H.R. 1424 - Congress Sells Soul to the Bankers & Gives Americans the Boot

It’s wait and see after Bush signs rescue planBy JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 18 minutes agoWASHINGTON - After two weeks of anguishing debate, Congress has passed and President Bush signed a massive plan to save the financial industry and the economy at large from an unthinkable free fall. Now, the world holds [...]

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$700 Billion Bailout Could Balloon to $5 Trillion

So now they try to solve the problem by having this credit bubble actually extended and I think the $700 billion will be like a drop in the bucket because the total credit market in the U.S. is something close to $60 trillion, then you have the CDS market credit default swap of [...]

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The coming days: The week ahead

• EUROPEAN UNION leaders are set for an emergency meeting on Monday September 1st to review the block’s relations with Russia in light of the war in Georgia. EU leaders are also likely to discuss new aid for the war-torn regions of Georgia. More strong words of criticism for Russia’s behaviour are expected, but little else, as Europe worries about energy supplies from its vast neighbour. Russia’s government has scored a victory on the home front with its new aggressive foreign policy.


• THE Republican Party holds its four-day national convention in St Paul, Minnesota, beginning on Monday September 1st. As well as the Obama-bashing that most pundits expect, the convention will give John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, the opportunity to gauge party reaction to his surprising announcement that Sarah Palin will run beside him to become vice-president. Mr McCain wants to distance himself from the current Republican administration, so will be pleased that both George Bush and Dick Cheney are expected to skip the convention because of the probable arrival of hurricane Gustav in New Orleans.



• THE European Central Bank meets on Thursday September 4th to consider its response to deteriorating economic conditions in the euro area. Recession looms and inflation has been creeping up. The ECB may reckon that less growth will lessen the prospects of price rises; falling oil prices may ease inflation pressures too. But most think that the bank will wait until the beginning of 2009 before cutting rates to boost the economy.



• PAKISTAN is set to elect a new president on Saturday September 6th. Members of Pakistan's parliament and regional assemblies will vote for a replacement for Pervez Musharaff, who stepped down in August to avoid impeachment charges. Pakistan’s coalition government has already split over the candidacy of Asif Zardari, leader of the coalition’s main member, the Pakistan People’s Party, and favourite to become president. The coalition’s second-biggest constituent, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), walked out, in objection to Mr Zardari’s standing for a presidency with dictatorial powers. This is all an unwelcome distraction in a country facing an ever-worsening Taliban insurgency and a troubled economy.

RNC: Moles Wanted: Minneapolis City Pages advertise for recruits.

In the months leading up to the Republican National Convention, the FBI-led Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force actively recruited people to infiltrate vegan groups and other leftist organizations and report back about their activities. On May 21, t...

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[Source: Ron Paul forum

Japan: Get someone else

Yasuo Fukuda quits as prime minister of Japan, as the country struggles to find stable leadership

IT HAD been the wish of Japan’s 72-year-old prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to outlast his hapless predecessor, Shinzo Abe, whom he privately despised. He was supposed to provide a steady hand on the helm after Mr Abe’s poor performance. But Mr Fukuda did not manage even Mr Abe’s year in office. On Monday September 1st the prime minister announced his resignation, saying bluntly that “I thought it would be better for someone else to do the job”.

From the start, he had struggled in the face of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) which had won unprecedented control of the upper house of the Diet (parliament). Important legislation was rammed through the Diet thanks only to the two-third’s majority enjoyed by the ruling coalition in the lower house. Most notable was a bill renewing the Japanese navy’s refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean, a part of the anti-terror effort in Afghanistan and thus a gauge of Japan’s willingness to play a part in the world. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis -

Army opens prep school for dropouts to fill ranks

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) - Austin Swarner left high school to care for his mother while she fought a losing battle with cancer. Tony Brown wanted to begin supporting himself and left two classes shy of a diploma. Haelee Holden got tired of trying to make it through school while flipping burgers until 1 a.m.But [...]

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The Republicans: Staying the course

The Republican convention, though battered, goes ahead

IT HAS been a rocky week for the Republican Party, as its convention gets under way in St Paul, Minnesota. After the focus on the Democrats last week, John McCain snatched back attention at the weekend with his choice of Sarah Palin, the young governor of Alaska, as his running mate. But little since that announcement has gone according to plan.

The first difficulty was Hurricane Gustav which crossed the Gulf of Mexico before hitting Louisiana on Monday September 1st. The storm provoked memories of Katrina, the hurricane which drowned New Orleans in 2005 and whose aftermath was mishandled by George Bush’s administration. Nearly 2m people left their homes in Louisiana this week, fleeing the storm. And as a result of the upheaval, Mr Bush and his vice-president, Dick Cheney, decided to stay away from the Republican convention, scrapping planned speeches. Mr McCain was no doubt relieved: the less he is associated with the deeply unpopular incumbent, the happier he will be. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis

The Democrats:

Barack Obama picks Joe Biden as his running mate

LIKE much else about Barack Obama's campaign, his announcement of a running-made was unconventional. It came in the form of emails and text-messages released simultaneously to the tens of thousands of people who had signed up to receive them, at the distinctly unconventional hour of 3am Eastern time. “Dear [recipient's name], I have some important news that I want to make official”, read the message, purportedly sent by the candidate himself. “I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running-mate.”

After an entire week of press-teasing over the timing of the announcement, some might be forgiven for feeling slightly let down. Mr Biden, a six-term senator and head of the Senate foreign relations committee, was neither a surprise nor, for all his qualities, an especially exciting choice, as the selection of Hillary Clinton or Al Gore would have been. ...

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As a political statement the Beijing Olympics had mixed results

Mixed political results from the Beijing Olympics

Having held the world's attention for the past 17 days, Beijing symbolically handed the Olympic flag to London in a closing ceremony on August 24th. As a sporting event the Games were a huge success—particularly for China, which topped the gold-medal table by a wide margin. But the government's success in achieving its political objectives was mixed.

Billed as China's "coming-out party", the Beijing Games were meant to burnish the country's image both at home and abroad by showcasing the country's remarkable achievements over the past three decades. There is little doubt that this message came across loud and clear domestically, helping to cement the loyalty of China's citizens. The popular legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party increasingly derives from its ability to deliver material prosperity and international prestige, and the Olympics showed that the regime is capable of marshalling extraordinary resources and determination—and that China commands international respect. Beijing's spectacular opening and closing ceremonies, state-of-the-art venues and flawlessly organised sporting events all underlined the country's extraordinarily rapid re-emergence as a great power. ...

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Prepared Secret Service, police have new equipment if needed

Denver has assembled an army of police and stocked up on an array of new equipment to deal with the unknown during the Democratic National Convention.Mayor John Hickenlooper said the city and its partners developed what may be one of the most comprehensive security plans for an event of this magnitude.“You never know what you [...]

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Buffett Says Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac `Game Is Over

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage finance companies, dont have any net worth, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said.

The game is over as independent companies said Buffett, the 77-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.,...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]

Commodities:

Some reasons not to expect a collapse in raw-materials prices

DURING the six months to the end of June commodities posted their best performance in 35 years, rising by 29%. In July they had their worst month in 28 years, falling by 10%. The slide continues: an index compiled by Reuters, a news agency, shows that prices are almost a fifth below the pinnacle reached in early July. The Economist’s index, which excludes oil, has fallen by over 12%. Breathless headlines have hailed the bursting of a bubble.

But most analysts are more reticent. They cite various reasons for the recent drop in prices, chief among them the darkening economic outlook in rich countries. In recent weeks it has become clear that Europe and Japan are faring even worse than America, and so are likely to consume less oil, steel, cocoa and the like. But that does not necessarily presage a collapse in commodity prices, they argue, thanks to enduringly strong demand from emerging markets such as China. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]

American politics:

John McCain and Barack Obama each has a problem with religion. Who will the faithful follow?

IN 2007 James Dobson, who heads Focus on the Family, a powerful Christian group, said that he “would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances.” Mr Dobson said he was worried that the Republican was “not in favour of traditional marriage, and I pray that we won't get stuck with him.” But now Mr Dobson is reconsidering. It is a strange year for religious voters trying to decide between candidates who, on Saturday August 16th, will air their views on matters spiritual and earthly by talking in turn to Rick Warren, a megachurch pastor in California.

In 2000 and again in 2004 the choice was easy: George Bush wore his religion on his sleeve, declared that Jesus was his favourite philosopher and staunchly promoted religious-conservative positions. This year things are rather different. Mr McCain is an infrequent churchgoer and he hardly mentions his faith. When asked about it, he often speaks not of himself but of one of his North Vietnamese captors, a Christian who treated him kindly. He made enemies on the religious right in 2000 by saying that Jerry Falwell, a televangelist, was among harmful “agents of intolerance”. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]

Indonesia's president is troubled by rising prices

Rising fuel prices are making the president less popular in Indonesia

The damage to the standing of the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, caused by the 30% increase in government-administered fuel prices in May has been reflected in recent opinion polls, in which his nearest contender, Megawati Soekarnoputri, who chairs the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), has taken a lead. A survey in June by a local polling company, Indo Barometer, put voter support for Ms Soekarnoputri at 30.4%, compared with 20.7% for Mr Yudhoyono. Prior to the May fuel price increase, the president led his nearest rival by a considerable margin in a range of opinion polls.

Polls have repeatedly highlighted the fact that economic problems are voters' main concern, and it is therefore no surprise that Mr Yudhoyono's rating has fallen as the result of a policy change that had an immediate and tangible impact on the cost of living. However, a fight-back by the president in the opinion polls is to be expected once the effects of the fuel price increases have played out through the economy. Bank Indonesia (BI, the central bank) estimates that this process will be completed within two months. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]

TV-Licensing

TV-Licensing threatening to use (possibly illegal) ways to get the data to make you pay.

Recorded by someone who cannot pay TV-Tax for legal reasons, although he wants to.
http://vidzking.com/Tags/TV-Licensing

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]

Top 5 Mistakes Home Sellers Make

Trying to sell your home is hard enough without making these costly errors

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]

An oil saviour?

Iraq has the potential to supply much more oil

The growing concerns in the world energy market about the risks of a supply crunch have been a critical factor behind the recent surge in oil prices to a new record of US$135/barrel. Speculators are betting huge sums on the assumption that the oil market (and other primary energy markets) will remain tight for many years to come, owing to the inelasticity of demand and to the constraints on long-term supply. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is doing its bit to allay these concerns, but has acknowledged that once its current crop of oilfield projects is complete in around 2013, there will be little scope for further capacity increases. Similar strains are evident in most of the other major oil-producing countries. One significant exception is Iraq, which holds (at least) 10% of the world's proven reserves, but accounts for only 2.5% of total production. Iraq has the potential to furnish a long-term solution to the oil market's long-term supply problem, but it will need to improve dramatically on its recent performance before buyers of oil futures will be convinced that it can deliver.

If history had been kinder, Iraq could now be producing at a comparable level to Saudi Arabia. Instead, three wars, 13 years of sanctions and five years of internal conflict have eroded Iraq's oil infrastructure and human capital. However, Iraq also has a history of recovery. Production peaked at over 3.5m barrels/day (b/d) in 1980 on the eve of the Iran-Iraq war, but then averaged less than half that level during the eight-year war. It had nearly recovered to 3.5m b/d in 1990, after which the invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent UN sanctions severely limited exports, and hence production. In the five years before the US-led invasion of 2003, the sanctions regime gradually permitted greater exports, and production was often above 2.5m b/d. However, it fluctuated considerably due to the impact of years of underinvestment, restrictions on the import of spare parts and isolation from the international oil industry. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis

VA Opposes Much of Bill to Improve Care for Women Veterans

by Les Blumenthal McClatchy Newspapers 5-22-2008 Department of Veterans Affairs officials said Wednesday that they oppose much of a Senate bill to improve care for female veterans even as the number of women seeking VA medical services is expected to double within the next five years.A top VA official admitted during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing that [...]

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[Source: War On You

Bernanke's bind

THE spirit of St Augustine hovered over the Federal Reserve this week. “Oh Lord, let us stop cutting interest rates, but not yet,” is pretty much what America’s central bankers decided on Wednesday April 30th. The Fed’s governors cut their policy rate by another quarter-point, to 2%. But the accompanying statement gave a small hint that they may now pause.

There are plenty of reasons to stop cutting. Real interest rates are now firmly negative. Although the housing market continues to contract, the economy is limping rather than slumping. According to initial GDP estimates released on Wednesday, output grew at an annualised rate of 0.6% in the first three months of the year—the same pace as in the previous quarter and faster than most people expected. The mix of growth was not good. Final sales fell while firms built up their stocks, which bodes ill for future output. But with tax-rebate cheques arriving in the mail, a dose of fiscal stimulus is imminent.

A growing chorus worries that ever lower policy rates are adding to America’s problems. Some prominent economists have urged the central bank to stop. Fed cuts, they argue, are doing little to reduce borrowing costs but have sent commodity prices soaring—fuelling inflation and hitting Americans’ wallets hard.

Thanks to the credit crunch, Fed loosening plainly packs less punch than hitherto. But monetary policy has not been impotent. One route through which it has worked has been the weaker dollar. Although the greenback has been sliding for over five years, the pace of decline stepped up as the Fed slashed rates. Together with strong global growth, this weakness has cushioned and reoriented America’s economy. Strong foreign earnings have boosted corporate profits. Strong exports have countered the weakness in construction. Exclude oil, and America’s current-account deficit has shrunk to an eight-year low of 2.4% of GDP.

But oil—and other commodities—are the crux of the problem. In the past, economic weakness in America has usually pushed the price of oil and other commodities down. That relationship has weakened thanks to demand growth in big commodity-intensive emerging economies. But the recent surprise is that commodity prices have soared even as America’s economy has stalled and forecasts for global growth have been trimmed as well. Supply shocks are clearly part of the problem. But the fact that prices have soared across so many commodities suggests a common cause.

Could the culprit be the Fed? Advocates of this idea point to two channels. First, by slashing real interest rates, the Fed has encouraged speculation in commodities by reducing the cost of holding inventories. Second, by pushing down the dollar, Fed looseness is pushing up the price of dollar-denominated commodities.

Jeff Frankel, a Harvard economist, has long argued that low real interest rates lead to higher commodity prices. When real rates fall, he points out, commodity producers have more incentive to keep their asset—whether crude oil, gold or grain—in the ground or in a silo, than to sell today. Speculators, in turn, have more incentive to shift into commodities. There is no doubt that commodities have become an increasingly popular investment category—in fact they bear many of the hallmarks of a speculative bubble. But inventories for many commodities, particularly grains, are unusually low.

What about the dollar link? Chakib Khelil, president of the Organisation of Petroleum-Exporting Countries, argued this week that oil could reach $200 a barrel largely because the market was being driven by the dollar’s slide. Movements in the euro/dollar exchange rate and the price of oil have become extremely close (see chart). An analysis by Jens Nordvig and Jeffrey Currie of Goldman Sachs shows that the correlation between weekly changes in the oil price and the euro/dollar exchange rate has risen from 1% between 1999 and 2004 to 52% in the past six months.

That link is partly a matter of accounting. If the dollar falls, the dollar price of a commodity must rise for its overall price—in terms of a basket of global currencies—to remain stable. But commodity prices have risen even when priced in non-dollar currencies. And the correlation between changes in the price of oil and the euro/dollar exchange rate has risen even when oil is priced in a basket of currencies, such as the IMF’s special drawing rights.

So is the weaker dollar driving oil prices up or are high oil prices driving the dollar down? The Goldman analysts argue the latter because oil exporters import more from Europe than America and hold less of their oil revenues in dollars. A second factor lies with central banks. Because the Fed focuses on “core” inflation (which excludes food and fuel), whereas the ECB targets overall inflation, America’s central bank runs a looser policy in response to higher oil prices, thus pushing the dollar down.

Another reason to suspect that the Fed is more than a bit player is that American interest-rate decisions have a disproportionate effect on global monetary conditions. Some emerging economies still peg their currencies to the dollar; many others have been reluctant to let their exchange rates rise enough to make up for the dollar’s decline. As a result, monetary conditions in many emerging markets remain too loose. This fuels domestic demand, pushing up pressure on prices, particularly of commodities. All of which suggests that the Fed’s decisions are propagated widely through the dollar.

The most recent circumstantial evidence also suggests that the Fed may bear some responsibility for the commodities boom. As investors speculated that it was putting short-term interest rates on hold for a while, the dollar rallied against the euro during European trading hours on Thursday. In turn, oil, gold and other commodities fell. Whatever the role of the Fed, if those trends persist, its policymakers will heave a sigh of relief.

[Source: The Economist: News analysis

VeriChip Markets Its Implantable RFID Tags and Services Direct to Consumers

April 28, 2008VeriChip has launched a direct-to-consumer initiative known as Health Link, making its RFID systempreviously branded as VeriMedavailable to customers in South Florida’s tri-county area. For $149, a consumer can have a passive 134 kHz RFID chip, compliant with the ISO 11784 and 11785 standards, implanted in his or her arm, with the transponder’s [...]

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[Source: War On You