– The Big Takeover (Rolling Stone):
The global economic crisis isn’t about money – it’s about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution. It’s over — we’re officially, royally fucked. no empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock,…..
– ‘Break up the banks, bust the trusts!’ exclaims Olbermann (Raw Story):
Keith Olbermann used his Thursday Special Comment on MSNBC’s Countdown to lay out one of his most impassioned tirades yet, this time a diatribe against “the latest atrocity” from banks he feels the US should “break up” and regulate “to within an inch of their existences.”
– Feds shut banks in Georgia, Colorado, Kansas (AP)
– China backs talks on dollar as reserve – Russian source (Reuters):
MOSCOW, March 19 (Reuters) – China and other emerging nations back Russia’s call for a discussion on how to replace the dollar as the world’s primary reserve currency, a senior Russian government source said on Thursday.
– UK car production slumps 60% (Guardian)
– The Real AIG Scandal (By Eliot Spitzer):
Everybody is rushing to condemn AIG’s bonuses, but this simple scandal is obscuring the real disgrace at the insurance giant: Why are AIG’s counterparties getting paid back in full, to the tune of tens of billions of taxpayer dollars?
– Democracy teeters in Pakistan as President falters (Sydney Morning Herald)
– GM, Chrysler May Need ‘Considerably’ More Aid, Rattner Says (Bloomberg):
“It could be considerably higher, I won’t deny that,” Rattner said, when asked whether U.S. aid sought could rise to $30 billion or $40 billion.
– Treasury throws $5 billion lifeline to auto suppliers (McClatchy):
WASHINGTON — Adding to the growing list of economic sectors that are going under the protective wing of government, U.S. auto-parts suppliers will receive up to $5 billion in a taxpayer-funded revolving line of credit, the Treasury Department announced Thursday.
– Citigroup May Spend $10 Million for Executive Suite (Bloomberg):
March 19 (Bloomberg) — Citigroup Inc. plans to spend about $10 million on new offices for Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit and his lieutenants, after the U.S. government injected $45 billion of cash into the bank.
– CBO to Project 2009 Deficit Will Reach $1.9 Trillion (Bloomberg):
March 20 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama’s budget will generate a $1.9 trillion deficit this year, $100 billion more than the administration projected, according to a person familiar with a Congressional Budget Office report to be released today.
– US calls on Sweden’s “Mr Fix It” Bo Lundgren (Telegraph):
The Swedish financial chief known as “Mr Fix It” has been summoned to Washington to advise on how Sweden’s model might avert a global banking meltdown.
– ThyssenKrupp to cut thousands of jobs (Financial Times):
The conglomerate plans to cut more than 3,000 jobs, or 1.5 per cent of its total workforce, in its steel and automotive production units and at its shipyards, people close to the situation told the Financial Times.
– California unemployment rate hits 10.5 percent (Reuters):
At 10.5 percent, California’s unemployment rate is at its highest level since April 1983 and has increased for 11 consecutive months (… and will continue to do so.)
– US Submarine, Naval Ship Collide in Hormuz Strait (Bloomberg)
– California “tent city” for homeless to be closed (Reuters)
– China’s shopping spree (Independent):
As Beijing exploits the mayhem in the global economy to pick up a growing list of natural resources bargains, should the West worry it is selling the family silver? (Much more than the family silver.)
– China can’t pull world out of recession, says OECD (Guardian)
– Mortgage Rates May Fall to WWII Low on Fed Purchases (Bloomberg):
(…and the dollar will go down the toilet.)
– G20: Do what we say, not what we do (Independent):
The G20 finance ministers may have yet again reaffirmed their opposition to protectionism, but there’s plenty of it around.
– 8 slightly hurt in French nursery school shooting (AP)
– Postal Service to Close Offices, Seek Retirements (Bloomberg):
March 20 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Postal Service said it will offer early retirement to almost one in four workers, close administrative offices and eliminate more than 3,000 jobs as it grapples with a financial crisis.