U.S. President-elect Barack Obama waves after speaking during the “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial” event in Washington on Jan. 18, 2009. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News
– Obama Issues Call to Service to Help Repair Nation (Bloomberg):
Obama is using the latest state of the art manipulating techniques. Don’t fall for this puppet of the elite, rather listen to some of the few people – like Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, Marc Faber and Jim Rogers – that are telling you the truth:
Paul Craig Roberts On The U.S. Leadership: “They Are Criminals” – The Potential Here Is Far Worse Than The Great Depression or Peter Schiff: We are the United States of Madoff
More change: Obama Reaches Out for McCain’s Counsel (New York Times)
– California Finds Public-Works Spending No Unemployment Cure-All (Bloomberg):
“What infrastructure spending can do is bolster employment in a group of industries, like construction, with workers who are ready to go,” said Brad Kemp, director of regional research at Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. “What it can’t do is stop the unemployment rate from rising currently because there are a lot of forces coming at consumers, who are holding back on spending.” California is totally broke: Here
– ! Bonds tumble as Government admits no cap on taxpayer risk (Telegraph)
– Brazil Cut Record 654946 Registered Jobs in December (Bloomberg)
– Brussels sees Eurozone economy shrink 1.9% (Financial Times)
– Spain Downgraded by S&P as Slump Swells Budget Gap (Bloomberg):
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Spain had its AAA sovereign credit rating removed by Standard & Poor’s in the second downgrade of a euro-region government in five days, as the country’s first recession in 15 years swelled the budget deficit.
– China GDP Growth May Cool to Slowest Pace in 7 Years (Bloomberg)
– Ruble Drops to Pre-1998 Crisis Low on 6th Devaluation This Year (Bloomberg):
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — The ruble fell below the weakest level seen in the 1998 Russian crisis after the central bank devalued for the sixth time in seven days to protect reserves.
– Fifty jobseekers chasing every vacancy in some parts of the country (Telegraph)
– Treasury Yields Flattened as Fed Fights to Cut Mortgage Rates (Bloomberg):
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke helped spark a rally by reiterating Jan. 13 at the London School of Economics that he’s considering buying long-term Treasuries to reduce borrowing rates as the recession deepens.
(Bernanke helped to create the ultimate Bond Bubble: Here, here and here.)
– Bonds no safer than houses (The Financial Standard)
– Denmark agrees on 13.4-bln-euro line of credit to banks: govt (AFP)
– How the Treasury Bubble Will Burst and Why (Seeking Alpha)
– Investor puts pressure on HSBC to let US sub-prime unit go bankrupt (Times)
– Tory chief’s firm cost councils £470m (Independent)
– RBS on the brink as shares plummet by 69% and City is warned: ‘You’re about to become
Iceland-on-Thames’ (Mail Online)
– RBS ready to write off £1bn loan to Russian oligarch (Scotsman)
– RBS Plummets Amid Concern Bank May Be Nationalized (Bloomberg)
– RBS shares dive 70% on mounting debt fears (Times Online)
– Tax rise for rich won’t make society fair, says Mandelson (Guardian)
– More Americans Joining Military as Jobs Dwindle (New York Times)
– Circuit City to close remaining 567 stores in US (Los Angeles Times):
The failure of the No. 2 electronics retailer means the loss of 34,000 jobs.
– BASF warns of possible job and production cuts (Houston Chronicle)