Russia and China have both previously made noises about a new currency; however, now the United Nations has joined this chorus along with a proposal for a more powerful central bank.  “In a radical report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said the system of currencies and capital rules which binds the [...]

The Judges made their decisions – and the finalists did include my two favorites the Bulgarian man, Bozhanov, and the Italian woman, Vacatello.  Since you can see their performances online at www.cliburn.tv I suggest that you watch/listen to Bozhanov’s semi final recital and Vacatello’s preliminary recital.  Both are top notch.  In particular, I thought that [...]

Local Dodge dealer strikes back and the customer is the winner.  Only a few months after agreeing to open/purchase a Dodge dealer, owner principal, Will Churchill, finds that his dealership is on the public list of Chrysler stores which are to close.  Thus, he promptly offered all of cars for sale to wholesalers and then [...]

“After 100 years in business and 10 months of frenzied but failed restructuring, General Motors Corp is weeks from the bankruptcy filing experts say will be required to complete the Obama administration’s bid to reshape a fallen icon of American industry.
Facing a government-imposed June 1 deadline to restructure, GM is scrambling to slash some $27 [...]

As I contemplate the government’s corporate preferences — GMAC yes; Chrysler Financial no (see one article on the forced switch: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090510/SUB01/305109961/1069 ) – I am reminded of the recent Saturday Night live skit where “President Obama” gives a speech on the government’s decisions about which companies will be allowed to continue and which will be [...]

“The kerfuffle about current New York Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Stephen Friedman’s purchase of some Goldman stock while the Fed was involved in reviewing major decisions about Goldman’s future—well-covered by the Wall Street Journal here and here—raises a fundamental question about Wall Street’s corruption. Just as the millions in AIG bonuses obscured the much more [...]

Here is a link to an article from www.Slate.com ’s Big Money section which is an excellent overview of today’s financial news.  Sample on Chrysler: “Chrysler’s dive into bankruptcy protection means the U.S. taxpayer won’t be seeing the $7 billion in bailout money provided to the automaker ever again. CNN Money reports that the company [...]

Here is a link to a map/article which shows the job gains/losses on a monthly basis across the country from January 2007 until present. 
http://www.slate.com/id/2216238/
It is an amazing visual representation of the job losses which have occurred in this country since February of 2008 (4.2 million lost jobs). 
Michael

As was noted here in the December 18 post, just because a bank takes TARP money does not mean that said institution will continue to loan money.  The Wall Street journal confirms that this is the case in a recent article which notes: “Leanding at the nation’s biggest banks has fallen more sharply than previously [...]

Russia, China and now the UN have all talked about a new currency.  None of those proposed currencies would be tied to gold however. 
“A UN panel of expert economists pressed Thursday for a new global currency reserve scheme to replace the volatile, dollar-based system and for coordinated steps by rich countries to stimulate their economies.”
“A [...]