National and World Considerations

Troubled Greece

2008-12-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

Greece continues to suffer from rioting over a teen's killing by police action. BBC has the story:

"Greek rioters clash with police"

Thousands of rioters across Greece have clashed with police in a third day of violent protests over the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy.

Police used teargas against protesters roaming the streets of Athens throwing petrol bombs and setting fire to buildings, vehicles and rubbish bins.

Dozens of people have been injured throughout the country and there are reports of looting in some areas.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has gone on television to appeal for calm.

Read Full Article BBC News

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Mumbai Developments

2008-12-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

Mumbai was a tragic incident. Investigators are continuing to learn more:

"More Mumbai Links to Pakistan and Signs of Hostage Abuse"
By JEREMY KAHN and SALMAN MASOOD

MUMBAI, India — The Mumbai police on Thursday identified a second Pakistani terrorist as an engineer of the bloody assaults on the city last week and confirmed that they were investigating whether a Mumbai man arrested on terrorism charges had scoped out some of the high-profile targets the attackers struck, leaving more than 170 dead.

Gruesome new evidence also emerged Thursday suggesting that some of the six people killed at the Jewish center in Mumbai had been treated savagely. Some of the bodies appeared to have strangulation marks and wounds on their bodies did not come from gunshots or grenades, the police said.

Read Full Article New York Times

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Gloomy economic news

2008-11-17T09:28:00.000-08:00

For the U.S., along with the rest of the world, the economy is on everyone's mind. CNN has more bad news unfortunately:

"Citigroup to cut more than 50,000 jobs"
By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Citigroup said Monday it planned to cut more than 50,000 jobs, the latest move by the struggling bank to cut costs in order to weather the credit crisis plaguing Wall Street.

In an investor presentation on its Web site, the company said it would reduce its workforce to approximately 300,000 employees. As of the end of September, the New York City-based bank had about 352,000 employees.

This would be a 20% reduction in Citigroup's staff from their peak levels late last year.

Read Full Article CNN

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Economy Down, Oil Profits Up

2008-10-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Apparently Exxon Mobil profits are in record-breaking territory. I guess someone is benefiting from high gas prices. Washington Post has the story:

"Exxon Mobil Profits Set a Record in Third Quarter"
By Steven Mufson, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, October 30, 2008

Exxon Mobil Corp. smashed its own record for quarterly profits today, ringing up $14.8 billion in net income in the third quarter powered by soaring summertime crude oil prices.

Exxon Mobil's earnings, at $2.86 a share, are up 58 percent from the same period in 2007 and higher than what analysts expected, capping a week of strong profit numbers from the world's biggest oil companies, all of whom benefited from the spike in oil prices in July. Royal Dutch Shell also posted higher earnings today, beating analysts' estimates with $8.54 billion of profits for the third quarter.

Read Full Article Washington Post

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N.Y. suffering

2008-10-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

The City of New York has always been a top powerhouse area in the United States. This Wall Street mess is definitely going to hurt N.Y.C. What's coming in the Wall Street reform arena? This reuters article provides interesting analysis:

"Massive market clean-up looms after election"
By Kevin Drawbaugh - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Salvaging order from the Wall Street train wreck will mean years of toil for the next U.S. president and Congress, with an early reform push expected in the high-leverage, low-oversight markets for securitized debt and derivative financial instruments.

Soon after the November 4 elections, lawmakers plan to pursue big changes in credit default swaps, mortgage-backed securities and other complex investment vehicles at the core of a crisis that is costing taxpayers billions of dollars.

"No one has the right to juggle knives on a public bus," Rep. Chris Shays said at a congressional hearing last week.

Read Full Article Reuters

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Greece grinding to a halt

2008-10-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Greece is apparently having massive labor strikes that is basically stopping all commerce. BBC has the latest:

"Strike-hit Greece at standstill"

Air traffic, urban transport and public services have ground to a halt in Greece, where hundreds of thousands of people have walked out on strike.

Thousands marched through Athens in protest at privatisation, caps on pay and reforms to the pension system.

A small group of protesters threw stones and clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas.

But there were no reports of injuries and for the most part rallies in the capital passed off peacefully.

Read Full Article BBC News

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More stimulus checks??

2008-10-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Remember that nice little boost many of us received during the last economic stimulus bill. Well I guess there's talk of another round. MSNBC has the story:

"Bernanke: Fresh stimulus worth considering"
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Monday a fresh round of government stimulus is a good idea because there’s a risk the country’s economic weakness could last for some time.

President Bush — backing away from an earlier stance — said he was open to the idea.

Bernanke’s remarks before the House Budget Committee marked his first endorsement of another round of energizing stimulus, something that Democrats on Capitol Hill have been pushing. “With the economy likely to be weak for several quarters, and with some risk of a protracted slowdown, consideration of a fiscal package by the Congress at this juncture seems appropriate,” Bernanke testified.

Read Full Article MSNBC

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Progress in Fallujah, Iraq

2008-10-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

The economy is on everyone's mind right now, but there's some good news out of Iraq. Apparently the U.S. military (specifically Marines) are leaving Fallujah, because the violence is declining so much. Good luck to all of our troops, and hopefully they can all come home soon. FoxNews is covering the story:

"Last One Turn Out the Lights: Marines Quietly Begin Leaving Bases in Iraqi Cities"
By Jennifer Griffin, FoxNews

WASHINGTON — When Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly deployed to Iraq in February, the violence had fallen so low in Anbar province that he began figuring out how to start closing bases and prepare to go home.

In the last 10 months the Marines in Fallujah have done what was unthinkable before the surge began — they have quietly transferred out of one of Anbar province's largest cities. FOX News has learned in an exclusive interview with Kelly from Fallujah that 80 percent of the move is complete. In February there were 8,000 Marines living at Fallujah base. Now there are about 3,000 left. By Nov. 14 there will be none.

Read Full Article FoxNews

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Evolving Nation

2008-10-14T10:23:00.001-07:00

The U.S. has always been a place that changes and evolves. The changing demographics of Midwestern towns is no exception. CNN has an interesting article:

"Mayor: Feds turned my town 'topsy turvy' "
By Wayne Drash, CNN.com Senior Producer

POSTVILLE, Iowa (CNN) -- About a dozen Somali Muslims stand outside their makeshift mosque on Lawler Street, its sheet-draped windows emblazoned with the words "Sunday Mattress." Women are covered head to toe in traditional Muslim robes.

Across the street, a couple of Latino immigrants stroll the sidewalk in front of the town's long-standing Mexican restaurant. Just down the road, scores of ultra-Orthodox Jews walk down the street to the local synagogue. It's not uncommon to see people from Russia, Ukraine and the tropical island nation of Palau here as well.

Welcome to ground zero of the nation's immigration debate -- the tiny town of Postville, Iowa, a rural community of 2,400 tucked into the northeast corner of a state that's 94 percent white.

Read Full Article CNN

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Markets Coming Back

2008-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

After days of gloom and a seemingly endless downward freefall, markets around the world are rallying. Government plans are coming into place, and the panic is diminishing. The last week of tumbling stocks seemed a combination of sheer panic and poor economic practices catching up to everybody. Reuters has the latest:

"Markets cheer as Europe bails out banks"
By Jeremy Gaunt and Daniel Trotta

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets rejoiced after governments worldwide launched multibillion-dollar bailouts on Monday to shore up banks, and Britain called for a new Bretton Woods agreement to reshape the world financial system.

Major Wall Street stock indexes were up more than 5 percent in early trade, clawing back some of the major losses last week, when the Dow fell 18 percent. The MSCI world equity index was up 5 percent after tumbling 20 percent last week to a five-year low.

Britain, Germany, France, Italy and other European governments announced rescue packages totaling hundreds of billions of dollars that were designed to combat the global financial crisis, in which the credit markets have seized up at a time when major economies appear headed toward recession.

Read Full Article Reuters

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G7

2008-10-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Looks like the world financial leaders want to try to do something about the crisis. The bailout hasn't really seemed to do very much in the U.S., so I'm not sure what they're going to do. Tough times...BBC has the article:

"G7 nations pledge to fight crisis"

Finance ministers from leading industrialised nations have pledged action to tackle the financial crisis after a torrid week on stock markets.

The G7 nations said they would take "decisive action and use all available tools", after a meeting in Washington.

Widespread fears of a global recession caused Asian, European and US markets to tumble on Friday despite rate cuts and cash injections by central banks.

Read Full Article BBC News

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Oil continuing to slide

2008-10-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

A lot of the economic focus now is on the credit markets. However, the amazing drop in oil prices is something else to consider. It is definitely showing up at the pump as some places in the U.S. are nearing $3/gallon. It's now approximately $85/barrel and OPEC is showing some panic. Dropping demand and potential world recession are not helping OPEC's future prospects. Fox News has the article:

"Libya, Iran Say OPEC Eyeing Emergency Meeting Over Slumping Oil Prices"
Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya's oil chief called on oil producing nations Thursday to cut output and said OPEC was thinking about holding an emergency meeting next month to tackle the slump in global crude prices.

Oil prices have fallen about 40 percent from a record high of more than US$147 per barrel in July. The decline to about US$89 per barrel has been driven by falling demand in the U.S. and other industrialized nations, which are grappling with fears that the global financial meltdown could lead to a worldwide recession.

Even non-OPEC members "should protect their interest by reducing oil production to stop the loss of income," said Shukri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp.

Read Full Article FoxNews

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China Strengthening?

2008-10-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Reuters blog has an interesting point about the potential for China to step into areas where Western powers are pulling back from during the economic crisis. They seem to weathering the storm much better than the West. Africa is one such place where China is poised to potentially make big gains for its economy.

"Does crisis give China new opportunity in Africa?"
by Barry Moody

With the West reeling from the financial crisis and pulling back some of its investment in Africa, could China step into the breach and expand its footprint on the continent - a presence that already worries Western powers?

On the face of it, China, which is relatively unscathed by the crisis, has a golden opportunity to exploit Western disarray and increase its financial and political penetration of the continent. Already there are signs that Africans are starting to look away from the West and towards other emerging markets, especially China, as they watch the banking chaos in the traditional capitalist markets.

Read Full Article Reuters Blog

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Britain

2008-10-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

The UK economy is suffering as well. They are apparently already in a recession, and expect more problems in the coming years. We hope for the best as we all weather this storm. BBC has the story:

"UK economy 'already in recession' "

Britain is already in a recession, which is worsening and could see unemployment rise by 350,000 by next year, a business group has warned.

A quarterly survey of 5,000 businesses by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says confidence has collapsed in both manufacturing and service sectors.

The firms call for urgent action from the government and the Bank of England.

Read Full Article BBC News

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World economic mess

2008-10-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

It appears as if the entire world is reacting poorly to this credit/bank collapse. The "bailout" in the U.S., which had been the focus for a couple weeks, may have some impact; however numerous problems still exist. Markets all over the world are going down rapidly, as this situation looks like something we may all share. NY Times has the story:

"Stocks Fall Sharply on Credit Concerns"
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: October 6, 2008

The selling on Wall Street began at the opening bell on Monday and only intensified as the morning went on. Shares moved sharply lower as the banking crisis tightened its grip on the global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell below 10,000 for the first time since 2004 after losing more than 500 points in the first hour. The index has lost more than 1,100 points — or about 10 percent — in slightly more than a week.

Shortly after noon, the Dow was down 450 points or 4.3 percent.

Read Full Article NY Times

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The "Bailout" Continues

2008-10-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

As everyone likely knows, the bailout bill has passed the Senate and gone to the House. It will be interesting to see what happens here, especially considering the House is a very different unit than the Senate. I think the whole world is watching at this point. MSNBC has the story:

"Bush: Lawmakers ’must listen’ vote yes"
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Thursday “a lot of people are watching” to see if Congress will enact the $700 billion financial rescue plan that he called the best chance to restore calm to the financial industry.

As both Democratic and Republican House party leaders worked the offices and halls of congressional office buildings to find enough votes for passage in a floor showdown scheduled for Friday, Bush spoke with more urgency than previously as he lobbied furiously for the measure.

Read Full Article MSNBC

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Warren Buffett

2008-10-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Billionaire oil tycoon from Texas, Warren Buffett, has invested a lot of money into General Electric. This will likely serve to keep a major company going in these economic times. Buffett has been pushing for alternative energy development (such as wind) and an increase in domestic oil drilling. I wonder if he wants to exert some influence on GE to increase their alternative energy efforts. FoxNews has the story:

"Buffett Invests $3B in General Electric"
Fox Business

General Electric received a vote of confidence Wednesday afternoon from billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who made a $3 billion investment in the corporate conglomerate.

On top of a newly announced $12 billion common stock offering, GE (GE: 25.04, -0.46, -1.80%) said it has sold $3 billion in perpetual preferred stock to Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s holding company.

Read Full Article Fox News

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The Rest of the U.S.

2008-09-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

So a lot of focus is on D.C. and N.Y. these days concerning the financial situation. However, what does all of it mean for everyone else here? Reuters has an article worth reading:

"Main Street America angry over credit crisis"

By Andrea Hopkins

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Auto salesman Ryan Thomas is watching the credit crisis hit Main Street America. On Monday, as Congress rejected a bailout plan and stock markets plummeted, Thomas had to turn away a customer with $3,000 in his hand who wanted to buy a new vehicle.

"He wanted to get into a bigger truck for his job, he was a union worker," Thomas said. But the man still owed money on the vehicle he was trading in, so his loan request was denied.

"He didn't have enough money down. He would have needed about $5,500 down and he had $3,000. A year ago that was a piece of cake," Thomas said.

Read Full Article Reuters

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Austria's Government

2008-09-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Austria has seen a serious change in their government after national elections. Two parties, who are both very much on the right wing of political spectrum made serious gains there. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months. CNN has the latest:

"Right-wing parties make big gains in Austria"

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Austria's future direction lay in doubt Monday after two far-right, anti-immigration parties made big gains in national elections while the governing coalition lost seats in Parliament.

The conservative Austrian People's Party and the Social Democrats had their worst showings since World War II.

Read Full Article CNN

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Bail-Out story continues

2008-09-26T10:15:00.001-07:00

It will be nice when this economic limbo ends for the United States. It is dominating much of the news, and I am ready for another topic. Unfortunately, here's one more on the chaos with Wall Street. BBC has a good article:

"Bush says bail-out will be passed"

President George W Bush has said that legislators will "rise to the occasion" and pass the Wall Street rescue plan.

In a statement he said there were still disagreements because "the proposal is big and the reason it's big is because it's a big problem".

President Bush is expected to resume talks with Congressional leaders later on Friday to try to reach an agreement.

Read Full Article BBC News

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American Economic Situation

2008-09-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

Looks like Congress may be close to doing some sort of action concerning the Wall Street mess. Is it really possible that the U.S. is on the verge of a "great depression? Hopefully some sort of responsibility in the financial sector comes out of this. LA Times has the story:

"Bailout agreement talks make progress"

By Peter G. Gosselin,, Richard Simon and Maura Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON -- The White House said today "significant progress" has been made in talks for a $700-billion rescue plan for Wall Street.

"I think we've made significant progress, we have a framework that we can try to close on," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. "And we hope that we can get it done quickly."

Read Full Article Los Angeles Times

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Iraq Developments

2008-09-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well, much focus is on the economy around the world now, but Iraq and the Middle East are still important. Iraq does seem to be making progress, as they are making steps to allowing provincial free elections. FoxNews has the latest:

"Iraq Parliament Approves Provincial Elections Law"

Associated Press

BAGHDAD — Iraq's parliament overwhelmingly approved a provincial elections law Wednesday, overcoming months of deadlock and boosting U.S.-backed national reconciliation efforts.

But the lawmakers acknowledged the delay in passing the legislation would make it difficult for the electoral commission to organize the vote and pushed back until Jan. 31, 2009 the deadline for it to be held.

The legislation had been bogged down in a complex dispute between Arabs and Kurds over power sharing issues in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which Kurds seek to incorporate into their semiautonomous region in northern Iraq.

Read Full Article FoxNews

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Wall St. madness

2008-09-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Congress needs to get moving. Hopefully they can focus on doing something rather than just political combat. Reuters has an interesting article:

"Paulson and Bernanke warn of costs of bailout delay"
By John Poirier and Glenn Somerville

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday urged Congress to act swiftly to put in place a $700billion financial system bailout, warning delay would put the economy at risk.

Testifying before a sometimes-skeptical Senate Banking Committee, they said financial markets were in serious stress and needed to be stabilized quickly by cleansing them of illiquid assets.

Paulson wants lawmakers to approve a massive war chest, funded by taxpayers, to buy distressed debt from financial institutions to try to keep credit markets from choking up.

Read Full Article Reuters

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Russia & Venezuela

2008-09-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

Looks like Venezuela and Russia are strengthening military ties. It's well-known that Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's President, despises the United States. Do the Presidential candidates in the U.S. even really have any position on Venezuela? Check out BBC:

"Russian navy sails to Venezuela"

Russian warships have set off for Venezuela for joint exercises unprecedented since the Cold War.

The fleet of ships, headed by the nuclear-powered Peter the Great cruiser, set off from its base at Severomorsk in the Arctic.

The ships are due to take part in joint manoeuvres with Venezuela in November.

Read Full Article BBC News

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Hurricane Aftermath

2008-09-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

I know there has been lots of attention on the financial crisis lately, as that is the dominant concern. However, I wanted to post this article so we didn't forget about everyone in Texas recovering from Ike. Living through a serious storm is horrific enough (I went through the middle of Ivan in 2004), so best of luck to everyone there. MSNBC has the story:

"Texas a grim tableau nearly a week after Ike"
Associated Press

GALVESTON, Texas - It's been nearly a week since Hurricane Ike bulled ashore, and the images of once-bustling coastal Texas communities reduced to only a faint shadow of their old selves are no less staggering.

Survivors traipsing past debris piled higher than their heads. Loose livestock grazing beneath downed power lines. Before-and-after shots of whole neighborhoods washed away. Scores of people taking on the drudgery of making it all livable again for weary and anxious evacuees still waiting to come home.

Read Full Article MSNBC

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Other blogs

2008-09-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hey, for more news links and topics for discussion check out some of our other blogs:

AZ Immigration News

Important News for Arizona

Mexico News

AZ Legal Considerations

Thanks!

World economy

2008-09-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

This U.S. bank crisis is really becoming global. We are all very interdependent financially on one another at this point. Massive banks all over the world are seeking to prevent any more major meltdowns. We'll see what happens. Foxnews has reported:

"Top Central Banks Join to Calm Global Financial Crisis"
Associated Press

FRANKFURT, Germany — Europe's major central banks banded together with their counterparts in Japan, the U.S. and Canada on Thursday to inject more U.S. dollars into global money markets in a bid to stave off the growing global financial crisis.

The European Central Bank said that it had joined with the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank to pump more dollars into the financial system.

Read Full Article FoxNews

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Middle East Violence

2008-09-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

Looks like there has been a violent flare up against a U.S. embassy in the Middle East. Luckily no Americans appear to be injured, but 16 others were killed. Very sad; best of luck to everyone affected.

"16 Are Killed in Attack on U.S. Embassy in Yemen"
By ROBERT F. WORTH
Published: September 17, 2008

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Heavily armed militants opened fire on the United States Embassy in Sana, Yemen, on Wednesday and detonated a car bomb at its gates, in an attack that left at least 16 people dead including six of the attackers, Yemeni officials said.

No Americans were killed or wounded in the blast or when guards began to return fire, said a Yemeni official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Read Full Article NY Times

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Lehman collapse!!

2008-09-15T13:08:00.001-07:00

This Lehman brothers thing is unbelievable. Markets all over the world are tumbling. I wonder what effect this "credit disaster" will have on regular people just trying to buy a house. What has Wall Street been doing??? Go to reuters.com for some real detail on this situation

"Wall St extends losses on financial jitters"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks extended losses on Monday as cascading fears about the stability of the U.S. financial system pushed the Dow and S&P 500 down by more than 3 percent each.

Read Full Article Reuters

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9/11 Remembered

2008-09-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

BBC News today reported on 9/11 in the United States:

US President George W Bush has led commemorations of the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which left nearly 3,000 people dead.

Moments of silence were held at the times four hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

In Washington, Mr Bush dedicated a new memorial at the Department of Defense to 184 people killed there.

Read Full Article BBC News

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"California is still home to the priciest housing markets"

2008-09-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

USA Today points out some interesting facts in the U.S. housing market...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Californians rave about year-round sunshine, temperate climate and easy access to surfing, snowboarding and everything in between. But when it comes to getting the most out of their homebuying dollar, they've got nothing on homeowners in the Midwest, a study suggests.

Eight out of the top 10 most expensive housing markets in the U.S. are in California, while eight Midwestern cities are among the 10 most affordable markets, according to the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index released Tuesday.

Read Full Article USA Today

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"Protests in two Chinese cities"

2008-09-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

(BBC)
The Chinese government is reported to have sent thousands of soldiers and police to quell unrest in the central province of Hunan.

Up to 10,000 people took to the streets in Jishou to demand money back from an allegedly fraudulent fundraising firm, a Hong Kong-based rights group said.

Read Full Article BBC News

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September 4th

2008-09-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

"Hanna closes in on U.S. as Ike becomes major hurricane"

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Hanna churned across the Bahamas and toward the U.S. coast on Thursday, while Hurricane Ike, an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, roared farther out in the Atlantic, its destination a mystery.

Hanna was about 670 miles south-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, at 2 p.m. ET Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It was expected to pass just east of the Bahamas on Thursday and to be close to the U.S. coast by Friday night, the center said...

CNN's Larry Shaughnessy and Alanne Orjoux contributed to this report.

Read Full Article CNN News

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"Company says it could take weeks to restore Gulf Coast power"

(CNN) -- Three days after Hurricane Gustav came ashore on the Gulf Coast, nearly 829,000 households were still without electricity, power company officials said Thursday, warning that power may be restored slowly in the hardest-hit areas.

"In some areas where the damage is the most extensive or where access is the most difficult, it could be several weeks before necessary repairs are completed and all customers are restored," said Entergy Corp., which had more than 700,000 customers without power.

The majority of Entergy customers -- about 622,246 -- were in Louisiana. Baton Rouge and New Orleans were among the cities reporting the largest number of outages, the company said.

Read Full Article CNN News

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Starting out

2008-09-04T13:27:00.001-07:00

This blog functions to post pertinent news from around the world.

Posted by Phoenix Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys