clinton, Bio Weapons, biological warfare, catastrophic event, Credit Crisis, dick armey, Dictatorship, Dollar, Dow, Economy, engineered crisis, Fascism, fearmongering, h1n1, h1n1 clinic, h1n1 vaccine, Harry Reid, health and environment, health care, health care reform, Hegelian Dialectic, Hitler, Hoax, HR 3200, Human Experiments, hype, influenza, innoculation, inside job, insurance companies, Media Fear, medicaid, medical care, medical Experiments, medical industrial complex, medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Nazi, Neolibs, obama, obama care, obama deception, obamacare, Pandemic Influenza, pandemic virus, paul broun, Problem Reaction Solution, Propaganda, Rahm Emanuel, socialism, State Sponsored Terrorism, stimulus, stimulus bill, Stimulus Package, swine flu, swine flu pandemic, swine flu vaccine, tax rebates, truth movement, US Economy, Vaccine, virus pandemic, White House
Obama Needs A Crisis Revive Health Care Reform
Bloomberg News
September 6, 2009
President Barack Obama returns to Washington next week in search of one thing that can revive his health-care overhaul: a sense of crisis.
Facing polls showing a drop in his approval, diminished support from independents, factions within his Democratic Party and a united Republican opposition, Obama must recapture the sense of urgency that led to passage of the economic rescue package in February, analysts said.
“At the moment, except for the people without insurance, we’re not in a health-care crisis,” said Stephen Wayne, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Washington. “You do need a crisis to generate movement in Congress and to help build a consensus.”
Obama speaks to labor leaders on Sept. 7 and to a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9 as he attempts to rebuild support for his top domestic priority, one that affects 17 percent of the economy. Lawmakers, trying to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and rein in costs, are considering mandates on employers to provide coverage, new rules for insurers, and creating a government program to compete with private insurers such as Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc.
Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said the administration made unprecedented health-care progress in eight months.
‘Not There Yet’
“We gave Congress a charge, we gave them broad outlines, which is the reason we are farther along than any of the five presidents that have tried,” Emanuel said in an interview yesterday. “We’re not there yet, and this speech is intended to finish the job.”
Presidential speeches historically do little to move public opinion significantly, said George Edwards, author of “The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presidential Leadership.”
“This is almost like a Hail Mary, because they know that they’re substantially behind and the trajectory is negative for them,” Edwards said.
Unlike the financial crisis he inherited, the health-care debate is of Obama’s making and places a different burden on him, Edwards said.
“The best thing in presidential leadership is to recognize and exploit opportunities,” said Edwards. “The White House overestimated the nature of the opportunity.”
Stimulus Debate
Obama’s economic stimulus was debated as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 18 percent from Nov. 4, 2008, to Feb. 13, when Congress approved the legislation. Unemployment had risen to more than 7 percent.
On the stimulus, Obama was able to say “that unless we do X right now, and X is pretty painful and pretty expensive, there is a serious danger in the next few weeks that the entire financial system will come crashing down,” said Bill Galston, a former official in President Bill Clinton’s administration, now a Brookings Institution scholar in Washington.
Emanuel remarked at the time that a crisis was a terrible thing to waste, and Obama pushed for health-care overhaul and energy legislation along with financial and auto bailouts.
Government Will Hype Fall Swine Flu Outbreak To Save Obamacare
Infowars
August 17, 2009
Former Congressman and House Majority Leader Dick Armey warns that the government is planning to exploit a hyped swine flu outbreak this fall in order to reinvigorate support behind its failing Obamacare agenda.
Armey is confident that the grass roots backlash against Obamacare will cause the plan to fail, but warns that the government has one last trick up its sleeve which it is preparing to pull in the next few months.
The former House leader told the Financial Times that wavering lawmakers in both parties might be won over by an engineered crisis that the Obama administration is planning to exploit.
“In September or October there will be a hyped up outbreak of the swine flu which they’ll say is as bad as the bubonic plague to scare the bed-wetters to vote for healthcare reform,” said Mr Armey. “That is the only way they can push something on to the American people that the American people don’t want.”
As we reported last week, Georgia Congressman Paul Broun gave a similar warning when he told attendees of a town hall event Tuesday that the Obama administration was planning to use a pandemic or a natural disaster to implement martial law in the United States.
Speaking at the North Georgia Technical College auditorium, Broun said that the “socialistic elite,” as well as Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, were planning to exploit a crisis to create a favorable climate for their stalling political agenda.
“They’re trying to develop an environment where they can take over,” he said. “We’ve seen that historically.”
Health authorities as well as Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano have been hyping the inevitability of swine flu’s deadlier return this fall ever since it first appeared in April.
Despite the fact that the virus has proven far less potent than the common flu, governments across the world have been preparing to roll out mass vaccination campaigns which are set to begin next month, despite the fact that the shots will contain mercury and squalene and have also been linked with the killer nerve disease Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
Filed under: central bank, Credit Crisis, david walker, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, fannie mae, freddie mac, GAO, George Bush, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, Inflation, mortgage companies, neocons, real estate, Stimulus Package, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, tax rebates, Uncategorized, US Economy
US debt now at an astonishing $53 trillion
SF Gate
July 17, 2008
As the Bush administration proposes backstopping mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a $300 billion line of credit and Congress contemplates another economic stimulus, the question is who will bail out the government?
“People seem to think the government has money,” said former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. “The government doesn’t have any money.”
A rare consensus has developed across the political spectrum that the government’s own fiscal affairs are precarious, with an astonishing $53 trillion in long-term liabilities, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Filed under: Bank of America, Bear Stearns, bernanke, Big Banks, Britain, central bank, copper, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, energy, Euro, Europe, european union, fannie mae, Federal Reserve, food market, food prices, freddie mac, gas prices, George Bush, global economy, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, Illegal Immigration, imf, Immigration, Inflation, Israel, Mexico, mortgage companies, nymex, Oil, Petrol, real estate, silver, stimulus, Stimulus Package, Stock Market, tax, tax rebates, UAE, United Kingdom, US Economy, US Treasury, World Bank | Tags: soybeans, wheat, with corn
Oil Hit Record $147, Gold $969, Euro $1.59
On Friday Oil hit record of $147.27, Gold $969, Euro $1.5972 against the greenback, Today July 14, 2008 11:31 AM EDT Crude price sinks to $145, Gold $969, Euro 1.5859.
AP
July 12, 2008
Gold prices rose Friday, making their largest advance since first hitting $1,000 earlier this year, after another record crude rally and a tumbling stock market led jittery investors to the safety of hard assets.
Other commodities traded mostly higher, with corn, soybeans, wheat and other agriculture futures rising.
Gold’s rally suggests investors are increasingly concerned about rising inflation as Americans struggle with $4 gasoline and the U.S. dollar continues to lose ground against its main rivals.
After a week of volatile trading in the commodities complex, a myriad of dour economic developments pushed gold prices skyward: Oil soared above $147 for the first time, stocks dove on concerns that mortgage companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae might collapse and the dollar tumbled further against the euro.
“All of these things are a pretty good recipe for safe-haven buying into bullion,” said James Steel, analyst with HSBC in New York. “You’re really spoiled for choice on a day like this.”
Gold for August delivery added $18.60 to settle at $960.60 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $969.10. That was gold’s highest trading level since first cracking the $1,000 threshold on March 13 after the collapse of Bear Stearns & Co.
Nervousness about the U.S. economy, record energy prices and the falling dollar have helped propel gold 34 percent higher in the past year, but it’s not clear if the current climate is gloomy enough to push gold back into record territory.
“The $1,000 mark accompanied a bank failure the last time so it’s questionable whether the situation now is as severe, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go back to that level,” Steel said.
Other precious metals also traded higher. September silver prices added 50 cents to settle at $18.82 an ounce on the Nymex, while September copper gained 2.15 cents to settle at $3.74 a pound.
Euro falls one cent vs dollar from day’s highs
Reuters
July 14, 2008
The euro fell over one cent from the day’s highs against the dollar on Monday, after the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve launched emergency steps to restore investor confidence in U.S. mortgage lenders Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Freddie Mac.
The euro fell to as low as $1.5866 on trading platform EBS, down from an intraday high of $1.5972.
Jim Rogers: Dollar Doomed, Fed Will Fail
Recent News:
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Bush acknowledges ’tough times’
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Dow Drops Below 11,000
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Stimulus Checks for the Dead
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/07/stimulating-the.html
Budget Deficit Twice as Big as Last Year’s
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp..7.html?hpid=sec-nation
World Bank’s Zoellick: Food Prices High Until 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/..AR2008071101987_pf.html
Mexican Illegal Aliens Leaving U.S.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedc..nmetimmigrants.24395628.html
Experts Worry Euro Might Replace US Dollar as Primary Reserve Currency
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/The_buck_doesnt_stop_here_it_0706.html
IMF says world economy between recession and inflation
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20..economy-imf-bd5ae06.html
Oil’s Rise Stirs Talk Of $200 A Barrel This Year
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12..od=hpp_us_whats_news
Bank of Israel to buy more US dollars
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satel..me=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Bank of America CEO: Recession “feel” may last year
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSWNAB018220080709
Similarities between 1929 and 2008 terrifying
Emirates calls on GCC countries to depeg currencies from US dollar to curb inflation
Pension plans suffer huge losses
Filed under: Barney Frank, central bank, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, George Bush, Great Depression, Greenback, Harry Reid, housing market, Inflation, infrastructure, real estate, Stimulus Package, Stock Market, tax, tax rebates, Taxpayers, US Economy, White House
Dems Prep Another Stimulus Package, Bush May Veto
Reuters
July 1, 2008
Democrats in the U.S. Congress are gearing up to pass a second election-year economic stimulus package, but unlike the $152 billion measure that passed in February, they are not counting on getting the support of President George W. Bush.
Leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate are discussing with key committee chairmen the shape of another emergency spending bill that would again aim to spur the economy and help those hurt by the economic slowdown, several congressional aides said on Tuesday.
This comes on the heels of this week’s enactment of increased jobless benefits, another Democratic priority.
Infrastructure projects — road and bridge building and other government-funded construction — top the list, according to those aides. At least $8 billion in funds could be sought just for these projects, although aides said there were no firm cost estimates yet for any portion of the legislation.
Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, is hoping such a bill also would help deal with some problems related to the unfolding home mortgage crisis, especially if Bush vetoes a broader bill moving through Congress.
“The second stimulus package should include money to the states and cities to buy foreclosed properties,” Frank told Reuters in a telephone interview.
If a second economic stimulus bill advances and it follows the formula of emergency measures enacted this year, the new stimulus would add to already steep deficits that worry fiscal conservatives.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters, “I think that we’re going to come back at a later time and do other things that are extremely important.” He singled out the need for more money for disaster relief, law enforcement and a program that helps low-income families pay their heating and cooling bills.
Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley, said Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California have held several conversations on possible legislation.
“July might be a little quick to pull it off. September seems more likely” following a month-long August recess, said one House aide, who asked not to be identified.
Last January and February, the White House and congressional Republicans displayed rare bipartisanship when they worked to enact a $152 billion plan, mostly tax rebates, to stimulate the economy by trying to boost consumer spending.
In crafting that package, Democrats gave up, at least temporarily, on a series of initiatives they wanted, from more food stamps for the poor to expanded unemployment benefits and government-funded construction projects.
Bush opposed those add-ons, citing cost concerns.
Filed under: bear sterns, bernanke, Big Banks, Britain, central bank, China, Credit Crisis, DEBT, dollar peg, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Europe, Federal Reserve, food prices, gas prices, gas tax, global economy, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, imf, Inflation, interest rate cut, interest rate cuts, job market, Lehman Brothers, Oil, OPEC, Paulson, Petrol, rate cut, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, tax, tax rebates, United Kingdom, US Economy, Venezuela, yuan | Tags: John Lipsky, Nigel Gault
America is ALREADY in recession, say top economic global experts – and that spells trouble for the UK
Daily Mail
March 21, 2008
Experts have accused the International Monetary Fund of “driving the car using the rear view mirror” after the global body warned the U.S. was on the verge of a recession.
The world’s biggest economy is already in a recession, they claim, as a draft version of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook declared the U.S. economy is “very weak”. Nigel Gault, chief US economist at Global Insight, a worldwide economic forecasting and consultancy firm, said he believed the US was in recession already – and that spelt problems for other countries, including the UK.
He said: “The US has, for years, been the primary motor for growth in the global economy. However, now consumer spending in the US has seen a downturn, the tables are turned, and the US is looking to the rest of the world for support, through strong export growth, and cutting imports.
“This is happening, US exports are doing extremely well, but it’s not enough to keep the economy out of recession.
“We do not expect to see the problems in the housing market in the US bottoming out before 2009, and while spending will be helped by tax rebates to be given this summer, that may give only temporary relief, and in the first quarter next year growth may dip back close to zero.
“The longer either the recession or period of weak growth goes on, the longer the US market is going to be weak, and very difficult for anybody trying to sell goods to it.”
Jeremy Batstone, head of research at stockbrokers Charles Stanley, said the IMF “has a history of driving the car using the rear view mirror”.
He added: “For the whole of 2007, it was not looking through the windscreen, it was merely reporting what the prevailing economic data releases were telling it.
“This report suggests nothing has changed, the IMF using backward-looking data is taking the view that the US economy might be in recession.
“Recent economic releases make it entirely clear that the US economy is already in recession, it’s confirmed by diverse economic statistics, including retail sales, sharply falling house prices, rising unemployment, deteriorating industrial production and manufacturing output.
“The 64,000-dollar question, indeed the 64-trillion dollar question, is not what happened in the first quarter, but what might happen in the second quarter, and beyond that.
“The hope among economists is that radical action by the US Federal Reserve might be enough to nip this crisis in the bud, and maybe there can be gradual recovery in the second quarter of the year, but at the moment we just don’t know.
“I do find myself becoming a little more hopeful, as the hour is darkest before the dawn. Just maybe radical action will prove that in the second quarter – or the third quarter if we are unlucky – that the storm abates.”
The draft version of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook concluded the US economy “remains very weak, certainly close to a possible recession”.
The report is due to be published ahead of a meeting next month, and was leaked to Italian news agency Ansa.
The verdict comes after the cash crisis and cut-price rescue of troubled US investment bank Bear Stearns sent markets plummeting at the beginning of the week.
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, dropped its main interest rate by three quarter-points on Wednesday – the latest in a series of cuts which have seen the rate trimmed by 2 per cent in the first three months of this year – and 3 per cent since the credit crunch first erupted in global markets last August.
The moves come as the Fed attempts to rescue the world’s biggest economy from the brink of recession and ease the pressure on the banking system.
IMF: Think The Unthinkable
CNBC
March 19, 2008
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today warned authorities worldwide to “think the unthinkable” in planning to cope with a mounting crisis in the global financial system.
John Lipsky, IMF first deputy managing director, called for “decisive policy action” amid a credit crunch that stems from the US real estate meltdown and is spreading throughout the financial markets.
The coordinated actions by the US Federal Reserve and other global central banks on Tuesday to further pump billions of dollars of liquidity into financial markets were “helpful” but stronger measures may be necessary.
Policy actions worldwide to date “may not prove to be adequate” to deal with the “low-probability but high-impact events” that may materialize and undermine global financial stability, Lipsky said in an address at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank.
“Policy makers as a matter of course need to ’think the unthinkable,’ and to consider how they would plan to react if contingencies arise. The need to prepare more systematically for potential risks has been demonstrated amply during the past few months,” he said.
“By now, there is little doubt that risks of further escalation of this crisis are rising and decisive policy action will be required to put the global financial system and economy on a firmer footing.” He said the first priority was to reverse the spreading strains in global financial markets and to restore the normal functioning of the financial system in advanced economies.
If contingent risks materialize, the central banks together with financial supervisors and regulators will be the first line of defence. The second line of defence lies with fiscal authorities. Finally, public intervention will be considered as a third line of defence, Lipsky said. The IMF “stands ready to use its record liquidity if needed to help cushion the global economy,” Lipsky said, adding, “we must keep all options on the table.”
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Yuan sets new record against dollar
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50 Cent Tax Hike On Each Gallon Of Gas?
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Venezuela’s state-run oil company begins demanding payment in euros as US dollar weakens
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A financial crisis unmatched since the Great Depression, say analysts
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Bernanke’s Home Has Lost $260K In Value
Numerous Countries Have Recently Dropped The Dollar as Their Reserve Currency
Paulson’s Gift to His Bankster Buddies: Winding Up Bear
Trade-weighted pound at 11-year low
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Filed under: Alan Greenspan, bernanke, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Federal Reserve, George Bush, global elite, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, Inflation, Merrill Lynch, Michael Bloomberg, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, tax rebates, US Economy, Wall Street
Greenspan Says U.S. Economy Is on Edge of a Recession
Bloomberg
February 15, 2008
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy is on the verge of its first recession in six years as falling home values hurt consumer spending.
“We are clearly on the edge,” Greenspan told a group of energy-industry executives yesterday at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ 27th annual CERAWeek conference in Houston. He reiterated comments from last month that the odds of an economic contraction are “50 percent or better.”
Greenspan’s view has evolved from a year ago, when he saw a one-in-three chance of a recession, citing slowing profit growth and becoming one of the first economists to warn of the risk. Now, Wall Street firms including Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are forecasting a contraction in the aftermath of the worst housing downturn in a quarter century.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Greenspan’s successor, acknowledged “downside” risks to the expansion yesterday, while telling lawmakers he expects growth to pick up later this year. He reiterated the central bank is prepared to take “timely” action to aid the economy as needed.
Treasuries rose, pushing the 10-year yield 1 basis point lower to 3.81 percent at 3:37 p.m. in Tokyo.
“While we are at stall speed in the U.S. at the moment, we haven’t yet seen the discontinuity that characterizes recession,” Greenspan said during a question-and-answer session yesterday. “American business was in such extra-good shape before this problem hit. Otherwise we would be talking about how long and how deep. We are not there yet.”
Bloomberg: US Economy Resembles A “Third World Country”
WCBS-TV
February 15, 2008
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has unleashed another flurry of jabs on Washington, ridiculing the federal government’s rebate checks as being “like giving a drink to an alcoholic” on Thursday, and said the presidential candidates are looking for easy solutions to complex economic problems.
The billionaire and potential independent presidential candidate also said the nation “has a balance sheet that’s starting to look more and more like a third-world country.”
President Bush signed legislation Wednesday that will result in cash rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 for more than 130 million people.
The federal checks are the centerpiece of the government’s emergency effort to stimulate the economy, under the theory that most people will spend the money right away.
But Bloomberg does not believe it will do much good. And his harsh words at a news conference Thursday reflect the view among some of his associates that the country’s economic woes present a unique opportunity for him to launch a third-party bid for the White House.
Filed under: bernanke, Big Banks, China, citigroup, Euro, FDIC, Fox News, George Bush, global government, gold, imf, Japan, New World Order, New York, peter schiff, platinum, south africa, tax rebates, UAE, War On Terror, Zimbabwe
Bush Unveils $3.1 Trillion Spending Plan
AP
February 4, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5HYIAQn4Lg
President Bush unveiled a $3.1 trillion budget on Monday that supports sizable increases in military spending to fight the war on terrorism and protects his signature tax cuts.
The spending proposal, which shows the government spending $3 trillion in a 12-month period for the first time in history, squeezes most of government outside of national security, and also seeks $196 billion in savings over the next five years in the government’s giant health care programs _ Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor.
Even with those savings, Bush projects that the deficits, which had been declining, will soar to near-record levels, hitting $410 billion this year and $407 billion in 2009. The all-time high deficit in dollar terms was $413 billion in 2004.
Democrats attacked Bush’s final spending plan as a continuation of this administration’s failed policies which wiped out a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion and replaced it with a record buildup in debt.
“Today’s budget bears all the hallmarks of the Bush legacy _ it leads to more deficits, more debt, more tax cuts, more cutbacks in critical services,” said House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C.
Platinum stable near record as gold solid above $900
Reuters
February 7, 2008
Cash platinum was hemmed in a tight band near its record high on Friday as another record high price in Japanese futures prices provided solid support due to concerns over supply problems in South Africa.
Spot gold was solid above $900 an ounce as the metal was supported despite the dollar jumping more than 1 percent against the euro on Thursday.
“There is no ceiling for platinum now as long as supply worries in South Africa remain,” said Tatsuo Kageyama, an analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management in Tokyo.
“You just can’t sell platinum considering that the country which supplies 80 percent of the world’s supply is facing trouble,” Kageyama said.
Cash platinum was trading at $1,840/1,850 an ounce as of 9:43 p.m. ET, from $1,841/1,846 late in New York on Thursday when it hit a record high of $1,850 an ounce the previous day.
Peter Schiff On Fox Business News – (2/4/2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKCNZFJWiRc
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Dozens of U.S. banks will fail by 2010: analyst
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ICBC Deposes Citigroup as Chinese Banks Rule in New World Order
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Greenback Has Lost 30% in Past 7 Years, Becomes “Bernanke Peso”
http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/greenback/2008/02/04/
IMF Calls For Revamping Global Government
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2007/12/boughton.htmauthor
China’s Inflation Hits American Price Tags
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UAE Likely To Revalue Dollar Pegged Currency
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U.S. recession could be worse than recent downturns
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U.S. loses jobs for first time in 4-1/2 years
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U.S. Loses Its Status As World Economic Power
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Filed under: Alan Greenspan, bernanke, Big Banks, Britain, California, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Department of Defense, DoD, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, ethanol, Europe, european union, Federal Reserve, food prices, Great Depression, Greenback, henry paulson, House, housing market, Hugo Chavez, imf, Inflation, interest rate cuts, morgan stanley, Oppenheimer, rate cut, southern california, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, tax rebates, tent city, United Kingdom, US Economy, Venezuela, War On Terror, WW2
Fed Lowers Interest Rates 50 Basis Points
Bloomberg
January 30, 2008
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 3 percent, the second cut in as many weeks, to prevent the U.S. economy from sinking into a recession.
“Today’s policy action, combined with those taken earlier, should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate the risks to economic activity,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after meeting today in Washington. “However, downside risks to growth remain.”
Morgan Stanley Strategist: Head For The Hills
Bloomberg
January 30, 2008
Barton Biggs has some offbeat advice for the rich: Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with “seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.”
The “etc.” must mean guns.
“A few rounds over the approaching brigands’ heads would probably be a compelling persuader that there are easier farms to pillage,” he writes in his new book, “Wealth, War and Wisdom.”
Biggs is no paranoid survivalist. He was chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2003 to form hedge fund Traxis Partners. He doesn’t lock and load until the last page of this smart look at how World War II warped share prices, gutted wealth and remains a warning to investors. His message: Listen to markets, learn from history and prepare for the worst.
Chance of recession at least 50 percent: Greenspan
Reuters
January 30, 2008
The likelihood of the economy slipping into recession is at least 50 percent, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was quoted on Wednesday as saying.
“I believe the probability of a recession is at least 50 percent, but up to now there are few signs that we are already in one,” Greenspan said in an interview with weekly newspaper Die Zeit published in German. “In my opinion, it will probably happen but the facts suggest we are not there yet.”
Asked whether central bankers and financial policymakers could head off a U.S. recession, Greenspan said: “Probably not. Global economic influences today are stronger than almost anything that monetary or fiscal policy can counter them with.”
“Long-term real interest rates have significantly more influence on the core of the economy than decisions by national governments,” he added. “And central banks have increasingly lost the ability to influence these long-term rates, whereas 20 or 30 years ago they still dominated there.
“So the more important question today is in which direction long-term real interest rates are heading.”
The Fed is expected to cut interest rates again on Wednesday as part of its effort to offset the effects of a deep housing slump and credit crunch. This cut would follow a 75 basis point reduction last week to 3.5 percent and mark one of the deepest and fastest rate-cutting episodes since the early 1980s.
The U.S. economy grew at a 4.9 percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2007, but gloomy economic data this month — notably a report of weak hiring in December — suggests growth has slowed abruptly.
Southern California Shanty Town / Tent City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmeHiFZUWtE
Recent News:
U.S. slump spreading around the globe, IMF warns
http://www.theglobeandmail.com..IMF30/TPStory/Business
DOD wants $70 billion more for wars
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mo..n_more_for_wars_01282008.html
US recession will dwarf dotcom crash
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/mone..money/2008/01/28/ccusecon128.xml
Have you been noticing the cost of groceries going up? You can thank government subsidized ethanol
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0128/p03s03-usec.html
House passes economic stimulus legislation
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWBT00826820080129
Paulson says U.S. housing correction “necessary”
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN3021974120080130
Banks May Write Down $70 Billion, Oppenheimer Says
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206010..Uo.XM4&refer=home
Chavez Urges Withdrawal From U.S. Banks
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5..b2TVDLEfFqy8fgD8UE21180
EU Plans To See Economy Blown Away
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/27/nbook127.xml
More than 1m people could lose homes in credit crunch, warns City watchdog
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv..1084&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
Fed risks ‘blood on the floor’ on rate cuts
Paul on Economic Stimulus Concerns
Home Foreclosure Rate Up 79%
Global Meltdowns and the Perversions of Lucre
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U.S. Economic Collapse News Archive
Filed under: 2008 Election, 9/11 Families, 9/11 Firefighters, Censorship, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dennis Kucinich, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, florida, florida debate, florida primary, Great Depression, Greenback, Inflation, John McCain, Louisiana, louisiana caucus, louisiana primary, Mitt Romney, MSNBC, national id, Pennsylvania, Real ID, republican caucus, Republican Debate, republican straw poll, romney cheating, Ron Paul, Ron Paul Banned, Ron Paul Exclusions, Rudy Giuliani, Stock Market, tax rebates, US Economy
Ron Paul Highlights at the Florida Debate – (1/24/2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTh-jhcI51c
Text message results from MSNBC Florida Debate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXJTiLN_JRI
Mitt Romney admits “he doesn’t care about the voters”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YigcyWXI30
Rudy Guiliani thinks we need REAL ID to get online
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhli-ZI_8es
FAU Debate – 9/11 Firefighters Detained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0RV-UeWkY
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/012508_paul_shunned.htm
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6023993791127074908&hl=en
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fKO7BxNNhMk
http://www.infowars.net/articles/january2008/240108Louisiana_ignored.htm
Ron Paul Gets Least Amount of Time to 1Speak
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/24/607035.aspx
Ron Paul Unveils a REAL Economic Stimulus Plan
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/240108_stimulus.htm
Paul: ‘Momentum is going to continue’
http://media.www.cw.ua.edu/media/..m.Is.Going.To.Continue-3165083.shtml
Rep. Ron Paul a surprising contender
http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/story/460248.html
Don Luskin Named Economic Advisor to the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign
http://www.businesswire.com/porta..0080124006228&newsLang=en
Calling All Kucinich Supporters: Vote Ron Paul
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne.._all_kucinich.htm
Filed under: 9/11, Australia, Bank of America, Bear Stearns, bernanke, Big Banks, bilderberg, black monday, bonds, Britain, central bank, CFR, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, engineered recession, Europe, european union, Federal Reserve, foreign buyout, FTSE, gas prices, George Bush, global economy, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, hong kong, housing market, Inflation, interest rate cut, interest rate cuts, Merrill Lynch, Northern Rock, Oil, Oppenheimer, Petrol, rate cut, Russia, S&P, Stock Market, tax rebates, US Economy, Wall Street
Fed Cuts Interest Rates 75 Basis Points
AP
January 22, 2008
The Federal Reserve, confronted with a global stock sell-off fanned by increased fears of a recession, slashed a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday and indicated further rate cuts were likely.
The surprise reduction in the federal funds rate from 4.25 down to 3.5 percent marked the biggest funds rate cut on records going back to 1990.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues took the action after an emergency video conference on Monday night, a day when global markets had been pounded by rising concerns that weakness in the world’s largest economy was spreading worldwide.
Despite the Fed’s bold move, Wall Street plunged at the opening. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 311.99 points in the first hour of trading.
In a brief statement explaining its move, the Fed said that “appreciable downside risks to growth remain” and officials pledged to “act in a timely manner” to deal with the risks facing the economy. The action was approved on an 8-1 vote.
Analysts said the fact that the Fed did not wait until its meeting next week to cut rates underscored the seriousness of the situation.
“The world’s stock markets are in meltdown so the Fed came in with an inter-meeting move to try to stop the panic,” Christopher Rupkey, senior economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
The Bush administration, which had announced on Friday that President Bush supported a $150 billion economic stimulus package, said Tuesday that it was not ruling out doing more than the $150 billion proposal if necessary.
Many analysts said if the carnage continues in stock markets, the Fed will move to cut rates again at its Jan. 29-30 meeting.
“This move is not an instant fix,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “The economy is still staring recession in the face, but at least the Fed now gets it.”
‘Fed may keep cutting interest rates’
Western Mail
January 23, 2008
There could be more interest rate cuts to come as the US Federal Reserve tries to head off recession.
Howard Archer of Global Insight said the prospect of a US recession suggests the Fed may keep cutting rates.
Yesterday’s surprise decision to cut US rates by 0.75% helped rally London’s FTSE-100 index, after £76bn had been wiped off its value on Monday. The index of leading shares closed 161.9 up at 5740.1, a gain of 2.9% after Monday’s 5.5% fall.
The Fed’s cut to 3.50% was its first emergency move since 2001 and the largest single reduction since 1984.
Mr Archer of Global Insight said “The Fed did not directly reference Monday’s global stock-market meltdown in its announcement, merely noting that ‘broader financial market conditions have continued to deteriorate’. It focused upon the weakening outlook for growth.”
US rates ‘heading for 2.5% by the spring’
The Scotsman
January 23, 2008
American interest rates are set to tumble as low as 2.5 per cent by early spring as US policymakers battle to restore stability to a faltering economy.
Economists said they expected the Federal Reserve to have shaved another full point off borrowing costs by its scheduled April meeting.
The prediction came after yesterday’s surprise three-quarter-point cut to 3.5 per cent – a move that appeared to have only limited success in restoring investor confidence.
Bonds jumped sharply, with two-year notes falling to their lowest in nearly four years, as investors prepared for still more rate- cutting.
In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest companies closed 161.9 points or nearly 3 per cent higher at 5,740.1 following a rollercoaster session and the previous day’s 323-point battering.
Nigel Gault, chief US economist at forecasting body Global Insight, said the prospect of “at least a mild US recession” suggested the Fed was “far from done cutting rates”.
He added: “We now expect the Fed to cut another cumulative 100 basis points off interest rates. The next instalment will probably come at the formal meeting on 30 January – another 25 or 50 basis points. We would expect to hit 2.5 per cent by the April meeting.”
Yesterday’s decision to slash interest rates came a week before the US central bank’s regularly scheduled meeting, a sign that it acknowledges that the global financial situation is serious.
David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors, said the Fed could move again between meetings, should conditions deteriorate further, and predicted the Fed would lower interest rates to 3 per cent by the end of March.
Earlier this month, leading investment bank Merrill Lynch said the US economy was already in recession.
Some analysts pointed to a panic move by the Fed, which is headed by chairman Ben Bernanke. Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer in New York, said: “Unfortunately the Fed] have no power to reverse what in my opinion is the worst post-war recession.”
Recent News:
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/01/23/afx4561857.html
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/01/23/afx4561918.html
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/012308_crash_now.htm
Market’s Wild Ride Ends With Dow at 15-Month Low
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/business/23cnd-stox.html?hp
Fed Rate Cut Seen As Once In A Generation
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=9418610
Federal Reserve slashes US rates on day when ‘chaos reigned supreme’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jan/22/useconomy.marketturmoil1
World’s Largest Bond Insurers Collapsing!
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/Issues.aspx?NewsletterEntryId=1381
Tuesday Could Bring 1,000 Point Drop in Dow
http://www.247wallst.com/2008/01/a-1000-point-dr.html
All signs point to U.S. consumers hunkering down in recession bunkers
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv.ZA18/TPStory/Business
Foreigners Buy Stake In USA At Record Pace
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01..partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
Bank of America net sinks 95 percent
http://www.reuters.com/articl..r=1&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
Oil falls below $89 as stock markets plunge
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080121/markets_oil.html?.v=1
Horror day for Australian stock market
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23089611-2,00.html
Russian shares tumble as panic grips world markets
http://www.russiatoday.ru/business/news/19933
Current financial crisis was topic of Bilderberg 2006
http://rinf.com/alt-news/new-world-..s-topic-of-bilderberg-2006/2277/
The Coming Global Depression
Bear Stearns: The Fed Will Cut Rates AGAIN Next Week
World stock markets fall
Hopes of global rate cut sparks FTSE revival after early morning slump
Black Monday: recession fears spark global share crash
Biggest fall in shares since September 11
When governments print money, buy gold
Gold rallies back to the 890 usd mark after emergency Fed rate cut
Stocks Plunge Despite Fed Rate Cut
Surprise rate cut sparks dollar sell-off
Global markets dropped 5% overnight
Market drops on recession fear
Wall Street set to open lower
Wall St execs collect $US33b bonuses
Asian Markets Continue Slide
Futures plunge on U.S. recession fears
US recession fears wipe £77bn from London shares
Recession fears weigh on markets
Emergency: Global Financial Markets Collapsing
HK shares dive, China plays in worst day in 10 yrs
Will the Economic Crash Wake People Up?
U.S. slide an expanding threat
Britain Unveils Northern Rock Buy Out Plan
CFR: The ‘Historical Anomaly’ of the Dollar
Banks to suffer into ’09 as credit crunch drags: S&P
Tax Rebates Urged To Rescue Economy
U.S. economy teeters on the brink
7-Year Plan Aligns Europe With U.S. Economy
Filed under: bernanke, Britain, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Euro, Europe, european union, Federal Reserve, gas prices, George Bush, Globalism, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, Income Tax, Inflation, Japan, Oil, peak oil, Petrol, sterling, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, tax rebates, United Kingdom, US Economy, Wall Street, White House, World Bank
Tax Rebates Urged To Rescue Economy
Do they really think spending your rebate check on a flat-screen is going to help the economy?
AP
January 17, 2008
United for urgent action, the White House and Congress raced toward emergency steps Thursday to rescue the national economy from a possible recession, including tax rebates of at least $300 a person — and maybe as much as $800. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke endorsed the idea of putting money into the hands of those who would spend it quickly and boost the flagging economy.
All the talk of rescue efforts failed to soothe Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials plunged 306.95 points, underscoring deepening concern about the country’s economic health.
The sudden scramble to take action came as fears mounted that a severe housing slump and a painful credit crisis could cause people to clamp down on their spending and businesses to put a lid on hiring, throwing the country into its first recession since 2001.
President Bush told congressional leaders privately he favors income tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses, officials said. Bush spoke with congressional leaders as House aides worked behind the scenes on an emergency package that could also include more money for food stamp recipients and the unemployed.
Aides to lawmakers involved in the talks said the White House is pressing for tax rebates of $800 for individuals and $1,600 for married couples. Lawmakers were likely to settle on a $500 rebate for individuals, said an aide involved in the talks, with details for couples and people with children still being negotiated.
U.S. economy teeters on the brink
Globe & Mail
January 19 2008
In a bid to save the world’s largest economy from recession, U.S. President George W. Bush and central bank chief Ben Bernanke yesterday endorsed a $100-billion stimulus package as the spreading housing mess continued to hammer banks, consumers and investors.
The rare plug for fiscal action comes as a growing number of economists say the United States is either in recession or perilously close to it. “The United States has now effectively entered into a serious and painful recession,” said economist Nouriel Roubini of New York University.
Prof. Roubini said all of the keys to economic health are headed in the wrong direction, including the housing market, credit availability, the job market and business spending. Add to that a run-up in oil and gas prices, and the consumer is likely to take it on the chin in 2008, he said.
7-Year Plan Aligns Europe With U.S. Economy
World Net Daily
January 16, 2008
Six U.S. senators and 49 House members are advisers for a group working toward a Transatlantic Common Market between the U.S. and the European Union by 2015.
The Transatlantic Policy Network – a non-governmental organization headquartered in Washington and Brussels – is advised by the bi-partisan congressional TPN policy group, chaired by Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah.
The plan – currently being implemented by the Bush administration with the formation of the Transatlantic Economic Council in April 2007 – appears to be following a plan written in 1939 by a world-government advocate who sought to create a Transatlantic Union as an international governing body.
An economist from the World Bank has argued in print that the formation of the Transatlantic Common Market is designed to follow the blueprint of Jean Monnet, a key intellectual architect of the European Union, recognizing that economic integration must inevitably lead to political integration.
Recession looming in US housing-boom states
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e3…0779fd2ac.html
Gold bounces off one-week low
http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSL1871969620080118
World not running out of oil, say experts
http://business.timesonline.co..ural_resources/article3207311.ece
Bush To Spend Even More, as a ‘Stimulus’
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/018712.html
Biggest drop in new homebuilding in 27 years
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22705772/
Somber Fed Says Economy Has Lost Punch
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080116/a,,.ti_6asoUkVv24cA
Biggest drop in US housing starts since 1980
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/582..11a-0000779fd2ac.html
Sinking Sterling Is Catching Dollar’s Disease
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/new.._ZI7aTk7VBw
Euro Future For UK?
http://www.channel4.com/news/article..for%2Bbritain/1353047
Stocks punished; Dow off more than 1,000 in ’08
http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2008-01-17-stocks-thurs_N.htm
Japanese Stocks Plunge On Open
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g1..ig50wD8U7VSE80
Dollar Dips On Bernanke Testimony
http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUST32987020080117
Bush Wants $140B Stimulus Package
Greenspan Joins Firm That Bet Against US Housing Market
Bank of America to cut 650 jobs, sell a brokerage
Banks Losses Exceed Assets
Goldman Sachs Hints at $1000 Gold and $135 Oil
Shares in freefall a Dollar tumbles to 2-1/2 year low vs. yens recession hits
Shares in freefall as recession hits
ECB warns crashing dollar may stop Fed cuts
Top economist blames Fed for sub-prime crisis
Inflation Up by Largest Amount in 17 Years
Citigroup May Write Down Up To $24 Billion, Lay Off 20,000 Workers
Wall Street braces for more losses
Shadow spreads across the US economy
Transit Panel Urges Gas Tax Increase
Bankers Throw In Towel On Northern Rock
“U.S. Economy Screwed”: Henry Blodget
Largest Saudi Bank Urges Dollar Depeg
Crisis may make 1929 look a ‘walk in the park’
Wholesale Prices Up 6.7% In 2007
Breaking phase ahead for the global financial system in 2008
Traders betting oil will hit $200 a barrel in 2008
Gold Futures Rise to Record $900.10
Weaker dollar likely to push gold over $1,000-mark
noworldsystem.com 