Full Text of Bernake’s Speech [Federal Reserve] (Photo: AGRR 4059)
money meltdown
100 Kilos Of Gold Art Show Cancelled
By 3.6.09
100 kilos of gold bricks will not be arriving at the Gagosian Gallery in Santa Monica, California this weekend. The bricks were to have been the centerpiece of a show called One Ton One Kilo by artist Chris Burden. The gold was bought from Stanford Coins and Bullion, part of the Stanford Financial group. You know, Stanford, the mini-Madoff guy accused of bilking investors in an $8-billion ponzi scheme. Now the transfer is frozen while the SEC investigates Stanford. It appears that large-scale conceptual sculpture is but the latest unexpected casualty of the economic crisis.
BoA: No Credit, Even For Rocket Scientists
By 3.4.09
If you have any lines of credit and you use them to manage your financial flow, you should evaluate your personal money matrix so you’re ready in case all of them get cut. They’re cutting lines of credit even for rocket scientists like reader Rocky. That’s right, he’s an engineer in the aerospace industry, has never overdrawn, never been late, never incurred NSF charges, and has 3 Masters and 2 MBAs. Overnight, they cut his four lines of credit. Apparently his only crime was simply having them. He called multiple times and got nowhere, only to be told to talk to a credit counselor. A credit counselor? Bank of America, he doesn’t have bad credit, he has no lines of credit because you just cut them all. His story, inside…
What Happens To This Stuff Left In A Foreclosed House?
By 2.26.09
What happens to all the stuff left inside a foreclosed house when the ex-owners jet? The bank contracts these guys to haul it all away to the dump in what is called a “trash out.” Here’s a short video following a crew of junk chuckers. It’s amazing what people leave behind, including photos and computers.
Consumer Confidence Plunges To New Low
By 2.24.09
The consumer confidence index plunged to 25 in Feb., down from 37.4 in Jan. Many economists only predicted it would fall to 35. The index is based on a monthly survey of 5,000 households, responding “positive”, “negative” or “neutral” to five questions about how they feel about certain economic conditions. A decline means people are going to be spending less. Here’s a more specific breakdown of how people responded to the specific questions:
CNN Explains: "Living Within Your Means"
By 2.21.09
In case anyone forgot how the global economy came to teeter on the brink of collapse, CNN recently needed to help a reader figure out the difference between “living within your means” and “living below your means.” Let’s see if we can’t constructively add to the conversation…
US Bancorp Blasts TARP As Giant Bait And Switch On America
By 2.21.09
U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis took shotgun blasts to the TARP program for being a fat big lie. “We were told to take it so that we could help Darwin synthesize the weaker banks and acquire those and put them under different leadership,” Davis said. OMG – truth alert!
Hot Cartoon Makes Understanding Credit Crisis Simple And Fun
By 2.20.09
This a freakin’ awesome cartoon that explains how the credit crisis began, played out, and exploded in our face. I know you’ve seen and heard a million of these by now, but this one is highly visually engaging and entertaining, enough so I could see it being used in the classroom and kids not getting (too) bored. Graphic designer Jonathan Jarvis. Especially good is how it explains leverage.
By 2.13.09
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It looks like Charter Communications Inc will be filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing the loss of 1 billion dollars over the first three quarters of 2008. [Bloomberg]
Talk To A Friend Who's Been Laid Off
By 2.12.09
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the midst of an economic slump where it seems like thousands of jobs are being lost every day. Ok, maybe that’s because thousands of jobs are being lost every day. This brings up an issue that more and more of us will be facing in the future: how should you talk to a close friend or relative that loses his job? Career blogger Penelope Trunk suggests the following seven steps:
Notes On Obama's Press Conference
By 2.10.09
Obama is giving a press conference right now, mainly about the stimulus package. Here are the highlights, none of which are earth-shattering:
By 2.5.09
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626,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week. The number of people on unemployment rose to 4.8 million, the highest since records started being kept. [AP]
What Is Mark To Market?
By 2.3.09
One buzzphrase going around about the financial crisis is “mark to market.” Some think banks are being overly punished by being forced to “mark to market” the investments they own, or price them according to current market value. As you can probably figure out, those assets have plummeted. Marketplace’s Paddy Hirsch explains with his trusty whiteboard and stick figures what “mark to market” means, and what it means for the economy.
Macy's Fires 7,000 People
By 2.2.09
Macy’s is slaying 7,000 positions from its payrolls. No news about any store closing so far. Things are not looking good for retail stores with large stores in the physical universe these days. Economy = asteroid, creating large dust cloud over planet so the sources of food for the dinosaurs dries up, which is very sad for the massive reptiles, but then it creates space on the food chain for small furry mammals to thrive. Cockroaches, too, though. [Marketwatch] (Photo: u2acro)
Consumer Spending Falls For Record 6 Months Straight
By 2.2.09
Consumer spending has fallen for a record 6 straight months in December, the worst since 1961. By all accounts, it’s slated to keep falling for more to come. Incomes fell for three straight months, the worst since 1954. On the plus side, consumer savings increased to 3.6% of their paychecks. Spending less and saving more, sounds like the frugality mantra is catching on. It means fewer jobs for dog-walkers in the short term but a healthier base for future growth down the road. [Bloomberg] (Photo: nsub1)
This Is How Bad It Is: Part-Time Receptionist Help Wanted Gets 3520 Resumes In Under 24 Hours
By 1.29.09
A Consumerist reader and property manager in Virginia posted a notice for a part-time evening receptionist, and in response to the 12-hour a week job, she got 3520 emails. Roberta writes, “The attached picture was my email in-box this morning, with 0 spam emails and 0 non-Craigslist emails. 3520 (and climbing as we speak)…” Perhaps this can become a new metric to gauge how bad the employment situation is, how many resumes a 12-hour receptionist-job posting on Craigslist receives in a 24-hour period.
Thain's $35,000 Commode On Legs Actually Chest Of Drawers
By 1.23.09
Regarding the $35,000 “commode on legs” ex-Merrill-Lynch CEO John Thain bought for his office, commenter VikramJaffe informs me that it is not as I theorized, a claw-footed toilet, but rather a chest of drawers on legs introduced by the French in the early 18th century. Too bad no one informed me of the distinction before I took a crap in it.
