No Currency Left to Buy the Big Lies Obama's Little Red Book An Open Letter to Barack Obama Nowhere Man Arabs Have To Rely On Britain And Israel For Their History Eurozone edges towards recession: The worst financial crisis for generations has driven the European economy to the brink of recession and economic growth will come close to a standstill in 2009, the European commission has warned. Spain Lets Jobless Postpone Half of Mortgage Payments : Spain will allow unemployed workers to put off paying half their monthly mortgage payments for two years, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said today, part of a series of measures aimed at softening the impact of a shrinking economy. The Fed as a central bank to the world: While the French President dreams of global economic cooperation ahead of the G20 summit in Washington, the Fed is quietly becoming central bank to the world, backed by the full might of the U.S. Treasury and a teflon-coated greenback. Effectiveness of AIG's $143 Billion Rescue Questioned: "What we see now are a lot of games by the government to keep these institutions going with a lot of cash," she said. "This is to fill holes in companies' balance sheets, and they're trying to hold at bay the charges that our financial system is insolvent." Manufacturing activity at 26-year low: Business research group says its index fell to recessionary level. - Employment in the manufacturing sector fell for the third month in a row Circuit City to shut 155 U.S. stores to preserve cash: Struggling electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. said Monday that it's shutting 155 U.S. underperforming stores, reducing future store openings and aggressively renegotiating certain leases to help preserve cash after its liquidity deteriorated and its vendors tightened the company's payment terms. Debt linked to huge buyouts is tightening the vise: "There's absolutely going to be a lot of pain to go around," said Josh Lerner, a professor of investment banking at Harvard Business School. "The big question is how apocalyptic it will be."
By John Cusack
No more money left to pay off the debt, the wreckage in the wake. The orgy of excess has drained every bottle, smashed the furniture and left the cupboards bare. All that's left is derivative debts -- bets between liars and lies. Trillions of dollars. It turned capitalism into a Ponzi scheme for trading worthless paper. Continue
Is Redistribution Really All That Bad?
By Mike Whitney
Redistribution is never an issue when the money is flowing upwards. It's only when working people are poised to get a few scraps that all hell breaks loose. Continue
Between Hope and Reality
By Ralph Nader
Far more than Senator McCain, you have received enormous, unprecedented contributions from corporate interests, Wall Street interests and, most interestingly, big corporate law firm attorneys. Never before has a Democratic nominee for President achieved this supremacy over his Republican counterpart. Continue
A Farewell to Dubya, All-Time Loser in Presidential History
By Simon Schama
Where, O where are you, Dubya? Are you sweating it out on the treadmill, hurt and confused as to why the man everyone wanted to have a beer (or Coke) with, who swept to re-election four years ago, has been downgraded to all-time loser in presidential history, stuck there in the bush leagues along with the likes of James Buchanan and Warren Harding? Continue
By Robert Fisk
Not a single state paper is open to the people of Syria. There are no archives from the foreign ministry or the interior ministry or the defence ministry. There is no 30-year rule – for none is necessary. The rule is for ever. There is no Public Record Office in the Arab world, no scholars waiting outside the National Archives. Continue
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
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