DrumBeat: December 31, 2008

The Peak Oil Crisis: Civil Unrest Before grappling with 2009, it might be useful to remind ourselves that there is a dark side to what lies ahead. There was a little flurry in the news last week when it was discovered that the Army War College had released a report talking about preparing for civil unrest in the U.S [more...]

Date: 2008-12-31 13:58:02

Blog posts (123) | Videos (53)
 

Clinton Sees Smart Power in Smart Development

opening statement featured a long section on the two billion people worldwide living on less than $2 a day. She emphasized that the plight of the poor is “not marginal to our foreign policy but integral to accomplishing our goals.” Opening remarks by Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 17:39:29

2008 Lookback: Where to Start?

It is not hyperbole to say that 2008 will go down as one of the more memorable years in the history of modern financial markets. Comparisons to the 1920s did not come across as ridiculous, and the unrelenting downpour of bad news has left investors with the feeling of having experienced four years inside of one [more...]

Date: 2008-12-22 11:09:00

Transcript: President George W. Bush at American Enterprise Institute, Includes Q&A | December 18, 2008

(Source: White House Press Office) 10:44 A.M. EST MR. DeMUTH: Mr. President, what’s on your mind this morning? THE PRESIDENT: First, thanking you for being the leader that you’ve been, and thanking AEI for generating good thought. People in the public arena need to have support for philosophy — and that’s what you provide, [more...]

Date: 2008-12-18 20:43:07

Citi Breakup in Sight (Reuters)

This just in from Reuters; Robert Rubin's departure from Citigroup appears to have been a prelude to this ... the equivalent of a "good bank, bad bank" structure, in which it would slim down to a business model ... on corporate, investment and retail banking and keeping a slimmer trading business, while moving [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 08:05:44

Equity Line of Credit:Is this the Answer to Your Financial Needs?

by Doc Schmyz We all know by now that home owners have a hidden savings account…its called HOME EQUITY ... Line of Credit? With a typical loan, which deposits a set amount of money in your account and begins ... asking for a new loan when you have paid it back. What can the HELOC be used on?? We can all find [more...]

Date: 2009-01-05 19:12:07

Christmas Potpourri and Holiday Shopping Update

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Here are a few headline news reports of interest from the past couple days.U.S. Store Traffic Fell 24% on Pre-Christmas WeekendU.S. retail store traffic fell 24 percent last weekend from a year earlier as deepened discounts failed to entice consumers to spend during what may be the [more...]

Date: 2008-12-26 03:52:00

Westpac sees the OCR at 2.5% by midyear

Westpac economists have gone on record as seeing the OCR cut by a full 1.00% at the end of this month, and by a further 1 ... the economy into a renewed downturn. New Zealand’s woeful international debt position limits ... some relief on interest rates. Towards the end of last year there were some moot questions around [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 08:20:10

That is the one question we are asked every single day.  Homeowners are confused with their options (or in some cases, their lack of options) ... is not doing the same tax relief as the federal government.  You may have a state tax liability ... the entire debt (on your first and second loans [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 21:07:27

GMAC: Snatching Victory From the Jaws of Bailout Defeat

It is much easier to win when you let the federal government do your negotiating for you ... , as a crucial $38 billion debt-exchange offer foundered and co-owner General Motors was struggling with the specter of bankruptcy. Yet GMAC succeeded, garnering $5 billion in Troubled Asset Relief [more...]

Date: 2008-12-30 12:43:00

So Who is Getting All of the Taxpayers’ Cash?

Amazing.  Not only are trillions of dollars being passed around to bail out any business with at least a couple congressmen on its side ... understatement. The Treasury fund, the “Troubled Asset Relief Program,” was supposed to be spent on soured [more...]

Date: 2008-12-28 22:31:17

Nortel Files for Bankruptcy in US and Canada

From having one of the most envied positions in the history of modern telecommunications to its current position as a company with a history of ... of restructuring and acquisitions it entered into in the mid 90’s, with $4.5 billion in debt to show ... in restructuring for the company as a result of its debt load. Nortel is best known for manufacturing [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 17:57:24

Review: Plunder by Danny Schechter

Title: Plunder: Investigating our Economic Calamity and the Subprime ScandalAuthor: Danny SchechterPages: 240Publisher: Cosimo Books (September 1, 2008)Genre: Non-Fiction / Business / Politics / MediaEdition: Paperback - many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!Perfect for : Personal Use, Someone interested [more...]

Date: 2009-01-11 23:58:00

Bring Back Paternalism in the Mortgage Market

Not Responsible—Tom Jones Now let me ask you something: Have you ever felt that you weren’t responsible for the things that you do? I do not like government paternalism. When Ronald Reagan came to power and began our 25 year experiment with government deregulation, I thought it was a good idea [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 15:43:03

A Further Critique of Romer and Romer

by cactusA Further Critique of Romer and RomerLet's take another look at the main Romer and Romer findings, namely that under some circumstances, tax cuts are good for economic growth. In the past I noted I have a few problems with it, but I thought I'd let the Romers work speak for itself as much as possible when making this critique [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 11:27:00

News and Commentary

Children Heavily Represented Among 917 Dead, Say Officialsby Michael Jansen - Irish Times / Common DreamsHealth officials in Gaza said yesterday that the Palestinian death toll since Israel began its offensive against the Strip on December 27th had reached 917 and the number of wounded 4,100 [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 08:42:00

Better Hope the “Blame Bush” Part Works

Better Hope the “Blame Bush” Part Works Jennifer Rubin - 12.22.2008 - 12:48 PM Well, let’s give Alice Rivlin credit ... concrete results in areas such as providing mortgage relief or extending unemployment benefits ... a legacy of debt, transforming the biggest surpluses in history into the biggest deficits and affecting [more...]

Date: 2008-12-22 17:48:14

Say bye to your debts with Debt Consolidation Loans

Naturally, people take loans to satisfy either their personal or the business financial needs ... the lenders, who gave them money. In this condition, the debt consolidation loans help them in a great way ... . These loans are available in two forms such as secured and unsecured. Secured debt consolidation loan [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 12:24:04

Economic Potpourri December 20, 2008

The barrage of noteworthy economic news continues unabated. Here are a few headline news reports of interest from the past couple days.Legg Mason to Add Miller to All Cap Fund Manager TeamBill Miller, the Legg Mason Inc. money manager whose two funds have each lost more than half their value this year, [more...]

Date: 2008-12-21 01:05:00

Thoughts for a Thursday Morning

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com The Twelve Editorial Rules for Middle East Reporting1) In the Middle East it is always the Arabs who attack first and always Israel that is defending themselves. This defense is called a reprisal. 2) The Arabs, Palestinian or Lebanese have no right to kill civilians. That is called “terrorism.” 3) [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 15:06:00

LLC Bankruptcy - * What are your key turn around strategies

LLC Bankruptcy - * What are your key turn around strategies Restructuring business? How to turnaround your business and avoid bankruptcy ... certain there is no other choice. Anyhow, if your debt relief is significant, you must work with your Bookkeeper and debt representative to plan for any potential tax liability. In addition [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 19:33:06

Latest News in Goverment Grants and Debt Relief - Jan 13, 2009

The Fraser Institute: Economy Best Served by Reducing Government … - Marke… 12 Jan 2009 at 3:53am VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire - Jan. 12, 2009) - The most effective way for the federal government to help the Canadian economy is to reduce government spending and permanently decrease personal income and business taxes, says Niels … [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 10:37:56

Jan 14 2009

Not being a stellar day, it nonetheless was much better. A few tight stops, and three sizeable wins, two on RIMM and one on ACOR. Still a lot of fear in the market though, so our commitment stays fleeting. Session Time: Wed Jan 14 00:00:00 2009 {nemo} Hah! woke up at 3:30 this morning. {Threei}  Good morning {magoo} morning[ [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 21:11:07

Chrysler Wants Money, Asks To Become "Independent Lending Corporation"

The requests for handouts keep right on coming: Chrysler seeks to tap relief funding ... that will allow it to tap into the troubled assets relief programme and other sources of credit.The Detroit ... and its talks on debt would pick up pace over the month. Chrysler has already been talking [more...]

Date: 2009-01-07 12:28:00

Secretary Rice's "Foundation for History's Judgment"

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave an end-of-term interview this morning to Rita Braver of CBS Sunday Morning. There's a lot to chew on given the far-reaching nature of the interview that covered the image of the US abroad, the war in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Sino-American relationship, [more...]

Date: 2008-12-29 04:52:33

Bad Debt - Considered a Lost Cause

Bad Debt - Considered a Lost Cause Posted in January 15th, 2009 Category:Debt Relief A lot of companies and businesses often end up with bad debt. These companies regard the bad debt as a loss for all intents and purposes; to them it’s just a cost of doing business. From the accounting department’s point of view, this debt is in the accounts [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 14:08:35

Bank of America: What to Expect When You’re Expecting Merrill Lynch

For Bank of America, being a hero won’t come cheap. Bank of America officially married Merrill Lynch on New Year’s Day, culminating an engagement that began Sept. 15 when Merrill Lynch President Greg Fleming persuaded BofA to save his investment bank from a fate worse than Lehman Brothers Holdings [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 09:07:00

Bank of America: What to Expect When You’re Expecting Merrill Lynch

For Bank of America, being a hero won’t come cheap. Bank of America officially married Merrill Lynch on New Year’s Day, culminating an engagement that began Sept. 15 when Merrill Lynch President Greg Fleming persuaded BofA to save his investment bank from a fate worse than Lehman Brothers Holdings [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 09:07:00

California Debt Consolidation

California Debt Consolidation January 16th, 2009 Debtors are the ones who face tough times ... in the deferred presentment business would therefore be termed as illegal in California. The debt consolidation ... in California through their debt consolidation loan help you to improve your credit score. They abide [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 04:11:25

President Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People

Dec. 8, 2008: President George W. Bush kisses one of the children attending the Children’s Holiday Reception and Performance with first lady Laura Bush in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. The reception is for children whose parents are serving in the military and cannot be with them for the Christmas holiday [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 08:47:09

5 Things You Need to Know about the Estate Tax

Our new President, the House and Senate have a busy year in store for 2009.  Among the many issues on the docket is the Estate Tax.  Scheduled to sunset in a few short years, important decisions must be made.  Here are the basics about our current system: 1.    The rules for the levy of the US Estate Tax ( [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 19:00:18

Borrow money for infrastructure, but fix what we have first

The highlight of Governor Chet Culver's "condition of the state" address yesterday (video here and prepared text here) was a proposal to issue state bonds to borrow up to $700 million over the next few years: Thousands of new jobs will be created, Culver said [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 11:56:59

The Untenability of Centrist Politics

If you need a good laugh these days, just read the Washington Post. David Ignatius'op-ed entitled Mr. Cool's Centrist Gamble is a case in point. It's true that if Obama attempts to govern as centrist he will find it to be political quicksand in the long run but Mr [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 03:33:53

“The U.S. Just Isn't Going Anywhere Good”

With all the death and destruction in Palestine, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the North American economy is going down the toilet ... , if you invest in $300 billion worth of toxic debt, that’s the United States government’s problem.And [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 00:38:00

The World Bank and the Spread of the American Empire

The World Bank and the Spread of the American Empire By Dene McGriff I must confess to being a “cog” as in the “cog” in a machine. Did I know I was? Nope, but I have gradually come to see that I was a “cog” in the building of the American Global Empire. Please don’t get mad at me for my confessions, for I certainly didn’t realize it at the time [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 06:31:10

The definition of insanity

First off, apologies for going AWOL; I’ve been without heat for six days — I was sincerely grateful for some this morning when the thermometer read ... , and then issued an … ummm … apology. Oopsie. Doesn’t care that the national debt has increased [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 22:34:43

Home equity line of credit: Do you really want one?

by Doc Schmyz We all know by now that home owners have a hidden savings account…its called HOME EQUITY ... projects you wish to do. Would You Want an Equity Line of Credit? Unlike a typical loan which ... loan. What Can I Use the Equity Line of Credit For? While you can no doubt find numerous uses [more...]

Date: 2008-12-29 16:17:10

President-elect Obama’s Economic Speech

President-elect Obama’s Economic Speech Here’s highlights from the speech (full video here): Full text of the speech below: ↓ Show full post ↓ Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama As Prepared for Delivery American Recovery and Reinvestment Thursday, January 8, 2009 Throughout America's history, [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 02:14:29

5 Reasons Why the Economy Might Recover Faster Than Obama Thinks

by James Pethokoukis, U.S. News & World Report  Let's all hope Barack Obama is wrong when he says that getting the U.S. economy straightened out "will take longer than any of us would like — years, not months. It will get worse before it gets better [more...]

Date: 2008-12-22 13:24:30

Tips on Choosing Debt Relief Programs

Tips on Choosing Debt Relief Programs No matter what other people or even the media says, if you feel you need help with managing your debts, ... relief which company to work with and which debt relief program to enroll in. Choosing the Right Debt Relief Company Never do business with a debt relief company that’s less than one year old [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 14:00:31

Trepidation About Quantitative Easing, Version 2.0

The Fed made official its move to quantitative easing today, and said it will take no prisoners until it has lowered rates and credit spreads further ... of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to provide support to the mortgage and housing [more...]

Date: 2008-12-17 10:28:49

Stiglitz: Just Say No to Tax Cuts

Joseph Stiglitz on the tax cuts versus spending question: Do not squander America’s stimulus on tax cuts, by Joseph Stiglitz, Commentary, ... the economy are growing. ... What is clear is that tax cuts will not help much ... , argue that tax cuts are the way forward. ... Tax cuts have increased our national debt [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 22:16:00

Man United: Is there a big four any more?

Sky invented the "big four" a few years ago, and it helped them boost viewing figures for their "Super gigantic showdown mad Sundays" ... have fantastic managers, are not in £600m debt, are on the up and have done it the right way. Randy Lerner [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 14:15:07

Moon Daughter

There does exist a universal human condition … historical conditions vary … a may be born a feudal lord or a proletarian. What does not vary is the necessity for h to exist in the world, to be at work there, to be there in the midst of other people, and to be mortal there [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 17:53:47

The Man Who Made Too Much: The Other Paulson

Portfolio.com’s February 2009 issue profiles John Paulson, the now legendary hedge fund manager whose record payday in 2007-’08 came as a result of doing what can only be described in its entirety as “shorting Subprime [more...]

Date: 2009-01-11 16:55:48

You Must Protect Your Credit Card Information

You Must Protect Your Credit Card Information January 15th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed credit card numbers More than ever, people rely on their debit card and credit card to make the bulk of the purchases that they need ... and security of the debit and credit card information. The modern world and modern consumers love [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 12:58:59

The Congressional Agenda

If you’re wondering what’s up for Congress, this list of the first 10 Senate bills might give you a preview: * S ... affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need, and for other purposes [more...]

Date: 2009-01-11 10:30:11

I Object.

This is the refrain of many remaining Republicans in the House and Senate in the new session of Congress ... billion in TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funds to be used to rescue business and individuals [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 17:47:17

Breaking News and Political Commentary

Israeli Offensive Presses into Gaza CityBy Richard Boudreaux and Rusdi abu Alouf - Los Angeles TimesIn the heaviest fighting since the invasion began, troops and tanks hit the capital from three directions. Gaza City is shaken by shelling and helicopter missile fire [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 13:18:00

Views on the News - 1/10/2009

NO MORE BAILOUTS! – eventually we have to learn from our mistakes from the last bailout / stimulus package: ... had Congress approved this proposal than it quickly morphed into a program aimed at infusing capital [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 01:09:14

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