Bank of Japan Rate-Cut Speculation Surges as Recession Deepens

Expectations that the Bank of Japan will cut interest rates doubled yesterday after the government urged the central bank to do more to support the ailing economy.

Investors saw a 40 percent chance that the policy board will reduce the overnight call rate from 0.3 percent at this week’s meeting, according to calculations made by JPMorgan Chase & Co. based on interest-rate swaps trading, up from 20 percent earlier in the day.

The Tankan result, job cuts and market turmoil will probably prompt the central bank to cut borrowing costs this week, according to Takehiro Sato, chief Japan economist at Morgan Stanley in Tokyo.

“Monetary easing policies will likely be ushered in with a rate cut,” Sato wrote in a report on Dec. 15. He said the central bank will also consider buying stocks and corporate debt as well as increasing the amount of government bonds it purchases each month from 1.2 trillion yen ($13 billion).

UN approves piracy land pursuit

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution allowing countries to pursue Somali pirates on land as well as sea. It is an extension of the powers countries already have to enter Somali waters to chase pirates. Countries will need the permission of the transitional Somali government. It comes after two vessels were seized by suspected Somali pirates off the coast of Yemen, adding to the dozens of ships hijacked in the area this year. It is the fourth resolution approved by the council since June to combat piracy off Somalia's coast.

This year is coolest since 2000

Scientists say, The world in 2008 has been cooler than at any time since the turn of the century. The Cooling La Nina conditions in the Pacific brought temperatures are down to levels last seen in the year 2000. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) notes that temperatures remained about 0.3C above the 1961-1990 average. Computer models suggest that natural cycles may cool the Earth's surface in the next few years, masking the warming impact of rising greenhouse gas levels. Scientists used data from two major monitoring networks, one co-ordinated by the UK's Hadley Centre and University of East Anglia (UEA) and the other by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the WMO reports that despite the cooling, 2008 still ranks among the 10 warmest years on record.

Food Poverty in NYC Soars as Recession Hits Home

NYC Hunger Experience 2008 Update: Food Poverty Soars as Recession Hits Home, a report released today by the Food Bank For New York City shows that over the past five years, the number of New York City residents having difficulty affording needed food has spiked to nearly 4 million - doubling from approximately 2 million in 2003 - representing almost half of all New York City residents (48 percent). Approximately 3.5 million New Yorkers are concerned about needing food assistance (soup kitchens, food pantries and/or food stamps) during the next twelve months, including 2.1 million who have never accessed it before. This mirrors the finding that 3.7 million New Yorkers would not be able to afford food within three months of losing their household income. This alarming prospect may become all too real with unemployment at a 15-year high of 6.7 percent and predicted to reach 9 percent by the end of 2009.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Food-Poverty-NYC-Soars-Recession/story.aspx?guid={92BC8B09-5DAB-47E6-BF6B-C6FD277EAA67} (here's the link, for some reason I can't enclose the link)

MUFG to acquire Citi Japan trust bank

Citigroup will sell its Japanese trust bank to a unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for around $276 million, as the struggling U.S. bank looks to sell assets worldwide.

The U.S. banking giant has previously said it has no plans to sell its Japanese brokerage and investment banking units, or other core businesses in Japan.

The company has all but closed its consumer lending business in Japan, shutting down more than 30 outlets and 540 unmanned branches.

If there was ever a time to be a high roller...

So the economy sucks. I think most of the hundreds of posts on this blog can attest to that. But if there's one thing that might make you feel better, it's that falling prices have made luxury goods much more accessible to consumers, whether you have 30 dollars or 30 million dollars to spare.

This article describes how yacht makers are knocking off $18 million on their $48 million mega yachts, making the boats 'only' $30 million. Luxury home prices are falling rapidly, especially in Hollywood. Rare and fine wines are going for $300,000 less. And if you want a plane to go with your $1.56 per gallon gas prices, you could buy a commercial jet for $3 billion.

This article was written by an author who took advantage of a high lobster supply in Maine due to falling demand. Lobster, usually considered a splurge for a meal (excluding Red Lobster), has fallen in price -- but it won't last long because eventually supply will adjust when lobster fishermen reduce their catch.

And while I don't have any articles to back it, the recession is affecting the fashion industry as well. Finally these stores cannot justify most of their huge markups, and are lowering prices/having bigger sales that you will probably not see for awhile. Just go to saksfifthavenue.com to take advantage of $600, $1000 reductions on good, current-season designer stuff (and not old crap).

If you ever wanted to live the high life, I guess now's the time.

CPI for the West falls 1.8 percent

The data the Consumer price index for the West has fallen once again, this time by 1.8% in the month of November. This follows decreases in both October and September, which definitely is signaling that our economy is hitting a recession. As the article states, this past year the CPI has only risen 1% which is the lowest in 25 years.

I personally find this interesting because I would have thought that with interest rates so low that inflation would be on the rise. But I think that the fall in housing prices, decrease in oil prices, and the drop in the stock market have been too big.

Personally I don't see this as such a bad thing. Yes, the economy and job market are hurting but I think it kind of good that prices are readjusting downward.
Any personal thoughts?

Interest Rates hit near-zero

According to this FT article, the Fed has cut interest rates to near zero in an attempt to stimulate investment and protect the economy from a much-feared deflation. They announced that interest rates would now be fixed between 0 and .25 percent, the "lowest the rates can go." As a result, US stocks and Treasury bonds 'surged' but the dollar weakened against the euro and the yen. The Fed also assured the public that it was prepared to improve economic conditions (or prevent them from worsening further) with a large quantity of reserves and by promoting the purchasing of longer-term securities.

The situation here is similar to Japan in the 90s, when they experienced a 0% interest rate and threat of deflation. However, it is good that the Fed is trying to boost consumer confidence. And by setting a limited range of interest rate fluctuations, maybe it will encourage investors who are expecting the interest rates to drop further to realize that it can't go much lower, and they might as well take advantage of rates now.

This article shows the limitations of monetary policy now. I agree with Obama's statement that the US is in need of a "big fiscal stimulus." If the interest rates hit zero with no major improvement in sight, it may be the only other option.

Economic woes may fuel insecurity: Sugar

Northrop Grumman Corp CEO Ron Sugar predicted that U.S. defense spending would continue at a high rate regardless of the Economic hard times and large government expenditures to stimulate the economy. Sugar say that this "economic meltdown" can cause additional security threats and cause the U.S to be vulnerable to attacks.

"We're going to see more mischief, more ethnic tensions, more fights over resources." Says Sugar. The U.S has been burning through equipments and military spending because of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Sugar does not see a slow down in arms purchases even when the U.S is looking to withdraw from Iraq. Northrop has been winning big contracts from the Pentagon and The company's strong revenue growth may allow it overtake Boeing Co. Sugar said. Sugar said his company generated about $11 billion annually, or a third of its overall revenues, from work on information technologies, and said sales in that sector looked likely to expand given mounting concerns about cybersecurity.

The issue of national security is defiantly an important one to Economic development and progress, but at the same time money spend on military will crowd out money going into to sector with higher returns. The nature of national security is that it is hard to predict the demand and access its utilities because one never knows when attacks can happen or the scale of a crises. So i think this leads to the classic dilemma of Guns or Butter.

(Side Note: I think its Ironic that person with such a sweet name as Sugar is one the Top Weapons Dealer, looking at the name I'd think he'll be selling popsicles.)

OPEC Plans to cut output further

OPEC will make its biggest oil production cut ever, reducing output by 2 million barrels a day, or 2.5% of its total production.  The cartel is trying to catch up with the plummeting demand for oil in these hard times, and decrease the swelling supply.  Prices are dropping, and OPEC, which accounts for 40% of the oil supply, doesn't like it.  Some analysts say their best bet is to keep prices moderate during this recession and help the economy out of it in order to reap future benefits in places like the US, Japan and Europe.

Chinese Car poised to invade the U.S

The crises is Detroit is about to face further competition from abroad, as Chery looks to gain U.S auto market shares. Chery Auto, base in Wuhu Anhui province had won a $1.5 billion deal from the Export-Import Bank of China, in the $4 trillion government stimulus plan. Chery is looking to enter into the U.S market through buying assets from the Chrysler. Chana another car maker from China whom has been a partner of Ford is looking to purchase Ford's Volvo division. Detroit beware!!! it looks like the Big Three are starting to face more and more competitions as they loose their market shares and giving rise to newer and possibly more efficient car companies.

Slump Hits India’s Car Industry

Carmakers Nissan and Renault have cut back on joint projects planned for India. The reason for this is due to the sharp decline in car sales. Nissan said it would cut down on investments to improve cash flow. The plan was to produce cars by the first half of 2010 in the city of Chennai. The plan will continue, but will be scaled back.

The car that will be produced will cost roughly $2500. Another project that is getting delayed is the production facility to make trucks. This is getting delayed due to drop in construction activity and a 60 percent decline in the demand for trucks.

Irish Banks to be Recapitalized

The Irish government plans on providing 10 billion euros to recapitalize its banks. The money will go to four different banks. The finance minister said, “the financial institutions are so embedded in our economy…they are of systematic importance to our economy.” Shares of one bank, Bank of Ireland, have fallen 92 percent this past year.

The objective of the plan is to ensure long-term sustainability in the banking sector. Some of the money to fund the plan might come form the National Pension Reserve Fund.

Japan Doubles Size of Rescue Plan

The Japanese government has increased its stimulus plan another 23 trillion yen. This is an increase from the 27 trillion yen plan it passed in October. Half of the money will go to help stabilize financial markets. The Japanese yen soared to a new high, hurting the stocks of the country’s exporters.

The new plan also includes 10 trillion yen for tax breaks and public financing projects. The prime minister has said, “The economy has worsened beyond our expectations.” Japanese companies are closing and decreasing their workforce due to the decline in global demand and the rising yen.

Chinese Car Sales Hit by Slowdown

Both retail sales and car sales were down in China during the month of November. Retail sales dropped 20.8 percent down from 22 percent, which is less of a drop than predicted. Car sales dropped 14.6 percent when compared November 2007, which was a bigger drop than expected.

The Chinese minister of industry has described the drop in car sales as “a serious problem.” The government has already passed an investment plan to kick-start the economy, but the minister is calling for subsided loans for the industrial sector. The Chinese economy is still expected to grow at 8 percent this year, despite the global economic crisis. China is still growing at a fast pace while most western countries are in recession.

Daily China-Taiwan Flights Begin

Daily passenger and cargo flights have begun between China and Taiwan. It’s the first time in 60 years that such direct transport has been allowed between the two states. It was a visit by a top Chinese official to Taiwan when these negotiations were agreed upon. The agreement is to allow up to 108 flights. Before, both planes and cargo ships would have to make detours to places like Japan or Hong Kong before going to its destination.

This new direct routes will not only save time, but will also decrease the cost of doing business. Supporters see this as a step to warmer ties with China.

Slump in Japan Firms’ Confidence

Japanese business confidence has had the biggest drop in 34 years. The drop was due to fears the economy is headed towards a very long recession. The Tankan survey, which measures business sentiment, fell to -34 from -3. This was the fourth straight decline of the index. Analysts speculate interest rates will be lowered sometime in the future, the exact date is unknown.

This is the first recession for Japan in seven years. Japanese exporters have been especially hard hit due to the global financial downturn and the yen’s surge to a thirteen year high. The current index of -34 was expected, but the next survey is expected to decrease to -36.

North Korea Launches First 3G Phone Network

The first hi-tech mobile phone network for North Korea has been announced by an Egyptian telecom firm. The firm, called Orascom, says that it will invest $400 million over four years. It is unclear who will be able to use the system since North Korea is one of the world’s tightest societies. The country launched a basic system in 2002, but most citizens are banned from using it.

The new system has been launched in the capital city of Pyongyang thus far. The new system will be able to accommodate all 22 million of North Korea’s citizens being able to handle fast internet connections and large quantities of information. Making phone calls out of North Korea is impossible. It is unsure if this new cell phone network will be available to all citizens, but the handset for the new network will cost about $700, which will be out of reach for the vast majority of the citizens

The chief executive of Orascom said that “he was astonished by the quality and advancement of the Korean people,” however the UN estimates that 40 percent of the population is in need of food aid.

Castro on First Presidential Trip

Cuba’s new president, Raul Castro, made his first oversees trip and visited Venezuela, a long time Cuba ally. On this trip, Castro met with Hugo Chavez where the two of them signed a series of joint energy and commercial deals. Also during this trip, 300 different projects in health, education, and culture were announced.

This visit was mostly symbolic in nature, but the two leaders discussed ways to deal with the global economic crisis and the low price of oil, which Cuba receives 90,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela everyday.

US Sales and Producer Prices Fall

Both producer and retail prices fell quite a bit in November due to decreased consumer spending and the reduction in energy prices. Sales fell 1.8 percent, which is the fifth consecutive decrease, but better than October’s 2.9 percent decrease.

The percentage fall is retail sales was not a bad as analysts had expected. Gas price reduction played a major part in the decrease in these percentages.

Pound Continues to Fall Against Euro

Pound Sterling has fallen to a new low against the euro. The US dollar also fell against the euro due to interest rate cut talks. For every one pound it costs 1.1084 euros, or for every euro its 90.22 pence. The dollar fell to $1.3662 against the euro and $1.5294 against the British pound.

The decline in the dollar is due to the uncertainty of the US carmakers and the state of the overall economy. A bailout plan is defiantly weighing hard on the value of the US dollar. The value of the euro was supported by speculations that the ECB will not change interest rates too much in the future.

US Industrial Output Falls by 0.6%

The US industrial production fell by .6 percent in November, which is less that analysts had expected. It was anticipated to fall by .8 percent. Compared to November 2007, industrial production is down 5.5 percent.

Output was up 1.5 percent in October, which is higher than the estimated 1.3 percent. Output at US mines, which includes oil drilling, was up 2.5 percent.

These not so horrible numbers could possibly have been padded due to the increase in oil production following hurricane Ike and the end to strikes at Boeing.

Obama Picks Nobel Man for Energy

US President-elect Barack Obama has picked Steven Chu for his energy secretary. He is a Nobel winner in physics. He is the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and is an energy specialist. Some of the other members of Mr. Obama’s energy team that were recently picked are:

-Lisa Jackson: Head of the EPA
-Carol Browner: will co-ordinate a council on environmental change
-Nancy Sutley: Head of the council on environmental quality

Mr. Obama has made climate change one of his top priorities, stating that we must “move beyond our oil addiction and create a new hybrid economy.”

Fraud Risk ‘Rises’ During Crunch

Fraud will likely increase in the workplace during the global economic downturn, a report has found. The reason for the increase will be because of false figures to make performance look better and because employees, who are facing tough times, are more likely to commit fraud. The typical person who commits fraud is a manager who is male between the ages of 35 to 55. This individual usually works in the finance department and has worked at the company for many years.

Overall, fraud is on the rise and the report states that during the global economic downturn it’s only going to get worse. It will take months to see if the reports findings will come true.

US Rate Cut Towards Zero Expected

The US Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates again from an already historical low of 1 percent. It is expected to decrease to .5 percent or possibly .25 percent. With these cuts, the policy makers at The Fed are running out of options. Other tools they have would be buying debt backed by home loans.

It was the failure of the housing market that caused the problems in the US to begin with, but an increase in demand in that sector could boost the economy. Another way to battle deflation is to use quantitative easing, which is when a central bank prints money and puts it in an economy. Deflation becomes more of a risk if interest rates are expected to decrease, as is the case in the United States.

Rates were at 5.25 percent in September 2007.

Massive Job Losses in Congo Mines

More than 200,000 jobs have been lost in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The reason for this is the decrease in mineral prices due to the global economic crisis. The number of job losses could increase by another 100,000 by the end of this month. The price of producing things like cobalt and copper are greater than the prices of the actual commodities. Forty firms have shut down in the past month due to the collapse in prices. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces 40 percent of the world cobalt. The situation could be helped if the government would decrease taxes on the mining sector.

A Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis

I found this link a while back through the website Digg.com and thought it was very interesting. Basically it gives a visual illustration to the current financial problems and shows how interconnected some of the problems are.

It starts out with what I personally believe has been a major problem, with historically low interest rates. This coupled with excess funds from the burst of the dot com bubble meant that a large investment went into the housing sector. The diagram also gives some nice quotes. I especially like the last one from President Bush.

The Onion

The Onion once again, read it for some lighter material.

After Rate Cuts: The Fed's New Ball Game

This article talks about the Fed's new plan to save the economy and bring us out of the recession. It says that the main instrument (that they hope will be effective) is to print a bunch of money. Everything I have learned in my economic education has shown that this is not the answer. This article acknowledges that the end result could be high inflation and even larger government debt when the recession is cleared. So what are they thinking?? Is a short term fix really that important that we want to cause irreparable damage??

Bankruptcy Filings up 30% this year

This article is about the rather large bankruptcy percentage increase in the United States. It explains that the number of company bankruptcies, as well as individual ones, have both risen. However, the article goes on to explain that the bankruptcy rates are actually lower than that of two years ago. This is rather surprising to me. Why weren't people worried about this two years ago when it happened... Most likely the recession is the simple answer, but any ideas?

Obama filling up the Energy Department

US President-elect Barack Obama has tapped physics Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu as his new energy secretary. Dr Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize for physics for his work on cooling and trapping atoms using laser light and is a leader in the field to combat climate change using scientific methods. He now is the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Mr Obama also picked former head of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Lisa Jackson, to lead the environmental protection agency (EPA), and has named Nancy Sutley, a deputy mayor of Los Angeles, as head of the White House's council on environmental quality.

Announcing the environment team, the president-elect vowed to "move beyond our oil addiction and create a new hybrid economy".

I don't know much about the new appointee-elect (is that what you would call them?) but I know their home state and towns don't have the best relationship with nature right now. Maybe they have done a lot respectively.

What's good with Russia?!?!?

A gang of seven racist skinheads, who killed 18 non-Slavic migrants, in Russia's capital have been sentenced to jail terms of between six and 20 years. The murders originally took place between August 2006 and October 2007. The jail sentences are so low beacuse most of the attackers were minors at the time. If you follow the link you can see some of the footage the youths took with a camera phone. The heaviest jail term was handed to Roman Kuzin, one of the leaders, who got 20 years.

I really hope they spend time trying to rehabilitate those kids, not just throw them in jail. You have to stop the racism at the source, not just punish bad behavior, otherwise it won't stop. I think a lot of it has to do with recources. If everything is prosperous and people have jobs I do not care who comes in and out the country that much. But when you see whoever from half-way across the world come and take your fathers job. And it is a recurrence then you'll will just think it is all their fault.

Siemens in corruption settlement

German industrial giant Siemens has agreed to pay over $1.3 billion to settle charges. Siemens is charged with bribery and falsifying its books. As part of the settlement, Siemens will still be able to bid for government contracts in the US. Once again, I feel that this is more of a slap on the wrist for this huge company than a true punishment. They got off easy.

Banks hit worldwide by US 'fraud'

Bernard Madoff has been charged with fraud in what is the biggest case ever in the history of markets. All in all, it amounts to a loss of $50 billion worldwide. A lot of banks in the UK, Spain and France are some of the biggest losers. US prosecutors say Mr Madoff, a former head of the Nasdaq stock market, masterminded a fraud of massive proportions through his hedge fund and investment advisory business. What he did is pay off people already invested in the hedge fund with money from new investors. If found guilty he could face 20 years in prison and a $5m fine. I think he would be getting off easy with this sentence, and he needs to be made an example of, what do you guys think?

Obesity 'controlled by the brain'

Seven new gene variants discovered by scientists suggest that obesity is largely a mental problem. The findings conclude the brain plays a major role in the functions of an appetite, and obesity cannot be blamed solely on metabolic flaws. All seven variants were picked up by a study led by Icelandic company deCODE Genetics, while six of the seven were also identified in a second, independent study by an international team dubbed the Giant consortium.

I think this can do more for people for losing weight. The more control they are aware that they have, the more motivated they will be to change their weight.

Around the World in 80 days

The Bush administration continues it's travels around the world embarks on a late series of foreign policy initiatives. This week the start of the show is Secretary of State Condolezza Rice working at the United Nations seeking help fighting Somali pirates, trying to avert a humanitarian disaster in Zimbabwe and reaching for momentum in Middle East peace efforts.

The State Department did not release details of Dr. Rice's schedule before her trip, but the U.S. is circulating a resolution that would authorize military force against pirates in Somalia, including land and air attacks on pirate bases. Again they are stopping one of the many symptoms of what is a bigger problem.

Dr. Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, EU commissioners Bettina Ferrero-Waldner and Javier Solana, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will participate in the 60-minute discussion, as well as a second meeting with Arab foreign ministers. Then on Tuesday Miss Rice will attend the Security Council session on Somalia.

Oil Prices Rise With Upcoming OPEC Meeting

Oil prices have risen to about $49 a barrel with the rumor of OPEC cutting supplies by 2 million barrels per day. The leaders in OPEC are trying to combat predictions that oil prices will sink below $30 a barrel in early 2009.

Saudi Arabia said $75 a barrel is a fair price. But what I want to know is shouldn't they have tons of money saved up from when oil was almost $150 a barrel? It seems only fair that prices sink really low for a period.

Christmas Shopping Down

This holiday shopping season has been the worst in decades. Some stores have had to slash their prices 50-70% to draw shoppers in. It is expected that many households will reduce their shopping budget to almost half of what it was last year.

Saturday Dec. 13 was the best shopping day of the season, but still did not compare to last year. Sales on "Black Friday" were 34.5% lower than they were last year. One positive that is coming from this is that shoppers can expect to see even bigger deals in the days to come. Large department stores and electronic stores are going to be looking to reduce their stock and trying to win over reluctant shoppers with great deals.

No End In Sight

U.S. homes are predicted to have lost $2 trillion in value over the past year. There is no end in sight for the mortgage crisis and the falling property values compound the problem. Now homeowners owe a mortgage that is worth more than their home.

Stan Humphris, CEO of zillow.com, said,"When we look for a turnaround we look for two or three consecutive quarters [of smaller price declines]...We also want to see sales numbers pick up, inventories go down and improvements in foreclosure figures. Foreclosures really muddy the picture."

One area of the country where home values are increasing are in metropolitan North Carolina and South Carolina.

Blagojevich Blunder

I know the economy is pretty bad right now, but resorting to auctioning off President-elect Obama's Senate seat? Really? When I first heard about this on the news, I honestly thought it was a joke, but unfortunately for myself and the rest of the country, it was only the tip of the iceberg. Rod R. Blagojevich has been charged with not only auctioning off the senate seat, but also for participating in "pay-for-play" schemes, harassing the Chicago Tribune, and trying to get himself either a chair position, or a better paying job for his wife. The kinds of stuff he is reported to have said in taped phone conversations in unbelievable, it sounds like something straight out of a movie.

U.S. Auto Bailout Remains Elusive

Along with the bailout in the finacial sector in U.S. market, there has been consideration for U.S auto industry as they are currently seeking for support from the government.

As credit became hard to obtain, the automobile industry has been facing decrease in demand for cars in addition to the increase in energy prices. Due to this, the U.S. hasendorsed the idea o a goverment bridge loan in return for signifcant stemps to retrucure automobile companies to make them more competitive. This bridge loan is projected as $14 billion dollars but still it remains elusive as the goverment faces other difficulties.

Semiconductors, helmets and ginseng are all No. 1

This article describes the major items that Korea produces that are high in demand by oversea countries. Especially in 2007, there has been 127 Korean products that clained top global market shares, and among them are semiconductor chips, LCD monitors, and Kimchi as wel.

With the maintanance of the high market share for these items, it is a hope for Korea to have increase in the export as these items are constantly in demand to recover from the current recession.

Japan machinery orders down 4.4 percent in October

Industrial Asia is composed of three countries; Japn, Austrailia and New Zealand, and as for december Japn is facing 4.4 percent decline which shows a rapidly worsening economy.
The primary reason for this decline is due to the less demand of goods as well as decrease in the investment for the firms as they are facing credit crunch.

Historically, Japan has been facing economic hardship but through the development of the industrial sector, they were able to make a comeback.

As the decline is expected to decrease further, there are concerns with the recession in Japan where industrial sector is the main driven force in the economy for Japan.

World stocks rocket on hopes of fresh policy action

The stock market is currently facing difficulties due to the current financial crisis. However, the global stock market has been rebounded sharply due to the fresh US goverment action to right the deepening recession in the massive job losses.

As the stock market around the world like Britain, France and EU have been facing declines of around 6%, and Japan, Hong Kong and Korea were also facing declines.

However, due to the new policies they ahve been facing increase in the stock market up to 8%.

Although they face faced recent increase in the stock market, the are hoping for more fresh policy become more stabilized.

OECD urges US health system reform, supports fiscal stimulus

This article emphasizes the importance of health system in US. Beofore the economy gets worsened, it is believed that they would inject more public money to help out the people in U.S. As 16% of the people are unprotected from healthcare, the goverment must step in to help out the people.

The goverment has currently imposed many fiscal stimulus like the curren huge bailing package for the financial institutions, and ther are some worries that continual support from the goverment may increase the debt in this country.

As the U.S. is th eonly OECD country that does not provide universal healthcare insurance, it would bring more devistation to people in U.S. especialy with the current recession as thounds of job cuts are being made everyday.

U.S. trade deficit grew in October as exports slowed

It seems that Asian countries are not only the ones who are facing decrease in the exports. According to this artcile, the U.S. exports also have declined, facing trade deficit for U.S. In October for the first tim, exports fell by 2.2 percents especially due to declines in sale of automobiles and consumer goods. The primary reason for this is due to the strengthening of the dollar against major world currencies, thus the price that foreigners would have to pay has increased on American goods.

As compared to the decrease in exports, the trade deficit may not be so devistating as it has occured due to the strengthening of the dollar. Although this may bring trade deficit, the strengthing of the dollar may bring other positive effects in return.

Econmic outlook for Asia and Pacific Region

This is an image that I found in the IMF website which shows how the current global recession is influencing the Emerging Asian Countries. The emerging Asian countries are China, India, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

For the project of GDP for 2009, it will continue to decline further from 2008. The main component of this decline is due to decreas in private consumption and gross fixed investment but also due to the decrease in exports.

As there has been significant decrease in the general demand for goods from overseas due to the current recession, Asian countries where export is a significant part of the component in increase in production has been significantly decrased.

OECD warns of worst recession since early 1980s

This article is regarding the current economic recession. According to Organization for Economic Cooperations and Development (OECD), the world recession is the worst since the early 1980s. The output expected will decrease by 0.4 in 2009 for the 30 market democracies that makes up the membership of OECD countries. As a result, number of unemployment would also rise over 8 million, in addition to deflation.

Especially, for U.S, and Japan, the contraction is expected as 0.9 and 0.1 respectively.

According to the OECD's chief economist, many OECD economies are in a protracted recession of a magnitude not expected since the early 198s.

I think it gives another aspect of the current recession, by showing that even the members of the OECD countries arefacing slowing of growth and increase in unemployment

Chrina Will Not Invest In Risky Markets

China is expected to have a growth of 4.9% next year. Because of this large growth many other coutries are looking to China to help with investments. However, experts are saying it is very unlikely China will help. A major reason China will be doing so well in the face of world demise is that they have such a large number of emerging markets.

Attacked Mumbai hotels to reopen

Efforts are underway to open sections of two luxury hotels in Mumbai that were targeted during deadly attacks in the city last month. The managements of the two hotels have announced parts of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and of the Oberoi Trident will reopen on Sunday and they both have begun accepting bookings ahead of the reopening.

"To reopen the Taj with such speed but with no loss of attention to details, shows our resolve to commemorate all the innocent and brave people who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks," said Raymond Bickson, managing director and chief executive of the Indian Hotels Company, which owns the hotel.

I Love My State

Jesse Jackson Jr. said he wants his good name back after being identified in the "pay to play" scandal with Blagojevich. However, it is reported that reps for Jackson offered the governor one million dollars to have him selected.

It's pretty ironic that Obama won on a platform of change and this is happening with people he associates with for his old position.

Obama Picks Donovan

Obama selected Shaun Donovan, New York's Housing Commissioner, to be his Housing and Urban Development.

Obama said, "To stem the rising tide of foreclosures and strengthen our economy, I've asked my economic team to develop a bold plan that will dramatically increase the number of families who can stay in their homes...But this plan will only work with a comprehensive, coordinated federal effort to make it a reality."

The only thing I'm uneasy about is Obama is still pushing for every American to own a home right now- shouldn't we let things be fixed before we make more morgages to people who may not be the best candidates?

Calm returns to Athens after riot

Calm has returned to the Greek capital, Athens, after eight consecutive days of rioting sparked by the shooting dead by police of a 15-year-old boy. At the police station where the officer charged with the murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos was based, people threw petrol bombs on Saturday night. A protest outside the police station is designated for Monday. Although things have calmed down a poll suggests most people think the riots are a social uprising, as opposed to just the reaction to a shooting. The poll concludes that sixty per cent of those questioned by the Kathimerini newspaper rejected the assertion that the disturbances have been merely a series of co-ordinated attacks by a small hard core of anarchists. Some 300 people staged a peaceful vigil at the site of the boy's death.

New Thai prime minister elected

Thailand's opposition leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has been confirmed as the country's new prime minister after a special vote in parliament.

It was announced by Chai Chidchob, speaker of the lower house, that the Democrat Party leader had beaten ex-police chief Pracha Promnok by 235 votes to 198 to become Thailand's fifth leader in just over two years. The last prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, and several other People Power Party leaders were barred from politics for five years. The article also reports that there are accusations of behind-the-scenes bargains to persuade the MP's to switch sides, with enticing cabinet posts and large sums of cash offered by both sides.

Unemplyment Benefits Are Running Out

"With unemployment claims reaching their highest levels in decades, states are running out of money to pay benefits, and some are turning to the federal government for loans or increasing taxes on businesses to make the payments," Jennifer Steinhaur said.

Indiana has already had to borrow from the government and Ohio is close to having to do the same. Unemployment has reached a height not seen since 1982 and many states have not kept a fund to prepare for high unemployment. A major reason for the problem is that some states have not increased their taxes to fund unemployment benefits.

UK Economy Is Falling

The head of Barclay's bank, John Varley, says he believes housing prices in the UK will continue to fall and will end being 30% lower than at their peak. He also suspects that unemplyment will rise to 7.5%- that would be an additional 700,00 jobs lost. Also, foreign investors in the UK have decreased because of the downward slope the value of the pound is on.

A main distinction between the UK and US is that the EU has strict rules as to the limitations of the government on situations like this. The government is restricted from helping the banks because rules state the government cannot rack up a debt to help boost the economy. Therefore, the only measure the government can do is keep inflation artificially low.

Asian Markets Soar

Markets in China and Japan increased 2.5-5% at the end of last week. It is suspected that the increasing possibility of an automaker bailout in the US is the reason the markets went up. No, official statement has been made yet, but hopefully the Asian markets reflect what will happen in the US.

Gas Prices Going Back Up?

After 86 consecutive days gas prices are starting to increase once again. Over the past two months there has been a 57% drop in oil prices. All but 2 states now have average gas price below $2. Since the prices have dropped so much demand has increased for gasoline and it is feared that gas prices have bottomed out.

Hopefully, the cheap prices continue through the summer, but it is not likely.

McCain vs. Palin-winner McCain (not)

McCain will not back Palin if she decides to run for president. He mentions other up and coming governors he would like to see assume more leadership in the GOP. Also, McCain speaks in the past tense when he says it was, "a great joy to know Palin."

Trouble in paradise with the ex-running mates? Neh, never saw this one coming.

More Pain at Goldman and Morgan Stanley

In the midst of this financial crisis and recession, the banks have undoubtedly been hit the hardest so far by the problem. Even with their federal aid and the gigantic bailout they received from the government this quarter does not bode well for banks. For the first time in its history of being a publicly traded company, Goldman Sachs will announce a quarterly loss. They are logging a $3.50 loss per share but insiders are saying it will be closer to $5, which means upwards of a $2 billion loss. Morgan Stanley isn't having the best quarter ever and will most likely lose about 37 cents per share, which isn't as bad as Goldman, but all losses are bad. How many more banks and investment firms will report losses in the next quarter?

New Forecast of the US economy. What's coming next?

Here we go with another forecast of the US economy in the months to come. This article compares the current recession with the recessions of 1973-75 and 1981-82. From the survey of 54 economists, the downturn is expected to end in June 2009. Since it was said to start in December 2007, the current recession will be lasting for 18 months, 2 months longer than the two previous recessions.
"This recession has centered not on businesses but consumers, who are being hit by dwindling home prices and job losses. The economists on average said the unemployment rate will peak at 8.4% in response to this recession. While that actual rate was surpassed in both the 1970s and 1980s, it would mark a four-percentage-point increase from the low of 4.4% in March 2007. Only the 1973-75 recession, with a 4.1-percentage-point increase, had a larger jump in the postwar period." Economists also expect job cuts to continue into 2010. Some others with more pessimistic view even thinks job market will not recover until four more years. With that being said, probably the best choice for us will be to buy more time studying (master, PhD, etc), because it'll take more time than previously forecasted for the economy to recover.

India Unveils Stimulus Moves After Central Bank Cuts Rates

Indias goverment will increas the goverment spending to ease taxes to stimulate the economy. The goverment has planned 200 billion rupees ($4 billion) more than reviously planned package.

In addition to the fiscal stimulus, the goverment has requested currency-swap with the U.S. Federal Reserve to increase the amount of capital in the Indian domestic market.

The problems that each of the countries deal are very different but the main idea of monetary easinig and providing fiscal stimulus to the domestic market are simlar around the countries. Although there may be challeges in imposing policies, but through strengthening of the economy structure and development, it can significantly increase the effctiveness of those policy implemented.

China hit hard by fall in exports

On December 11, the Chinese goverment anounced that the exports fell in November for the first itme in seven years due to the global financial crisis. As China remains to be the largest exporter in the world, the decreased in the export resulted from the decrease in the demand for oversea goods has influeced the export in China significantly.

The chinese exports decline about 2.2 % and imports fell 17.9% in China.

This huge drop in imports has been the biggest since the early 1990s, and the goverment pledge to do everything that they could to maintain a stable health economy.

This figures from China has been a big suprise to other Asian countries, as goods demand are large in China. Due to this the GDP of China is expected to decrease in 2009 until 2010 where the recovery of the financial crisis occurs.

South Korea Cuts Interest RAte to 3%, a Record.

One of the ways that U.S. is seeking the recovery from the recession is by lowering interst rate, known as the expansionary monetary policy. Decrease in the interst rate would give incentive for people to spend rather than save which is a Keynesian approach of looking at the econmy, and it would also help the firms to invest more by borrowing more credit from financial institutions.

This policy is not only used in U.S. but also used in South Korea. According to The New York Times, South Korea's central bank anounced to cut the interest rate in its history in an attempt to cushion it seconmy from the global down turn. Similarly in Taiwan and China, the interst rate has been cut to 2% and 2.4% respectively.

The Asian Development Bank presented the expected frowth of Asia's dveloping nations to slow to 5.8% from 9%. As the countries are quickly seeking for ways to increase production and initate growth in the economy, such policies that allows more capital flow, incrase in availabilty of credit, and growth in the econmy are currently implemted.

China Will Define Oil Prices

There as been decrease in production of all goods and services observed through out th world. One may say that the reason for this is due to the finacial crisis, the decrease can also result from the increase in the energy prices.

Historically, the oil prices has been increasing significantly, the explaination for this is due to the lmited supply of oil, which decreases the supply of the oil every time we use it. However, increase in the demand for oil can also be the driving force for the price increase.

In this article, China's demand for oil will determine the prices of oil next year. As china plays a singificant role in the demand for oil, increase in the oil demand for China can easily increase the oil prices. Although production for all countries around the world is expected to significantly decreased as financial crisis is expected to continue, it is projected that China would remain on the growth path. This may rise concerns regarding the price of oil as all countries are facing difficulties in the Economy. Increas in the energy prices would bring further damange to the economy.

I feel that as no one firm has the ability to increase their production, increase in the energy prices would bring further damange to the economy by further reduing the production. I believe that it would help significantly for all countries if any policy regarding subsity towards energy are implemented.

Bank Bailout Should be Reversed

David Kudla, CEO of Mainstay Capital Management, had stated that if the bank bailout had failed there would have been a global catastrophe. But, according to Roger Nightingale, an economist from Pointon York, thinks otherwise. He believes that the banks should pay back their bailout money to help out the other industries. When the government decided to give help to the banks because they were "special" gave the other industries hope that if they were about to fail that the government will bail them out too. Now that the government has declined the auto bailout, they should get the banks to repay their bailout money and help the other industries, while helping out the banks with a cut in the interest rates and no fiscal adjustments.

Japan's economy to contract at faster pace

One of the strongest country in Asia, Japan is contracting at a faster pace due to the global financial crisis. The main reasons for the fast contraction in the economy is due to the decrease in exports and production. According to this artcle, Japan's industrial output fell by 3.1% in Octber which a record of 8.6 % fall in the fourth quater. AS for the GDP, it has been creased by 0.9%. It is expected that the recesion in Japan would likely to continue till 2009, and a slow recovery would be initiated.

During this semester for another class, I have reserached the effect of the global financial crisis in the Asian countries. Very similar to this article, I found that there has been increasing amount of corporate bankrupcies due to the financial crisis. The main reasons were the decrease in overseas demand in Japnese goods which significatly decreased the export of the country, tight domestic financial conditions which limited the availability of credit for the finacial instiutions resuling in decrease in the growth. As projected on this article, the GDP for all countries around the world including Japan would decrease and a slow steady growth would be intiated at the end of 2009.

There are policies implemented to recover from the financial crisis, but as all countries are facing dried up liquidity in the money market, all countries including Japn are currently facing difficulties in recoving from the crisis rapidly and effectively

Last Full Week of the Stock Market this Year, Still Many Questions

With the failure of the auto bailout this week, and the Fed meeting upcoming, Wall Street might not have the normal year end surge that it usually has this year. The bailout news might effect the meeting of the Fed, who is expected to lower the interest rate another .5%, but if the Bush administration helps out the auto companies, then that might instill some hope into the market. Even though some analysts still think that the market is resilient and holding in there even with all of the bad news, there still seems as if there is more to come.

Capitalist Fools

Another joseph stiglitz article, which identifies five key mistakes that led to the current crisis-under Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II—and one national delusion.

No. 1: Firing the Chairman under the Reagan administration
No. 2: Tearing Down the Walls
No. 3: Applying the Leeches
No. 4: Faking the Numbers
No. 5: Letting It Bleed

It will give you another perspective for the current economic situation. If you were in Prof. Simon's monetary and fical policy this semester, this is a best summary of what we've learned in the class! Highly encouraged to read guys.

China, South Korea reach 180b yuan currency swap deal

The globalization has decreased the boundaries between the countries generating free flow of information, culture as well as exchange in capital and goods. This has allowed countries to keep close relationship in the economy which is one of the main reasons that created the spilover effect of the financial crisis.

Among the countries that are influenced by the global financial crisis, one of them is Asian countries. The effect of the global financial crisis has brought devistation in the Asian economy which resulted in slowing of ecnomic growth and decrease in export. To minimze the effect and to recover from the devistations, Asian economies have beem imposing policies to help out the financial sector as well as to keep the confidence level relatively high to maintain the demand for goods. Similar to the bailout plan, one of the plans that Asian countries created is the 180bilion Yuan currency swap deal.

According to this article, China and South Korea have reached a deal regarding currency swap of 180 bilion yuan which is about 26.28 billion dolars. The deal is expected to last for thre years and can be extended with agreements of both sides. The aim for this policy is to proide adequate liquidity for financial systems of the two major East Asian economies.

However, as the Korean won has depreciated by more than 30% this year due to the spread of the financial crisis, the curency swap would definately provide more stable won value as it proivides South Korea with more liquidity to stabilize its curency.

Personally, this is a very good news for me as all of my familes are back in Korea. There has been many policies imposed by the Korean goverment including the currency swap with the Federal Reserve of U.S., but it has not been enough to provide stabilization in the econmy. As Korea and U.S. has been keeping a very close relatioship historically, any deviation in U.S. can have significant and immediate effect in Korean economy. I hope further policy can be implemented to stabilize the economy in Korea.

Job Losses Worst Since '74: 533,000 Shed in November

This is another interesting article I found regarding the curent recession.

This article emphasizes that the current job cuts especially November were sum up to 533,000 which isthe largest one0month drop since 1974. With this job cut, the current unemployment is determined as 6.7% which is a result of a constant increase from 2007.

It was really interesting to see two articles that are published recently that talks about different point of view regarding the recession. When looking at this article alone, the huge number of job cuts and the emphasis as comared to 1974 seems may bring worries, however when comparing to the situation during Great Depression, the current recession may not seem so serious.

U.S. recession not close to 1930s: NBER

Currently, there has been many articles that explains about the negative effect that the financial crisis has on the economy, resulting recession, but I haven't really seen articles that had a different view on the recession.

In this article, the current U.S. economic recession isescribed as not even close to the Great Depression. According to James Poterba, the president of the National Bureau of Economic Research quoted that"We are in a very differnt place than the U.S. economy as comared to the 1930s, and it is possible to have the worst postwar recession without getting anywhere close to what it was in the 1930s..."

As the unemployment rate projection of 8~9% which is far from how it was during the reat Depression, he emphasized that the current depression may be longer than average but not as serious as how it is discussed in the media currently.

It was interetsing to see different point of view regarding the current recesion as it is one of the major economic concern currently.

New England Faces Big Downturn

This is an article abou the effect of the financial crisis in the U.S. There has been many articles and concerns regarding the recession and the financial institutions, but this article mainly focuses on how it is influencing the states in U.S.

Along with the current recession in the U.S. economy, New England states are also facing a significant recession. This recession will lay off 250,000 jobs which is about 3.6% of its employment, and it is predicted that unemployment would continue to increase through 2011. As the industries in New England states are highly concentrated in business investments and high-income dependent industries, the recovery is expected to be weaker and slower as compared to other regions in the nation. With the sharp decline in the housing market and the growth of real income per capita, New England will continue to experience recession.

Gender inequality hinders Korea's advancement

Social services provided by governments are becoming more crucial as women's roles in economy are getting important. In Korea, as the wasted female labor is a big obstacle for economic development, the government seeks hard for solutions.

The World Economic Forum publishes Global Gender Gap Index every year, which shows the level of inequality in a country. I think it is also interesting to look at.
http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Gender%20Gap/index.htm

Based on the report linked above, let's share where your countries are located in terms of gender inequality and real stories about inequality in your countires.

Big cheese bailout for Parmesan

Here in US, people talk about bail out of the car manufacturers. But in Italty, cheese companies are subjects to the government bail out. I thought it is so interesting considering all the bail outs they have.

Parmigiano Reggiano, Italy's King of Cheese, is in trouble. Robust in flavour and crumbly, it is a classic of Italy's artisan food traditions, made by hand by 430 craft producers around the city of Parma. But with Italian consumption falling as costs soar, almost a third of producers now face bankruptcy. Now Italy's Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia, has come to the rescue, promising to buy 100,000 Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses, and also 100,000 of its less costly competitor, Grana Padano.


This is Italy's big cheese bailout. Essentially, the government will be gobbling up 3 per cent of Parmesan production at an estimated cost of €50m (£44.7m) and distributing it to the needy. Each 35kg wheel of Parmigiano costs between €8 and €8.50 to make, but the wholesale price has declined for the past four years even as the cost of milk and energy has soared.

"We just need a bit of time to reorganise ourselves," said Giorgio Apostoli of Coldiretti, Italy's agriculture lobby. "This is a historic product with an ancient tradition. There ought to be policies to safeguard those who produce it."

But Professor Giuliano Noci, of the Milan Polytechnic, said a better solution would be for the government to "launch a sustained marketing campaign in the emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia and India, to educate consumers to appreciate the quality" of the cheese.

Bank of America to cut up to 35,000 jobs

Bank of America Corp said on Thursday it plans to eliminate 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over three years, reflecting its pending purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co and weaker business activity stemming from the economic recession.
The cuts could affect as much as 11.4 per cent of the combined companies' workforce of about 308,000 people, and are intended to help save $7 billion of annual costs.
Bank of America said the cuts will come from both companies and affect all business lines, and in part reflect "the weak economic environment, which is affecting the level of business activity."
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said it won't determine the final number of cuts until early 2009, and that as many as possible will come through attrition.
Bank of America employs about 247,000 people and Merrill about 61,000. The merger values Merrill at about $20.5 billion and is expected to close on January 1, 2009, creating the largest US bank by assets.
Financial companies have announced more than 250,000 job cuts this year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc, as losses soared from mortgages, credit cards and securities write-downs.
Bank of America announced its cuts less than four weeks after Citigroup Inc set plans to eliminate 52,000 jobs, or 15 per cent of its workforce, by early 2009.
'If you asked me six months ago I would be surprised, but in this day and age, it doesn't look as draconian, especially compared with what Citigroup did,' said Howard Diamond, chief executive of Diamond Consultants, a Chester, New Jersey, recruiter.
Other financial companies to cut jobs in recent months include Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley. Bank of America previously said it would cut 7,500 jobs following the July 1 purchase of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.
Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri said the bank would not elaborate on where the latest job cuts will come from, how many might come from attrition, or where the banks' business activity had been hurt.
One recruiter said attrition could account for most of the announced job cuts, and that more cuts may be needed to make Bank of America more competitive.
Eventual losses may be 'substantially higher' than 35,000, with many coming from the middle ranks, said Gustavo Dolfino, president of WhiteRock Group LLC, a New York-based recruiter.
Shareholders of Bank of America and Merrill approved the merger on December 5. The transaction was originally valued at $50 billion, but the value has fallen because Bank of America shares have declined.

S Korea parents fined

A South Korean court has fined the parents of a teenager more than $60,000 for failing to supervise their son an 18-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder after he raped a local seven-year-old girl in 2006. The court found it necessary because he had grown up watching porn and had imitated a film he had seen, during the attack.

The boy is serving a 10-year sentence but the court ruled that his parents are also liable for his crime. A court statement read, "The parents could have prevented the crime with appropriate education but failed to show enough attention to their child and neglected their duty to raise their child so that he can properly adjust to society.

I don't feel that this was necessary, but I also do not know all of the details. If the boy had ADHD maybe the parents were too busy working to try and support some special medication and doctors bills, and schooling to be around him all the time. They also could have just been neglectful. There are just too many questions left to answer. Even so if you saying the boy is responsible enough to serve 10 years then his parents can't be that ($60,000) responsible as well. I feel like the court was trying to have it's cake and eat it too here, you can't just throw around blame at everyone involved. Next they should sue the porn producers and distributer. I wouldn't endorse it either but depending on the situation one could even blame the girl to an extent.

Pact targets Pakistan terror link

While unveiling a £6m ($8.9m) deal with Pakistan he calls "the most comprehensive anti-terrorist program" between the UK and another country, Gordon Brown has proclaimed three-quarters of the most serious terror plots being investigated by UK authorities have links to Pakistan. Gordon, who is currently in Pakistan meeting President Asif Ali Zardari, was in India in talks with premier Manmohan Singh. UK police would like to question Pakistani suspect, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, in the Mumbai attacks, about terror groups operating from Pakistan. Mr Brown's series of meetings in the region came as Pakistan accused India of violating its airspace, which India has denied, but has concedes to a security overhaul blaming Pakistan-based militants for the Mumbai attacks.

Gaza crowds for Hamas anniversary

Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters are rallying in a Gaza City stadium to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the militant group's founding. The mass rally was not without spectacle. It had a sea of green flags, and trying to portray Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since a violent takeover in June 2007, as a symbol of strength. In Cairo Israeli and Egyptian officials were to meet in a bid to renew a six-month-old Gaza ceasefire with Hamas. However, many, including Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal, have doubts about success.

Armies 'attack Uganda rebels'

In Uganda three African armies, Ugandan, DR Congolese and the government of South Sudan's, have launched a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels based in eastern DR Congo, military officials say. The rebel group is known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Garamba region of DR Congo. This attack seems to to be incurred by LRA leader Joseph Kony, wanted by the International Criminal Court stalling on a peace deal. The LRA has led a rebellion for more than 20 years in northern Uganda and the fighting has displaced some two million people.

President Bush has SKILLZ!!!!

Check these razor sharp reflexes of president Bush has he dodges shoes thrown at him at a press conference on a surprise visit to Iraq. An Iraqi journalist was the thrower of the shoes and yelled "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," before he was wrestled to the ground. The soles of shoes are considered an insult in Arab culture. During the trip, Mr Bush and Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki signed the new security agreement between the two countries.
All the president had to comment on the topic was "All I can report is a size 10," he said according to the Associated Press news agency.

Although he was wrestled down by many I wonder how many men in the room secretly applaud George Bush's attacker.

The worst has yet to come?

The article titled, "8 really, really scary predictions," attempts to show how things will get worse, much worse before they get better. Although the article is frightening with its statistics, it fortells a future that will probably not be far from the truth. Often to stimulate spending and raise consumer confidence, statistics of the economy are presented in a brighter manner to lower the likelihood of there being a self fufilling prophesy. The article predicts that we will likely see GDP fall further throughout 2009, and the recovery of 2010/2011 will be minimal ranging around "1-1.5%." Also that unemployment will rise another two percent, nearing 10%, something that has not been seen for decades. Home prices are predicted to fall another 15% before finally bottoming out in 2010. Finally, article highly recommends to stay away from risky investments in the stock and credit market and stick to secure low returns. This is definitely a grim article, but nevertheless portrays the near future more accurately that some may want to consider or face. It also does not say that wealth will be impossible to gain over the upcoming years, but rather it must be accumulated using different methods and strategy than before.

Another top broker accused of fraud on Wall Street

Bernard L. Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market and a force in Wall Street trading for nearly 50 years, was arrested by federal agents Thursday, a day after his sons turned him in for running what they said their father called "a giant Ponzi scheme."

Mr. Madoff's Fairfield Sentry Ltd., a hedge fund run by Madoff Investment Services to invest in shares in the S&P 100, claimed to be up 5.6% through the end of November, a period when the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 37.65%. In October, Fairfield Sentry was said to be down 0.06%, a month when the S&P 500 lost 16.8%. Since its inception in December 1990, the fund averaged a 10.5% annual return, according to fund documents.

Such returns sparked widespread skepticism for years on Wall Street. News stories raised questions about his approach. A number of traders suggested his firm could be buying shares for its own account just before it filled orders for customers, an illegal act called front-running.

In 2001, Mr. Madoff told Barron's that charges of front-running were "ridiculous."

U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton, who is overseeing the SEC's case against Mr. Madoff and his firm, on Thursday appointed Lee Richards, a Manhattan lawyer, as the firm's receiver in order to preserve its assets and accounts outside the U.S. The judge also ordered Mr. Madoff and his firm not to move assets. At a hearing set for Friday, the judge will consider the SEC's request to grant powers to the receiver over the entire firm, and a complete asset freeze.