IMF: World recovering faster than expected

ISTANBUL, Turkey -The global economy is recovering faster than expected but governments should be careful to not withdraw their stimulus measures prematurely, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. The positive report card was likely to feed cautious but widespread relief that — despite a continuing rise in unemployment and worries about credit availability — the downturn is easing and may prove less devastating than initially feared. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 09:24:00

Blog posts (219) | Videos (33)
 

PNG budget goes for growth despite financial crisis

The Papua New Guinea Government handed down a PGK7.6 billion (approx.US$3 billion) budget for 2009 yesterday ... and telecommunications. PNG’s Standard and Poor’s credit rating was upgraded in 2007 to B+ for long-term foreign ... impact on service delivery, with anecdotal reports suggesting many districts were unable even to obtain [more...]

Date: 2008-11-19 05:44:00

Weekly Audit for 1/15/09

Lot’s of thought provoking reads this week: Politico reports on the story of the week: Geithner’s tax oops. I’m so curious what you all think ... of working for the government! Jean at Small Business Boomers provides several resources to decide ... interactive exercise to reassess and reinvent our businesses! Image Credit: orangeacid, Flickr Tags: [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 14:37:36

Police hacking

Recent news that UK government approving Police hacking into suspected home computers has caused a bubble in the info-sec world ... of users who are suspected of terrorism, pedophilia or identity or credit card theft will be targeted ... program that the Feds can hack into your machine to log and report all keystrokes back to them [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 07:39:24

GMAC Deal Boosts Auto Stocks

The government’s decision to provide $6 billion in financing to steady the lending arm of auto giant General Motors has jolted futures on ... credit rating needed for funding new loans to 621, down from the 700 limit established by GMAC two ... lousy report on home prices, as the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indexes fell to their March 2004 [more...]

Date: 2008-12-30 14:03:40

GMAC Deal Boosts Auto Stocks

The government’s decision to provide $6 billion in financing to steady the lending arm of auto giant General Motors has jolted futures on ... credit rating needed for funding new loans to 621, down from the 700 limit established by GMAC two ... lousy report on home prices, as the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indexes fell to their March 2004 [more...]

Date: 2008-12-30 17:03:00

News: Government's real help for business

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson today unveiled a package of measures designed to address the cash flow, credit and investment needs of small and medium businesses. The support package, which builds upon the commitments outlined in November's Pre Budget Report, consists of loan guarantees and a new [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 11:20:00

Daily Report for Friday, Jan 16, 2009

8:26am ET Maybe there is hope after all the pressures of the great unwinding of credit default swaps that the Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan might survive. Actually, there is no question the Big Three money center banks will survive – the US government has said as much – the issue comes down to who will own [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 13:24:26

Gov’t and Economic Interests as Bedfellows

Recently there have been a number of observers from all corners of the political spectrum increasingly worried about the growing collusion between Washington, DC and the powerful economic interests in our country. The discourse on this issue reminds me of the “governmental support” German economist Wilhelm Röpke spoke of in A Humane Economy : “The market and power do not go well together, and anyone who wished to use his strong position vis-à-vis some buyer or seller to establish a dominating [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 16:44:41

Is the 6-month Stock Market Rally About to End?.

by Bob Chapman Global Research October 1, 2009 The G-20 Pittsburg Summit ended last Friday. Their official statements made for some novel and interesting reading. We were informed that the group could by working together could manage a transition to a more balanced pattern of global growth. Tending to domestic demand as private savings increase. It is obvious to us this cannot work. We are seeing increased savings and decreased consumption. The IMF as well agrees with these policies. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 17:54:55

Understanding How An Escrow Account Works and If You Should Avoid Them

An escrow account is established by a broker, under the provisions of law, to hold funds on behalf of two or more people until a contract or transaction has been completed.  People are most familiar with escrow accounts in conjunction with their mortgage.  A person’s mortgage lender sets up an escrow account to receive monthly payments from the home buyer which is usually lumped into the mortgage payment and used to pay for obligations such as homeowners’ insurance, property taxes, and assessments. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 12:00:44

A Mahatma rally!

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." – Mahatma Gandhi. Whether one should be greedy at this stage is a BIG question after such a stunning rally. We’ve come a long way in a year. The journey from the brink of Great Depression has been spectacular. The moot point is where do we go from here? The fact that so many people have missed the rally could ensure that the bulls maintain an upper hand. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 04:03:00

Could Goldman Sachs Share GM’s Fate?

Investment banks have gotten fat off the land since 1982, when the great U.S. bull market got its start. Their business has multiplied many-fold, and their earnings have soared into the stratosphere, to a level far higher than any other sector. Now, JPMorgan Chase & Co.  (NYSE: JPM ) has issued a report suggesting that investment-banking returns on capital will be sharply down over the next few years. Perhaps this will be only a moderate downturn. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 18:38:32

Could Goldman Sachs Share GM’s Fate?

Investment banks have gotten fat off the land since 1982, when the great U.S. bull market got its start. Their business has multiplied many-fold, and their earnings have soared into the stratosphere, to a level far higher than any other sector. Now, JPMorgan Chase & Co.  (NYSE: JPM ) has issued a report suggesting that investment-banking returns on capital will be sharply down over the next few years. Perhaps this will be only a moderate downturn. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 18:38:32

Jobless Claims Up More Than Expected!

From the perpetually surprised Associated Press : New jobless claims rise more than expected to 551K WASHINGTON – First-time claims for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week , a sign employers are reluctant to hire and the job market remains weak. And while consumer spending jumped by the most in nearly eight years in August due partly to the government’s Cash for Clunkers program , economists worry whether that rebound can be sustained with U.S. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 11:23:48

The US needs the world to help them clean up the internet

Okay so this isn’t the way the BBC worded it when they published their article this morning, but I can’t help thinking they should have done. The US Department of Homeland Security has said… "all computer users, not just industry and government, have a responsibility to practice good ‘cyber hygiene’" Which, if they’re aiming that comment at at anybody outside of the US is nothing short of complete hypocrisy.  This map below will demonstrate why I’m saying this. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 11:36:04

Does The Abortion Compromise Preserve The Status Quo?

Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) As Republicans prepare to introduce a series of amendments rationing abortion services out of health care reform , Jessica Arons — Director of the Women’s Health and Rights Program at the Center for American Progress Action Fund — has compiled this very useful comparison of how the proposed reform bills would change current abortion restrictions. (I’ve summarized her report in the table below). Democrats have argued that health care reform would preserve the status quo. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 19:45:06

PERSS ENCOUNTER WITH PM HIGHLIGHTS, DIRE NEED FOR NEW VISION FOR ETHIOPIA - By Genet Mersha

In the wake of his ‘involuntary anointment’ as chief executive of the state and the ruling party, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has once again shifted to a high gear with a new five-year term securely under his belt. Although his decision was not unexpected, the 360 degrees shift of from the spring, winter, summer and beyond of his oft-expressed decision to quit his job as prime minister has not gone unnoticed. Owing to that, the prime minister has encumbered himself with expectations. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 14:45:04

Corporatism is King

by cjmac53@aol.com I wanted to follow up my post from yesterday on the FDIC with a couple of related links that I think are relevant as far as the big picture on the economy is concerned.  Alex’s comment on that post led me to do a quick search of the banks that had closed when the S&L crisis finally came to a head.  The link is to an article from the New York Times that was written in 1988, and I about fell off my chair reading some of the things that ocurred and the analysis of the [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 09:21:00

Posts about Obama Health Care Failure as of October 1, 2009

Conference call: Tim Pawlenty and the Freedom First PAC - hotair.com 10/01/2009 We had an opportunity to talk with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to discuss the launch of his Freedom First PAC.  Pawlenty says that he’s worried that freedom is being corroded by a “tyranny of a creeping bureaucracy.”  Pawlenty wants to re-elevate the principles of freedom and liberty, including an effort to educate people on their value and to impact current policy.  Pawlenty plans a particular effort to [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 12:59:05

City Forests seeks $3m carbon credits profit

| Sourced From Odt.co.nz |Dunedin City Council-owned City Forests is targeting a revenue boost of up to $3 million this financial year from sales of carbon credits, possibly to international interests.Of its total 16,100ha forestry holdings, about one-third are eligible under the Kyoto agreement to produce carbon credits, City Forests chief executive Grant Dodson said, when contacted, yesterday.“Our objective is to gain our carbon credits from Maf (the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) in [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 18:00:25

Senate Climate Battle Is On

Progressive Breakfast: Senate Climate Battle Is OnProgressive Breakfast10/1/09 7:11 AM Isaiah J. Poole Health Care for All An Economy for All 501c(3) Progressive BreakfastThe legislative battle to lower greenhouse gas emissions is finally getting into full gear in the Senate with Wednesday’s introduction of a comprehensive climate change bill.McClatchy News Service reports:The landmark legislation — called the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act — would force the U.S. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-02 00:03:18

Malawi ranked 132nd out of 183 countries in economic survey

The World Bank’s Doing Business (DB) 2010 Report has position Malawi as number 132 out of the 183 ranked economies in the world. The report measures a set of regulations affecting ten stages of a business’s life, namely starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes , trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 16:37:46

Recent Tweets from the BARN

CLICK HEREto hear parts of these stories inside theBARN’s Morning Ag News with NAFB Broadcaster Brian AllmerNational Ag News for October 1, 2009Sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation“September Pork Loses Climb”U.S. hog producers lost around 46-dollars per hog during September. According to experts at Iowa State University, that’s the largest per animal loss in the string of monthly losses that have now gone on for two years. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 11:45:02

Jobless claims increase again

Joe Biden keeps talking about the fabulous improvement on the economy he’s seen from the stimulus, but thus far, those effects have mostly been limited to the White House.  Initial jobless claims rose last week to 551,000, 17,000 more than the previous week and 12,000 more than analysts predicted.  Americans spent more last month, but that mainly came from the Cash for Clunkers program (h/t Desmond L):First-time claims for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week, a sign employers [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 16:20:42

In The News Today

Dear Extended Family, Well here we go again. The Wave of Fear is breaking but one more and unnecessary time. The Gold banks do everything possible to hammer gold on even a hint of an intraday dollar rally. Under $1000 she goes and off goes the community into deep depression. You need to understand you did nothing to put it above $1000. Most of the community are observers only, but make sure you understand what you are observing. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 20:12:00

Text of Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, The Senate's Cap-and-Trade Climate Legislation

A SUMMARY OF THE CLEAN ENERGY JOBS AND AMERICAN POWER ACT AS INTRODUCED September 30, 2009 SECTION 1 . SHORT TITLE ; TABLE OF CONTENTS . This Act may be cited as the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act”. Sections 2. Findings. Describes the impacts of climate change and the benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy. Section 3. Economywide Emission Reduction Goals. Establishes targets for reducing global warming pollution. Section 4. Definitions. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 12:11:00

Mexico’s public insecurity remains high

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org Foreign News Report The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 17:16:27

Australian Banking Majors Rank At The Bottom Of Customer Satisfaction Survey

Customers of the Big Four banking groups have expressed the lowest customer satisfaction levels in Australia, with most account holders being too ambivalent to switch to a different service provider, the results of a new survey reveal. After taking into consideration fees, interest rates and customer service amongst other things, the Big Four banking groups, which include Westpac, CBA, ANZ and NAB ranked at the bottom of a list containing 14 different lenders. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 11:01:36

Australian Banking Majors Rank At The Bottom Of Customer Satisfaction Survey

Customers of the Big Four banking groups have expressed the lowest customer satisfaction levels in Australia, with most account holders being too ambivalent to switch to a different service provider, the results of a new survey reveal. After taking into consideration fees, interest rates and customer service amongst other things, the Big Four banking groups, which include Westpac, CBA, ANZ and NAB ranked at the bottom of a list containing 14 different lenders. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 05:30:29

Today's Stimulus Hearing

This morning's Republican hearing on the economy offered several alternatives to the Democratic stimulus package that was set forward just afterward ... : A "net new hire" tax credit, which would make it less risky and expensive for businesses to expand ... businesses to make such investments, as they must currently report depreciation losses slowly over [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 23:53:16

Another Quasi-Nationalization, House Debuts Obama Stimulus, Russian Resource War Approaches, Prices Fall and More!

by Addison Wiggin & Ian Mathias Congress unleashes remainder of TARP… another $350 billion into the void Treasury wastes no time… Bank of ... and hawing on how “It’ll be different this time,” the rest of the bailout went straight to the Treasury ... and Merrill in less than 12 months. Today we learned Lewis has been pleading with Uncle Sam [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 20:25:19

L-3 Cleaning Balance Sheet – Analyst Blog

L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. ( LLL ) yesterday announced that its subsidiary L-3 Communications Corporation will issue $1 billion in senior notes with coupon rate of 5.2%. The notes are due in October 2019.  L-3 Communications will use the proceeds from the note issue along with available cash to reduce its debt burden. The company plans to redeem $750 million in senior subordinated notes due in 2012 and repay a $650 million term loan. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 19:30:57

Credit Crisis Sequel, Global Bank Bailout, Emerging Markets Still a Buy?, Gas Wars and More!

Ghosts of the fourth quarter haunt global financials… so begins the second act of the credit saga… Even the IMF needs a loan… $150 billion to back ... and notprofitable) segments of the business. Robert Rubin, who among other things helped create this “ ... predicted today. According to Morgan’s report, profits at HSBC will decline “sharply” this year [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 15:28:24

Blocking, Tackling & Running: Leveraging a Crisis Into Real Change

There's a fairly well known cartoon of two scientists working out a problem on a chalkboard covered with complex equations and down in the circle is a little circle with the key step inserted in small print - "and then a miracle occurs". Wouldn't it be nice if we could take the same short-cut to fixing the horrendous shopping list of significant [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 20:07:11

Retail Sales Disappoint

Retail sales disappoint….  Chuck’s views on the Lone Prop…  Waiting on the ECB…  Emerging market currencies sell off…  And Now… Today’s Pfennig! ... according to yesterday’s report from the Commerce Department. The falling home prices, rising job losses, and tighter credit have all combined to finally force US consumers to adjust their spending [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 17:57:41

Welsh Investment letter – September 2009

~~~ V-SHAPED RECOVERY VERSUS SECULAR AND CYCLICAL HEADWINDS Growing up in Chicago, I looked forward to every baseball season, and I cheered for both the White Sox and Cubs, since neither team won that much. I never saw the point in being choosey. The GO-Go White Sox went to the World Series in 1959, before winning it 46 years later in 2005, and 88 years after winning in 1917. The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908, and that 100 year streak appears safe in 2009. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 14:45:08

RIL, auto stocks slide in flat market

Key benchmark indices ended little changed after witnessing wild gyrations throughout the day. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 7.71 points or 0.05%, off 61.06 points from the day's high, and up 75.19 points from the day's low. The BSE Sensex extended gains for third straight session while S&P CNX Nifty ended marginally lower. Market breadth was weak as small and mid-cap stocks underwent correction.IT stocks were in demand for the third straight day. However, auto stocks retreated on profit booking. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 12:10:00

MY REPLY TO A COMMENT ON: AS CHILD LIES IN COMA, MOM DEMANDS ANSWERS

Sometimes in this blog business you receive a comment that is just so idiotic, that you have to take the time to not only point out their stupidity, ... that the report the mother made against the foster parents involved “just some scratches and a bump.”  My reasoning for this conclusion, is how would they know what was in the report if they were [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 20:14:42

Urban doubt-fitter

By Ryan Avent Barack Obama, man of the city. Photo: Based on image by Matthias Winkelmann The effort to save the American economy is front and center at the moment, but a term is four long years. Beyond the immediate crisis, President-elect Obama -- who hadn't exactly set a modest agenda before the economic collapse -- hopes to transform much [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 18:40:46

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) - A Brief Explanation

IVR (interactive voice response) is a telephony technology that allows users to interact with a database through phone keypad or voice commands ... to do things like check bank balances, manage credit cards, check for store hours or locations, or order ... hours. IVR systems are also used to report non-emergency problems to cable or utility services [more...]

Date: 2009-01-17 04:48:05

Senator Says Former FBI Agent Who Vanished in 2007 Is in Secret Iran Prison

HelpBobLevinson.comRobert Levinson A U.S. senator revealed Tuesday that he believes a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran nearly two years ... secretary of state confirmation hearing in Washington."I haven't received any information ... investigative work for a private security firm. His credit cards and passport have not been used since [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 15:55:00

1-16-2009 (Fri Evening) Fin. & Econ. Activity

House Democrats’ version of the $825 billion recession rescue package would end billions of dollars in tax breaks the Bush administration quietly ... debt until 2019, hoping to encourage new lending - CNN Money, David Goldman Top Videos of the Week ... s biggest bond fund, said Friday - CNBC (Reuters) >>>Credit Where Credit is Due….In truth [more...]

Date: 2009-01-17 02:00:46

Truer Words Never Spoken

The other day Josh Marshall had a reader write in and describe the challenge President-elect Obama is going to face with the media and ultimately ... government control over the free market in the United States." The article itself details a report ... to fail. But the entire point of the report is that we presently do not have a functioning free market [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 18:06:00

De-leveraging the Children of Wall Street

submitted by James Baker Welch, VP of Rothschild Investments One of the most stunning facts of the 2008 Financial Melt-down has been the wholesale ... regulatory agencies to determine if the institution has met the credit needs of its entire community. 1   The CRA began to compel banks to underwrite less credit-worthy mortgage loans in order [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 15:40:18

Why Did Bank of America Pay ACORN?

On September 29, the article “Bank of America Pulls ACORN funding” appeared on the CNN political ticker. While the short piece thankfully does list some of ACORN’s recent scandals, such as the Breitbart video investigation and the voter registration fraud, it didn’t answer the question that was surely on every reader’s mind: What exactly [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 07:08:36

Highlights and Lowlights of BofA’s Earnings Call

Bank of America moved its earnings announcement up to this morning to soothe investors after The Wall Street Journal’s report that BofA would need ... and $27 billion in credit costs. Many of the problems originated at Merrill Lynch, which had a loss ... Goldman Sachs research analysts noted wryly in a research report this morning. BofA CEO Ken Lewis [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 16:01:30

Journalists call Livni ‘terrorist’ during press conference on Gaza operation

Press conferences are pretty much stage managed these days. Ever heard of a journalist accusing Bush, Cheney, Rice, Blair etc of being a terrorist? ... press conference Friday in Washington, D.C., moments after she signed an agreement ... moments came when one journalist began to quote at length a Human Rights report on the situation [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 23:40:39

Is 450 ppm politically possible? Part 8

By Joseph Romm A U.S. climate bill should set a target of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent to 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 ... the risks of dangerous impacts of global warming. That is the executive summary of a new report I have written for the Center for American Progress (Full report here PDF ). I have changed my thinking [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 00:42:02

Market Update 01/19/2009

Market Comment Mortgage bond prices fell last week pushing rates higher despite continued signs of economic weakness ... the credit crisis. Consumer sentiment came in surprisingly better than expected despite headlines ... indicator of the state of our economy. This report, provided by the Bureau of the Census, takes [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 21:27:51

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