Archive for January, 2009
Drug Wars, Mexico as Failed State: Homeland Security Contingency Plan to Use U.S. Military Along Border with Mexico
January 10th, 2009Via: IHT: The soaring level of violence in Mexico resulting from the drug wars there has led the United States to develop plans for a “surge” of civilian and perhaps even military law enforcement should the bloodshed spread across the border, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday. Chertoff said the criminal activity in Mexico, […]
UK: Face Scanners to be Installed in Schools
January 10th, 2009Via: Telegraph: Schools could be fitted with futuristic face scanners which screen pupils’ faces with an invisible infra-red light as they attempt to enter the building to keep out strangers. The system, which is being trialled in a UK school next week, can also be used to allow children to take out library books and […]
Bloomberg on U.S. Economy: “Free-Fall”
January 10th, 2009Via: Bloomberg: The U.S. lost more jobs in 2008 than any year since 1945 as employers fired another 524,000 people in December, indicating a free-fall in the economy just days before President-elect Barack Obama takes office. “Consumers are now going to get more and more scared at the prospect of losing their job,” said Nariman […]
Bush and Obama Teams Coordinating Theft of Additional Billions for Bankers
January 10th, 2009Change we can believe in. Via: Washington Post: Senior Bush administration officials are preparing to ask lawmakers for the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package despite intense opposition in Congress and then use a presidential veto if the request is voted down, sources familiar with the matter said. The initiative, which is […]
California May Issue IOUs
January 9th, 2009Via: Los Angeles Times: State officials on Tuesday braced for the possibility of delaying tax refunds to millions of Californians, along with student grants and payments to vendors, as the latest round of budget negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators collapsed. With little more than a month’s worth of cash left in the […]
OIL WHACKED LOWER AGAIN
January 9th, 2009WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. That oil trade I did is solidly in the red now, but I am taking the long term view on this one. IT’S OIL. Unlike trying to pick bottoms on companies (which have the potential to go bankrupt), oil is not […]
U.S. Unemployment Highest in Sixteen Years
January 9th, 2009The real unemployment rate is now somewhere between 14% to 21%. Via: Reuters: The U.S. unemployment rate surged to its highest level in nearly 16 years in December as a deepening year-long recession forced companies to slash payrolls by more than half a million jobs. An accelerating pace of job losses towards the end of […]
European Economies Collapsing
January 9th, 2009Via: Telegraph: German exports and industrial orders have both plunged at the steepest rate since modern records began and Spain’s unemployment has surged above three million, capping one of the most disastrous days for Europe’s economy since the Second World War. … Spain is now in company at last with Germany, where exports plummeted 10.6pc […]
BOEING ORDERS PLUMMET BY 53%
January 9th, 2009Via: Financial Times: Boeing said yesterday its net new commercial aircraft orders had fallen by 53 per cent last year to 662, from the record 1,413 achieved in 2007. Boeing had previously achieved three record years with net new orders of 1,044 in 2006 and 1,002 in 2005. It said yesterday the 2008 orders total […]
Merrill Lynch Says Rich Turning to Gold Bars
January 9th, 2009The rich aren’t the only ones. * snort * Via: Telegraph: Merrill Lynch has revealed that some of its richest clients are so alarmed by the state of the financial system and signs of political instability around the world that they are now insisting on the purchase of gold bars, shunning derivatives or “paper” proxies. […]
