Let's Hear it for the Democrats!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democratic-controlled Senate on Thursday defeated a plan to spare hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure through bankruptcy, a bill President Barack Obama embraced but did little to see it through.

So much for a Democratic-controlled Senate....

Deflation Remains a Threat

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans spent less than expected in March, pulling back after a burst of buying in the first two months of the year. The reversal was tied to a larger-than-anticipated decline in income and is a stark reminder of a fragile economy trying to rise out of a deep recession.

Devil of deflation may snuff out gold

Enough Rope To Hang Themselves

Obama could be giving the banks enough rope to hang themselves. That's the conclusion of blogger Charles Hugh Smith. He is able to put into words my exact sentiments concerning the banks:

If you set out to completely discredit the bankers and eviscerate their power, you'd proceed exactly as Obama has done, enabling it to reach its reducto ad absurdum conclusion of fat bonuses and tax-funded bailouts in the trillions of dollars, at which point the public will rise up in fury, doing the work which was impossible for you, a new "liberal" president.

Six Banks Have Failed the Stress Test

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- At least six of the 19 largest U.S. banks require additional capital, according to preliminary results of government stress tests, people briefed on the matter said.

This goes along with what Mr. Engdahl said in Rense about a month ago. Mr. Engdahl gave the names of five banks that were in the most trouble. These banks included:

JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo

GDP in Second Straight Quarter of Decline

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and
services produced by labor and property located in the
United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 6.1 percent
in the first quarter of 2009, (that is, from the fourth quarter
to the first quarter), according to advance estimates
released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the fourth
quarter, real GDP decreased 6.3 percent.

Geithner and his Ties with Industry

Today's New York Times has an article about how Geithner's ties to industry while being head of the New York Fed may have been too close for objectivity.

In my opinion, Geithner was not the problem. The fact that the Federal Reserve System is really a collection of privately-held banks is the problem.

Financial Crisis Becoming a Calamity for Developing Nations

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The global financial crisis could become "a human and development calamity" for many poor countries, the World Bank said, urging donor nations to speed delivery of money they have pledged and consider giving more. Developing countries, its main constituency, face "especially serious consequences with the crisis driving more than 50 million people into extreme poverty, particularly women and children," the bank said Sunday.

But that doesn't seem to concern the folks on Wall Street, who don't even budge at a steep rise in the unemployment rate. The only thing those bastards respond to are sales and earnings reports.