Nikkei down 4%
Bob Morris @ Mar 2nd 2008 22:13 - Category: Credit crisis ;
As of 10:12 pm EST. There could be carnage tomorrow when the US markets open.
Archive for March 2nd, 2008
Pollution turns Yangtze River tributary red
Bob Morris @ Mar 2nd 2008 18:10 - Category: Unfiled ;
Tests on water from the Hanjiang river in central Hubei province showed high levels of ammonia, nitrogen, and permanganate, a chemical used in metal cleaning, tanning and bleaching..
Yum.
The authorities said an investigation was under way to determine the source of the pollution.
Here’s a tip: Follow the red water (and dead things) upstream until it ends. That’ll be where the pollution started.
Homes for sale for $100 in Detroit
Bob Morris @ Mar 2nd 2008 14:45 - Category: Credit crisis ;
Yes, $100. That’s how bad things are in Detroit. If the American economy catches a cold, then Detroit often ends up in the hospital.
Bizarrely, some of the listings sternly say buyers must prove they have the money before proceeding further. Ok, I have five 20’s in my pocket…
Many listings look like foreclosures or bank auctions but appear to be listed in bulk with the same cut-and-paste text (complete with misspelled words) saying that regardless of price, the agent gets $1250 commission.
That the homes had to be listed at all shows how desperate it must be there, as no buyers appeared to grab the properties first. Maybe they’re waiting for it to drop to $25?
Blog announces Russian election winner before polls open
Bob Morris @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:23 - Category: Unfiled ;
From RobertAmsterdam.com
In our exclusive interviews with some of the bureaucrats responsible for rigging the elections, we were informed that all is proceeding according to plan. “We were worried whether or not we could get enough people to show up at the polls for the cameras in order to fake the vote,” one bureaucrat told us, “but thanks to the free haircuts and medical check-ups to draw people in, we were able to pull it off!”
Calls for Medvedev to give his victory speech on the same morning as the polls open have so far gone unanswered.
Before the voting began, a government announcement that the vote for Putin Medvedev would be over 100% in many areas would have been greeted with skepticism by opposition groups except their leaders apparently all left town suddenly “on holiday.”
Campaign widgets for your website
Bob Morris @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:48 - Category: Election 2008 ;
Schmap has a free campaign widgets for your website or blog. This one shows states Obama has won. Click the little arrow by his name to go to the menu and view other candidates.
First ‘carbon subtracting’ product
Bob Morris @ Mar 2nd 2008 03:37 - Category: Climate change ;
An independent audit said the growing of the yerba mate absorbed substantially more carbon than the processing and shipping used, making it a ‘carbon subtracting‘ product.
Major Canadian bank misses margin call
Bob Morris @ Mar 2nd 2008 00:17 - Category: Credit crisis ;
The Bank of Montreal, 4th largest bank in Canada, couldn’t make a $500 million margin call on their TGFKAI (Toxic Garbage Formerly Known As Investments) on Thursday.
For those who may not understand the process, this means they borrowed money to purchase securities which dropped so much in value that the borrower lender demanded more money as collateral. That the bank could not make the margin call is scary. Not only do they not have available cash to make the margin call, they also can’t sell the securities to raise money because there is no market for them.
Of course they are making all the appropriate perky noises about how they will “restructure” and get through this little bad patch. Maybe.
