Category Archives: Finance

What just happened in the stock market? Two weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose or fell by at least 400 points for four straight days, a stock market first. Continue reading →

Financial markets show signs that they have lost confidence in politicians both in the U.S. and in Europe. They have reached the conclusion that those presently in charge are not on top of things, and that either they don’t understand the current economic problems their countries face or they lack the will or ability to bring forth the bold economic policies that would be required to solve them. Continue reading →

In an article quoted by fundamentalanalyst.com from Naked Capital back on March 12, 2008, in the middle of the unwinding financial disaster, said article highlighted the ongoing ratings scams that Moody’s and S&P perpetrated back then. So, does S&P have a short memory or does it just enjoy playing the ‘pot calling the kettle black’ when it went ahead and downgraded the US government’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ to create more havoc? Click below for the tale . . . Continue reading →

It is no secret that Egypt has put all its faith in the US and Western international institutions since the days of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, contracting a huge foreign debt, a process that was increasingly corrupt, despite being careful watched over by those very agencies. This debt is financed by foreign banks, and must be repaid in dollars—with interest. If much of the money they create and then “lend” is siphoned off into Swiss bank accounts, that is Egypt’s problem. No one is trying to charge the people who gave Mubarak or his henchmen their money and then let them redeposit it with them, but it takes two to tango. Continue reading →

Although the financial press speculates about a downgrade of the US government’s credit rating and default if political impasse prevents the debt ceiling from being raised in time, I doubt anyone really believes that the debt ceiling will not be raised. It is just all a part of the political theater of the next couple of months. Continue reading →

The ForeclosureGate scandal poses a threat to Wall Street, the big banks, and the political establishment. If the public ever gets a complete picture of the personal, financial, and legal assault on citizens at their most vulnerable, the outrage will be endless. Continue reading →

Well, there’s young Tim again, trim and handsome little devil, as reported in the Washington Post, claiming that even if he uses “’extraordinary measures’ to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations, lawmakers will need to raise the legal limit on government borrowing by July 8. Continue reading →

When an IMF spokeswoman said at a news conference on March 17 that Japan has the financial means to recover from its devastating tsunami, skeptical bloggers wondered what she meant. Was it a polite way of saying, “You’re on your own?” Continue reading →

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) made an embarrassing error just two days before the start of the Libyan people’s revolution on February 17. This quote from an IMF country study appeared in a previous article: “The outlook for Libya’s economy remains favorable.” IMF Feb 15 This advice was 180 degrees off target. The Libyan economy has ceased functioning as protests and popular demands imploded the Gaddafi regime. Continue reading →