Posts Tagged “Financial meltdown”
- John McCain and Barack Obama took to the debate stage for the second time Tuesday night in Nashville, and more or less took turns taking shots at one another. Basically, we learned that each of them plan to do exactly what all of us want them to do, and the other guy is responsible for everything that’s messed up in the country now…
- Wall Street continued its worry about America’s economy with a sell-off that sank the Dow another 500 points and set off a chain reaction around the world, including a nearly ten percent decline of Japan’s Nikkei Index–the largest drop there in a decade. I’m tellin’ ya, that Mattress Stuffing Fund is looking like a smarter investment every day…
 Officials of AIG Insurance–who averted a collapse thanks to an $85 billion federal loan–testified before a Congressional committee Tuesday, where they were asked about a corporate retreat held at an exclusive California retreat just a week after their federal bailout–at a cost of nearly a half-million dollars. Those executives testifying claimed they had no idea it had occured–and are probably ticked off that they weren’t invited…- Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin surprised reporters on her campaign plane Tuesday when she joined them to answer a few questions, explaining her comments about Barack Obama’s relationship with one-time anti-war radical (and now respected university professor) Bill Ayers as a question of Obama’s judgement, then claiming "nobody has anything to hide" regarding her and huband Todd’s Troopergate controversy (see below) in Alaska–despite the fact that both refused to talk to investigators about it. So were the heels off and the gloves on, or the other way around?
 Officials at NASA are worried that the Mars Science Labratory mission is in jeopardy, as total costs for the program are expected to run over budget by at least 30 percent, which would permit Congress to intervene and shut down the entire project on its own. It could be that the future of the whole effort will not literally but definitely figuratively end up on another planet…- Scientists from the US and Japan have won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery and development of a jellyfish protein. This breakthrough has wide-reaching possibilities–not only has it helped other scientists understand how cancer spreads, it’s provided sushi chefs with a really cool new ingredient…
Tags: AIG, Bill Ayers, Congress, debate, Financial meltdown, John McCain, Mars, NASA, Nobel Prize, Sarah Palin
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- As America’s credit crunch persists, the Federal Reserve announced Tuesday a plan to buy "commercial paper"–short-term financing used by many companies to fund their day-to-day operations for expenses like payrolls and office supplies–directly from eligible companies. I’m just hoping those "short-term" needs don’t include quick escapes by CEO’s who’s companies they’ve put in the tank…
- Tuesday’s second presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama could give McCain the edge, since the debate’s town-hall format favors him. The "town hall" approach, allowing questions from the audience as well as from viewers via the Internet, has played into McCain’s "Straight Talk" approach with potential voters–just as long as they don’t ask him to explain what "The Keating Five" and "Iran-Contra" mean…
 A Congressional hearing on the reasons for the nation’s recent financial crisis learned that the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers was scrambling to arrange millions in bonuses for its top executives even while it was begging for federal help. But Lehman got no taxpayer money–maybe CEO Richard Fuld could have poinied up some of the almost $400 million the company had paid him since 2000…- New research has found that using a fan to circulate air in a baby’s room can reduce the risk of SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome–the still-mysterious condition that is fatal to otherwise healthy babies. Experts believe it relates to providing the right environment–keeping the infant on their back on a firm mattress, keeping toys and pillows out of the crib, making sure the room temperature isn’t too warm–and of course, avoiding any deliberate suffocation…
 John McCain’s campaign is feeling the heat from a report that links him to a key organization involved in the Reagan administration’s Iran-Contra fiasco–where arms were illegally sold to Iran to raise money for the ultra-conservative Contra rebellion in Nicaragua. McCain claims he left the group prior to Iran-Contra, but no one there remembers it happening. On top of the Obama campaign’s release of details of McCain’s involvement with The Keating Five during the savings-and-loan collapse 20 years ago, McCain may find that "Straight Talk" may do more harm than good…- Ford says it will introduce a new feature on several 2010 model cars that will permit parents to limit the speed a teen can drive to 80 mph. The company said they arrived at that number after taking into consideration freeway speeds from different states–but it does me no good in trying to keep my driveway limit under 50, does it?
Tags: Barack Obama, debate, Federal Reserve, Financial meltdown, Ford, health care, John McCain
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- The White House’s bailout plan to avoid a financial meltdown suffered one of its own Thursday, as hopes that Congress would pass the $700 billion fix were dashed–by the president’s own party, who refused to send a negotiator to a late-night meeting aimed at working out a deal. I understand the president had to convince Dick Cheney not to take all the dissenters hunting with him…
 And that meltown continued to pick up more heat Thursday, as the FDIC seized Washington Mutual and its $307 billion in assets–making it the the biggest banking failure in US history. They were obviously trying to be a financial leader, only I’m pretty sure this wasn’t it…- Among the perks enjoyed by lawmakers in California is all the free gas they need, at a cost to taxpayers of $220,000 so far this year–all while those same lawmakers couldn’t pass a budget with the state facing a $15 billion deficit. Wow–looks like these folks have attended some of those Destroying State Government seminars in Albany…
 Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are still at odds over whether to hold their first debate Friday, with Obama saying he intends to be at the University of Mississippi debate site while McCain–who earlier suggested it be postponed so the two could negotiate a financial rescue plan–is now mum on the subject. I guess he could always send VP nominee Sarah Palin in his place–McCain just has to be sure he gives her a note to say it’s OK…- The GAO, Congress’ official investigator, claims the FDA’s efforts to control food-borne illnesses are stymied by a lack of oversight of the produce industry. An agency spokesperson denied the allegation, then asked several people in the office if they knew who was in charge of lettuce…
 A Swedish daredevel crossed the English channel while strapped to a homemade jet-propelled wing Friday after jumping from a plane at an altitude of over 8800 feet. I’m sure there are situations where you’d want to do something like this on purpose, only I get ill thinking of them…
Tags: California, financial bailout, Financial meltdown, White House
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- Wall Street spent a nervous weekend preparing to deal with an administration proposal to spend nearly a trillion dollars to stop the financial industry from spinning out of control following one of the most volitale weeks in the history of the stock market. If early trading is any indication, there’s no hunter on earth that will stop this bear…
- Thanks to expanded early voting provisions and reduced restrictions on absentee voting in over half of US states, it’s likely that one-third of all general election voting will be already completed by Election Day. Why do I get the feeling that Fox News will have the election called for McCain by Halloween, based on exit polling done from the back of Postal Service vans…
- Both John McCain and Barack Obama are at work preparing for their first debate on Friday at the University Of Mississipi with decidely different strategies. Obama will spend time in Tampa to do a number of practice runs, while McCain tries desperately to convince Tina Fey to do the rest of Sarah Palin’s campaign appearances…
 For the first time since 1999, the US reclaimed golf’s Ryder Cup Sunday with a victory over Europe The win was no doubt sweeter due to it being accomplished without the still-injured Tiger Woods–the last time he was this irrelavent, he was a caddy for a putt-putt course…- In the midst of all the high-finance trials and tribulations last week, the Fed got around to granting the last two investments banks in the nation–Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs–a change in status to bank holding companies, which permits them to create commercial banks that can accept deposits and increase their resources. Great–I can’t wait to sign up for their exclusive "No-Return Federal Bailout CEO Golden Parachute Checking"…
- At Lewiston, Idaho’s Nez Perce County Fair, the annual hog calling contest was won by an ideal contestant–a woman named Jolee Bacon.
 Sometimes, just doing this job alone provides all the reward necessary…
Tags: Barack Obama, Election Day, Federal Reserve, Financial meltdown, John McCain, Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods
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- Congressional leaders say they will act quickly on a plan from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to buy up bad mortgages and other investments that are putting banks and other financial institutions in danger of collapse. Of course, now that the price tag is somewhere just south of a trillion bucks, that seems about as smart a re-election move as admitting you’re a distant relative of Osama bin Laden…
 Nearly a week after Hurricane Ike struck south Texas, Houston is beginning to return to normal with electricity restored to nearly a million homes and traffic returning to normal–but Galveston Island remains closed and residents ordered to stay away while officials struggle to get just basic services restored. I can’t help but think of that classic Glen Campbell song: "Galveston, oh Galveston…I am so afraid my house is floating…" (watch out–audio is old and scratchy!)- The American Medical Association and the American Academy Of Pediatrics, along with twenty other medical groups, say public confidence in vaccine safety must be restored , amid reports of measles outbreaks at a 10-year high and a quarter of all toddlers not sufficiently immunized. The primary reason is that some parents fear that they cause autism–which is about as likely (to them, I’m sure) that they also cause homosexuality…
  A new poll has found that support for a California constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is fading and now trails by a 17-point margin. I believe there are two major reasons–one, that Ellen DeGeneres has done it, and Anne Heche hasn’t… Federal law enforcement officials say former congressman Mark Foley likely won’t face charges for all those inappropriate emails and instant messages he sent to underaged pages. That may seem like another politician getting a break from the law, but I think the fact that Foley is now a political zero has probably punished him worse than any fine or jail time…- New Jersey’s attorney general has ordered an end to plea-bargains for teenagers ticketed for driving offenses, saying it undermines the state’s graduated license program–which mandates an improvement program for those offenders before a standard license is issued. It could have unforseen economic consequences–too many teens without cars could wipe out the Paramus Mall…
Tags: autism, Ben Bernanke, California, Financial meltdown, Galveston, gay marriage, health care, Henry Paulson, Houston, Hurricane Ike, Mark Foley, New Jersey
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