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19 February 2008
Wall St. Banks Confront a String of Write-Downs - NYT
In recent weeks one part of the debt market after another has buckled. High-risk loans used to finance corporate buyouts have plummeted in value. Securities backed by commercial real estate mortgages and student loans have fallen sharply. Even auction-rate securities, arcane investments usually considered as safe as cash, have stumbled.
Clinton to fight for every delegate - msnbc.com
“Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn't won any of the significant states -- outside of Illinois?” Chief Strategist Mark Penn said. “That raises some serious questions about Sen. Obama.”
Howard Wolfson, communications director, pointed out, “We do better the more voters vote. The largest turnout primaries, by in large, are the ones that have favored us. …The presidential election is not a caucus; it’s an election for the most people to get out and vote.”
No Lull in Mortgage Pitches - NYT
Countrywide Financial brags in its ads that “No one can do what Countrywide can” and that “Countrywide can show you the way home.” Wachovia ads feature an “Approved” stamp prominently at the top, and Bank of America says, “Homeownership is the best medicine.”
Obama mania's got all sides screaming
"If Hillary walked on water, she would be criticized for not swimming," Lehane said. "And if Obama swam, he would be lauded for being able to do what Hillary could not do."
Pakistanis Deal Severe Defeat to Musharraf in Election - NYT
Pakistanis dealt a crushing defeat to President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections on Monday, in what government and opposition politicians said was a firm rejection of his policies since 2001 and those of his close ally, the United States.
Almost all the leading figures in the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, the party that has governed for the last five years under Mr. Musharraf, lost their seats, including the leader of the party, the former speaker of Parliament and six ministers.
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18 February 2008
The Afghanistan Conundrum: Germany Mulls Exit from Anti-Terror Mission - SPIEGEL
The German government is considering exiting the United States-led anti-terror operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan and has already sent out feelers in Washington about the issue.
15 February 2008
Bleak New Batch of Data on Economy - NYT
With the price of oil near record levels, import costs grew in January at the highest annual rate in a quarter century, the Labor Department said. In New York, manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level in five years. And consumers, responding to a national survey, said they felt worse about the economy than any time since the recession era of the early 1990s.
Black Leader, a Clinton Ally, Tilts to Obama - NYT
Representative John Lewis, an elder statesman from the civil rights era and one of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s most prominent black supporters, said Thursday night that he planned to cast his vote as a superdelegate for Senator Barack Obama in hopes of preventing a fight at the Democratic convention.
BBC | Weak rise in US industrial output
US industrial production rose a meagre 0.1% in January, official figures have shown, the latest indication of weakness in the US economy.
House Holds Bush Aides in Contempt - NYT
The House voted Thursday to hold two of President Bush's confidants in contempt for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into whether a purge of federal prosecutors was politically motivated.
14 February 2008
BBC | US retail sales in surprise rise
US retail sales rose 0.3% in January official figures show, bolstered by sales of new cars and petrol.
BBC | Venezuela breaks ties with Exxon
Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has announced it is suspending sales of crude to Exxon Mobil, in response to legal action brought by the US firm.
UK might be on verge of recession, says King | The Guardian
The Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, admitted yesterday that the economy might grind to a halt this year - but warned that the continuing risk of inflation made further interest rate cuts unlikely.
BBC | Mortgage insurer reports big loss
US mortgage insurer MGIC has reported quarterly losses of $1.47bn (£750m) after being hit by the housing slump and resulting high levels of bad debt.
AlterNet: Obamanomics: Barack Talks Tough on Trade
On Wednesday, the first full day of a Wisconsin primary campaign that he hopes will solidify his emerging lead over his once "inevitable" rival, the Illinois senator started in Janesville, where he delivered a rebuke to free-trade policies of the Bill Clinton and George Bush eras that sounded a little like a speech Feingold might have delivered.
BBC | US annual trade deficit narrows
The US trade deficit narrowed in 2007, official figures show, as a rise in exports offset the country's large growth in oil imports.
Fed Chief Hints at Further Rate Cuts - NYT
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that the country's economic outlook has deteriorated and signaled that the central bank is ready to keep on lowering a key interest rate -- as needed -- to shore things up.
Think Progress » Bush Administration Hides More Data, Shuts Down Website Tracking U.S. Economic Indicators
The Bush administration’s latest move is to simply hide the data. Forbes has awarded EconomicIndicators.gov one of its “Best of the Web” awards. Yet the Bush administration has decided to shut down this site because of “budgetary constraints,” effective March 1.
State Intervenes to Prevent Subprime Death: German Government Gives Bank Billion-Euro Bailout - SPIEGEL
The German government is to bail out the troubled IKB bank to the tune of 1 billion euros. It is the second cash injection for IKB, one of the many German casualties of the US subprime crisis.
Interview with 'Lemon Tree' Director Eran Riklis: 'There Are So Many Mental Borders in the Middle East' - SPIEGEL
The "Panorama" section of this year's Berlin International Film Festival opened with the world premiere of "Lemon Tree," the story of a Palestinian widow's fight to save her family's lemon orchard.
12 February 2008
Mortgage Crisis Spreads Past Subprime Loans - NYT
Like subprime mortgages, many prime loans made in recent years allowed borrowers to pay less initially and face higher adjustable payments a few years later. As long as home prices were rising, these borrowers could refinance their loans or sell their properties to pay off their mortgages. But now, with prices falling and lenders clamping down, homeowners with solid credit are starting to come under the same financial stress as those with subprime credit.
BBC | Buffett offers deal to insurers
He offered to takeover the insurance of $800bn-worth (£408bn) of local government bonds, currently covered by MBIA, Ambac Financial and FGIC.
The Comeback of the German Dinosaurs: Industry Returns as Economic Engine - SPIEGEL
The comeback of German manufacturing contradicts the notion that the future belongs to the service industry. Manufacturing firms are currently the engines of growth in the German economy, even for the service sector.
09 February 2008
Another Goldman Perk: Sex Changes -- NYT
Fortune.com reported Friday that Goldman added coverage of sex-reassignment surgery to its medical plan last year.
Goldman employees can undergo the procedure, which normally costs anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000, and have it paid for entirely by their medical insurance.
BBC | Venezuela denies oil asset freeze
Venezuela's state-run oil firm has denied that US oil giant Exxon Mobil had won a court order to freeze up to $12bn (£6bn) of its assets.
