Economist recounts talk with Fed chairman
chicagotribune.com
By Joshua Boak
Chicago Tribune reporter
September 17, 2008
NAPLES, Fla. — Several months ago, economist David Hale had a private meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who was trying to ward off a recession by lowering interest rates and increasing the money supply in the economy.
The problem with that approach is that the value of the dollar plunged against foreign currencies, causing crude oil prices to skyrocket because oil is pegged to the dollar. It affected food prices, gasoline and family budgets.
"Ben, you are playing a very unique role in world economic history," Hale recalled telling Bernanke, an expert in the Great Depression. "You are the first central bank governor of the United States to preside over a recession with no decline in commodity prices."
Bernanke could hypothetically limit inflation in commodities by raising interest rates, a policy that would restrict the flow of money but potentially lead to an avalanche of bank failures. At a financial conference in Florida on Tuesday, Hale, a Chicago-based economist for investment managers, hedge funds and multinational companies, paraphrased the Fed chairman's response.
"We have lost control," said Hale, quoting Bernanke. "We cannot stabilize the dollar. We cannot control commodity prices."
If efforts to stop a recession sent commodities to record levels through July, then the realization that a recession could be imminent has sunk oil prices by almost 40 percent during the past two months. For all the debate about foreign demand and financial speculators, one overlooked aspect of commodity prices is the health of the American economy.
With investment banks collapsing under the weight of subprime mortgages and the recent government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, commodity prices have retreated as the market predicts demand for oil will fall. October futures closed down $4.56 Tuesday, at $91.15 a barrel. And in response to inflationary concerns, the Federal Reserve responded Tuesday by holding the overnight federal funds rate steady at 2 percent as it has since April.
Hale believes the recessionary turns could keep oil below $100 a barrel, a consensus shared by many analysts who see oil staying in the $80 to $100 range.
But a problem for America is that much of the power it wields over oil prices is based on the strength of the dollar and economic demand. Russia, Venezuela, Ecuador and others have nationalized their reserves, stripping ownership rights away from private firms and complicating the global market for oil.
"While every other country is practicing natural resource nationalism, this country still pretends there is a free market in energy when, in fact, there is not," said John Hofmeister, the head of Citizens for Affordable Energy and the former president of Shell Oil Co.
If there is any relief for American consumers to come from global markets, it might emerge from China, a country that has successfully wrestled down inflation. China insulates its population from the market price of oil, a policy shared by Malaysia, Thailand and India.
As inflation in China dropped to 5 percent from 8 percent, the government has begun to pass actual commodity costs onto the public, said James McGregor, a consultant and author of the book "One Billion Customers: Lessons From the Front Lines of Doing Business in China."
"I think you're going to see them squeeze down subsidies," McGregor said. "They don't like them either because they distort the economy."
jboak@tribune.com
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
72% of IRS Employees Love Their Jobs
Let's see.
You don't have to make any products.
You don't have to try to find customers.
By law people have to give you money or you can send the guys with the guns out after them and wreck their lives with impunity.
You don't even have to answer those pesky questions about whether the taxes are legal or not, and can send the guys with the guns out after them and wreck doubters' lives with impunity.
What's not to like?
Hat tip to WRH finding this at:
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/09/irs-oversight-b.html
Audit: ATF lost 76 weapons, hundreds of laptops
Carelessness and sloppy record-keeping? The ATF?
UNREAL!
"It is especially troubling that that ATF's rate of loss for weapons was nearly double that of the FBI and DEA, and that ATF did not even know whether most of its lost, stolen, or missing laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information,"
Audit: ATF lost 76 weapons, hundreds of laptops
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/lost_weapons
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 17, 10:18 AM ET
The ATF lost 76 weapons and hundreds of laptops over five years, the Justice Department reported Wednesday, blaming carelessness and sloppy record-keeping.
Thirty-five of the missing handguns, rifles, Tasers and other weapons were stolen, as were 50 laptops, the internal audit found. Two of the stolen weapons were used in crimes.
The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found "inadequate" oversight of weapons and laptops resulted in "significant rates of losses" at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"It is especially troubling that that ATF's rate of loss for weapons was nearly double that of the FBI and DEA, and that ATF did not even know whether most of its lost, stolen, or missing laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information," he added.
In a Sept. 10 letter responding to the audit, ATF acting Director Michael J. Sullivan said his agency "agrees or partially agrees with most of the recommendations."
"We are revising our procedures of reporting losses of weapons or laptops," Sullivan said.
The audit looked at ATF's inventory of weapons, laptops, ammunition and explosives between Oct. 1, 2002 and Aug. 31, 2007.
It found that ATF lost three times more weapons each month than it had in a similar 2002 audit by the Treasury Department, which used to oversee the agency. It also lost 50 times as many laptops as reported in the earlier audit.
Of the 76 weapons, 35 were reported stolen, 19 lost and 12 missing from inventories, investigators found. Of the 418 missing laptops, 50 were stolen, 8 lost and 274 could not be found during inventory. Another 86 laptops were unaccounted for because ATF had either destroyed or lost documents showing where they were, the audit concluded.
Two weapons reported stolen were used to commit crimes. In one instance, a gun was stolen from an ATF car parked outside the agent's home and later used to shoot through the window of another residence, the audit found. In the other, a stolen ATF gun was taken from a burglary suspect.
Additionally, ATF employees did not report 13 of the 76 lost weapons, or 365 of the 418 missing laptops, to internal affairs as required. ATF officials also did not report much of the lost equipment to the Justice Department.
Investigators could not conclude what was on 398 of 418 missing laptops — except that few were encrypted. That means any sensitive material on the laptops could have been exposed.
Moreover, "we found that ATF did not regularly attempt to determine whether the lost, stolen or missing laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information," the audit said.
But few — only 18 of 7,500 — ATF laptops were authorized to hold classified information.
Compared to weapons loss rates for the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, the ATF misplaced almost twice as many guns. The audit found that the ATF lost .52 weapons per 1,000 employees, compared to .29 at the FBI and .28 at the DEA.
Fine's investigators concluded there were proper controls and oversight of explosives in ATF's possession, and good security for ammunition. However, nine of 20 ATF field offices surveyed did not have proper accounting methods for ammunition.
In a statement responding to the audit, ATF Assistant Director W. Larry Ford said the agency disciplined employees whose carelessness or improper handling of equipment resulted in losses.
"ATF is committed to safeguarding its inventory of weapons and laptop computers in the interest of public safety," Ford said. "ATF agrees that rigorous and thorough internal controls will enhance its ability to account for, and most importantly prevent, thefts and losses of weapons and laptop computers."
UNREAL!
"It is especially troubling that that ATF's rate of loss for weapons was nearly double that of the FBI and DEA, and that ATF did not even know whether most of its lost, stolen, or missing laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information,"
Audit: ATF lost 76 weapons, hundreds of laptops
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/lost_weapons
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 17, 10:18 AM ET
The ATF lost 76 weapons and hundreds of laptops over five years, the Justice Department reported Wednesday, blaming carelessness and sloppy record-keeping.
Thirty-five of the missing handguns, rifles, Tasers and other weapons were stolen, as were 50 laptops, the internal audit found. Two of the stolen weapons were used in crimes.
The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found "inadequate" oversight of weapons and laptops resulted in "significant rates of losses" at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"It is especially troubling that that ATF's rate of loss for weapons was nearly double that of the FBI and DEA, and that ATF did not even know whether most of its lost, stolen, or missing laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information," he added.
In a Sept. 10 letter responding to the audit, ATF acting Director Michael J. Sullivan said his agency "agrees or partially agrees with most of the recommendations."
"We are revising our procedures of reporting losses of weapons or laptops," Sullivan said.
The audit looked at ATF's inventory of weapons, laptops, ammunition and explosives between Oct. 1, 2002 and Aug. 31, 2007.
It found that ATF lost three times more weapons each month than it had in a similar 2002 audit by the Treasury Department, which used to oversee the agency. It also lost 50 times as many laptops as reported in the earlier audit.
Of the 76 weapons, 35 were reported stolen, 19 lost and 12 missing from inventories, investigators found. Of the 418 missing laptops, 50 were stolen, 8 lost and 274 could not be found during inventory. Another 86 laptops were unaccounted for because ATF had either destroyed or lost documents showing where they were, the audit concluded.
Two weapons reported stolen were used to commit crimes. In one instance, a gun was stolen from an ATF car parked outside the agent's home and later used to shoot through the window of another residence, the audit found. In the other, a stolen ATF gun was taken from a burglary suspect.
Additionally, ATF employees did not report 13 of the 76 lost weapons, or 365 of the 418 missing laptops, to internal affairs as required. ATF officials also did not report much of the lost equipment to the Justice Department.
Investigators could not conclude what was on 398 of 418 missing laptops — except that few were encrypted. That means any sensitive material on the laptops could have been exposed.
Moreover, "we found that ATF did not regularly attempt to determine whether the lost, stolen or missing laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information," the audit said.
But few — only 18 of 7,500 — ATF laptops were authorized to hold classified information.
Compared to weapons loss rates for the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, the ATF misplaced almost twice as many guns. The audit found that the ATF lost .52 weapons per 1,000 employees, compared to .29 at the FBI and .28 at the DEA.
Fine's investigators concluded there were proper controls and oversight of explosives in ATF's possession, and good security for ammunition. However, nine of 20 ATF field offices surveyed did not have proper accounting methods for ammunition.
In a statement responding to the audit, ATF Assistant Director W. Larry Ford said the agency disciplined employees whose carelessness or improper handling of equipment resulted in losses.
"ATF is committed to safeguarding its inventory of weapons and laptop computers in the interest of public safety," Ford said. "ATF agrees that rigorous and thorough internal controls will enhance its ability to account for, and most importantly prevent, thefts and losses of weapons and laptop computers."
Federal bank insurance fund dwindling
By MARCY GORDON, AP Business WriterTue Sep 16, 7:49 PM ET
Banks are not the only ones struggling in the growing financial crisis. The fund established to insure their deposits is also feeling the pinch, and the taxpayer may be the lender of last resort.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., whose insurance fund has slipped below the minimum target level set by Congress, could be forced to tap tax dollars through a Treasury Department loan if Washington Mutual Inc., the nation's largest thrift, or another struggling rival fails, economists and industry analysts said Tuesday.
Treasury has already come to the rescue of several corporate victims of the housing and credit crunches. The government took over mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and helped finance the sale of investment bank Bear Stearns to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Eleven federally insured banks and thrifts have failed this year, including Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac Bank, by far the largest shut down by regulators.
Additional failures of large banks or savings and loans companies seem likely, and that could overwhelm the FDIC's insurance fund, said Brian Bethune, U.S. economist at consulting firm Global Insight.
"We've got a ... retail bank run forming in this country," said Christopher Whalen, senior vice president and managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday that the country's commercial banking system "is safe and sound" and that "the American people can be very, very confident about their accounts in our banking system." FDIC officials also have said 98 percent of U.S. banks still meet regulators' standards for adequate capital.
But fear is growing on Main Street as well as Wall Street about the likelihood of multiple bank failures and the strain that would put on the FDIC.
The fund, which is marking its 75th anniversary this year with a "Face Your Finances" campaign, is at $45.2 billion — the lowest level since 2003. At the same time, the number of troubled banks is at a five-year high.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has not ruled out the possibility of going to the Treasury for a short-term loan at some point. But she has said she does not expect the FDIC to take the more drastic action of using a separate $30 billion credit line with Treasury — something that has never been done.
The FDIC's fund is currently below the minimum set by Congress in a 2006 law. The failure of IndyMac Bank in July cost $8.9 billion.
Next month, Bair plans to propose increasing the premiums paid by banks and thrifts to replenish the fund. That plan is likely to be approved by the FDIC board, which consists of her, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, Thrift Supervision Director John Reich and two other officials.
Bair also is considering a system in which banks with riskier portfolios would be charged higher premiums, raising the possibility those costs could be passed on to consumers.
A Washington Mutual failure would dwarf the largest bank collapse in U.S. history — Continental Illinois National Bank in 1984, with $33.6 billion in assets.
By comparison, WaMu and its subsidiaries had assets of $309.73 billion as of June 30 and IndyMac had $32 billion when it shut down.
Arthur Murton, director of the FDIC's insurance and research division, said that when large institutions have failed in recent years, the hit to the fund has been about 5 to 10 percent of the company's assets.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Service late Monday cut its counterparty credit rating on WaMu to junk, action that followed downgrades by both Moody's and Fitch last week. Concern about the Seattle-based thrift, which has significant exposure to risky mortgage securities and other assets, has grown in recent weeks, and the company's stock price has plummeted.
WaMu responded Monday by saying that it did not expect the S&P downgrade to have a material impact on its borrowings, collateral or margin requirements. The bank said its capital at the end of the third quarter on Sept. 30 is expected to be "significantly above" required levels and that its outlook for expected credit losses is unchanged.
Some analyst estimates put the cost of a WaMu failure to the FDIC at more than $20 billion, but other experts say it is very difficult to predict. Unknown, for example, is the amount of advances that institutions may have taken from one of the regional banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank system. Banks and thrifts have significantly increased their requests for advances, or loans, from the 12 regional home loan banks since the mortgage crisis began last year.
These amounts aren't publicly disclosed but must be repaid if a bank or thrift fails, notes Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics.
If the FDIC doesn't have enough cash to cover the initial costs of a bank or thrift failure, one option would be short-term loans from the Treasury. That last happened in 1991-92, during the last part of the savings and loan crisis, when the FDIC borrowed $15.1 billion from the Treasury and repaid it with interest about a year later.
Based on projections of possible scenarios of bank failures, "between the (insurance) fund that we have now and our ability to draw on the resources of the industry ... we do have the resources" needed, Murton said Tuesday.
Though short-term borrowing from Treasury for working capital may be possible, he said, tapping the long-term credit line is unlikely.
But Whalen said the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and Congress should "immediately devise" and announce a plan to backstop the FDIC with up to $500 billion in borrowing authority to meet cash needs for closing or selling failed banks.
"While the FDIC already has a credit line in place and this figure may seem excessive — and hopefully it is — the idea here is to overshoot the actual number to reinforce public confidence," Whalen wrote in a note to clients. "Simply having Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson or Ben Bernanke making hopeful statements is inadequate. Like it says in the movies: 'Show us the money.'"
Before Congress passed the law overhauling deposit insurance in 2006, about 90 percent of all insured banks and thrifts — considered to have adequate capital and to be well managed — paid no premiums to the FDIC. Today, all of them do.
There were 117 banks and thrifts considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, the highest level since 2003, according to FDIC data released last month. The agency doesn't disclose the names of institutions on its internal list of troubled banks. On average, 13 percent of banks that make the list fail. Total assets of troubled banks tripled in the second quarter to $78 billion, and $32 billion of that coming from IndyMac Bank.
Last month, Bair called those results "pretty dismal," but said they were not surprising given the housing slump, a worsening economy, and disruptions in financial and credit markets. "More banks will come on the (troubled) list as credit problems worsen," he said. "Assets of problem institutions also will continue to rise."
Banks are not the only ones struggling in the growing financial crisis. The fund established to insure their deposits is also feeling the pinch, and the taxpayer may be the lender of last resort.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., whose insurance fund has slipped below the minimum target level set by Congress, could be forced to tap tax dollars through a Treasury Department loan if Washington Mutual Inc., the nation's largest thrift, or another struggling rival fails, economists and industry analysts said Tuesday.
Treasury has already come to the rescue of several corporate victims of the housing and credit crunches. The government took over mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and helped finance the sale of investment bank Bear Stearns to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Eleven federally insured banks and thrifts have failed this year, including Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac Bank, by far the largest shut down by regulators.
Additional failures of large banks or savings and loans companies seem likely, and that could overwhelm the FDIC's insurance fund, said Brian Bethune, U.S. economist at consulting firm Global Insight.
"We've got a ... retail bank run forming in this country," said Christopher Whalen, senior vice president and managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday that the country's commercial banking system "is safe and sound" and that "the American people can be very, very confident about their accounts in our banking system." FDIC officials also have said 98 percent of U.S. banks still meet regulators' standards for adequate capital.
But fear is growing on Main Street as well as Wall Street about the likelihood of multiple bank failures and the strain that would put on the FDIC.
The fund, which is marking its 75th anniversary this year with a "Face Your Finances" campaign, is at $45.2 billion — the lowest level since 2003. At the same time, the number of troubled banks is at a five-year high.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has not ruled out the possibility of going to the Treasury for a short-term loan at some point. But she has said she does not expect the FDIC to take the more drastic action of using a separate $30 billion credit line with Treasury — something that has never been done.
The FDIC's fund is currently below the minimum set by Congress in a 2006 law. The failure of IndyMac Bank in July cost $8.9 billion.
Next month, Bair plans to propose increasing the premiums paid by banks and thrifts to replenish the fund. That plan is likely to be approved by the FDIC board, which consists of her, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, Thrift Supervision Director John Reich and two other officials.
Bair also is considering a system in which banks with riskier portfolios would be charged higher premiums, raising the possibility those costs could be passed on to consumers.
A Washington Mutual failure would dwarf the largest bank collapse in U.S. history — Continental Illinois National Bank in 1984, with $33.6 billion in assets.
By comparison, WaMu and its subsidiaries had assets of $309.73 billion as of June 30 and IndyMac had $32 billion when it shut down.
Arthur Murton, director of the FDIC's insurance and research division, said that when large institutions have failed in recent years, the hit to the fund has been about 5 to 10 percent of the company's assets.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Service late Monday cut its counterparty credit rating on WaMu to junk, action that followed downgrades by both Moody's and Fitch last week. Concern about the Seattle-based thrift, which has significant exposure to risky mortgage securities and other assets, has grown in recent weeks, and the company's stock price has plummeted.
WaMu responded Monday by saying that it did not expect the S&P downgrade to have a material impact on its borrowings, collateral or margin requirements. The bank said its capital at the end of the third quarter on Sept. 30 is expected to be "significantly above" required levels and that its outlook for expected credit losses is unchanged.
Some analyst estimates put the cost of a WaMu failure to the FDIC at more than $20 billion, but other experts say it is very difficult to predict. Unknown, for example, is the amount of advances that institutions may have taken from one of the regional banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank system. Banks and thrifts have significantly increased their requests for advances, or loans, from the 12 regional home loan banks since the mortgage crisis began last year.
These amounts aren't publicly disclosed but must be repaid if a bank or thrift fails, notes Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics.
If the FDIC doesn't have enough cash to cover the initial costs of a bank or thrift failure, one option would be short-term loans from the Treasury. That last happened in 1991-92, during the last part of the savings and loan crisis, when the FDIC borrowed $15.1 billion from the Treasury and repaid it with interest about a year later.
Based on projections of possible scenarios of bank failures, "between the (insurance) fund that we have now and our ability to draw on the resources of the industry ... we do have the resources" needed, Murton said Tuesday.
Though short-term borrowing from Treasury for working capital may be possible, he said, tapping the long-term credit line is unlikely.
But Whalen said the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and Congress should "immediately devise" and announce a plan to backstop the FDIC with up to $500 billion in borrowing authority to meet cash needs for closing or selling failed banks.
"While the FDIC already has a credit line in place and this figure may seem excessive — and hopefully it is — the idea here is to overshoot the actual number to reinforce public confidence," Whalen wrote in a note to clients. "Simply having Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson or Ben Bernanke making hopeful statements is inadequate. Like it says in the movies: 'Show us the money.'"
Before Congress passed the law overhauling deposit insurance in 2006, about 90 percent of all insured banks and thrifts — considered to have adequate capital and to be well managed — paid no premiums to the FDIC. Today, all of them do.
There were 117 banks and thrifts considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, the highest level since 2003, according to FDIC data released last month. The agency doesn't disclose the names of institutions on its internal list of troubled banks. On average, 13 percent of banks that make the list fail. Total assets of troubled banks tripled in the second quarter to $78 billion, and $32 billion of that coming from IndyMac Bank.
Last month, Bair called those results "pretty dismal," but said they were not surprising given the housing slump, a worsening economy, and disruptions in financial and credit markets. "More banks will come on the (troubled) list as credit problems worsen," he said. "Assets of problem institutions also will continue to rise."
Russian Markets Halted as Emergency Funding Fails to Halt Rout
By Alex Nicholson and William Mauldin
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Russian markets stopped trading for a second day after emergency funding measures by the government failed to halt the biggest stock rout since the country's debt default and currency devaluation a decade ago.
The ruble-denominated Micex Stock Exchange suspended trading indefinitely at 12:10 p.m. after its index erased a 7.6 percent gain and plunged as much as 10 percent within an hour. The benchmark fell 17 percent yesterday, the biggest drop since Bloomberg started tracking the gauge in May 2001. The dollar- denominated RTS halted trading after similar declines.
The government yesterday injected $20 billion into the interbank lending market via central bank and Finance Ministry auctions in a bid to contain soaring borrowing rates as credit dried up in the wake of the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankruptcy. The one-day MosPrime overnight rate, a gauge for monitoring liquidity demand, leapt 25 basis points to a record 11.08 percent today.
The Finance Ministry attempted to stop the selloff by offering 1.13 trillion rubles ($44 billion) of budget funds to the country's three biggest banks, OAO Sberbank, VTB Group and OAO Gazprombank, for at least three months. That measure came as KIT Finance, a Russian brokerage, said it's in talks to find a buyer after failing to meet some financial obligations related to repurchase agreements.
Bond Market `Closed'
``The bond market remains effectively closed and banks are reluctant to lend to one another,'' said Julian Rimmer, head of sales trading at UralSib Financial Corp. in London. ``The problems experienced by KIT Finance have heightened counterparty risk and reduced liquidity further.''
Finance Ministry Minister Alexei Kudrin said on state television that the decision to increase the amount of budget funds available to three state-controlled banks would ``smooth over the shock changes'' in the markets and enable the banks to make loans to smaller competitors.
``We must soften such shock changes connected with the market falling,'' Kudrin said. ``With foreign borrowing stopping, we must soften the impact with additional funds, then the situation will stabilize.''
Sberbank, eastern Europe's biggest bank, can borrow as much as 754 billion rubles, VTB has a limit of 268.5 billion rubles and Gazprombank can get 103.9 billion rubles. About 400 billion rubles more of unspent budget funds is available to other banks.
``These are market-making banks capable of insuring the liquidity of the banking system,'' the Finance Ministry said in a statement today. The government and central bank will take more measures to improve liquidity this week, the ministry said.
Sberbank dropped 2.1 rubles, or 6.1 percent, to 32.55 rubles. VTB sank 0.44 kopek, or 14 percent, to 2.73 rubles, a record low.
``The primary objective of these measures is to inject liquidity to calm nervousness,'' Alexander Morozov, chief economist at HSBC Bank in Moscow, said by telephone. ``Hopefully other banks will be able to get this money via the interbank market and this should prevent the rise of rates,'' he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Nicholson in Moscow at anicholson6@bloomberg.net
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Russian markets stopped trading for a second day after emergency funding measures by the government failed to halt the biggest stock rout since the country's debt default and currency devaluation a decade ago.
The ruble-denominated Micex Stock Exchange suspended trading indefinitely at 12:10 p.m. after its index erased a 7.6 percent gain and plunged as much as 10 percent within an hour. The benchmark fell 17 percent yesterday, the biggest drop since Bloomberg started tracking the gauge in May 2001. The dollar- denominated RTS halted trading after similar declines.
The government yesterday injected $20 billion into the interbank lending market via central bank and Finance Ministry auctions in a bid to contain soaring borrowing rates as credit dried up in the wake of the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankruptcy. The one-day MosPrime overnight rate, a gauge for monitoring liquidity demand, leapt 25 basis points to a record 11.08 percent today.
The Finance Ministry attempted to stop the selloff by offering 1.13 trillion rubles ($44 billion) of budget funds to the country's three biggest banks, OAO Sberbank, VTB Group and OAO Gazprombank, for at least three months. That measure came as KIT Finance, a Russian brokerage, said it's in talks to find a buyer after failing to meet some financial obligations related to repurchase agreements.
Bond Market `Closed'
``The bond market remains effectively closed and banks are reluctant to lend to one another,'' said Julian Rimmer, head of sales trading at UralSib Financial Corp. in London. ``The problems experienced by KIT Finance have heightened counterparty risk and reduced liquidity further.''
Finance Ministry Minister Alexei Kudrin said on state television that the decision to increase the amount of budget funds available to three state-controlled banks would ``smooth over the shock changes'' in the markets and enable the banks to make loans to smaller competitors.
``We must soften such shock changes connected with the market falling,'' Kudrin said. ``With foreign borrowing stopping, we must soften the impact with additional funds, then the situation will stabilize.''
Sberbank, eastern Europe's biggest bank, can borrow as much as 754 billion rubles, VTB has a limit of 268.5 billion rubles and Gazprombank can get 103.9 billion rubles. About 400 billion rubles more of unspent budget funds is available to other banks.
``These are market-making banks capable of insuring the liquidity of the banking system,'' the Finance Ministry said in a statement today. The government and central bank will take more measures to improve liquidity this week, the ministry said.
Sberbank dropped 2.1 rubles, or 6.1 percent, to 32.55 rubles. VTB sank 0.44 kopek, or 14 percent, to 2.73 rubles, a record low.
``The primary objective of these measures is to inject liquidity to calm nervousness,'' Alexander Morozov, chief economist at HSBC Bank in Moscow, said by telephone. ``Hopefully other banks will be able to get this money via the interbank market and this should prevent the rise of rates,'' he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Nicholson in Moscow at anicholson6@bloomberg.net
'Tectonic' Shift on Wall Street as Lehman Fails, Merrill Sold
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) --
In the biggest reshaping of the financial industry since the Great Depression, two of Wall Street's most storied firms, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., headed toward extinction.
``The tectonic plates beneath the world financial system are shifting, and there is going to be a new financial world order that will be born of this,'' said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital Group Inc., the Jersey City, New Jersey-based brokerage that handles about $1 trillion worth of stock transactions a quarter. ``It's an ugly and painful process.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=home&sid=abVpg8xJDMWk#
In the biggest reshaping of the financial industry since the Great Depression, two of Wall Street's most storied firms, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., headed toward extinction.
``The tectonic plates beneath the world financial system are shifting, and there is going to be a new financial world order that will be born of this,'' said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital Group Inc., the Jersey City, New Jersey-based brokerage that handles about $1 trillion worth of stock transactions a quarter. ``It's an ugly and painful process.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=home&sid=abVpg8xJDMWk#
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Run On The Bank? Americans Could Lose Their Deposits
You know it’s bad when Yahoo.com features a story about fiscal armageddon
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
You know things are bad when Yahoo.com, the most trafficked website in the world and usually a purveyor of mindless celebrity gossip, cooking tips and dating advice, features a top story about how Americans could lose their bank deposits following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
For the Internet giant to prominently report that there is already a “slow motion run on banks” is indeed a landmark event, and precludes even the most ignorant American from claiming they were not forewarned about the unfolding economic catastrophe.
The article points out that although the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantees individual accounts up to $100,000, the FDIC fund only has about $50 billion to “insure” about $1 trillion in assets across the nation’s financial institutions.
When Americans realize the fact that banks are “going to run out of money”, the article nonchalantly states, a run on the banks will accelerate.
The warning comes from top economist Nouriel Roubini, of NYU’s Stern School and RGE Monitor, who correctly predicted the severity of the credit crunch. Roubini says there is already a “slow-motion run on retail banks” occurring nationwide.
He advises that people with accounts over $100,000 in value should at least spread them out among different firms.
The use of such inflammatory language like a “run on the bank,” especially from the most visited website on the entire planet, is phenomenal and other news websites as well as financial advisors have been cautious to use such terms in an effort to prevent panic.
For example, we read in today’s Seattle Post Intelligencer that, “Sara Hasan, an analyst with Seattle’s McAdams Wright Ragen Inc., said she didn’t even want to use the word “run” — as in “run on a bank” — during an interview, because “these are very touchy times.”
Other advisors are more up front with their warnings.
“First off, go ahead and make a run on your banks. If you have money with a brokerage firm or bank that is in trouble, get your money the heck out of there!” writes Joe Ponzio.
“In reality, I don’t want to cause a run on the banks; but, I won’t prevent one by saying that everything is fine and that you should wait until it is too late. My recommendation: Move your important savings and checking accounts to banks that have a higher likelihood of weathering the storm,” he adds.
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
You know things are bad when Yahoo.com, the most trafficked website in the world and usually a purveyor of mindless celebrity gossip, cooking tips and dating advice, features a top story about how Americans could lose their bank deposits following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
For the Internet giant to prominently report that there is already a “slow motion run on banks” is indeed a landmark event, and precludes even the most ignorant American from claiming they were not forewarned about the unfolding economic catastrophe.
The article points out that although the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantees individual accounts up to $100,000, the FDIC fund only has about $50 billion to “insure” about $1 trillion in assets across the nation’s financial institutions.
When Americans realize the fact that banks are “going to run out of money”, the article nonchalantly states, a run on the banks will accelerate.
The warning comes from top economist Nouriel Roubini, of NYU’s Stern School and RGE Monitor, who correctly predicted the severity of the credit crunch. Roubini says there is already a “slow-motion run on retail banks” occurring nationwide.
He advises that people with accounts over $100,000 in value should at least spread them out among different firms.
The use of such inflammatory language like a “run on the bank,” especially from the most visited website on the entire planet, is phenomenal and other news websites as well as financial advisors have been cautious to use such terms in an effort to prevent panic.
For example, we read in today’s Seattle Post Intelligencer that, “Sara Hasan, an analyst with Seattle’s McAdams Wright Ragen Inc., said she didn’t even want to use the word “run” — as in “run on a bank” — during an interview, because “these are very touchy times.”
Other advisors are more up front with their warnings.
“First off, go ahead and make a run on your banks. If you have money with a brokerage firm or bank that is in trouble, get your money the heck out of there!” writes Joe Ponzio.
“In reality, I don’t want to cause a run on the banks; but, I won’t prevent one by saying that everything is fine and that you should wait until it is too late. My recommendation: Move your important savings and checking accounts to banks that have a higher likelihood of weathering the storm,” he adds.
YouTube's Mass Censorship (S1959)
YouTube's Mass Censorship (S1959)
It didn't take Youtube very long to pitch this video into Winston's Incinerator. It's back. But, for how long, who konws?
S. 1959
Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1959
YouTube Makes Sen. Lieberman Happy With New Anti-Terrorism Guidelines
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_YouTube_Makes_Sen_Lieberman_Happy_With_New_Anti_Terrorism_Guidelines_24367.html
In May this year, Sen. Joseph Lieberman demanded YouTube to block videos depicting assassinations, death of US soldiers, as well as weapon training and speeches that encourage violence and could be used as a tool to create homegrown terrorists.
Although the immediate response was not the one expected by Sen. Lieberman, four months later YouTube answered his prayers, posting a warning in its community guidelines meant to stop such videos from being uploaded on YouTube; however, this doesn’t mean YouTube’s policy has changed.
YouTube argued that it is impossible to preview all videos before allowing them to appear on the site, since approximately 13 hours of video are being uploaded every few minutes. That being said, the website will continue to rely on the user community to report the videos that break these guidelines.
Earlier this year, YouTube removed over 80 videos that violated content regulations, following Sen. Lieberman’s recommendations. However, the content uploaded on the website every minute remains hard to control.
According to YouTube’s revised guidelines, users are not encouraged to post videos depicting bomb making, or graphic and gratuitous violence. “If your video shows someone getting hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don’t post it,” YouTube warned, otherwise you will have your account banned.
Sen. Lieberman released a statement regarding YouTube’s new standards for videos, saying that YouTube represented a tool for Islamist terrorist organizations to recruit and train followers; however, the stronger community guidelines should decrease the number of videos on YouTube produced by al-Qaeda and affiliated Islamist terrorist organizations, he added.
Sen. Lieberman hailed YouTube’s decision to strengthen its standards, however, he also continued to urge Google, who owns YouTube, to remove all videos produced by Foreign Terrorist Organizations, not just those that violate community guidelines.
It didn't take Youtube very long to pitch this video into Winston's Incinerator. It's back. But, for how long, who konws?
S. 1959
Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1959
YouTube Makes Sen. Lieberman Happy With New Anti-Terrorism Guidelines
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_YouTube_Makes_Sen_Lieberman_Happy_With_New_Anti_Terrorism_Guidelines_24367.html
In May this year, Sen. Joseph Lieberman demanded YouTube to block videos depicting assassinations, death of US soldiers, as well as weapon training and speeches that encourage violence and could be used as a tool to create homegrown terrorists.
Although the immediate response was not the one expected by Sen. Lieberman, four months later YouTube answered his prayers, posting a warning in its community guidelines meant to stop such videos from being uploaded on YouTube; however, this doesn’t mean YouTube’s policy has changed.
YouTube argued that it is impossible to preview all videos before allowing them to appear on the site, since approximately 13 hours of video are being uploaded every few minutes. That being said, the website will continue to rely on the user community to report the videos that break these guidelines.
Earlier this year, YouTube removed over 80 videos that violated content regulations, following Sen. Lieberman’s recommendations. However, the content uploaded on the website every minute remains hard to control.
According to YouTube’s revised guidelines, users are not encouraged to post videos depicting bomb making, or graphic and gratuitous violence. “If your video shows someone getting hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don’t post it,” YouTube warned, otherwise you will have your account banned.
Sen. Lieberman released a statement regarding YouTube’s new standards for videos, saying that YouTube represented a tool for Islamist terrorist organizations to recruit and train followers; however, the stronger community guidelines should decrease the number of videos on YouTube produced by al-Qaeda and affiliated Islamist terrorist organizations, he added.
Sen. Lieberman hailed YouTube’s decision to strengthen its standards, however, he also continued to urge Google, who owns YouTube, to remove all videos produced by Foreign Terrorist Organizations, not just those that violate community guidelines.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Gore gets last laugh on everybody
What a P.O.S.!
Gore's new 100-foot houseboat docked on Center Hill Lake.
'Global warming' Gore attracts heat
His new houseboat is the latest target of critics' attacks
September 15, 2008
When Al Gore uses energy, the blogosphere lights up.
That's power.
His large Nashville home, utility bills and jet travels have drawn flamethrowers over the last year and a half. Now, it's a houseboat he bought this summer.
"Here's the good news for him," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "It doesn't matter a whit. He's out of politics. He's won the Nobel Prize, the Academy Award and goodness knows what else. ... He's got the last laugh on anybody."
The latest angry anti-Gore round boiled up when radio talk show host Steve Gill, a regular Gore basher, fired up listeners over the family's new 100-foot houseboat that's docked on Center Hill Lake.
As he often does, Gill labeled Gore a hypocrite who preaches energy conservation to curb what Gill refers to as "so-called global warming," but who doesn't practice it.
A Web post by Gill on Sept. 6 had elicited as of Saturday a hefty 181 comments — the large majority in agreement with the radio host and many of them scathing. At least one was downright threatening.
The fact that the houseboat, called Bio-Solar One, has a roof blanketed with solar panels and runs on biodiesel seemed only to annoy some of those commenting. No one was praising him for vacationing locally.
"He's put himself out there on climate change and, as he knows, in the public square, you get criticized for everything," Sabato said.
He's long been a target
Gore, who declined to be interviewed last week, has been a lightning rod for years. It started with his political career.
"He was already the Democrat you loved to hate for folks in the Republican Party," said Pat Nolan, a longtime Nashville political analyst.
Later mixing in the hot-button issues of global warming and climate change made him "an even larger and more inviting target," Nolan said.
"When you've got the kind of profile he does and political past, add it up and it's pretty much a convergence of a perfect storm."
It's also difficult "to be correct enough" when it comes to global warming and the environment, Nolan said.
"There's always something you can do better. You're kind of guilty until you can prove yourself innocent."
Mike Kopp, who worked for Gore from 1981 to 1988, chuckled as he talked of his former boss's earnestness and inability back then to catch a break on a much simpler matter: how he dressed.
"When he was in the House of Representatives and pretty much all the years in the Senate, he wore the same blue suit. We used to joke about it."
A small sewing kit with blue thread was on hand to mend the occasional holes in the fabric, Kopp said.
"He was trying to be conservative. He didn't want to waste money on fancy clothes. He thought it would make him more approachable.
"It was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. People thought he was just cheap when it came to clothes."
It 'goes with the job'
Gore's office would receive critical letters from supporters as well as those opposed, and Kopp keeps a framed copy of one on his office wall at MMA Creative, a local marketing company where he's a partner.
The handwritten message, dated May 29, 1987 — about a month into Gore's first campaign for the presidency — reads:
Dear Mr. Gore,
I am working hard for you to get elected to any office you seek, but please go to your tailor and get your pants lengthened to the top of your shoes.
Good luck,
One of your supporters.
When Gore tried to figure out a better way to dress and present himself, he hired an image consultant. He was criticized for that, too.
"It just kind of goes with the job," Kopp said. "It doesn't matter what you do and how dedicated you are, someone will find fault in everything you do — even supporters.
"You've got to develop a thick skin and get over it. I'm sure he's had plenty of practice."
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080915/NEWS01/809150337/1006/NEWS01
Gore's new 100-foot houseboat docked on Center Hill Lake.
'Global warming' Gore attracts heat
His new houseboat is the latest target of critics' attacks
September 15, 2008
When Al Gore uses energy, the blogosphere lights up.
That's power.
His large Nashville home, utility bills and jet travels have drawn flamethrowers over the last year and a half. Now, it's a houseboat he bought this summer.
"Here's the good news for him," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "It doesn't matter a whit. He's out of politics. He's won the Nobel Prize, the Academy Award and goodness knows what else. ... He's got the last laugh on anybody."
The latest angry anti-Gore round boiled up when radio talk show host Steve Gill, a regular Gore basher, fired up listeners over the family's new 100-foot houseboat that's docked on Center Hill Lake.
As he often does, Gill labeled Gore a hypocrite who preaches energy conservation to curb what Gill refers to as "so-called global warming," but who doesn't practice it.
A Web post by Gill on Sept. 6 had elicited as of Saturday a hefty 181 comments — the large majority in agreement with the radio host and many of them scathing. At least one was downright threatening.
The fact that the houseboat, called Bio-Solar One, has a roof blanketed with solar panels and runs on biodiesel seemed only to annoy some of those commenting. No one was praising him for vacationing locally.
"He's put himself out there on climate change and, as he knows, in the public square, you get criticized for everything," Sabato said.
He's long been a target
Gore, who declined to be interviewed last week, has been a lightning rod for years. It started with his political career.
"He was already the Democrat you loved to hate for folks in the Republican Party," said Pat Nolan, a longtime Nashville political analyst.
Later mixing in the hot-button issues of global warming and climate change made him "an even larger and more inviting target," Nolan said.
"When you've got the kind of profile he does and political past, add it up and it's pretty much a convergence of a perfect storm."
It's also difficult "to be correct enough" when it comes to global warming and the environment, Nolan said.
"There's always something you can do better. You're kind of guilty until you can prove yourself innocent."
Mike Kopp, who worked for Gore from 1981 to 1988, chuckled as he talked of his former boss's earnestness and inability back then to catch a break on a much simpler matter: how he dressed.
"When he was in the House of Representatives and pretty much all the years in the Senate, he wore the same blue suit. We used to joke about it."
A small sewing kit with blue thread was on hand to mend the occasional holes in the fabric, Kopp said.
"He was trying to be conservative. He didn't want to waste money on fancy clothes. He thought it would make him more approachable.
"It was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. People thought he was just cheap when it came to clothes."
It 'goes with the job'
Gore's office would receive critical letters from supporters as well as those opposed, and Kopp keeps a framed copy of one on his office wall at MMA Creative, a local marketing company where he's a partner.
The handwritten message, dated May 29, 1987 — about a month into Gore's first campaign for the presidency — reads:
Dear Mr. Gore,
I am working hard for you to get elected to any office you seek, but please go to your tailor and get your pants lengthened to the top of your shoes.
Good luck,
One of your supporters.
When Gore tried to figure out a better way to dress and present himself, he hired an image consultant. He was criticized for that, too.
"It just kind of goes with the job," Kopp said. "It doesn't matter what you do and how dedicated you are, someone will find fault in everything you do — even supporters.
"You've got to develop a thick skin and get over it. I'm sure he's had plenty of practice."
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080915/NEWS01/809150337/1006/NEWS01
Markets Go Boom! DOW Exceeds Expectations
Dow Plunges 500 Points on Lehman Bankruptcy, Merrill Sale, AIG Woes
-504.48 from opening bell
Stocks retreated sharply and Treasury bond prices jumped Monday as investors reacted to a stunning reshaping of the landscape of Wall Street that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co.
more:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080915/wall_street.html
-504.48 from opening bell Stocks retreated sharply and Treasury bond prices jumped Monday as investors reacted to a stunning reshaping of the landscape of Wall Street that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co.
more:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080915/wall_street.html
Why The Fed Allowed Derivatives Trading on a Sunday
George Washington's Blog
Monday, Sept 15, 2008
In an unprecedented move, the Fed and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association allowed derivatives trading today, on a Sunday, to "reduce risk associated with a potential Lehman . . . bankruptcy."
Lehman holds $ 800 billion in derivatives.
As the very even-keeled and level-headed chief executive of Pimco, the world's biggest bond fund, said:
"This is an extremely, and I stress extremely, rare event. It also speaks to the more general notion that, in today's highly disrupted financial markets, the unthinkable is thinkable."
What is the "unthinkable" he's referring to?
Another great depression. Perhaps even a world-wide depression.
To see why derivatives are the key to the financial crisis in the U.S. and the world, and why the Fed allowed derivatives trading today, read these:
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/06/derivatives-market-is-unwinding.html
Derivatives Time Bomb
Derivatives - A term of craft you should become familiar with.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/derivativestimebomb.asp
Monday, Sept 15, 2008
In an unprecedented move, the Fed and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association allowed derivatives trading today, on a Sunday, to "reduce risk associated with a potential Lehman . . . bankruptcy."
Lehman holds $ 800 billion in derivatives.
As the very even-keeled and level-headed chief executive of Pimco, the world's biggest bond fund, said:
"This is an extremely, and I stress extremely, rare event. It also speaks to the more general notion that, in today's highly disrupted financial markets, the unthinkable is thinkable."
What is the "unthinkable" he's referring to?
Another great depression. Perhaps even a world-wide depression.
To see why derivatives are the key to the financial crisis in the U.S. and the world, and why the Fed allowed derivatives trading today, read these:
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/06/derivatives-market-is-unwinding.html
Derivatives Time Bomb
Derivatives - A term of craft you should become familiar with.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/derivativestimebomb.asp
The billion-dollar race for president
BARACK Obama raised $66 million (£37 million) for his presidential campaign in August, a record-breaking sum which puts the United States on track for its first billion-dollar election.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/-The-billiondollar-race-for.4490697.jp
Wilbur Ross: Possibly a Thousand Banks Will Close
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26710362
300 National Guardsmen out of food and water in Houston
September 15, 2008
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080915_tnt_guardsmen_food.7a5e7c1f.html?npc
HOUSTON – Hundreds of first responders at two staging areas in Texas for Hurricane Ike have run out of food and water.
Congressman John Culberson said Sunday that 300 National Guardsmen, state troopers and other emergency workers are going hungry at a high-school football stadium — and at another staging area on Houston’s west side.
Culberson blamed FEMA for the gaffe and says he tried to contact Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who is touring flood-stricken areas of Texas.
Culberson says several buses full of gas are sitting idle at the stadium while crews await instructions. He called on area residents to take food and water to the crews at the stadium — despite official warnings for people to stay off Houston roads.
Don't tell me things aren't really f*cked up!
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/-The-billiondollar-race-for.4490697.jp
Wilbur Ross: Possibly a Thousand Banks Will Close
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26710362
300 National Guardsmen out of food and water in Houston
September 15, 2008
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080915_tnt_guardsmen_food.7a5e7c1f.html?npc
HOUSTON – Hundreds of first responders at two staging areas in Texas for Hurricane Ike have run out of food and water.
Congressman John Culberson said Sunday that 300 National Guardsmen, state troopers and other emergency workers are going hungry at a high-school football stadium — and at another staging area on Houston’s west side.
Culberson blamed FEMA for the gaffe and says he tried to contact Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who is touring flood-stricken areas of Texas.
Culberson says several buses full of gas are sitting idle at the stadium while crews await instructions. He called on area residents to take food and water to the crews at the stadium — despite official warnings for people to stay off Houston roads.
Don't tell me things aren't really f*cked up!
Eating veggies shrinks the brain
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthSci/Eating_veggies_shrinks_the_brain/articleshow/3480629.cms
14 Sep 2008, 0103 hrs IST,AGENCIES
MELBOURNE: Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.
Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin.
The link was discovered by Oxford University scientists who used memory tests, physical checks and brain scans to examine 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87.
When the volunteers were retested five years later the medics found those with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage. It confirms earlier research showing a link between brain atrophy and low levels of B12.
Brain scans of more than 1,800 people found that people who downed 14 drinks or more a week had 1.6% more brain shrinkage than teetotallers. Women in their seventies were the most at risk.
Beer does less damage than wine according to a study in Alcohol and Alcoholism.
Researchers found that the hippocampus-the part of the brain that stores memories - was 10% smaller in beer drinkers than those who stuck to wine.
And being overweight or obese is linked to brain loss, Swedish researchers discovered. Scans of around 300 women found that those with brain shrink had an average body mass index of 27 And for every one point increase in their BMI the loss rose by 13 to 16%.
14 Sep 2008, 0103 hrs IST,AGENCIES
MELBOURNE: Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.
Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin.
The link was discovered by Oxford University scientists who used memory tests, physical checks and brain scans to examine 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87.
When the volunteers were retested five years later the medics found those with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage. It confirms earlier research showing a link between brain atrophy and low levels of B12.
Brain scans of more than 1,800 people found that people who downed 14 drinks or more a week had 1.6% more brain shrinkage than teetotallers. Women in their seventies were the most at risk.
Beer does less damage than wine according to a study in Alcohol and Alcoholism.
Researchers found that the hippocampus-the part of the brain that stores memories - was 10% smaller in beer drinkers than those who stuck to wine.
And being overweight or obese is linked to brain loss, Swedish researchers discovered. Scans of around 300 women found that those with brain shrink had an average body mass index of 27 And for every one point increase in their BMI the loss rose by 13 to 16%.
Crisis on Wall Street
as Lehman Totters, Merrill Is Sold, AIG Seeks to Raise Cash
Fed Will Expand Its Lending Arsenal in a Bid to Calm Markets;
Moves Cap a Momentous Weekend for American Finance
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122139688846233147.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
The American financial system was shaken to its core on Sunday. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. faced the prospect of liquidation, and Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be sold to Bank of America Corp.
The U.S. government, which bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a week ago and orchestrated the sale of Bear Stearns Cos. to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in March, played much tougher with Lehman. It refused to provide a financial backstop to potential buyers.
Without such support, Barclays PLC and Bank of America, the two most interested buyers, walked away. On Sunday night, Bank of America struck a deal to buy Merrill Lynch for $29 a share, or about $44 billion. Lehman was working on a possible bankruptcy filing that would allow most of its subsidiaries to continue operating as the firm is wound down.
Fed Will Expand Its Lending Arsenal in a Bid to Calm Markets;
Moves Cap a Momentous Weekend for American Finance
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122139688846233147.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
The American financial system was shaken to its core on Sunday. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. faced the prospect of liquidation, and Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be sold to Bank of America Corp.
The U.S. government, which bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a week ago and orchestrated the sale of Bear Stearns Cos. to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in March, played much tougher with Lehman. It refused to provide a financial backstop to potential buyers.
Without such support, Barclays PLC and Bank of America, the two most interested buyers, walked away. On Sunday night, Bank of America struck a deal to buy Merrill Lynch for $29 a share, or about $44 billion. Lehman was working on a possible bankruptcy filing that would allow most of its subsidiaries to continue operating as the firm is wound down.
Frantic day on Wall Street as banks fall
In one of the most dramatic two days in Wall Street's history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis, while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The humbling moves, which reshape the landscape of American finance, mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous year in which once-proud financial institutions have been brought to their knees as a result of tens of billions of dollars in losses because of bad mortgage finance and real estate investments.
They culminated a weekend of frantic around-the-clock negotiations, as Wall Street bankers huddled in meetings at the behest of Bush administration officials to try to avoid a downward spiral in the markets stemming from a crisis of confidence.
"My goodness. I've been in the business 35 years, and these are the most extraordinary events I've ever seen," said Peter Peterson, co-founder of the private equity firm the Blackstone Group, who was head of Lehman in the 1970s and a secretary of commerce in the Nixon administration.
It remains to be seen whether the sale of Merrill, which was worth more than $100 billion during the last year, and the controlled demise of Lehman will be enough to finally turn the tide in the yearlong financial crisis that has crippled Wall Street. The market took a strong turn down Monday, reacting to Lehman's plan to wind down its trading operations. Questions remain whether other companies may still falter, like the American International Group, the large insurer, and Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan. Both companies' stocks fell precipitously last week.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/15/business/15lehman.php
The humbling moves, which reshape the landscape of American finance, mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous year in which once-proud financial institutions have been brought to their knees as a result of tens of billions of dollars in losses because of bad mortgage finance and real estate investments.
They culminated a weekend of frantic around-the-clock negotiations, as Wall Street bankers huddled in meetings at the behest of Bush administration officials to try to avoid a downward spiral in the markets stemming from a crisis of confidence.
"My goodness. I've been in the business 35 years, and these are the most extraordinary events I've ever seen," said Peter Peterson, co-founder of the private equity firm the Blackstone Group, who was head of Lehman in the 1970s and a secretary of commerce in the Nixon administration.
It remains to be seen whether the sale of Merrill, which was worth more than $100 billion during the last year, and the controlled demise of Lehman will be enough to finally turn the tide in the yearlong financial crisis that has crippled Wall Street. The market took a strong turn down Monday, reacting to Lehman's plan to wind down its trading operations. Questions remain whether other companies may still falter, like the American International Group, the large insurer, and Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan. Both companies' stocks fell precipitously last week.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/15/business/15lehman.php
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Obama On Gun Control - The Facts
http://rense.com/general83/gun.htm
By SCRIBE From Rumor Mill News
9-14-8
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
On the Second Amendment, Don't Believe Obama
The presidential primary season is finally over, and it is now time for gun owners to take a careful look at just where nominee Barack Obama stands on issues related to the Second Amendment. During the primaries, Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for "sportsmen" or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms.
But his real record, based on votes taken, political associations, and long standing positions, shows that Barack Obama is a serious threat to Second Amendment liberties. Don't listen to his campaign rhetoric! Look instead to what he has said and done during his entire political career.
****Numbers in Brackets correspond to supporting evidence below****
FACT: Barack Obama opposes four of the five Supreme Court justices who affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms. He voted against the confirmation of Alito and Roberts and he has stated he would not have appointed Thomas or Scalia. (17)
FACT: Barack Obama voted for an Illinois State Senate bill to ban and confiscate "assault weapons," but the bill was so poorly crafted, it would have also banned most semi-auto and single and double barrel shotguns commonly used by sportsmen. (18)
FACT: Barack Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry. (1)
FACT: Barack Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban. (15)
FACT: Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting. (3)
FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition. (9)
FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership. (2)
FACT: Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities. (4)
FACT: Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense. (5)
FACT: Barack Obama supports gun owner licensing and gun registration. (6)
FACT: Barack Obama refused to sign a friend-of-the-court Brief in support of individual Second Amendment rights in the Heller case.
FACT: Barack Obama opposes Right to Carry laws. (7)
FACT: Barack Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and "research." (8)
FACT: Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America. (9)
FACT: Barack Obama voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them. (10)
FACT: Barack Obama voted against a measure to lower the Firearms Owners Identification card age minimum from 21 to 18, a measure designed to assist young people in the military. (11)
FACT: Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines. (12)
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory micro-stamping. (13)
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory waiting periods. (2)
FACT: Barack Obama supports repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers. (14)
FACT: Barack Obama supports one-gun-a-month handgun purchase restrictions.(16)
FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on inexpensive handguns. (9)
FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on the resale of police issued firearms, even if the money is going to police departments for replacement equipment.(9)
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under the age of 21. (9)
******
1. United States Senate, S. 397, vote number 219, July 29, 2005. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_
cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00219)
2. Independent Voters of Illinois/Independent Precinct Organization general candidate questionnaire, Sept. 9, 1996. The responses on this survey were described in "Obama had greater role on liberal survey," Politico, March 31, 2008. (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9269.html)
3. United States Senate, S. 397, vote number 217, Kennedy amendment July 29, 2005. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/
roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00217)
4. David Wright, Ursula Fahy and Sunlen Miller, "Obama: 'Common Sense Regulation' On Gun Owners' Rights," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, http://blogs.abcnews.com, 2/15/08. (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/02/obama-common-se.html)
5. Illinois Senate, SB 2165, March 25, 2004, vote 20 and May 25, 2004, vote 3.
6. "Fact Check: No News In Obama's Consistent Record." Obama '08, December 11, 2007. (http://www.barackobama.com/factcheck/2007/12/11/fact_check_no_news_in_obamas_c.php)
7. "Candidates' gun control positions may figure in Pa. vote," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Wednesday, April 2, 2008, and "Keyes, Obama Are Far Apart On Guns," Chicago Tribune, 9/15/04. (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_560181.html)
8. 1998 Joyce Foundation Annual Report, p. 7.
9. "Obama and Gun Control," The Volokh Conspiracy, taken from the Chicago Defender, Dec. 13, 1999. (http://www.volokh.com/posts/1203389334.shtml)
10. Illinois Senate, May 5, 2002, SB 1936 Con., vote 26.
11. Illinois Senate, March 25, 2003, SB 2163, vote 18.
12. "Clinton, Edwards, Obama on gun control," Radio Iowa, Sunday, April 22, 2007. (http://learfield.typepad.com/radioiowa/2007/04/clinton_edwards.html)
13. Chicago Tribune blogs, "Barack Obama: NIU Shootings call for action," February 15, 2008, (http://blogs.trb.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/barack_obama_comments_on_shoot.html)
14. Barack Obama campaign website: "As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment . . ." (http://www.barackobama.com/issues/urbanpolicy/#crime-and-law-enforcement.)
15. Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes (http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Gun_Control.htm
and http://www.ontheissues.org/IL_2004_Senate_3rd.htm) Oct 21, 2004.
16. Illinois Senate, May 16, 2003, HB 2579, vote 34.
17. United States Senate vote 245, September 29, 2005 and vote 2, January 31, 2006 and Saddleback Forum, August 16, 2008.
18. Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, March 13, 2003. To see the vote tally go to:
http://www.nrapvf.org/Media/pdf/sb1195_obama.pdf.
By SCRIBE From Rumor Mill News
9-14-8
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
On the Second Amendment, Don't Believe Obama
The presidential primary season is finally over, and it is now time for gun owners to take a careful look at just where nominee Barack Obama stands on issues related to the Second Amendment. During the primaries, Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for "sportsmen" or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms.
But his real record, based on votes taken, political associations, and long standing positions, shows that Barack Obama is a serious threat to Second Amendment liberties. Don't listen to his campaign rhetoric! Look instead to what he has said and done during his entire political career.
****Numbers in Brackets correspond to supporting evidence below****
FACT: Barack Obama opposes four of the five Supreme Court justices who affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms. He voted against the confirmation of Alito and Roberts and he has stated he would not have appointed Thomas or Scalia. (17)
FACT: Barack Obama voted for an Illinois State Senate bill to ban and confiscate "assault weapons," but the bill was so poorly crafted, it would have also banned most semi-auto and single and double barrel shotguns commonly used by sportsmen. (18)
FACT: Barack Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry. (1)
FACT: Barack Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban. (15)
FACT: Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting. (3)
FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition. (9)
FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership. (2)
FACT: Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities. (4)
FACT: Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense. (5)
FACT: Barack Obama supports gun owner licensing and gun registration. (6)
FACT: Barack Obama refused to sign a friend-of-the-court Brief in support of individual Second Amendment rights in the Heller case.
FACT: Barack Obama opposes Right to Carry laws. (7)
FACT: Barack Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and "research." (8)
FACT: Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America. (9)
FACT: Barack Obama voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them. (10)
FACT: Barack Obama voted against a measure to lower the Firearms Owners Identification card age minimum from 21 to 18, a measure designed to assist young people in the military. (11)
FACT: Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines. (12)
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory micro-stamping. (13)
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory waiting periods. (2)
FACT: Barack Obama supports repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers. (14)
FACT: Barack Obama supports one-gun-a-month handgun purchase restrictions.(16)
FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on inexpensive handguns. (9)
FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on the resale of police issued firearms, even if the money is going to police departments for replacement equipment.(9)
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under the age of 21. (9)
******
1. United States Senate, S. 397, vote number 219, July 29, 2005. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_
cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00219)
2. Independent Voters of Illinois/Independent Precinct Organization general candidate questionnaire, Sept. 9, 1996. The responses on this survey were described in "Obama had greater role on liberal survey," Politico, March 31, 2008. (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9269.html)
3. United States Senate, S. 397, vote number 217, Kennedy amendment July 29, 2005. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/
roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00217)
4. David Wright, Ursula Fahy and Sunlen Miller, "Obama: 'Common Sense Regulation' On Gun Owners' Rights," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, http://blogs.abcnews.com, 2/15/08. (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/02/obama-common-se.html)
5. Illinois Senate, SB 2165, March 25, 2004, vote 20 and May 25, 2004, vote 3.
6. "Fact Check: No News In Obama's Consistent Record." Obama '08, December 11, 2007. (http://www.barackobama.com/factcheck/2007/12/11/fact_check_no_news_in_obamas_c.php)
7. "Candidates' gun control positions may figure in Pa. vote," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Wednesday, April 2, 2008, and "Keyes, Obama Are Far Apart On Guns," Chicago Tribune, 9/15/04. (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_560181.html)
8. 1998 Joyce Foundation Annual Report, p. 7.
9. "Obama and Gun Control," The Volokh Conspiracy, taken from the Chicago Defender, Dec. 13, 1999. (http://www.volokh.com/posts/1203389334.shtml)
10. Illinois Senate, May 5, 2002, SB 1936 Con., vote 26.
11. Illinois Senate, March 25, 2003, SB 2163, vote 18.
12. "Clinton, Edwards, Obama on gun control," Radio Iowa, Sunday, April 22, 2007. (http://learfield.typepad.com/radioiowa/2007/04/clinton_edwards.html)
13. Chicago Tribune blogs, "Barack Obama: NIU Shootings call for action," February 15, 2008, (http://blogs.trb.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/barack_obama_comments_on_shoot.html)
14. Barack Obama campaign website: "As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment . . ." (http://www.barackobama.com/issues/urbanpolicy/#crime-and-law-enforcement.)
15. Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes (http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Gun_Control.htm
and http://www.ontheissues.org/IL_2004_Senate_3rd.htm) Oct 21, 2004.
16. Illinois Senate, May 16, 2003, HB 2579, vote 34.
17. United States Senate vote 245, September 29, 2005 and vote 2, January 31, 2006 and Saddleback Forum, August 16, 2008.
18. Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, March 13, 2003. To see the vote tally go to:
http://www.nrapvf.org/Media/pdf/sb1195_obama.pdf.
Uh oh!
RIGHT NOW ON THE TEEVEE (CNBC ONLY):
Lehman Bros. filing for bankruptcy.
Bank of America buying Merrill Lynch.
AIG begging for a bailout.
DOW forecast to drop almost 300 pts. in first 30 mins.
Lehman Bros. filing for bankruptcy.
Bank of America buying Merrill Lynch.
AIG begging for a bailout.
DOW forecast to drop almost 300 pts. in first 30 mins.
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