Economy

World faces "total" financial meltdown: Bank of Spain chief

The governor of the Bank of Spain on Sunday issued a bleak assessment of the economic crisis, warning that the world faced a "total" financial meltdown unseen since the Great Depression.

"The lack of confidence is total," Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said in an interview with Spain's El Pais daily.read more »


Forget Santa! Obama's Coming to Town

by Terry Paulson

Forget about Christmas! Obama is coming to Washington and a $500-700 billion stimulus package is going to be wrapped and ready for passage! With the Bush administration's help, financial institutions are already getting their funds. The auto industry is next in line, and with more money for the taking, cities, states, companies and citizens are lining up to compete for a share of the pie!read more »


Press reports document criminality of US financial elite

By Tom Eley and Barry Grey

(WSWS) -- Fallout from the Madoff scandal continues to batter investors, banks and private charities in the US, Europe and Japan. The massive fraud carried out by a prominent Wall Street insider, Bernard Madoff, the former head of the Nasdaq stock exchange, has exposed clients to as much as $50 billion in losses.read more »


As Economy Dips, Arrests for Shoplifting Soar

By IAN URBINA and SEAN D. HAMILL

Richard R. Johnson is the first to admit it was a bad idea.

Recently laid off from a job building trailers in Elkhart, Ind., Mr. Johnson came up a dollar short at Martin’s Supermarket last month when he went to buy a $4.99 bottle of sleep medication. So, “for some stupid reason,” he tried to shoplift it and was immediately arrested.read more »


Pushing solvent builders into trouble

By Eric Ernst | Herald Tribune

Southwest Florida builders, already reeling from a collapse of the housing market, have a new worry. Banks are calling in loans, eliminating lines of credit and raising interest rates.read more »


New Report: Worldwide Bankruptcy Wave About to Hit

by Brian Baxter

Europe and the U.S. are about to experience a significant increase in business failures.

That's the conclusion reached by Paris-based Euler Hermes, the world's largest credit insurer, in a recently released 57-page report on business insolvencies worldwide.read more »


Time to man the lifeboats

The “collapse” cometh. Proactive steps one can take to deal with it.

By Dave Eriqat

Where We Stand

Back in February of this year, in a post titled Paralyzed With Fear, I expressed my concerns about “total economic collapse” arriving “in a matter of months.” Well, it has begun.
read more »

How long before taxpayers are bailing out Hollywood?

After Enron Hollywood bets on its own script for future profits

From Mr Max Keiser | Financial Times

Sir, The potential for mischief with Cantor’s new box office futures contracts is enormous (“All eyes on Hollywood futures”, December 13). When I was running the Hollywood Stock Exchange during the 1990s I was constantly approached by the Hollywood studios asking me to move up the prices of their MovieStocks to influence the perception of their films in the weeks just before a movie was released at the box office.read more »


Condo Meltdown - $30 million site sold at auction for $100

$30 million site sold at auction for $100

Developer Homero Meruelo’s plans for a $300 million condo project officially ended Monday with a lender’s $100 bid during a foreclosure auction at the Palm Beach County courthouse.read more »


Financial Crisis: Who will Bailout the State and Local Governments?

by Steve Bartin | Newgeography

The continual Illinois corruption scandals have created not only ignominy to the Land of Lincoln, but have now placed a negative ranking from Standard and Poor on its credit. If Illinois vies with other states for the title of most corrupt, it has plenty of company when it comes to financial disaster.read more »


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