Clipmarks | Rescue Clips

Economic Moment of Truth

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:47:35 GMT

clipped by: nchnted
clipper's remarks: Can anyone stop the avalanche?

The consequences of Lehman’s fall were apparent within days, yet key policy players have largely wasted the past four weeks. Now they’ve reached a moment of truth: They’d better do something soon — in fact, they’d better announce a coordinated rescue plan this weekend — or the world economy may well experience its worst slump since the Great Depression.

What he should have proposed instead, many economists agree, was direct injection of capital into financial firms

The question now is whether these moves are too little, too late. I don’t think so, but it will be very alarming if this weekend rolls by without a credible announcement of a new financial rescue plan, involving not just the United States but all the major players.

And the time to act is now. You may think that things can’t get any worse — but they can, and if nothing is done in the next few days, they will.

BUSH'S BANANA REPUBLIC

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:34:49 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: The steady slide down the hill of history

Clip Source: www.vanityfair.com

America the Banana Republic

The ongoing financial meltdown is just the latest example of a disturbing trend that, to this adoptive American, threatens to put the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave on a par with Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Equatorial Guinea.

by Christopher Hitchens WEB EXCLUSIVE October 9, 2008

In a statement on the huge state-sponsored salvage of private bankruptcy that was first proposed last September, a group of Republican lawmakers, employing one of the very rudest words in their party’s thesaurus, described the proposed rescue of the busted finance and discredited credit sectors as “socialistic.” There was a sort of half-truth to what they said. But they would have been very much nearer the mark—and rather more ironic and revealing at their own expense—if they had completed the sentence and described the actual situation as what it is: “socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the rest.”

another term

would be “banana republic.”

Bailout Price Tags Since 1971

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:04:43 GMT

clipped by: Andrew Gillies
clipper's remarks: A nice breakdown from the National Journal. Since 2001, the federal government's private sector bailouts add up to $1,032.4 billion. In the prior thirty years: $248.1 billion.

Clip Source: www.nationaljournal.com

Financial Bailouts, Past and Present

THEN ... Government bailouts of the 1970s and '80s were relatively small in scale until the S&L crisis prompted Congress to establish the Resolution Trust Corp. to buy up bad assets and bring a fix to the ailing thrift sector.

... and NOW ... Recent rescue plans have a total price tag of more than $1 trillion, a level well beyond any previous attempt by the government to intervene in the private sector to alleviate an economic crisis.

Year              Entity              Federal Commitment (in 2008 dollars) 
1971              Lockheed            $1.4 billion
1974              Penn Central        $9.1 billion
1975              New York City       $9.4 billion
1978              New York City       $5.5 billion
1980              Chrysler            $4.0 billion
1989              S&L failures      $218.7 billion*
2001              Airline industry   $18.6 billion
March 14, 2008    Bear Stearns       $28.8 billion
Sept. 7, 2008     Fannie Mae/         $200 billion
                  Freddie Mac
Sept. 16, 2008    AIG                  $85 billion
Oct. 3, 2008      Financial system    $700 billion
                  rescue

*Estimated final cost to Treasury.

save our words

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:32:21 GMT

clipped by: mona

Clip Source: entertainment.timesonline.co.uk

It may appear agrestic to ask, but The Times is calling on its readers to come to the rescue of words that risk fading into caliginosity.

Dictionary compilers at Collins have decided that the word list for the forthcoming edition of its largest volume is embrangled with words so obscure that they are linguistic recrement. Such words, they say, must be exuviated abstergently to make room for modern additions that will act as a roborant for the book.

Will you vote to save them? Some of the words heading for extinction

Abstergent

Agrestic

Apodeictic

Caducity

Caliginosity

Compossible

Embrangle

Exuviate

Fatidical

Fubsy

Griseous

Malison

Mansuetude

Muliebrity

Niddering

Nitid

Olid

Oppugnant

Periapt

Recrement

Roborant

Skirr

Vaticinate

Vilipend

Freakiest (Lab) Animals

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:23:45 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: The last one is Humanzee: It reads "Ok, so this one doesn't actually exist." But could have...
The one I find most intriguing is The spider/goats:
A private biotechnology company in Canada has managed to breed goats whose milk contains spider silk, the same things the eight-legged insects use to make webs and considered one of the strongest fibers occurring in nature. The silk is compatible with the human body and can be used to repair tissues and create replacement ligaments. No word on whether the goats are able to climb buildings or rescue damsels-in-distress.

About the smart mice: Scientists managed to implant a few of the little rodents with human brain cells amounting to about one percent of their total grey matter. The same group has plans to produce mice with one hundred percent human brain cells, which they have permission to do unless the mice start exhibiting human traits. What, like banding together to escape?

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Green Ham and Eggs

Not since the 1980s have we seen this much fluorescence on one creature. Born in the lab of National Taiwan University, these phosphorescent porkers are green from the inside out--heart, ham and all.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Rats from Mice

planted stem cells that produce rat sperm into the testicles of mice, where they grew into viable sperm and were collected to fertilize rat eggs. Surrogate rat mums later bore healthy pups.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Wholphins

Shunning the lab and reportedly spotted doing their freaky thing out in the wild, whale-dolphin hybrids (get it? Wholphins?) are nevertheless extremely rare and prove that love, or mating at least, knows no species.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

The Mouse with Three Ears

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Spider-Goat

biotechnology company in Canada has managed to breed goats whose milk contains spider silk, the same things the eight-legged insects use to make webs and considered one of the strongest fibers occurring in nature.

can be used to repair tissues

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

The Smartest Mouse on Earth

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Humans in Sheep's Clothing

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Swine and Man

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Zonkeys

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Tags: animals, man, science

Brits, U.S. Inject Capital. Save Banks. Start Socialism.

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:21:44 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: Following the lead of the Aussie's (not mentioned in article), The British government this morning pledged to "injected capital," -- hundred of billions of pounds -- to rescue its banking system.

U.S. Treasury Secretary says he has "broad powers," to do the same.

I think this is a good idea. It sure is a better idea than buying stinking unsecured debt that may never be repaid, that is if I understand the term "injecting capital," correctly (which I think I do but it would help if these guys spoke English).

Why have they come up with what sounds like, at least, a reasonable plan?

I don't know...maybe it's the intense scrutiny they are under...i.e., "oversight," actually helps.

Of course there is some irony in this due to the fact that government buying ownership (buying stocks) in private companies is a cornerstone idea of socialism.

And this idea comes from the ultimate capitalist who oppose government intervention in any way.

I find this very interesting.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Treasury says has power to inject bank capital

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Wednesday a recently approved financial bailout bill gives him wide authority to inject capital into the banking system and would not rule out having Treasury take an ownership position in banks if necessary.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Paulson calls for global action

(02:05) Report

Oct 8 - As Treasury Secretary Paulson prepares to host the G7, he is calling for intensified global cooperation to stabilize financial markets.

Paulson recited the numerous measures that members of the G7 -- the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- and others have taken to try to halt plunging stock prices and rebuild confidence, but said more was needed.

Deborah Lutterbeck reports.

Coming up next:

Two unrealistic economic plans?

(02:04) Report

Why the rescue plan had to happen

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:29:18 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "the single best explanation I’ve seen from anyone"

Clip Source: gowest.blogs.fortune.cnn.com

Tuesday night’s “town-hall” meeting from Nashville had all the hallmarks of what voters have come to dislike about these non-debates

And yet, for one moment, Barack Obama showed why he is ahead in the polls. He did it by giving the single best explanation I’ve seen from anyone

of why the rescue plan Congress passed last week is good for the American people

Well, Oliver, first, let me tell you what’s in the rescue package for you. Right now, the credit markets are frozen up and what that means, as a practical matter, is that small businesses and some large businesses just can’t get loans. If they can’t get a loan, that means that they can’t make payroll. If they can’t make payroll, then they may end up having to shut their doors and lay people off. And if you imagine just one company trying to deal with that, now imagine a million companies all across the country. So it could end up having an adverse effect on everybody, and that’s why we had to take action.

Nailed it

Tags: obama, bailout, economy

How quickly we Forget !!! Don't YOU Forget!

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:44:47 GMT

clipped by: davboz
clipper's remarks: What'd ya think, I was clipping planes flying into the WTC? Very close.

Clip Source: www.thelibertypapers.org

Second, despite what Nancy Pelosi says, the Democrats most certainly did their part to help President Bush succeed in his “ownership society.” These Democrats who scream that this credit crisis is a result of lax regulations didn’t much appreciate the regulators when they warned that Freddie and Fannie were in trouble as early as 2004.

[Video]

The recent ~~rescue package~~ bailout was also a bipartisan “achievement.”

We are going to elect one of these two collectivists into the White House in just a few weeks and we are going to send Democrats and Republicans back to the House and the Senate and ask them to abuse us more.

Make no mistake: this credit crisis is a bipartisan government achievement. What it is NOT is a failure of the free market.

Bush to America: Hang in there

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:25:00 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: ap.google.com

Bush to America: Hang in there

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Tuesday told a country engulfed by dire economic news that it should not expect a sudden recovery, but rather a gradual rebound that will test people's patience.

Pounding home a sober tone, Bush said about a dozen times that the nation is enduring "tough times."

"I know that the days are dim right now for a lot of folks," Bush said. "But I firmly believe tomorrow is going to be brighter."

Just not literally tomorrow.

The government's unprecedented plan to buy up Wall Street's failed assets has not kept the stock market from plunging or the credit crisis from imperiling financial markets around the globe. That, in turn, has exacerbated the confusion of the public, which was told repeatedly that the government plan was a rescue.

So the White House, led by Bush, is sending this message: Hang in there, America. The massive federal intervention will just take time to work.

Tags: bush, chantilly, economy, pep talk, finance, retirement, housing

Nobody saw THAT one coming....

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:44:19 GMT

clipped by: strider72

Clip Source: query.nytimes.com

Published: September 30, 1999

the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people

Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

Tags: politics, financial crisis, fannie mae, bill clinton, hud

Rock Out With Your Bailout

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:49:02 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: After government rescue, insurance firm AIG partied at swank resort

Clip Source: www.thesmokinggun.com

OCTOBER 7--Days after federal officials agreed to an $85 billion bailout of American International Group, the insurance firm spent more than $440,000 for a corporate retreat at a swanky California resort. An invoice from the week-long getaway, a copy of which you'll find below, was obtained by the congressional panel that has been holding hearings this week about Wall Street collapses and executive excess. The late-September AIG gathering at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach cost $443,343, according to the invoice. The six-figure sum covered hotel rooms, banquets, golf fees, and spa services at the resort south of Los Angeles. However, company funds apparently were not spent on exploding cakes or urinating ice statues. (2 pages)

Clip Source: www.thesmokinggun.com

Tags: american international group, $85 billion bailout, st. regis resort in monarch beach, $440, 000 retreat, hotel rooms, banquets, golf fees, spa

the full invoice of what they spent it on...

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:17:54 GMT

clipped by: prin1
clipper's remarks: this makes me puking sick

Clip Source: shakespearessister.blogspot.com

Clip Source: www.speaker.gov

[Video]

Have you heard of anything more outrageous - a week after taxpayers commit $85 billion dollars to rescue AIG, the company’s leading insurance executives spend hundreds of thousands of dollars at one of the most exclusive reports in the nation…Let me describe for some of you the charges that the shareholders, taxpayers, had to pay. AIG spent $200,000 dollars for hotel rooms. Almost $150,000 for catered banquets. AIG spent $23,000 at the hotel spa and another $1,400 at the salon. They were getting manicures, facials, pedicures and massages while American people were footing the bill. And they spent another $10,000 dollars for I don’t know what this is, leisure dining. Bars?

UK Rushes Bailout Plan for Troubled Banks

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:15:15 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: UK moves to nationalize struggling banks. Sounds like a run on a few banks in the UK could strap them for cash. Do they have the equivalent of FDIC, are the people accounts insured by the government? The moves are to provide enough "cash on hand for day to day operations"--i.e. consumer withdrawals:

To address the collapse of confidence in money markets, the standby facility should ensure big banks have enough cash to fund day-to-day operations.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Government to unveil bank rescue

The UK government is poised to announce details of a £50bn rescue package for the banking system, the BBC's business editor has learned.

It will include a proposal to use taxpayers' money to invest in banks - in effect part nationalising them.

The dramatic initiative is aimed at stabilising the financial system and making sure banks have enough cash.

The news comes after a day of steep falls in UK banking stocks and a high-level Downing Street summit

Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier held talks with Bank of England Governor Mervyn King.

The announcement comes amid a series of dramatic developments in the world financial system:

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said Wednesday would be a "real day of reckoning for the whole British economy".

Monday's meeting was attended by Mr Darling, Mr King and Lord Turner, as well as representatives of RBS, Barclays and Lloyds TSB.

The government also needed to explain how taxpayers' interests would be safeguarded

Tags: uk, britain, banks, barclays, lloyds tsb, royal bank of scotland, bailout, financial crisis

Massive rescue plan for British banks

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:56:16 GMT

clipped by: m_malik77

Clip Source: www.ft.com

Massive rescue plan for banks

By George Parker and Chris Giles in London and Tony Barber in Brussels

Published: October 7 2008 18:25 | Last updated: October 7 2008 22:31

Britain’s largest banks will be part-nationalised on Wednesday morning after Gordon Brown took the momentous decision to pump tens of billions of pounds of public money into the sector to avert a banking collapse.

The massive public bail-out comes after a day of turmoil on the London stock exchange, where shares in banking group RBS fell 39 per cent to add to a 20 per cent tumble the day before. Rival HBOS fell 41 per cent.

Tags: bailout, uk, banks

Man plunges to death at Grand Canyon

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:49:16 GMT

clipped by: pcmkrfn

Clip Source: www.azcentral.com

A man fell to his death Monday afternoon from an overlook at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

National Park Service Rangers responded to a 911 call around 4:15 p.m. Witnesses reported that the man fell from the first viewpoint along Desert View Drive, a 25-mile stretch that attracts tourists for it scenic views.

Rangers on the rim and in a park helicopter spotted the man 250 feet below. Rescue workers quickly hiked down to the victim, but determined he had died as a result of the fall.

The body was airlifted and taken to the Coconino County Medical Examiner's office in Flagstaff.

Two falling fatalities were also reported in August. An average of 2 or 3 people die a year at the Grand Canyon from accidental falls.