March
16
2008
March
16
2008
March
15
2008
The near-collapse of US investment giant Bear Stearns and its Federal Reserve bailout on Friday stoked fears that the worst is not over.
Bear Stearns, so far the hardest hit by the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market, said it was getting an emergency loan from JPMorgan Chase backed by the Federal Reserve after its liquidity position had “significantly deteriorated.”… (Translation… THEY WENT BROKE!!!)
“Obviously, the Bear Stearns story rapidly gave rise to worries that it might not be the only firm with similar problems,” said Gregory Drahuschak, analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott.
We’re all waiting to see Which bank is going to follow the Bear … Chris Whalen, of the Wall Street consultancy Institutional Risk Analytics, said: “This is going to go all the way up the chain. “I would not be surprised to see an emergency bank holiday announced. That hasn’t happened since Roosevelt.” … During the Depression, 75 years ago almost to the day, Franklin Roosevelt declared a four-day bank holiday, which stopped a frantic run on banks.
Is that what will happen Monday after what analysts described as a classic run on the bank last Thursday?… Mr Whalen added that should banks such as Lehman continue to be unable to sell the billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities held, they were doomed.
The Bear Stearns news “has sent reverberations throughout all markets worldwide, not only because this is another ‘too big to fail’ scenario, but also because it has strong implications for a domino effect in the already weakened financial services industry and beyond,” added Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
IN THE MEANTIME… The dollar sank below 99 yen, to the weakest in 12 years, and slumped to a record low versus the euro after JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the New York Federal Reserve bailed out Bear Stearns Cos., as credit market losses widen.
And good ‘ol G.W. Bush say’s that “Our economy will prosper.” but said Americans could counter the downturn if they do one thing: spend.
What do we have to spend George?!?… Oh! You mean the change left over from paying for gas?… Guess you didn’t notice that At the pump, gas prices set records for the fourth straight day, rising 1.3 cents Friday to a national average price of $3.28 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service… And that average prices are nearing $4 in some parts of Hawaii.
And never mind that Gold hits $1,000 for first time as oil sits around $110 a barrel… And that Diesel, meanwhile, rose 2.9 cents to a new record national average of $3.94 a gallon… A new record… Those trucks that deliver all the groceries and goodies to Wal-Mart?… Guess what they run on?
We’ll just hold out for that rebate check in May… We’ll just hope that if the Banks tighten, or even freeze, home equity lines of credit … We can still pay our rising Credit card APRs that keep going up despite Fed rate cuts
This Story as well as the Next Story make it seem that our 80 year old auntie may be onto something when she insists on keeping a few bucks under the mattress…
Maybe we will just stop by the corner ATM before Monday… And maybe we’ll pick up a lottery ticket or two.. Sounds like a safer bet than the markets.
March
15
2008
America’s largest chicken processor has announced major Plant Closings due to the high cost of chicken feed… It seems that the oil companies have decided to offer the farmers a higher price for their corn than the feed manufacturers… This Story is from Jan 2007… Things have gotten worse since then… A lot worse.
Here’s what Forbes has to say about Pilgrims Pride and HERE is where the company said that the current oversupply of chicken makes it difficult to pass costs on to the consumer… That means that we should be loading up the freezer with all the cheap chicken we can get… Because in a month or so… You’ll need to tap into your non existent home equity to buy a few drumsticks.
If the largest chicken company’s Chief Executive… J. Clinton Rivers says the industry can’t shoulder the costs any longer… What does that tell you about companies like Tyson and Purdue?
This News Video shows the plant workers complaining about how many spanish speaking people are going to be out of work when these plants close… What?!?! Undocumented workers getting laid off in their thousands?… Madness!!
USA Today has more stories relating to many places affected by this… But wait! It gets even more interesting!
Beef and Dairy Cows being sold off for the same reason… I just saw an ad for 3 pound chubs of ground beef at $1.37 a pound at my local market… Since ground beef is about all milk cows are good for… I guess that explains why the price of milk is through the ceiling.
With the price of eggs skyrocketing… I guess that means they’ve been selling off the laying chickens over the past month or so… Lay mash and pellets are more expensive than regular chicken feed.
That would explain why most varieties of soup containing chicken and beef have dropped… My local Safeway is selling the larger cans of Progresso Soup at 10 for $10…. That’s a damn good price… I think maybe we’ll go drop $40 on soup this weekend.
I guess if these chickens
and these cows 
don’t run fast enough…
Then we’ll end up with Foghorn 
and Elsie 
on the labels…
March
14
2008
It took long enough… But now you can put this masterpiece on your playlists…
Find the MP3 download HERE
March
14
2008
March
14
2008
March
14
2008
USS Jimmy Carter… Big… Fast …Sneaky… And Deadly…
Click To Enlarge
March
14
2008
A woman in Ness City, Kansas had to be surgically removed from her boyfriend’s toilet after allegedly sitting there for two years.
“She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body,” Whipple said. “It is hard to imagine. … I still have a hard time imagining it myself.”
He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.
“And her reply would be, ‘Maybe tomorrow,”’ Whipple said. “According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom.”
The boyfriend called police on Feb. 27 to report that “there was something wrong with his girlfriend,” Whipple said, adding that he never explained why it took him two years to call.
Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to her mid-thigh. She was “somewhat disoriented,” and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.
“She said that she didn’t need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave,” he said.
March
14
2008
March
13
2008
March
13
2008
Money Boots
March
13
2008
Do It HERE
March
13
2008
Albert Einstein: “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”
Unknown: “Astronomers say the universe is finite, which is a comforting thought for those people who can’t remember where they leave things.”
Edward P. Tryon: “In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.”
Max Frisch: “Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man doesn’t have to experience it.”
Kilgore Trout: “The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.”
Woody Allen: “I’m astounded by people who want to ‘know’ the universe when it’s hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.”
Douglas Adams: “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
Rich Cook: “Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.”
March
13
2008
That’s Buubles Devere on the left… Both of the big ladies are actually men in latex fat suits… Read More HERE
