Free Republic

The European debt crisis has just gone to an entirely new level. Just when it seemed like things may be stabilizing somewhat, we get news of huge financial bombs being dropped all over Europe. Very shortly after U.S. financial markets closed on Friday, S&P announced credit downgrades for nine European nations. This included both France and Austria losing their cherished AAA credit ratings. When the credit rating of a country gets slashed, that is a signal to investors that they should start demanding higher interest rates when they invest in the debt of that nation. Over the past year it...

I have received a few emails asking if I was still content with my decision to shut down my brokerage. Not only am I content, but after seeing the news that broke over the weekend, I am of the considered opinion that the entire financial blogging community should formally call for a general financial market strike. And I’m not kidding. A couple of things have happened regarding the MF Global mess that I don’t think got the attention they should have because they broke over the weekend. So let me fill you all in. First, all notions of personal property...

Probe into Florida A&M death uncovers possible 'financial irregularities'By the CNN Wire Staff updated 5:41 AM EST, Thu December 15, 2011 **SNIP** "It became apparent (from) some of the people that we interviewed (that) the financial irregularities had to do with the band travels and other sports and administrative components of the university," he said. "To say it's systemic would be premature, but I will say again, it's not just isolated to this one program (band) that we're primarily dealing with today," Bailey told CNN. His department sent letters Tuesday to the heads of the university board and the state...

With growing fears about the stability of the financial system, today King World News interviewed legendary Jim Sinclair. When asked about the ongoing crisis, Sinclair stated, “Well, the story this morning is we have it but we’re not going to spend it. We are not going to buy our own bonds, we’re not going to cap the rates, but we have it and we might use it. It’s like that every day. Those guys can’t get their story together for more than fifteen minutes. The ECB has the availability of funds for some activities in the euro bond market. They...

"There is definitely going to be another financial crisis around the corner," says hedge fund legend Mark Mobius, "because we haven't solved any of the things that caused the previous crisis." We're raising our alert status for the next financial crisis. We already raised it last week after spreads on U.S. credit default swaps started blowing out. We raised it again after seeing the remarks of Mr. Mobius...he pointed to derivatives, the financial hairball of futures, options, and swaps in which nearly all the world's major banks are tangled up. Estimates on the amount of derivatives out there worldwide vary....

… Inequality in America is greater than it has been in almost a century. Those fortunate enough to belong to the 1 percent, made up of the super-rich, stand on one side of the divide; the remaining 99 percent on the other. Even for a country that has always accepted opposite extremes as part of its identity, the chasm has simply grown too vast. Those who succeed in the US are congratulated rather than berated. Resenting other people's wealth is viewed as supporting class struggle, which is something very frowned upon. Still, statistics indicate that the growing disparity is genuinely...

(CNSNews.com) – Federal employees at several financial regulatory agencies – including the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – are earning six-figure salaries and taking home bonuses up to $5,000, according to federal records obtained by Judicial Watch. At least 228 such regulators make $225,000 a year. In comparison, members of Congress make $174,000 a year; the Speaker of the House makes $223,500; and the majority and minority leaders pull in $193,400 a year. The records, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), show the number of employees at five of the six major financial regulatory agencies. In addition...

Clinton in Libya to offer financial assistanceBy Matthew Lee/ Associated Press Posted: 10/19/2011 01:02:09 AM PDT TRIPOLI, Libya -- The Obama administration offered millions of dollars in new aid to Libya as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton encouraged the country's unsteady new leadership to commit to a democratic future free of retribution, and acknowledged in unusually blunt terms that the United States would like to see former dictator Moammar Gadhafi dead. "We hope he can be captured or killed soon so that you don't have to fear him any longer," Clinton told students and others at a town hall-style...

Denial. Denial is safe. Comforting. Religiously and relentlessly abused by politicians who don't want nor can face reality. A word synonymous with "muddle through." Ah yes, that "muddle through" which so many C-grade economists and pundits believe is the long-term status quo for the US and the world just because it worked for Japan for the past three decades, or, said otherwise, "just because." Well, too bad. As the following absolutely must read report, which comes not from some trader of dubious credibility interviewed by BBC, nor even from an impassioned executive from a doomed Italian bank, but from consultancy...

A while ago, Glenn Beck had a guest on his TV show that helped Glenn demonstrate what a U.S. financial collapse would look like. He had it laid out across something like 14, 19, or 21 days, with each day showing the situation getting worse. There were a couple of "weekend spans" in which the guest said, "Nothing really happens these two days because it's the weekend." IIRC, Glenn was working from a large graphic of thin, six foot+ high markers that helped show the progression of days in an arc behind him. I know this isn't a lot to...

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Asian stocks fell on Monday, as concerns about a Greek default came back to the fore amid indications that Europe is losing patience with the country’s efforts to cut its debt pile...

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is worth between $2.9 million and $6.6 million, according to personal financial disclosure documents obtained and examined by The Daily Caller. Cain, a Georgia resident who was once CEO of the Godfather’s Pizza chain, has earned between $1.1 and $2.1 million in 2010 and 2011 combined. His personal wealth had not previously been made public. The campaign plans to file financial documents disclosing the information with the Federal Election Commission by the end of this week.

Stop the presses. Barely did we have time to report that European regulators failed to impose a coordinated short selling ban, that Bloomberg reports that the countries most impact by the market plunge are about to impose standalone short-selling bans. These are Belgium, Italy, Spain and France. In other words, it really is on and the 2008 Lehman PTSD flashbacks may now resume. Until we get a headline that says it isn't. The rescue of the Borsa Italian is now more schizophrenic than that of Greece. As a reminder, in the previous post the FT quoted Abraham Lioui, a professor...

CONSPIRACY THEORIES are one thing I have never been a supporter of since most are often DISINFORMATION that allows the real schemes to go on unnoticed. They also tend to assign to people knowledge of an omnipotent nature. The Mortgage Crisis was a nightmare, but those that were responsible only look at the immediate rewards. They do not look at the COLLATERAL DAMAGE nor do they have a clue about international global ramifications. It is far more dangerous when you realize there are a lot of people who only look at the immediate objective. They had no idea that rigging...

Around the world, starting Monday, all eyes are on the markets. The tension is palpable. The uncertainty is ample. And anger is heavy in the air. As predicted, the debt ceiling deal was not only NOT enough to assuage economic fears, it actually exacerbated them, triggering a flight from the Dow, and creating a decisive opportunity for ratings agency S&P to cut the once perfect U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+. At Alt-Market, we often talk about points of balance, and how certain moments in history become highly visible indicators of balance lost. If we pay close attention, and...

To help American carmakers stay in business, autoworkers grudgingly gave up pay raises and some benefits four years ago. Now that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are making money again, workers want compensation for their sacrifice. Just how much they get is the central question hanging over contract talks that start this week between Detroit and one of the nation's largest and most powerful unions. The negotiations, the first since Chrysler and GM took government aid and emerged from bankruptcy, will set wages and benefits for 111,000 members of the United Auto Workers, including those at Ford, which avoided bankruptcy...

he AARP, formerly the The American Association of Retired Persons, sent U.S. senators a letter last week asking them to oppose any increases in Medicare copayments. But the self-described pro-senior group hasn’t acknowledged that it has a financial stake in the debate’s outcome. (Snip) The AARP collects 4.95 percent of every dollar United HealthCare takes in from AARP members’ Medigap plan premiums. Not allowing Medigap plans to cover seniors’ Medicare copayment costs is a disincentive for AARP members to continue purchasing the supplemental coverage. In its letter to Congress, the AARP made no mention of any financial stake it may

She is the mother of fourteen children, who gave birth to the longest surviving octuplets in U.S history. But in disturbing comments sure to alarm social services, Octomom's Nadya Suleman has said she 'hates' her eight babies. The 36-year-old single mother also calls her six older children 'animals'

May 27, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT Why men are easy prey for investment scams Know if you’re vulnerable to fraud and protect yourself By Robert Powell, MarketWatch BOSTON (MarketWatch) — As someone whose family was affected personally by the Bernie Madoff scheme, and as someone who knew Brad Bleidt, a Boston-based scam artist who misdeeds preceded Madoff’s, I’m deeply concerned about the issue of investment fraud. So, too, is John Gannon, the president of the Education Foundation at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, known as Finra. Gannon was among those who spoke this week at Boston University’s Future of Lifecycle...

Of the five countries listed below, four, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and China are led by current, or former communists – in the case of Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff and South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, former communist terrorists. From Cuba’s Prensa Latina. Beijing, Apr. 14 China repeated its call for reform of the international financial and monetary system, with better representation of emerging economies and developing countries. Fair, inclusive, and well-managed systems must be established to support global economic development, President Hu Jintao sid during a summit meeting of the BRICS bloc in Sanya, on the southern island of Hainan. The meeting...