Author: Mark Gilmore
WikiLeaks
Whistle-Blower Site Taken Offline
From BBC News (18 Feb 2008)
Wikileaks Taken Down By Order of a US Court
By Phil Cubeta – Gift Hub (18 Feb 2008)
U.S. Court Shuts Down Whistleblower Site
By Pau…
Clear Channel Files Lawsuit
Providence Miffed by Clear Channel Suit
Associated Press (17 Feb 2008)
Providence Equity Partners
Previous blog posts on this issue:
Update on Clear Channel (15 Feb 2008)
Who Will Control Coast-to…
The Guernsey Experience
The Other Way to Deal with the National Debt
By Bob Blain – The Progressive Review (June 1994)
The Guernsey Experience . . .
Guernsey is an island state located among the British Channel Islands abo…
A Good Time for Community Currency
One way for municipalities to address the credit contraction and
creeping financial coup d’etat we have been writing about and to help
protect their citizenry from a falling dollar is to issue local c…
Update on Clear Channel Deal
~ Updates
Bank Wants Out of Clear Channel TV Sale
RadioWorldOnline (29 Feb 2008)
Wachovia May Halt Clear Channel-Providence Deal
Bizjournals.com (25 Feb 2008)
(Click the image to view the full Compla…
Top Picks ~ Week of February 11, 2008
Money & Markets
New Era Dawns for Rail Building
By Daniel Machalaba – Wall Street Journal (13 Feb 2008)
AIG Falls on Concern Losses My Have Been Understated
By Hugh Son &…
Mortgage Bubble Names & Faces
In recent testimony, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer referred to the
efforts by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to dilute and
stop state enforcement efforts against predatory lending. Se…
Mortgage Bubble Names & Faces
In recent testimony, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer referred to the
efforts by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to dilute and
stop state enforcement efforts against predatory lending. Se…
Godfather IV
Maher Brothers Make $1.1 Billion Claim Against LehmanSource: American Shipper – East Coast Connection (21 Jan 2008)
Lehman Clients Demand $1.1 Billion in Auction Dispute (Update2)
Bloomberg (18 Jan…
Crime Pays….So Far
For those who want to check out the social prestige being purchased by a few of the perpetrators of the subprime mortgage bust, check out Slate Magazines latest:
The 60 Largest American Charitable …
Financial 911?
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is the owner of the World Trade Center. Bloomberg reports Goldman Sachs just had trouble auctioning Port Authority variable rate paper — with the rate so…
Quote du Jour
(Special thanks to Sage Capital.)
Deja Vu
When I was Assistant Secretary of Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner cleaning up the last housing and mortgage bubble bust, I used to have a deputy who said “FHA is where mortgages go to die.” That’…
Is Buffet Positioning to Control Municipal Privatization?
As I have mentioned before, the housing bubble and bust is successfully stripping municipalities of their financial sovereignty.
The Creeping Financial Coup d’Etat
To make matters worse, with munici…
George Clooney Hits a Homer
My cousin Susan Blair Ross is a Broadway star. She is smart as a whip. She was the person who first suggested I move to Hickory Valley. I had absolutely no interest in Diane, Princess of Wales, until …
Stormy Weather
I appreciate all the calls I have received from folks checking to see if I was ok after the latest round of tornados. We had quite a theatrical evening last week when the storms came through. My house…
Top Picks ~ Week of February 4, 2008
Money & Markets
Is Your City a Debt Trap? From Men’s Health
Nonborrowed Bank Reserves Go Negative ~
Data from the Federal Reserve Website
Wachovia Accused of Aiding Tele…
Probing the Street
A sampling from today’s Wall Street Journal of investigations of financial firms over the subprime downturn:
Brooklyn US Attorney’s office: criminal investigation of Bear Stearns and UBS
Manhattan …
Please Contact the Diane Rehm Show
Would you help us get accurate information about the missing money to
the Diane Rehm Show? I have sent her a note about a serious error on this morning’s show, “The Budget and the Deficit 10am Thurs…
Anti-War Candidates & Donations from US Troops
Anti-War Candidates are Top Recipients of ’08 Donations from US Troops
From ThinkProgress.org
Individuals in the Army, Navy and Air Force made those branches of the armed services among the top contr…
Anti-War Candidates & Donations from US Troops
Anti-War Candidates are Top Recipients of ’08 Donations from US Troops
From ThinkProgress.org
Individuals in the Army, Navy and Air Force made those branches of the armed services among the top contr…
Minerals & The Standard of Living
To maintain his or her standard of living, each person in the United
States requires over 22 tonnes of minerals each year:
* 5,640 kg of stone
* 4,250 kg of sand and gravel
* 430 kg of cement
* 125 kg…
Minerals & The Standard of Living
To maintain his or her standard of living, each person in the United
States requires over 22 tonnes of minerals each year:
* 5,640 kg of stone
* 4,250 kg of sand and gravel
* 430 kg of cement
* 125 kg…
Voting
On February 5, 2008 at 12:19:07 at Hickory Valley City Hall I was assigned access code 1723 to vote in the Tennessee primary. I elected to vote in the Republican primary and voted for Ron Paul and 12 …
Solari Update ~ Anybody Seen Our Gold?
Solari’s E-Mail Update ~ January 31, 2008
“The gold reserves of the United States have not been fully and independently audited for a half century. Now there is proof of those gold reserves and those …
Exit U.S.
Exit U.S.
By Mike Muehleck posted by Eric Fry – the Rude Awakening (27 Nov 2007)
I posted this in Top Picks in December. Given the interest, I am reposting with an excerpt:
One and a half million U….
Massachusetts Sues Merrill Lynch
Massachusetts Charges Merrill With Fraud
By George Morcroft – MarketWatch.com (1 Feb 2008)
“This complaint is focused on Merrill Lynch’s sale, through agents Kipper and Choy, of certain esoteric fin…
Can You Help Me Understand?
Hidden Swap Fees by JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley Hit School Boards
By Martin Z. Braun & William Selway – Bloomberg.com (2 Feb 2008)
—
My question is not why do the leading banks and investment ban…
Who Will Control Coast to Coast AM Radio?
Coast to Coast AM Radio is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks which is owned by Clear Channel Communications.
On January 15, 2008, Coast to Coast’s host, George Noorie, announced the signing o…
Top Picks ~ Week of January 28, 2008
Money & Markets
Vote on Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo ~ Lodge your opinion in this Wall Street Journal poll
Robert Rubin: What meltdown?
By Katie Benner – CNNMoney.com (31 Jan 2008)
MBIA Posts Bigge…
Great Barbecue
Want great barbecue with high quality ingredients at affordable prices?
I just had dinner at Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q in Memphis. They have restaurants in Colorado, Florida and throughout the South.
…
Cleveland vs 21 Lenders
Cleveland Sues 21 Lenders Over Subprime Mortgages
By Christopher Maag – New York Times (12 Jan 2008)
See City of Cleveland Press Release for a list of lenders.
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Click the image to view the …
Investment Banking Revenues for 2007
For those of you who keep asking me “Who is doing this?” here is a very
useful tool from the Financial Times which provides revenue and deal value rankings of the global investment banks for 2007.
(C…
Action Alert
Urgent Action on Behalf of Oaxacan Political Prisoners
From Food First (21 Jan 2008)
Learn more about Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca
Countrywide’s Underwriters Sued for Fraud
Countrywide’s Underwriters Sued for Fraud by New York Agencies
By David Mildenberg & Karen Freifeld – Bloomberg.com (26 Jan 2008)
The New York lawsuit has been consolidated with other lawsuits ag…
Countrywide's Underwriters Sued for Fraud
Countrywide’s Underwriters Sued for Fraud by New York Agencies
By David Mildenberg & Karen Freifeld – Bloomberg.com (26 Jan 2008)
The New York lawsuit has been consolidated with other lawsuits ag…
Ohio Pension Fund Sues Freddie Mac
Mortgage Lender Hid Big Risks, Suit Alleges
By James Nash – Columbus Dispatch (23 Jan 2008)
“The giant mortgage financer known as Freddie Mac swindled an Ohio pension system out of as much as $27 mi…
Market Flash: Barrick Insider Selling
Earlier news re insider selling by senior Barrick executives has me wondering what they know about market liquidity, 2008 prices for precious and base metals and how they know it. The heads of explora…
The Lone Trader
Usually it’s the “lone” assassin. Now that coup d’etats are financial, we have the “lone” or “rogue” trader.
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The lone trader strikes again ala 2008:
SocGen Reels From Record $7billion Rogue…
Top Picks ~ Week of January 21, 2008
Money & Markets
You Should Be Wary of This Market Rebound
By John Crudele – New York Post (24 Jan 2008)
US Slides Into Dangerous 1930s ‘Liquidity Trap’
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard …
Ditching Google
That’s it. I’m ditching Google. It is lots of little things, but the reality is I don’t trust ’em.
Centralizing internet data does not lend itself to promoting freedom, particularly the way these guy…
Recent Reads
I finished up some good reads this weekend.
The first read: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan is a good well, written summary of everything you probably already know about fo…
Cleveland Sues 21 Lenders Over Subprime Mortgages
Cleveland Sues 21 Lenders Over Subprime Mortgages
By Christopher Maag – New York Times (12 Jan 2008)
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See City of Cleveland Press Release for a list of lenders.
Click the image to vi…
Interesting Timing…
World Bank Closes Offices After Bomb Threat
By Lesley Wroughton – Reuters (17 Jan 2008)
Top Picks ~ Week of January 14, 2008
Money & Markets
FBI Wants Instant Access to British Identity Data
By Owen Bowcott – The Guardian (15 Jan 2008)
Citigroup’s Hopes for Investment From Chinese Bank Hit a Snag
By Eric Dash – Int…
Coming Clean!
To sign up to receive Updates, click on “Sign Up for E-Mail Updates” in the “Pages Section” (right-hand column) of this blog.
Merrill & Citi Get Capital Injections From Foreign Investors
Let’s say $40 of every barrel of oil sold to the US by large oil companies sourced in the middle east goes into a sovereign wealth fund. Let’s say there is $4 trillion missing from the US Treasury, an…
Merrill & Citi Get Capital Injections From Foreign Investors
Let’s say $40 of every barrel of oil sold to the US by large oil companies sourced in the middle east goes into a sovereign wealth fund. Let’s say there is $4 trillion missing from the US Treasury, an…
Mayor and City Council of Baltimore vs. Wells Fargo Bank
Life gets interesting when the lawyers willing to sue big banks grow in number.
Baltimore is Suing Over Foreclosure Crisis
By Gretchen Morgenson – New York Times (8 Jan 2008)
Lawyers’ fear of bein…
FDIC Loan Sales Privatize Access
In an e-mail (1.02.08) from the FDIC:
The e-mail is to inform you that the FDIC is retiring the loan sales website at www.fdicsales.com effective January 4, 2008. From this point forward, the FDIC wil…
Quote du Jour
With thanks to “The King Report.”
New Hampshire Primary Results – Diebold Wins Again
NH Primary: Pre-Election Polls Wildly Different Than Results Announced for Clinton/Obama
Blogged by Brad Friedman – The Brad Blog (8 Jan 2008)
2008 New Hampshire State Primary Results
A Closer Look a…
Top Picks ~ Week of January 7, 2008
Money & Markets
China is Quietly Revaluing its Currency
By Richard Spencer – London Telegraph (8 Jan 2008)
Baltimore is Suing Bank Over Foreclosure Crisis
By Gretchen Morgenson – …
A Review of Political Ponerology
Thanks to a very special reader, Catherine’s blog review of Political Ponerology has been translated into Swedish.
Click on this image to access the translation:
Price vs. Force
Brilliant (and darling) investment newsletter writer Rob Kirby and I have been having a heated debate. He says that markets clear through price. I say they clear through force. At the heart of the deb…
Letter to the Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer
Ladies And Gentlemen:
Thank you for your excellent article “Hungry Times For Area Food Banks” by Alfred Lubrano, Mari A. Schaefer and Joseph Dolan.
The authors state that the reasons for the current…
How Goldman Sachs Ranks the Candidates
From opensecrets.org – Race for the White House
Here is how Goldman Sachs employees have voted with their money for the 2008 presidential candidates:
Hillary Clinton – $301,350
John Edwards – $61,950…
Top Picks ~ Week of December 31, 2007
Money & Markets
Venezuela Cuts Zeroes From Currency in Hope of Stalling InflationBy Jorge Rueda – Associated Press (1 Jan 2008)
Cyprus and Malta Adopt the Euro
By Menelaos Hadijicostis – A…
US Downgraded to Endemic Surveillance Society; Joining Russia & China
From: Privacy International
US Downgraded to Endemic Surveillance Society; Joining Russia & China
From: Privacy International
Improving My Gas Mileage
For the last year, several members of the Solari network have been lobbying me to try Fuel Freedom International’s MPG-CAPSâ„¢. These are small caplets that are added to my gas which improve milea…
Top Picks ~ Week of December 24, 2007
Money & Markets
Dollar’s Shares of Currency Reserves Falls to Record Low
By Christopher Swan – Bloomberg News (28 Dec 2007)
Exit U.S.
By Mike Muehleck posted by Eric Fry – the Rude Awakening (2…
“He reads. He reads…everything.”
In 1984, I gave away my television after overhearing a conversation about the subliminal programing and entrainment technology being rolled out to manage public opinion through television. Not being s…
"He reads. He reads…everything."
In 1984, I gave away my television after overhearing a conversation about the subliminal programing and entrainment technology being rolled out to manage public opinion through television. Not being s…
Is Pakistan’s Nuclear Arsenal in Play?
Pakistan Nuclear Weapons at Play
By Newsmax Staff – Newsmax.com (27 Dec 2007)
Pakistan and Weapons of Mass Destruction
At Wikipedia
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Is Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal in Play?
Pakistan Nuclear Weapons at Play
By Newsmax Staff – Newsmax.com (27 Dec 2007)
Pakistan and Weapons of Mass Destruction
At Wikipedia
—-
A Wish…
It’s Catherine’s birthday today!
Winter Wonderland
I drove up through Vermont to New Hampshire to visit my aunt and uncle.
They were just plowing out from three large snowfalls. The trees and ground are covered with snow. The air is clear and crisp. …
Top Picks ~ Week of December 17, 2007
Money & Markets
China Takes 10% Stake in Morgan Stanley to Cover Junk Mortgages
By Joseph A. Giannone – Reuters (19 Dec 2007)
Credit Crisis Hits Top US Bond Insurer
By Stephen Bernard – Asso…
Winter Solstice
From Wikipedia: The winter solstice occurs the instant when the Sun’s position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane as the observer. Depending on th…
The Checklist
The Checklist
If something so simple can transform intensive care, what else can it do?
By Atul Gawande – The New Yorker (10 Dec 2007)
“If a new drug were as effective at saving lives as Peter Pronovo…
The Creeping Financial Coup d’etat
One of the newsletters that I use as an excellent predictor of what the Tapeworm will do next (in the rah-rah Tapeworm mode) says that state and local governments are going to plug their deficits with…
The Creeping Financial Coup d'etat
One of the newsletters that I use as an excellent predictor of what the Tapeworm will do next (in the rah-rah Tapeworm mode) says that state and local governments are going to plug their deficits with…
New Forum is Percolating
We are in the process of developing a new forum that will be part of a subscription service we will launch next year. We will be shutting down http://www.solariactionnetwork.com as we bring up the pr…
Time to do it again?
Here is a picture from the Monitor-Herald in Calhoun City, Mississippi during my bicycle trip through the Southern states in 1978. I just got a new bicycle and keep thinking about doing another trip.
…
What reforms should a presidential candidate propose?
Someone just asked me for a comment on a Presidential candidate’s policies to reform the sub-prime mortgage market. Here are the items I suggested.
1. Return currency issuance to the US Treasury;
2. …
Integrating the Model
New Zealand ally Claude Lewenz reminds me that ‘doing good’ first got split from ‘doing well’ with granting of a royal charter to the Honourable East India Company 407 years ago in December 1600 and…
Extraordinary Popular Debt
Extraordinary Popular Debt
By Bill Bonner – Rude Awakening Blog (10 Dec 2007)
“What has happened? Credit, it turns out, soon reaches the point of diminishing returns. During the entire period up until…
P.S. Financial Fraud vs Financial Coup d’etat
P.S. Financial Fraud vs Financial Coup d’etat
By Catherine Austin Fitts – Scoop Independent News (11 Dec 2007)
Catherine Austin Fitts’ Mapping the Real Deal ~ A Serialized Story ~ Part 20 of 20 (pub…
P.S. Financial Fraud vs Financial Coup d'etat
P.S. Financial Fraud vs Financial Coup d’etat
By Catherine Austin Fitts – Scoop Independent News (11 Dec 2007)
Catherine Austin Fitts’ Mapping the Real Deal ~ A Serialized Story ~ Part 20 of 20 (pub…
Multi-Purpose Trampoline
One reason why trampolines may be dangerous.
Inflation – The Dollar Peg Virus
These 3 snippets from Doug Noland’s Tight Money were pointed out by one of my favorite GATA team mates:
November 26 – Bloomberg (Glen Carey and Matthew Brown): “The United Arab Emirates, the seco…
Top Picks ~ Week of December 10, 2007
Money & Markets
Citigroup to Consolidate Seven SIVs on Balance Sheet
By Shannon D. Harrington & Elizabeth Hester – Bloomberg News (13 Dec 2007)
World Bankers Resort to Firebreak
By Ambrose Evans-…
UBS Admits $10B Subprime Loss, Gets Rescue From Singapore
UBS Admits $10B Subprime Loss, Gets Rescue From Singapore
By Andrew Hurst – Reuters (10 Dec 2007)
ZURICH, Switzerland — UBS revealed a $10 billion writedown and an emergency injection of funds from S…
The Paulson Plan
I named my last company after the first US Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton believed in the sanctity of a contract. One of his quotes I often use is “a promise must never be broken….
Bill Moyers’ Journal
Bill Moyers’ Journal (23 Nov 2007)
The power and beauty found in the African American church and spiritual experience reminds me of St. Timothy when he wrote “For God hath not given us the spirit of f…
Bill Moyers' Journal
Bill Moyers’ Journal (23 Nov 2007)
The power and beauty found in the African American church and spiritual experience reminds me of St. Timothy when he wrote “For God hath not given us the spirit of f…
Are You Financing KKR Up, Popsicle Index Down?
Robert Greenwald’s on-line video on Henry Kravis, partner of leveraged buyout and private equity firm, KKR, “Fight the War on Greed,” does not mention the European Union’s allegations in its lawsuit a…
Top Picks ~ Week of December 3, 2007
Money & Markets
Top hedge Fund blow-up news and commentary
Britain’s Rate Cut Opens Gulf With European Central Bank
By Chris Giles & Ralph Atkins – Financial Times, London (6 Dec 2007)
Top CD…
Oldie, but Goodie
From November 2004 Interview in Optionetics —
Interview ~ Part I
Interview ~ Part II
Top Picks from Scoop Media
Pentagon Poised to Resume Open Air Weapons Testing
By Sherwood Ross (4 Dec 2007)
Burma: Junta Charges Monks’ Leader With Treason
By Terry Evans (3 Dec 2007)
New Zealand One of the World’s Simplest…
Taxes: Who’s Who Among Nations
Paying Taxes 2008 – The Global Picture
The Doing Business Project
Taxes: Who's Who Among Nations
Paying Taxes 2008 – The Global Picture
The Doing Business Project