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Military Debt Protection by: jimstaro Wed Nov 25, 2009 at 08:44:31 PST Military Debt Protection Could Hold Lessons for Congress, Consumers A special collaboration between the NewsHour and Frontline looks at how a military program aims to protect consumers from amassing too much debt. JIM LEHRER: Next tonight: a special Frontline/NewsHour collaboration on how to protect consumers from too much debt. Advocates say the military could teach Congress some lessons on that subject. Frontline correspondent Lowell Bergman reports...>>>>>Full Transcript There's More... :: (0 Comments, 70 words in story)

Wall Street still overestimating the American consumer by: gjohnsit Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 15:06:06 PST (10 am. - promoted by ek hornbeck)   Despite every effort from Washington, the American consumer continues to repair his/her balance sheet. The federal government has repeatedly gone back to what it knows and teased us with goodies (like cash4klunkers) in an effort to get us to spend money we don't have on things we don't need, but those days appear to be over.  (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer credit fell in September for an eighth straight month, the longest series of declines on record, as thousands of Americans lost their jobs and banks tightened access to loans.    Borrowing fell more than economists predicted, declining by $14.8 billion, or 7.2 percent at an annual rate, to $2.46 trillion, according to a Federal Reserve report released today in Washington. Credit dropped by $9.86 billion in August, less than previously estimated. The consecutive declines were the most since records began in 1943.  The optimists, who are already predicting that happy days are here again, fail to mention how the economy will rebound without the American consumer. Consumer spending is 70% of the economy. So how will the economy grow when the consumer is paying down debt rather than buying junk at the mall? There's More... :: (10 Comments, 307 words in story)

The Currency of Currency by: cabaretic Fri Sep 18, 2009 at 11:44:10 PDT ( - promoted by buhdydharma ) Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was recently interviewed by the conservative Washington Times and stated his opinion on a variety of current events.  Barbour's name has been floated as a potential 2012 Republican Presidential nominee and he appeals strongly to the party's conservative base.  The most interesting portion of the interview focuses on federal government spending versus state government spending.  Barbour's reply also reveals how quickly we have forgotten the problems of our past.  Those who advance a states' rights agenda and hold up the Tenth Amendment as justification often forget the massive problems this country faced when we focused more on individual states at the expense of Washington, DC.  While placing more control in a centralized system of government has created some problems, they are nothing compared to way it was when the reverse was true.   There's More... :: (1 Comments, 1219 words in story)

Elizabeth Warren: Lobbying on behalf of the American People by: jamess Mon Sep 14, 2009 at 15:42:04 PDT ( - promoted by buhdydharma ) We have been told that Wall Street Investment firms are "Too big to Fail" -- But that does NOT Mean they are "Too Big for Accountability"! The Question boils down to, Who Does the Congress Represent anyways -- The American People, or the Global Bankers (and their Lobbyists) ? And Will the People bother to care about Wall Street Regulation this time around? Since I'm assuming we will, here's some essential background on the Wall Street Meltdown mess: Credit Default Swap (CDS) What Does Credit Default Swap (CDS) Mean? A swap designed to transfer the credit exposure of fixed income products between parties. http://www.investopedia.com/te... CDS's are an easy way to transfer Credit Risk -- Check! There's More... :: (5 Comments, 1870 words in story)

Rachel Maddow breaks down Wall Street Deregulation into these simple Frames ... by: jamess Sun Jul 26, 2009 at 17:58:23 PDT ( - promoted by buhdydharma ) Way back in March of 2009, Rachel explained the "Highway Robbery" which happened on Wall Street, using a few simple word-pictures. (ie. simple Frames).  These perhaps deserve a quick review ... Rachel Maddow - Cops and Robbers Link to Rachel's very humorous  Clip Great Framing Rachel! ... I love it, when Progressive Talkers, make learning FUN! The simpler the Word-Pictures, the better the Frame! "Is our childrens learning?" as George W. used to ask.   Could be, ... Maybe we just needed to "Turn the Page" ... There's More... :: (6 Comments, 589 words in story)

With Friends in the Treasury -- Bankers don't need NO Accountability by: jamess Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 06:39:01 PDT (noon - promoted by Nightprowlkitty) Elizabeth Warren was appointed chair of a newly created Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), which is charged with keeping tabs on the $700 billion bailout of the financial sector - including Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Warren however, has had some "Trouble" getting straight forward answers ... as she explained to the Boston Globe: There's More... :: (9 Comments, 1182 words in story)

What's Coming Next, or Is Collapse Over, Nope! by: jimstaro Sun Oct 12, 2008 at 08:17:03 PDT (9 am. - promoted by ek hornbeck) I'm not an economist and the only real numbers I crunch are my personal expenses and when bidding construction jobs putting together those costs and percentages which in these latter years of my life, preferring more to do the work, I have done very little of, except while doing the work to bring a better quality for hopefully a bit cheaper cost in material and professional skill. Watching what is now taking place in banking and the dream new capitalist economy that's been sold for a number of years isn't really a big surprise to this common man, many were forecasting exactly what would happen if we followed the sales pitch. There's More... :: (3 Comments, 904 words in story)

The Next Financial Mess!! by: jimstaro Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 09:09:11 PDT Dealing in Debt!! Everyone, almost, is in a complete Rage at what is happening, and has been allowed to happen by not only soft regulation but the ease on any regulation in the Banking Industry, Morgage Industry, Wall Street, and in a Rage you should be. But want a better picture of the who got us here any why, leave your computer and go to the nearest mirror and take a Good Hard Long Look at the reflection coming back, Yep Folks, it's most of you, and the rest of the shit hasn't yet hit the fan, but it's quickly coming! Remember the clowns you hire to represent you in Washington, and local and state, are your clowns, you pay them. There's More... :: (4 Comments, 744 words in story)

Why I'm a little worried about the drop in oil by: Johnny Venom Wed Sep 17, 2008 at 03:54:32 PDT (8 am. - promoted by ek hornbeck) Can't sleep, been thinking about the price of oil, worrying about it to be honest. Now you may be thinking "Venom, what are you crazy? A putz? A drop in the price of oil is a good thing!"  And I would reply, yes, under normal circumstances it is.  But these days, things ain't so normal.  Actually, right now, oil is up since yesterday, but it's been in a slide for the past week or so. There's More... :: (5 Comments, 1543 words in story)

Pawn Shops: The Newest Growth Industry by: bubbanomics Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 15:43:06 PDT (8:00PM EST - promoted by Nightprowlkitty) It's refreshing to see that some businesses are doing well in today's economy.  Perhaps the most successful venture going today is the pawn shop.  From Peoria to Pasadena,  pawn shops are seeing a boom in clients. Says Doug Robinson, a pawn shop owner in Pasadena, We've been on a continuous uphill run for a number of months.  I don't see anything that will stop it. Worse even than the paycheck advance loans, a pawn shop loan typically involves an annual interest rate in excess of 50%.  Yes, that is fifty percent per year.  In Mississippi, the cap is 25% per month, which is 300% per year (if not compounded monthly).   Given that credit card debt is often 18% or higher, it is incredibly sad to imagine the poor soul who pawns an object at 50% interest to pay that very same object off on the 18% credit card debt.   There's More... :: (48 Comments, 664 words in story)

Vertigo by: Jerome a Paris Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 06:10:25 PST (Interesting stuff 10 pm - promoted by ek hornbeck) That graph was posted alongside this article in the NYT, and it pretty much captures the unprecedented nature of the credit crisis we're going through this autumn. In several sectors of the financial world, lending quite simply stopped. Leveraged buy-outs, the big story of the past 18 months, no longer exist. Asset-backed paper is seen as "toxic waste", and no longer provided - it continues to exist in so far as banks would rather roll over paper that cannot be repaid rather than make all the underlying losses appear in plain sight. As lending prior to that had been extravagantly exuberant, this is not having an immediate impact for many companies, which have sound balance sheets and advantageous existing credit lines, but as it drags on, the real economy will start to feel the pinch as it needs to finance or refinance its normal activities, let alone investment. There's More... :: (25 Comments, 197 words in story)