Posts Tagged “stock market”
- The stock market returned to its wild ride Monday, as news of a global plan for buying directly into banks sent prices surging everywhere–including the US, where the Dow posted a gigantic 932 point gain, it’s biggest one-day bump in history. Brokers everywhere celebrated by taking off their homeless person disguises…
- President Bush said he would announce new plans Tuesday that will use a portion of the $700 billion bailout money for the purchase of stock in major US banks–the same plan adopted in Great Britain and throughout Europe. It must be strange for the president to announce a policy that wasn’t dictated to him while asleep by Karl Rove or Dick Cheney…
- Democratic Congressman Tim Mahoney of Florida called for a House Ethics Committee investigation into his own conduct after an ABC News report that he agreed to pay $121,000 to a former mistress and staff worker after being threatened with a sexual harassment suit. He’s either incredibly confident, insane or calculating–in other words, a politician…
 Princeton professor and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on international trade patterns–making Krugman the best-known American economist to win the award in decades. Krugman has been a relentless critic of the Bush administration’s economic policies, particularly the bailout package–which to much of the world would qualify him as a genius…- Canada is wrapped up in an election campaign as well, with voters going to the polls Tuesday to likely re-elect Conservative Party incumbent prime minister Stephen Harper over Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion. A native of Quebec, Dion’s struggles with the English language have been a campaign issue–you mean like Sarah Palin?
 Wildifres in Southern California are moving into suburban Los Angeles neighborhoods, fanned by the area’s legendary Santa Ana winds, forcing frantic evacuations by homeowners–some given as little as 20 minutes to escape the engulfing flames. There are those trying to put a positive spin on the tragedy–their commute just got a lot shorter…
Tags: ABC, California, Canada, financial bailout, Nobel Prize, President Bush, stock market, wildfire
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- The Supreme Court Thursday struck down as unconstitutional a Washington, DC ban on handgun ownership, a ruling which many are calling the most significant Second Amendment decision ever rendered–likely because no court until now ever weighed in on whether the amendment actually protects the right to "bear arms", or that the privilege was tied to service in a state militia. Who besides me thinks that Charlton Heston is somewhere, collecting on a bet he made with George Washington?
- President Bush signaled a major thaw in relations between the US and North Korea Thursday when he lifted key trade sanctions and removed them from a terrorism blacklist–all as a reward for disclosure of their existing nuclear programs. For now, the president is not insisting that leader Kim Jung-Il wear business suits and start combing his hair…
- The stock market dropped nearly 360 points to its lowest level in almost two years, largely on news of another record price of just under $140 a barrel. In other words, Americans are nearly-just under-almost ready to string up everybody on Wall Street…
- The makers of anti-flu drug Tamiflu are offering employers an opportunity to pay an annual fee to reserve enough of the vaccine to protect every worker in case a new super-flu strikes again. It certainly makes for a cost-effective way to eliminate an awfully convenient sick day excuse…
- The Democratic National convention in Denver may be a real challenge to its attendees, but it will be healthy–the catering guidelines specifically insist that no fried foods be served, and that every meal should be nutritious and include, "at least three of the following colors: red, green, yellow, purple/blue and white". Coincidentally, these are the identical colors that many Southern delegates will turn when they discover this…
- A House panel learned that a record 36 percent of commercial bee colonies have been lost to mysterious causes this year, which is twice the normal loss following winter. We haven’t seen a honey drop-off this significant since the local Hooters was closed…
Tags: Democratic Party, Gas prices, health care, House, North Korea, President Bush, stock market, Supreme Court
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- Stock prices soard yesterday with news of a deal that will give Bear Stearns shareholders 5 times the expected payout from the JPMorgan Chase buyout. The news will be a relief to many Americans, struggling to make ends meet on an eight-figure income…
- Clinton campaign advisor James Carville said he does not regret comparing New Mexico governor Bill Richardson to Judas for endorsing Barack Obama, saying it was an "egregious act" and he wanted to use a strong metaphor to make his point. Considering Carville’s nickname is "The Ragin’ Cajun", Richardson is probably lucky he didn’t really get insulted…
- The IRS will open 320 offices nationwide to help those who don’t usually file a tax return get the economic stimulus payments they are eligible to receive. These include the elderly, veterans, and a couple of wack jobs from the fringe willing to go back "on the grid" for a few bucks…
- Hillary Clinton announced a plan for the nation’s home mortgage crisis, suggesting laws to allow lenders to renegotiate terms more easily, and asking President Bush to name a panel of economic experts–including a pair of former Federal Reserve chairmen–to immediately recommend ways to deal with housing financing troubles. it’s a pretty good idea–as long as she doesn’t claim she first used it during her husband’s second term…
- The Justice Department has signed off on the merger of satellite radio providers Sirius and XM, saying the deal is unlikely to hurt competition or consumers. I doubt you can say the same for any XM host who Howard Stern doesn’t like…
- Detroit’s mayor says he expects to be exonerated from charges of perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice brought by county prosecutors yesterday. If not, he fully expects to be busted out of the joint by his Eight Mile homies…
Tags: Barack Obama, Bear Stearns, economic stimulus, Federal Reserve, Hillary Clinton, James Carville, Justice Department, President Bush, stock market
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- The Federal Reserve cut interest rates three-quarters of a percent yesterday, sending stocks soaring up 420 points. There was more buying going on than at Wal-Mart the day after Thanksgiving…
- The judge in Paul McCartney’s divorce case said his estranged wife Heather Mills was a less than candid court witness and said her claim to get a quarter billion dollars of McCartney’s money, "is and was unreasonable, indeed exorbitant." She would have been better off if she had just admitted she married him for his money and was ready to get paid…
- The Supreme Court is in the midst of a historic debate on the Second Amendment while hearing arguments on a District Of Columbia ban on handguns, with justices’ comments suggesting the court believes Americans have the right to own firearms but that the government has the right to regulate their sale. It sounds like a draw for the NRA–just not the kind they would like…
- Michigan’s planned primary do-over election is meeting some resistance over a requirement that would exclude anyone who voted in the Republican primary–even Democrats who chose to do so because of the national party’s action to strip the state of its delegates. Do you think they’re deliberately trying to screw up the election, or don’t they know any better?
- The leader of a group accused of plotting to destroy Chicago’s Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices testified in a Florida trial that it was all a scam designed to con $50,000 out of a man who claimed to have al-Qaeda connections. This defense will work about as well as the politicians’ favorite–"No, see, I was doing my own undercover investigation"…
- Five years into the war in Iraq, the financial cost is one of many initial Bush administration claims that fizzled–their estimate of $50-$60 billion is barely a tenth of the $600 billion that the Pentagon acknowledges as the current price tag, with others suggesting that the real cost could be in the trillions of dollars. In other news, the White House assures Americans we are not in a recession…
Tags: Bush administration, Democrat, Federal Reserve, Heather Mills, Iraq, Michigan, Paul McCartney, primary, Republican, stock market, Supreme Court, White House
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