The idea that the Federal Reserve should be granted even more power than it already has is raising the eyebrows of at least one observer: Eliot Spitzer.  He writes: “The United States should not lightly put our fate back in the hands of the very entity whose oversight of the economy and financial sector brought [...]

“Whether the men are really Japanese, as their passports declare, is unclear but Italian and US secret services working together soon concluded that the bills and accompanying bank documents were most probably counterfeit, the latest handiwork of the Italian Mafia.
Few details have been revealed beyond a June 4 statement by the Italian finance police announcing [...]

The Federal Reserve has been the primary actor along, with the Treasury Department, in the bailing out of Corporate America, primarily its financial institutions.  As a result, its debt has gone (by one report) from 900 billion in October of ’08 to over 2 trillion presently.  “The most recent Fed Balance Sheet reading of $2.16 [...]

Too much debt forced Eddie Bauer into bankruptcy and now an entity which owns several other retail chains is offering to buy its assets, maintain its corporate headquarters in Bellevue and continue current management.  “CCMP [the stalking horse] hopes to complete the sale within 45 days because a quick transfer of ownership would allow Eddie [...]

It is now trite to use the phrase “never before in history” as it is applicable to so many activities, especially economic ones.  But smugglers caught with suitcases holding 134 billion in US bonds…that has never happened before!  “Two Japanese men are detained in Italy after allegedly attempting to take $134 billion worth of U.S. [...]

Some big banks are trying to extricate themselves from government interference with their corporate governance…read salary caps…by repaying TARP money.  It is interesting that the Treasury Department had to approve the repayments (this being unlike normal loans, which is an understatement) and one wonders about the effect that this repayment has on the very public [...]

China has made a series of statements about its (her?) concern regarding the US monetary policies.  Basically, I surmise that China is concerned with the amount of national debt that is being racked up and the country’s ability to sell bonds at a rate adequate to finance the new spending.  In the past, at least [...]

Preferred shares are being converted into equity and the government will then be an owner of 34% of the company.  “Citi’s conversion is expected to flood the market with 18 billion new Citi common shares, diluting existing investors by 80 percent.”  Since so many governmental/corporate actions fall into this category, it is no longer even [...]

As has been previously noted, there is a move afoot for some countries to move out of US dollars.  With the increasing need for sales of US bonds, to pay for all the newly created TARP debt, this is an important change, if it actually occurs.  One question arises: since all countries and the IMF [...]

The US Supreme Court allowed the Chrysler sale to proceed, thus granting the current administration’s plan for the company’s assets to be sold to Fiat.  (I still cannot wait to see how your local Chrysler service bay handles warranty work on a Fiat product, once they arrive.)  From the e mails and other information which [...]