Posts Tagged ‘Finance’

US clout down, risks up by 2025 -intel outlook

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

This doesn’t shock me. Thanks to the Free Trade/Globalist policies of Bush I, Clinton and Bush II that have gutted our industrial base, outsourced good paying jobs and stagnated our wages this was inevitable . Obama  will put the nail in the coffin with his Neo-Marxism policies. What a shame, hopefully the GOP can get its act together and become the party of Economic Strength and policies that benefit the Middle Class. One can have hope, it took a Carter to get Reagan. But 4 bad presidents in a row, It will be tough.

US clout down, risks up by 2025 -intel outlook

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) – U.S. economic and political clout will decline over the next two decades and the world will be more dangerous, with food and water scarce and advanced weapons plentiful, U.S. spy agencies projected on Thursday.

The National Intelligence Council analysis “Global Trends 2025″ also said the current financial crisis on Wall Street is just the first phase of a global economic reordering.

The U.S. dollar’s role as the world’s major currency would weaken to become a “first among equals,” the report said.

The outlook is intended to inform U.S. President-elect Barack Obama of factors that will influence global events. It is based on a year-long global survey of experts and trends by U.S. intelligence analysts.

I hope this analysis is wrong.

Inhofe: Cancel the ‘blank check’

Monday, November 17th, 2008

I agree with Inhofe. Where is this money going, In my opinion Hank Paulson looks like a thug. This bailout now seems to be a robbery of American taxpayers on behalf of the Corporate Crooks.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Saturday that Congress was not told the truth about the bailout of the nation’s financial system and should take back what is left of the $700 billion “blank check” it gave the Bush administration.

“It is just outrageous that the American people don’t know that Congress doesn’t know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone,” the Oklahoma Republican told the Tulsa World.

“It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don’t know. There is no way of knowing.”

Read the reset here.

Maybe it is going to his friends, Paulson looks like a thug.

Financial Crisis Watch

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Spiegel Online has an interview with former International Monetary Fund chief economist Kenneth Rogoff about the financial crisis: Interview With Ex-IMF Chief Economist: Banks Won’t Be as Profitable in Future.

Kenneth Rogoff: It’s the worst financial crisis since World War II — there’s really no hyperbole anymore. At the same time, it had to happen. The US financial system was bloated and overgrown and reckless to some extent. Now it is being reigned in.

SPIEGEL: What went wrong?

Rogoff: In 2006, the financial sector accounted for a third of corporate profits in the US, although it only represents 2 or 3 percent of total gross domestic product. Goldman Sachs alone distributed $16.5 billion in bonuses to its 26,000 employees. I’m sorry, I think it’s unbelievable. You can’t just make money out of thin air like this, and underlaying this there were enormous risks being taken.

SPIEGEL: What do you think willl happen now?

Rogoff: What we’re seeing is a shrinking industry — perhaps by 20 or 25 percent and in some segments perhaps as much as 50 percent. But these finance products based on fancy rocket science and derivatives just aren’t coming back, and that’s very painful. The industry is not going to make the same profits in the future as it did in the past. And this isn’t just about subprime and mortgage losses. Investors are starting to realize that the profit model these investment banks were running on has been trimmed.

(Financial Expert@LGF)