– Economy could lose 2M jobs in ’09 – report (CNN Money)
– China’s Exports Decline by Most in Decade on Global Recession (Bloomberg)
– Royal Bank of Scotland May Face LyondellBasell Losses (Bloomberg):
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Royal Bank of Scotland Plc is the biggest lender to bankrupt chemical maker Lyondell Chemical Co. and may face losses on its $3.47 billion of loans to the U.S. chemicals company.
– Royal Bank of Scotland Selling Bank of China Stake (Bloomberg)
– Saab, Volvo Must Be ‘Carved Out’ To Win Aid-Swedish Official (CNN Money)
– Commercial property rents collapse in London hedge fund areas (Independent):
Rents for plush offices in Mayfair and St James’s plunged almost 30 per cent last year, hammered by the declining fortunes of many of their hedge funds tenants.
– Stephen King: You can’t buy confidence when the economy is in a state of collapse (Independent): Stephen King is managing director of economics at HSBC
– German bond sale’s fate signals trouble ahead (Financial Times):
A German sovereign bond auction failed (!!!) on Wednesday as investors shunned one of the most liquid and safe assets in the world in a warning for governments seeking to raise record amounts of debt to stimulate slowing economies.
– Bernard Madoff Will Remain Free on Bail, Judge Rules (Bloomberg)
– U.K. Slumps Most Since 1989 as Home Sales Drop, Surveys Show (Bloomberg)
– Zimbabwe introduces $50 billion note (CNN):
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) — Zimbabwe’s central bank will introduce a $50 billion note — enough to buy just two loaves of bread — as a way of fighting cash shortages amid spiraling inflation.
– Taxpayer will own nearly half of super-bank (Independent):
Taxpayers are set to own almost half of the “super-bank” created from Lloyds TSB’s rescue takeover of HBOS, the two banks confirmed today
– Job losses accelerating to levels not seen since World War II (Memphis Commercial Appeal):
“There is no indication that the job situation would stabilize anytime soon,” said Sung Won Sohn, economist at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University.
“This could turn out to be one of the worst economic setbacks since the Great Depression,” he said.
