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New Occupation: 20,000 march for economic justice in NYC
Tracy Lawrence, Notary Public Who Blew The Whistle On Massive Foreclosure Fraud, Found Dead
posted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Tracy Lawrence, the notary public who blew the whistle on a massive foreclosure fraud scheme, was found dead in her Las Vegas home on Nov. 28, MSNBC reported. Cause of death has not yet been determined, but Officer Jacinto Rivera, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesman, said the case was not being investigated as homicide. She was 43. Read more...
EU tightens Iran sanctions and mulls oil ban
posted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
(Reuters) - The European Union tightened its sanctions against Tehran on Thursday and laid out plans for a possible embargo on Iranian oil in response to mounting concerns over the OPEC producer's nuclear work. At a meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers decided new sanctions on energy, transport and financial sectors should be drawn up in time for their next meeting in late January. Read more...
ECB hints at action if euro zone adopts fiscal pact
posted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
(Reuters) - The new head of the European Central Bank signaled on Thursday it stood ready to act more aggressively to fight Europe's debt crisis if political leaders agree next week on much tighter budget controls in the 17-nation euro zone. Read more...
Mass. AG hits big banks with foreclosure lawsuit
posted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
(Reuters) - The Massachusetts attorney general has filed a lawsuit against five large U.S. banks accusing them of deceptive foreclosure practices, such as robo-signing. Read more...
Hedge Funds Dump Stocks, Hoping for Rebound in 2012
posted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Frustrated by market volatility over the European debt crisis and uncertain U.S. economic outlook, the so-called smart money—hedge funds—has thrown in the towel for 2011 and pulled out of stocks, according to fund managers, SEC filings and exchange data. Read more...
Europe Enters Critical 10 Days to Save Itself
posted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Europe faces a crucial 10 days to save the euro zone after agreeing to ramp up the firepower of its bailout fund but acknowledging it may have to turn to the International Monetary Fund for more help to avert financial disaster. Read more...
Lottery Sales Rise to Records in 17 States
posted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Facing growing unemployment, record home foreclosures, declining tax revenue and an annual budget deficit that reached $3 billion, Arizona revamped a key money- making enterprise: the state lottery. Read more...
Statement on the Fed's Continued Euro Bailout
posted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The Fed's latest actions in cooperating with foreign central banks to undertake liquidity swaps of dollars for foreign currencies is another reason why Congress needs enhanced power to oversee and audit the Fed. Under current law Congress cannot examine these types of agreements. Read more...
Long Lines For Free Holiday Food Vouchers
posted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
LITTLE HAVANA (CBS4) – Hundreds of South Floridians lined up in Little Havana overnight for a chance to feed their families this holiday. Read more...
Secret Loans, TARP and $ 7.7 Trillion Dollars
posted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing. Read more...
Crisis in Europe Tightens Credit Across the Globe
posted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Europe’s worsening sovereign debt crisis has spread beyond its banks and the spillover now threatens businesses on the Continent and around the world. Read more...
Consumer Confidence Jumps to Highest Level Since July
posted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
U.S. consumer confidence bounced back from a 2-1/2 year low in November as apprehension about job and income prospects eased, according to a private sector report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes jumped to 56.0 from a upwardly revised 40.9 the month before. Read more...
Eurozone Being Swallowed by Expanding Debt Black Holes, Mega Bond Market Profits and Default Booms
posted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The stock markets plunged last week and euro-zone bond market volatility increased with PIIGS yields spiking to new Euro highs as pressure mounts on the ECB to start printing money to monetize bankrupting PIIGS debt that effectively act as expanding debt black holes that threaten to swallow first the whole of the Eurozone and soon after collapse the worlds financial system. Read more...
Italy Downgraded! By Egan-Jones.
posted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Egan-Jones Ratings has downgraded Italy, its president Sean Egan told Bloomberg TV a little while ago. Read more...
Rep. Frank won’t run for reelection
posted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced Monday that he is not seeking reelection, ending a 32-year career in the House. Frank, 71, is the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee and the architect, with former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), of the sweeping Wall Street regulatory reform law enacted in 2010. Read more...
New-home sales barely changed in October
posted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Sales of new single-family homes were barely changed in October and there was little evidence of any improvement in the slump-ridden U.S. housing market. Read more...
Banking System Rotten to the Core
posted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The following is a transcript of a recent speech given by Professor William Black on an Economics Panel regarding the fradulent roots of our current crisis and the urgent need for criminal prosecutions among major US banks. Read more...
Why markets are so happy today
25 Bitter And Painful Facts About The Coming Baby Boomer Retirement Crisis That Will Blow Your Mind
posted 11/23/11 (Img: The Economic Collapse Blog)
For decades we were warned that when the Baby Boomers started to retire that this country would be facing a retirement crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Read more...
A No-Fly Zone in Syria?
posted 11/23/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Last night on Fox News, Rick Perry did a "Center Seat" interview with the Special Report panel, and became the first presidential candidate to endorse a no-fly zone in Syria. Byron York recounts the exchage: Read more...
Wall Street continues slide on Europe woes, China data
posted 11/23/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled again on Wednesday, leaving the benchmark S&P 500 on pace for a sixth straight decline as frustration with the euro zone's debt crisis coupled with weak Chinese factory data sank investor sentiment. Read more...
Nouriel Roubini: Government Gridlock ‘Ensures’ 2012 Recession
posted 11/23/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
If you thought the economy was starting to pick up and perhaps was even off to the races after months of positive GDP growth and much better than expected consumer health, think again. Read more...
Corzine Subpoenaed … W.A.N’s bet? All for show
posted 12/2/11
Jon Corzine, the former head of bankrupt commodities brokerage firm MF Global, has been subpoenaed to testify about his role in the collapse before a congressional committee. Corzine hasn’t been heard from publicly since MF Global imploded in October, the result of bad bets on European sovereign debt, a risky gamble reportedly pushed by Corzine himself. Read more...
posted 12/2/11
Jon Corzine, the former head of bankrupt commodities brokerage firm MF Global, has been subpoenaed to testify about his role in the collapse before a congressional committee. Corzine hasn’t been heard from publicly since MF Global imploded in October, the result of bad bets on European sovereign debt, a risky gamble reportedly pushed by Corzine himself. Read more...
New Occupation: 20,000 march for economic justice in NYC
Brink of Collapse
posted 12/2/11
The current global financial system is in a “self-reinforcing process of disintegration,” Mr. Soros warned, and “the consequences could be quite disastrous. You have to do what you can to stop it developing in that direction.” Read more...
posted 12/2/11
The current global financial system is in a “self-reinforcing process of disintegration,” Mr. Soros warned, and “the consequences could be quite disastrous. You have to do what you can to stop it developing in that direction.” Read more...
Hank Paulson’s inside jobs
posted 12/2/11
What on earth did Hank Paulson think his job was in the summer of 2008? As far as most of us were concerned, he was secretary of the US Treasury, answerable to the US people and to the president. But at the same time, in secret meetings, Paulson was hanging out with his old Goldman Sachs buddies, giving them invaluable information about what he was thinking in his new job. Read more...
posted 12/2/11
What on earth did Hank Paulson think his job was in the summer of 2008? As far as most of us were concerned, he was secretary of the US Treasury, answerable to the US people and to the president. But at the same time, in secret meetings, Paulson was hanging out with his old Goldman Sachs buddies, giving them invaluable information about what he was thinking in his new job. Read more...
For Jobless, Little Hope of Restoring Better Days
posted 12/2/11
People across the working spectrum suffered job losses in recent years: bricklayers and bookkeepers as well as workers in manufacturing and marketing. Read more...
posted 12/2/11
People across the working spectrum suffered job losses in recent years: bricklayers and bookkeepers as well as workers in manufacturing and marketing. Read more...
263,700 per month needed to return to pre depression level by the end of Obama second term
posted 12/2/11
We will simply copy and paste, with the appropriate adjustments, the form text we put up after each and every NFP report calculating the number of people that have to be added by the end of a hypothetical second Obama term. Using the November boilerplate: "Every few months we rerun an analysis of how many jobs the US economy has to generate to return to the unemployment rate as of December 2007 when the Great Financial Crisis started, by the end of Obama's potential second term in November 2016. Read more...
posted 12/2/11
We will simply copy and paste, with the appropriate adjustments, the form text we put up after each and every NFP report calculating the number of people that have to be added by the end of a hypothetical second Obama term. Using the November boilerplate: "Every few months we rerun an analysis of how many jobs the US economy has to generate to return to the unemployment rate as of December 2007 when the Great Financial Crisis started, by the end of Obama's potential second term in November 2016. Read more...
Why Unemployment Fell
posted 12/2/11
The November unemployment report is out, and it’s one of those good news / bad news deals. Well, actually, it’s more like horrible news that will be spun as good news. The economy created 120,000 jobs in November, and the official unemployment rate fell to 8.6%, which is a two-year low… but the drop was mostly due to 315,000 people leaving the workforce entirely. In other words, it’s weight loss through amputation. Congratulations, you lost fifteen pounds of unsightly flab overnight! The bad news is, we got your weight down by cutting off your arm. Read more...
posted 12/2/11
The November unemployment report is out, and it’s one of those good news / bad news deals. Well, actually, it’s more like horrible news that will be spun as good news. The economy created 120,000 jobs in November, and the official unemployment rate fell to 8.6%, which is a two-year low… but the drop was mostly due to 315,000 people leaving the workforce entirely. In other words, it’s weight loss through amputation. Congratulations, you lost fifteen pounds of unsightly flab overnight! The bad news is, we got your weight down by cutting off your arm. Read more...
Tracy Lawrence, Notary Public Who Blew The Whistle On Massive Foreclosure Fraud, Found Deadposted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Tracy Lawrence, the notary public who blew the whistle on a massive foreclosure fraud scheme, was found dead in her Las Vegas home on Nov. 28, MSNBC reported. Cause of death has not yet been determined, but Officer Jacinto Rivera, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesman, said the case was not being investigated as homicide. She was 43. Read more...
China Manufacturing PMI Plunges to 32-Month Low of 47.7; Reflections on Stocks Rallying on "Bad News"
posted 12/1/11
Equity markets soared on central bank manipulations and various rumors the past few days. However, neither rumors nor trivial actions (which is all that happened) can save the global economy. Yesterday stocks rallied on news China Cuts Bank Reserve Ratios by .5 Percentage Points and Central Banks Cut Rates on Dollar Swap Lines. However, the reason Chinese central bank reacted is hugely deteriorating conditions in China. The reason the Fed reacted is hugely deteriorating conditions in Europe. Read more...
posted 12/1/11
Equity markets soared on central bank manipulations and various rumors the past few days. However, neither rumors nor trivial actions (which is all that happened) can save the global economy. Yesterday stocks rallied on news China Cuts Bank Reserve Ratios by .5 Percentage Points and Central Banks Cut Rates on Dollar Swap Lines. However, the reason Chinese central bank reacted is hugely deteriorating conditions in China. The reason the Fed reacted is hugely deteriorating conditions in Europe. Read more...
Internet Sales Tax: The Tax Increase Both Parties Support
posted 12/1/11
State governments, pushed to the brink of default, may finally get their way in a battle with Amazon.com. At a congressional hearing Wednesday, representatives of both parties seemed to support a bill that would close a loophole that allows online-only retailers to avoid collecting sales tax. The bill, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, comes at an opportune moment. Municipal bankruptcies are gripping cities like Central Falls, R.I. and many government workers are in jeopardy of losing their pensions. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are trying new ways to fill the $102.9 billion state deficit predicted for 2012 by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Read more...
posted 12/1/11
State governments, pushed to the brink of default, may finally get their way in a battle with Amazon.com. At a congressional hearing Wednesday, representatives of both parties seemed to support a bill that would close a loophole that allows online-only retailers to avoid collecting sales tax. The bill, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, comes at an opportune moment. Municipal bankruptcies are gripping cities like Central Falls, R.I. and many government workers are in jeopardy of losing their pensions. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are trying new ways to fill the $102.9 billion state deficit predicted for 2012 by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Read more...
EU tightens Iran sanctions and mulls oil banposted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
(Reuters) - The European Union tightened its sanctions against Tehran on Thursday and laid out plans for a possible embargo on Iranian oil in response to mounting concerns over the OPEC producer's nuclear work. At a meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers decided new sanctions on energy, transport and financial sectors should be drawn up in time for their next meeting in late January. Read more...
Tommy Thompson, Ex-Wisconsin Governor, Launches Republican Bid For Senate
posted 12/1/11
MADISON, Wis. — The toughest opponent Tommy Thompson may have to overcome in next year's U.S. Senate race is Tommy Thompson himself. The former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Cabinet secretary was set to formally launch his Senate bid with a rally Thursday, 13 years since he last appeared on a ballot. Early in the campaign, Thompson has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike about his shifting position on President Barack Obama's health care reform law. And conservatives in his party say his record as governor and as President George W. Bush's first health and human services secretary was far too moderate. Read more...
posted 12/1/11
MADISON, Wis. — The toughest opponent Tommy Thompson may have to overcome in next year's U.S. Senate race is Tommy Thompson himself. The former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Cabinet secretary was set to formally launch his Senate bid with a rally Thursday, 13 years since he last appeared on a ballot. Early in the campaign, Thompson has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike about his shifting position on President Barack Obama's health care reform law. And conservatives in his party say his record as governor and as President George W. Bush's first health and human services secretary was far too moderate. Read more...
"China will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third World War" Major General Zhang Zhaozhong
(VIDEO)
posted 12/1/11
posted 12/1/11
ECB hints at action if euro zone adopts fiscal pactposted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
(Reuters) - The new head of the European Central Bank signaled on Thursday it stood ready to act more aggressively to fight Europe's debt crisis if political leaders agree next week on much tighter budget controls in the 17-nation euro zone. Read more...
A Continent Stares into the Abyss
posted 12/1/11
Fear is spreading through the financial markets as investors pull their money out of the crisis-stricken euro-zone countries. With Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed to using the ECB's firepower to solve the crisis, the monetary union appears increasingly in danger of breaking apart. Some economists are even arguing for Germany to reintroduce the deutsche mark. By SPIEGEL Staff Read more...
posted 12/1/11
Fear is spreading through the financial markets as investors pull their money out of the crisis-stricken euro-zone countries. With Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed to using the ECB's firepower to solve the crisis, the monetary union appears increasingly in danger of breaking apart. Some economists are even arguing for Germany to reintroduce the deutsche mark. By SPIEGEL Staff Read more...
'Central Banks' Coordinated Move Has Solved Nothing'
posted 12/1/11
Global stock markets on Wednesday were euphoric after the major central banks around the world made it easier for banks to access dollars. But the euro-zone debt crisis rages on nonetheless. At the most, say German commentators, Wednesday's move merely buys some time -- but not much. Read more...
posted 12/1/11
Global stock markets on Wednesday were euphoric after the major central banks around the world made it easier for banks to access dollars. But the euro-zone debt crisis rages on nonetheless. At the most, say German commentators, Wednesday's move merely buys some time -- but not much. Read more...
Mass. AG hits big banks with foreclosure lawsuitposted 12/1/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
(Reuters) - The Massachusetts attorney general has filed a lawsuit against five large U.S. banks accusing them of deceptive foreclosure practices, such as robo-signing. Read more...
QUICK START 12-1-12
Hedge Funds Dump Stocks, Hoping for Rebound in 2012posted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Frustrated by market volatility over the European debt crisis and uncertain U.S. economic outlook, the so-called smart money—hedge funds—has thrown in the towel for 2011 and pulled out of stocks, according to fund managers, SEC filings and exchange data. Read more...
Europe Enters Critical 10 Days to Save Itselfposted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Europe faces a crucial 10 days to save the euro zone after agreeing to ramp up the firepower of its bailout fund but acknowledging it may have to turn to the International Monetary Fund for more help to avert financial disaster. Read more...
Lottery Sales Rise to Records in 17 Statesposted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Facing growing unemployment, record home foreclosures, declining tax revenue and an annual budget deficit that reached $3 billion, Arizona revamped a key money- making enterprise: the state lottery. Read more...
Statement on the Fed's Continued Euro Bailoutposted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The Fed's latest actions in cooperating with foreign central banks to undertake liquidity swaps of dollars for foreign currencies is another reason why Congress needs enhanced power to oversee and audit the Fed. Under current law Congress cannot examine these types of agreements. Read more...
Long Lines For Free Holiday Food Vouchersposted 11/30/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
LITTLE HAVANA (CBS4) – Hundreds of South Floridians lined up in Little Havana overnight for a chance to feed their families this holiday. Read more...
RALLY WARNING !!!! WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE !!!
Secret Loans, TARP and $ 7.7 Trillion Dollarsposted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing. Read more...
Last Days of Pompeii?
posted 11/29/11
This week we got what seemed to be some good news in the ongoing Euro debt crisis. Bond spreads in many of the countries on Europe’s periphery tightened vis-their German equivalents. Unfortunately we also got some bad news to go with it (no silver lining these days without the accompanying black cloud it seems): the tighter spreads were the result of a weakening of German bunds (or a rise in their yields) following what many considered to be a failed bond auction. Read more...
posted 11/29/11
This week we got what seemed to be some good news in the ongoing Euro debt crisis. Bond spreads in many of the countries on Europe’s periphery tightened vis-their German equivalents. Unfortunately we also got some bad news to go with it (no silver lining these days without the accompanying black cloud it seems): the tighter spreads were the result of a weakening of German bunds (or a rise in their yields) following what many considered to be a failed bond auction. Read more...
22 Reasons Why We Could See An Economic Collapse In Europe In 2012
posted 11/29/11
Will 2012 be the year that we see an economic collapse in Europe? Before you dismiss the title of this article as "alarmist", read the facts listed in the rest of this article first. Over the past several months, there has been an astonishing loss of confidence in the European financial system. Right now, virtually nobody wants to loan money to financially troubled nations in the EU and virtually nobody wants to lend money to major European banks. Remember, one of the primary reasons for the financial crisis of 2008 was a major credit crunch that happened here in the United States. Read more...
posted 11/29/11
Will 2012 be the year that we see an economic collapse in Europe? Before you dismiss the title of this article as "alarmist", read the facts listed in the rest of this article first. Over the past several months, there has been an astonishing loss of confidence in the European financial system. Right now, virtually nobody wants to loan money to financially troubled nations in the EU and virtually nobody wants to lend money to major European banks. Remember, one of the primary reasons for the financial crisis of 2008 was a major credit crunch that happened here in the United States. Read more...
Crisis in Europe Tightens Credit Across the Globeposted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Europe’s worsening sovereign debt crisis has spread beyond its banks and the spillover now threatens businesses on the Continent and around the world. Read more...
Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Decrease More Than Forecast as Housing Market Stays Fragile
posted 11/29/11
Residential real estate prices dropped more than forecast in the year ended September, showing the industry at the center of the 2008 financial crisis continues to struggle. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities dropped 3.6 percent from September from the same month in 2010 after decreasing 3.8 percent in the year ended August, the group said today in New York. The median forecast of 32 economists in a Bloomberg News survey projected a 3 percent decrease. Read more...
posted 11/29/11
Residential real estate prices dropped more than forecast in the year ended September, showing the industry at the center of the 2008 financial crisis continues to struggle. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities dropped 3.6 percent from September from the same month in 2010 after decreasing 3.8 percent in the year ended August, the group said today in New York. The median forecast of 32 economists in a Bloomberg News survey projected a 3 percent decrease. Read more...
Consumer Confidence Jumps to Highest Level Since Julyposted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
U.S. consumer confidence bounced back from a 2-1/2 year low in November as apprehension about job and income prospects eased, according to a private sector report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes jumped to 56.0 from a upwardly revised 40.9 the month before. Read more...
Fitch Warns of US Downgrade if Budget Deal Isn't Reached in 2013
posted 11/29/11
Fitch Ratings gave the United States until 2013 to come up with a "credible plan" to tackle its ballooning budget deficit or risk a downgrade of the country's coveted AAA rating. The ratings agency Monday revised to negative from stable the outlook on the U.S. credit rating after a special congressional committee failed last week to agree on at least $1.2 trillion in deficit-reduction measures. The committee failure made it unlikely that any meaningful deficit plan will be adopted next year, increasing the fiscal burden on the next administration that will be elected in late 2012, Fitch said. Read more...
posted 11/29/11
Fitch Ratings gave the United States until 2013 to come up with a "credible plan" to tackle its ballooning budget deficit or risk a downgrade of the country's coveted AAA rating. The ratings agency Monday revised to negative from stable the outlook on the U.S. credit rating after a special congressional committee failed last week to agree on at least $1.2 trillion in deficit-reduction measures. The committee failure made it unlikely that any meaningful deficit plan will be adopted next year, increasing the fiscal burden on the next administration that will be elected in late 2012, Fitch said. Read more...
Eurozone Being Swallowed by Expanding Debt Black Holes, Mega Bond Market Profits and Default Boomsposted 11/29/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The stock markets plunged last week and euro-zone bond market volatility increased with PIIGS yields spiking to new Euro highs as pressure mounts on the ECB to start printing money to monetize bankrupting PIIGS debt that effectively act as expanding debt black holes that threaten to swallow first the whole of the Eurozone and soon after collapse the worlds financial system. Read more...
Italy Downgraded! By Egan-Jones.posted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Egan-Jones Ratings has downgraded Italy, its president Sean Egan told Bloomberg TV a little while ago. Read more...
Feds shut down 150 websites in 'Cyber Monday' crackdown
posted 11/28/11
The Justice Department and other federal agencies shut down 150 websites on Monday accused of selling copyrighted materials and counterfeit products. The crackdown was timed to coincide with "Cyber Monday," the most profitable day of the year for online retailers. As part of the operation, federal agents ordered products such as sports jerseys, DVD sets, shoes, handbags and sunglasses. If the company confirmed the products were counterfeit, the Justice Department obtained an order from a federal judge to seize the website. Read more...
posted 11/28/11
The Justice Department and other federal agencies shut down 150 websites on Monday accused of selling copyrighted materials and counterfeit products. The crackdown was timed to coincide with "Cyber Monday," the most profitable day of the year for online retailers. As part of the operation, federal agents ordered products such as sports jerseys, DVD sets, shoes, handbags and sunglasses. If the company confirmed the products were counterfeit, the Justice Department obtained an order from a federal judge to seize the website. Read more...
Police arrest Occupy protesters in Los Angeles park
posted 11/28/11
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Officers arrested four people at an Occupy protest site in Los Angeles Monday morning on charges of failure to disperse, police said. The arrests came after some demonstrators held their ground in Los Angeles' City Hall Park, defying a 12:01 a.m. deadline to leave the encampment that had been in place for almost 60 days. Read more...
posted 11/28/11
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Officers arrested four people at an Occupy protest site in Los Angeles Monday morning on charges of failure to disperse, police said. The arrests came after some demonstrators held their ground in Los Angeles' City Hall Park, defying a 12:01 a.m. deadline to leave the encampment that had been in place for almost 60 days. Read more...
Rep. Frank won’t run for reelectionposted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced Monday that he is not seeking reelection, ending a 32-year career in the House. Frank, 71, is the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee and the architect, with former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), of the sweeping Wall Street regulatory reform law enacted in 2010. Read more...
Serbs Open Fire on NATO Troops in Kosovo
posted 11/28/11
Serbs opposed to the independence of Kosovo opened fire on NATO peacekeeping troops in the tiny Balkan state Monday, wounding two, in an escalation of violence that could set back Belgrade's long-running effort to join the European Union. Soldiers used water cannons and fired rubber bullets as they tried to clear barricades set up by Serbs fighting to keep Kosovo's predominantly ethnic-Albanian central government from extending its authority over Serb-majority areas in the north of the country. Read more...
posted 11/28/11
Serbs opposed to the independence of Kosovo opened fire on NATO peacekeeping troops in the tiny Balkan state Monday, wounding two, in an escalation of violence that could set back Belgrade's long-running effort to join the European Union. Soldiers used water cannons and fired rubber bullets as they tried to clear barricades set up by Serbs fighting to keep Kosovo's predominantly ethnic-Albanian central government from extending its authority over Serb-majority areas in the north of the country. Read more...
Pakistan: NATO attack inflames tense ties with U.S.
posted 11/28/11
The Pakistani foreign minister Sunday described a NATO attack that killed dozens of soldiers as "totally unacceptable," saying it plunges the nation's relationship with the United States into deeper crisis. NATO helicopters attacked a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers, authorities in the nation said. The attack wounded 13 others in Mohmand Agency, one of seven districts in the volatile region bordering Afghanistan, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement. Read more...
posted 11/28/11
The Pakistani foreign minister Sunday described a NATO attack that killed dozens of soldiers as "totally unacceptable," saying it plunges the nation's relationship with the United States into deeper crisis. NATO helicopters attacked a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers, authorities in the nation said. The attack wounded 13 others in Mohmand Agency, one of seven districts in the volatile region bordering Afghanistan, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement. Read more...
New-home sales barely changed in Octoberposted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Sales of new single-family homes were barely changed in October and there was little evidence of any improvement in the slump-ridden U.S. housing market. Read more...
Secret Fed Loans Helped Banks Net $13 Billion
posted 11/28/11
The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing. The Fed didn’t tell anyone which banks were in trouble so deep they required a combined $1.2 trillion on Dec. 5, 2008, their single neediest day. Bankers didn’t mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. And no one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed’s below-market rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue. Read more...
posted 11/28/11
The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing. The Fed didn’t tell anyone which banks were in trouble so deep they required a combined $1.2 trillion on Dec. 5, 2008, their single neediest day. Bankers didn’t mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. And no one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed’s below-market rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue. Read more...
IMF drawing up £500bn package to save Italy, Spain and the euro
posted 11/28/11
The International Monetary Fund is being lined up potentially to help Italy and Spain amid growing fears that a European rescue scheme will not be able to prop up the countries. Read more...
posted 11/28/11
The International Monetary Fund is being lined up potentially to help Italy and Spain amid growing fears that a European rescue scheme will not be able to prop up the countries. Read more...
Banking System Rotten to the Coreposted 11/28/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
The following is a transcript of a recent speech given by Professor William Black on an Economics Panel regarding the fradulent roots of our current crisis and the urgent need for criminal prosecutions among major US banks. Read more...
Britain draws up emergency plans for collapse of Euro after warnings Italy needs £500bn bailout
posted 11/28/11
Britain is drawing up emergency plans for the collapse of the ‘creaking’ Eurozone amid warnings debt-stricken Italy will need a £500 billion bailout involving billions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money. Chancellor George Osborne said the Treasury had ‘stepped up’ contingency planning and aimed to be ready for ‘whatever the Eurozone throws at us’. It emerged yesterday that the International Monetary Fund, in which Britain is a major shareholder, could be forced to offer Italy a €600 billion (£514bn) rescue package to give its unelected new prime minister Mario Monti 12 to 18 months’ breathing room to implement big tax rises and spending cuts. Read more...
posted 11/28/11
Britain is drawing up emergency plans for the collapse of the ‘creaking’ Eurozone amid warnings debt-stricken Italy will need a £500 billion bailout involving billions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money. Chancellor George Osborne said the Treasury had ‘stepped up’ contingency planning and aimed to be ready for ‘whatever the Eurozone throws at us’. It emerged yesterday that the International Monetary Fund, in which Britain is a major shareholder, could be forced to offer Italy a €600 billion (£514bn) rescue package to give its unelected new prime minister Mario Monti 12 to 18 months’ breathing room to implement big tax rises and spending cuts. Read more...
Why markets are so happy today
QUICK START 11-28-11
WEEKEND UPDATE 11-27-11
25 Bitter And Painful Facts About The Coming Baby Boomer Retirement Crisis That Will Blow Your Mindposted 11/23/11 (Img: The Economic Collapse Blog)
For decades we were warned that when the Baby Boomers started to retire that this country would be facing a retirement crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Read more...
"Disastrous" bond sale shakes confidence in Germany
posted 11/23/11
(Reuters) - A "disastrous" German bond sale on Wednesday sparked fears that Europe's debt crisis was even starting to threaten Berlin, with the leaders of the euro zone's two biggest economies still firmly at odds over a longer-term structural solution. With contagion spreading, a majority of twenty prominent economists polled by Reuters predicted that the euro zone was unlikely to survive the crisis in its current form, with some envisaging a "core" group that would exclude Greece. Investors were also unnerved by reports that Belgium is leaning on France to pay more into emergency support for failed lender Dexia under a 90-billion-euro ($120 billion) rescue deal that had appeared done and dusted Read more...
posted 11/23/11
(Reuters) - A "disastrous" German bond sale on Wednesday sparked fears that Europe's debt crisis was even starting to threaten Berlin, with the leaders of the euro zone's two biggest economies still firmly at odds over a longer-term structural solution. With contagion spreading, a majority of twenty prominent economists polled by Reuters predicted that the euro zone was unlikely to survive the crisis in its current form, with some envisaging a "core" group that would exclude Greece. Investors were also unnerved by reports that Belgium is leaning on France to pay more into emergency support for failed lender Dexia under a 90-billion-euro ($120 billion) rescue deal that had appeared done and dusted Read more...
Chinese fears hammer global sharemarkets
posted 11/23/11
GLOBAL financial markets slumped yesterday on news that China could be about to witness a sharp contraction. The fall came as fears mounted that European banks are at increasing risk of massive writedowns and that Europe will witness more sovereign rating downgrades as the the eurozone debt crisis spreads. Markets reeled at midday on the release of weak Chinese manufacturing data, adding to the selling pressure already being felt by Australian resources stocks -- including the behemoths BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto -- thanks in part to the passage of the mining tax. Read more...
posted 11/23/11
GLOBAL financial markets slumped yesterday on news that China could be about to witness a sharp contraction. The fall came as fears mounted that European banks are at increasing risk of massive writedowns and that Europe will witness more sovereign rating downgrades as the the eurozone debt crisis spreads. Markets reeled at midday on the release of weak Chinese manufacturing data, adding to the selling pressure already being felt by Australian resources stocks -- including the behemoths BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto -- thanks in part to the passage of the mining tax. Read more...
A No-Fly Zone in Syria?posted 11/23/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
Last night on Fox News, Rick Perry did a "Center Seat" interview with the Special Report panel, and became the first presidential candidate to endorse a no-fly zone in Syria. Byron York recounts the exchage: Read more...
Showdown in Greece; EU Gives Deadline on Signatures; Samaras Won't Sign, Sends Letter Instead, Seeks Policy Changes
posted 11/23/11
European officials have had enough of the technocrat leadership in Greece. They have given a week for Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy party, and member of the coalition to sign a document saying he will support the European Union debt plan. He says he will support the plan (with modifications). The EU wants a signature now, with no changes. Does a Signature Even Matter? Read more...
posted 11/23/11
European officials have had enough of the technocrat leadership in Greece. They have given a week for Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy party, and member of the coalition to sign a document saying he will support the European Union debt plan. He says he will support the plan (with modifications). The EU wants a signature now, with no changes. Does a Signature Even Matter? Read more...
Fed Minutes: Bernanke Firmly In Control Of FOMC, QE3 Coming
posted 11/23/11
The FOMC minutes for the two-day November meeting suggest that under current economic circumstances the Federal Reserve will have to engage in a third round of quantitative easing. A few members of the FOMC pushed Bernanke for further accommodative policy in the last FOMC meeting, with Charlie Evans of the Chicago Fed actually dissenting in favor of more QE. Revealing the internal workings of the FOMC, the minutes are a key tool for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to manage market expectations. This was made very clear when a few members asked for further accommodation at the last meeting. It was also made clear that Bernanke is firmly in control, from the statement: Read more...
posted 11/23/11
The FOMC minutes for the two-day November meeting suggest that under current economic circumstances the Federal Reserve will have to engage in a third round of quantitative easing. A few members of the FOMC pushed Bernanke for further accommodative policy in the last FOMC meeting, with Charlie Evans of the Chicago Fed actually dissenting in favor of more QE. Revealing the internal workings of the FOMC, the minutes are a key tool for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to manage market expectations. This was made very clear when a few members asked for further accommodation at the last meeting. It was also made clear that Bernanke is firmly in control, from the statement: Read more...
Wall Street continues slide on Europe woes, China dataposted 11/23/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled again on Wednesday, leaving the benchmark S&P 500 on pace for a sixth straight decline as frustration with the euro zone's debt crisis coupled with weak Chinese factory data sank investor sentiment. Read more...
European Commission Staff Threatens Strike; Would Anyone Notice?
posted 11/23/11
The Eu Observer reports EU staff to go on strike EU staff unions have re-iterated their threat to go on strike after negotiations with the European Commission failed to produce an agreement on a new package of pay and pension changes. “If Sefcovic does not reopen the negotiations, we will go on strike,” said Felix Geradon, secretary-general of the Union Syndicale, the biggest of the eleven within the institutions. Read more...
posted 11/23/11
The Eu Observer reports EU staff to go on strike EU staff unions have re-iterated their threat to go on strike after negotiations with the European Commission failed to produce an agreement on a new package of pay and pension changes. “If Sefcovic does not reopen the negotiations, we will go on strike,” said Felix Geradon, secretary-general of the Union Syndicale, the biggest of the eleven within the institutions. Read more...
France, Germany to press euro zone treaty change
posted 11/23/11
(Reuters) - French President Nicholas Sarkozy has embraced a German campaign for treaty change that could give European authorities intrusive powers to intervene in the national budgets of countries sharing the euro currency. France and Germany will soon propose amendments to the European Union treaty in response to the bloc's sovereign debt crisis, Sarkozy said on Tuesday. Read more...
posted 11/23/11
(Reuters) - French President Nicholas Sarkozy has embraced a German campaign for treaty change that could give European authorities intrusive powers to intervene in the national budgets of countries sharing the euro currency. France and Germany will soon propose amendments to the European Union treaty in response to the bloc's sovereign debt crisis, Sarkozy said on Tuesday. Read more...
Nouriel Roubini: Government Gridlock ‘Ensures’ 2012 Recessionposted 11/23/11 (Img: stock.xchng)
If you thought the economy was starting to pick up and perhaps was even off to the races after months of positive GDP growth and much better than expected consumer health, think again. Read more...
