Back to newsletter listDate:
Tue, December 11, 2007 11:06:16 PMFrom:
MediaChannel.org
Subject:
NEWS DISSECTOR: The Fed Cuts The Interest Rate Again But Not Enough To Please Marketeers
NEWS DISSECTOR December 12, 2007
The Fed Cuts The Interest Rate Again But Not Enough To Please Marketeers
ATROCITY OF THE DAY IN LAS VEGAS - Six young people were shot Tuesday after they stepped off a bus that had left a high school, with at least one critically hurt, in an attack just blocks from two elementary schools, authorities said.
THE FED CUTS INTEREST RATE, MARKET NOT PLEASED
MURDOCH'S SON JAMES NAMED AS HEIR APPARENT
ECONOMY EMERGING AS MAJOR CAMPAIGN CONCERN
Yesterday I carried a piece by a Wall Street pro who predicted that the Federal Reserve Bank would not cut the interest rate. A cut , he thought, would lead to more inflation which is what The Bernanke gang is really worried about. He pointed to recent reports that suggested jobs were up, and that the economy was bouncing back. I guess that argument did hold water for the men who are forced to be realists andknow how bad it is even if their job is to jawbone us into thinking its not. So what did they do?
They cut—but not enough to please the marketers on Wall Street who were pissed and had a hissy fit.
Reported the newspaper of record:
NYT: "The Federal Reserve cut a key short-term interest rate today by a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.25 percent, signaling its concern that the credit crisis might be gradually damaging the broader economy beyond housing.
Policy makers also cut the discount rate to 4.75 percent, from 5 percent, essentially encouraging bankers to turn to borrow from the Fed to keep up their lending to consumers and businesses.
Investors reacted by sending stocks plunging and by bidding up Treasury bond prices. The Dow Industrials fell more than 200 points in a matter of minutes and kept sinking through the afternoon, closing off more than 294 points, or 2.1 percent, for the day, according to preliminary figures. Broader indexes like the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fared even worse.
In an unusual statement after the meeting, the Fed's policymakers declined to say whether they were more concerned about inflation or the outlook for economic growth. Their statement said that "Recent developments, including the deterioration of financial market conditions, have increased the uncertainty" about what will happen next."
So there you have it—more "uncertainty." Translation:: the Center may not hold and things will fall apart. As if to reinforce the fears, there was a report that student loans may be the next to go.,
Meanwhile, the corporate world is no longer going gang busters. The Times continues.
Corporate profits, which had held up well through most of the decade, are showing signs of retreat, and some economists say that capital spending on new machines and equipment might also be weakening. Job growth has clearly weakened in the last two years, but not drastically. Employers added 127,100 a month, on average, over the last year, despite the tight credit market, and the unemployment rate held below 5 percent.
"A mild recession is now likely, with no growth for the year ahead," Richard Berner, chief domestic economist at Morgan Stanley, declared in a report to clients this week.
Please treat those job numbers with suspicion. Often not stated is what kind of jobs were added—and what do they pay? Meanehile The Treasury Department is facing another challenge—bringing China in line when it knows how weak our economy is:
Ahead of China Talks, Treasury Secretary Faces Pressure at Home, Frustration From Beijing
BEIJING (AP) — For more than a year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has persuaded congressional critics of China to put off punitive action while he conducted wide-ranging talks with Chinese leaders on economic disputes.
But as he heads into a new round of negotiations next week, Paulson is facing growing pressure to wrest results from a dialogue that has produced few breakthroughs. U.S. lawmakers frustrated at China's huge trade surplus are drafting punitive measures. Meanwhile, Beijing's support for the contentious talks appears to be waning.
CRISIS CONTINUS TO GROW—GULF NEWS
As the credit crisis deepens, at least one big question has been answered. We now have abundant evidence that the crisis is affecting the real economy. So we need to switch our attention from the travails of the banks and look instead at their customers. Which of them are getting hit?
The benign response comes from the global economics team at Merrill Lynch. Granted, they say, US mortgage borrowers are suffering and their UK counterparts will be shortly.
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: "REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE"
Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, said Tuesday that it had lost more money than it had made from financial instruments based on U.S. subprime mortgages.At the same time, the share prices of major U.S. securities firms fell on Wall Street amid fears about the effect of the mortgage crisis on earnings. William Mills, chief executive of Citigroup's markets and banking division in Europe, said the bank had suffered "reputational damage" from the fallout even though the bank had made "adequate disclosures" to customers who were trading in collateralized debt obligations and similar instruments.
FORBES: THE HISTORY OF FINANCIAL CALAMITIES
Crises have been a feature of the financial landscape for hundreds of years. They often appear with little warning, as the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 and the Asian crisis of 1997-1998 illustrate.
BBC: NEW BANK IN TROUBLE: "France's Societe Generale has become the latest bank to take a hit from the US mortgage debt crisis, bailing out a $4.3bn (£2.1bn) investment vehicle.
Investors have become wary of putting their money in structured investment vehicles (SIVs), in case it ups their exposure to risky sub-prime debt. Societe Generale will provide it with a credit line and take the assets onto its balance sheet, it said. A string of banks have reported losses linked to the US debt crisis.
DISSECTOR: TIME FOR A JAILOUT, NOT A BAILOUT-ATONE!!!
A snatch of my speech at the March on Wall Street Shot By The Real News.
Click Here To Watch .mov Clip.
One result of this: The economy is becoming a big issue:
LATEST POLL—ABC AND WASHINGTON POST
Washington Post and ABC News released a national poll reporting on the Democratic and Republican candidates this afternoon.
National Republican Poll: Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani continues to lead the Republican field in the national poll, but his support is at its lowest point this year. Mike Huckabee has more than doubled his support among likely GOP voters since early November and runs just behind Giuliani.
Giuliani — 25 pct
Huckabee — 19 pct
Romney — 17 pct
Thompson — 14 pct
McCain — 12 pct
Paul — 3 pct
Hunter — 2 pct
National Democratic Poll: Hillary Clinton continues to rank far ahead of Barack Obama and the rest of the field. But a highly competitive campaign in Iowa pitting Clinton, Obama and John Edwards, along with signs of a tightening contest in New Hampshire, suggests that the Democratic race is also far from settled.
Clinton — 53 pct
Obama — 23 pct
Edwards — 10 pct
Richardson — 3 pct
Biden — 3 pct
Kucinich — 2 pct
The new poll found that the issues driving voters are shifting rapidly. Concerns about the economy are on the rise and assessments of current conditions in Iraq have eased slightly, propelling the nation's economic picture and jobs to the top of people's concerns. Although the range of issues could further destabilize the nomination battles, most of the uncertainty stems from more basic questions about the candidates.
THERE IS JUSTICE: (AP) LIMA, Peru - Former President Alberto Fujimori was convicted of abuse of authority and sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday at the end of the first in a series of trials on charges that include murder, kidnapping and corruption.
Media:Conrad Sent to Jail; James Sent to Top of News Corp; Kurtz Admits It
GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL
THE INDEPENDENT: BYE BYE CONRAD BLACK
Fall of a press baron: Black jailed for six-and-a-half-years: The final humiliation By Stephen Foley
Conrad Black, the newspaper tycoon whose ownership of The Daily Telegraph won him the keys to the British establishment and a seat in the House of Lords, was handed a six-and-a-half-year jail sentence yesterday while still protesting his nnocence of the fraud and obstruction of justice charges against him. In a display of chutzpah in front of the trial judge, Amy St Eve, the peer expressed "profound regret and sadness for the severe hardship inflicted on shareholders by the evaporation of $1.85bn of shareholder value under my successors", but he refused an opportunity to accept any responsibility for the collapse or to apologize for siphoning $6.1m from a newspaper empire that was once one of the largest media companies in the world.
"No matter how powerful you are, how successful, intelligent or educated you are, or what your title is, "no one is above the law in America", Judge St Eve told Black. "I frankly cannot understand somebody of your stature, on top of the media empire you were on top of, would engage in the conduct you engaged in and put everything at risk, including your reputation and your integrity."
Lord Black of Crossharbour's final humiliation came in front of scores of journalists from a media industry that he once bestrode as one of its most powerful and exotic barons. His company, Hollinger International, unraveled after he was ousted in 2004 and it was revealed how he had used the company as a personal piggy bank to fund his lavish lifestyle.
The only time I saw Black in action was at a World TV forum at the UN where he made a mad speech justifying the Vietnam War.He gave chutzpah a bad name.
REPORTER GETS HEARING AT LAST
BAGHDAD (AP) - An Iraqi investigating magistrate on Sunday convened the first criminal hearing in the case of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who has been held by the U.S. military without charges for nearly 20 months.
Hussein was present for most of the nearly seven-hour, closed-door proceeding in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq before magistrate Dhia al-Kinani. It was the first time Hussein or his lawyers have seen any of the materials gathered by the U.S. military against him since his arrest in Ramadi on April 12, 2006.
Al-Kinani, however, issued an order that the proceedings and details of the material presented remain secret.
Hussein's defense attorney, Paul Gardephe, said no formal charges were lodged. Gardephe was permitted to see some material during the proceeding but was forbidden from taking any copies with him to aid in building his defense.
In the past, Pentagon spokesmen have alleged that Hussein was suspected in a range of terrorist-related activities.
THE OBSERVER: RUPERT' PRODIGAL SON
Murdoch's second son has now been put in charge of running News Corp's European and Asian operations, cementing his status as likely successor to his father. Not bad for a publicity-shy, home-loving type
BSkyB boss James Murdoch spent Tuesday evening at Claridge's, chatting to journalists and businessmen at a Sunday Times Christmas party. 'He didn't drink, and he left early, as he often does,' says a fellow guest who knows him well. He returned to his west London home before his two young children went to bed.
Wearing one of his trademark tailored suits, but no tie, Murdoch exuded an air of studied insouciance, but he must have known then what the rest of the world would only discover 48 hours later. On Thursday evening, it emerged that Murdoch was stepping down as chief executive at Sky (he will remain in overall control, taking over from his father Rupert as non-executive chairman) to take up a newly created post at its parent company News Corp, where he will run the group's European and Asian operations. He takes responsibility for the Times, the Sun and the News of The World, the group's powerful stable of British newspapers, a move that makes him the most powerful opinion-former in the country.
For Murdoch-watchers, the message was clear. At 34, the fourth of Rupert Murdoch's six children, once a rebellious figure who sported an eyebrow stud and ran an underground hip-hop record label, is one step away from taking the reins of the £34bn company founded by his father. 'There is no doubt now that James is Rupert's heir apparent,' says a former News Corp executive. The announcement sent shockwaves through the media world. The company's assets include film studio 20th Century Fox, cable network Fox News, internet site MySpace and dozens of newspapers around the world, and politicians who fear the influence the Murdoch empire wields will be eager to learn more about the man who is likely to succeed him.
THE WASHINGTON POSTS MEDIAMAN IN AN ONLINE CHAT: THE MEDIA MISSED THE SUBPRIME CRISIS
Arlington, Va.: Don't want to dump on your parade, but I contend the "media" is a responsible partner in this subprime mess. How? Because of all those fluff news pieces in real estate sections about "affordable" houses that were little more than advertorials. You know the sort of stories I mean. Is there any sense of shame or regret in the news business today about this, and is the "media" going to belly up to the bar and admit they played a role in promoting this now deflating bubble?
Howard Kurtz: There were a few good pieces early on that pointed to the risks of subprime loans, but by and large the media missed this. It is a complicated subject to unravel, even now, but in retrospect a real missed opportunity on business practices that now threaten one of the pillars of the economy.
Dissector Daily Forum: Your Letters and Chris Hedges on Resistance
YOUR LETTERS
Roger MacDonald writes from LINK TV
I just saw your commentary on the Venezuelan referendum on TheRealNews.com.
Great job! Glad to see your insights getting wider distribution.
Evelyn Messinger produces our series Global Pulse, comparing news reports from around the world. You might be interested in taking a look at Global Pulse's coverage of the referendum:
You can see the piece I am in by clicking here:
WEDGE ISSUES
Dau'd X Mohammed writes:
The only thing worse than being a Jew in Germany in the 1930s, is being a Mexican in the United States in 2008, an election year, where and when immigration has been made into a wedge issue for Republicans to pull the xenophobia card as a means of scaring white people into voting against Democratic candidates who mostly favor Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
After 9/11, being a Muslim in America was no picnic, and before that being Black in the United States was never any fun. But now driving while Mexican (DWM) or Hispanic or Latino has become the Numero Uno Made in the USA Holocaust because even many in the Black community are calling for a deportation of the Spanish-speaking from our shores.
American Jews, tarred with the same-brush perception problems; Palestine and the neocon, and American Muslims, still rocked by 9/11 overkill, are mostly silent on the issue of what is happening in the name of Lou Dobbs and States' Rights to American Latino community now.
Our system of governance, with institutional racism and bigotry built-in is breaking down faster than you can say privately-owned Wal-Mart prisons. Which reminds me… Did you hear the one about mass produced foods ruining our health, environment, and taste buds?
HOW TO VOTE IN PRIMARIES (After Downing Street.org)
How to Vote in the Primaries and Make It Mean Something
By David Swanson, After Downing Street
1. Virtually nobody votes in primaries (or
caucuses) compared to general elections.
Therefore, each individual primary vote is worth
many times what it is in the general election.
And, it's more likely to be counted, since
there's typically less fraud and abuse of the
system in primaries. So, if you vote in general
elections, you pretty much have to vote in
primaries in order to not be an idiot. Bring a
few friends to vote too, and you're practically a
genius.2. If you have to join a party that you don't
support in order to vote in a primary, you can
always unjoin again immediately after the
primary. In the meantime, maybe you'll have
helped to create a party you can support. You can
even vote in a primary without planning to vote
in the general election. If the 50% of Americans
who don't vote at all (or even a small fraction
of them) voted in primaries, they would determine
the candidates in the general elections, in which
they might then choose to vote as well.3. If there's no candidate you like in a primary,
you can write one in. A relatively very small
amount of organizing can even lead to a victory
for that candidate. (Or some signature gathering
could place your candidate's name on the ballot.)4. If there is a good candidate on the ballot,
then an extremely small amount of organizing can
lead to a victory for that candidate. And
something short of a victory can still mean some
number of delegates for your candidate going to
the party's convention from your state, or
momentum for your candidate in future states.
Primaries, unlike general elections, are not
winner-take-all. (You can even become a delegate
for your candidate and get a trip to a convention
out of this.)
Acts of resistance are moral acts. They begin because people of conscience can no longer tolerate abuse and despotism. They are carried out not because they are effective but because they are right.
Thanks for being here today. Your comments and support is welcome in this season of giving. Hint, hint!
Write: dissector@mediachannel.org
|
Make a tax-deductible donation today. You can send a check made out to our fiscal sponsor: or If you have ideas or suggestions, please write to Dissector@mediachannel.org REMEMBER: THE SITE YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN. Thank you! |
Spread The Word: Please forward this to interested friends and colleagues >>
----------------------------------------------
Become a Member | Send a News Tip | Subscribe to Other MC Emails | ***
You are subscribed as ralrusu@gmail.com.
To modify your preferences, visit the subscription management page.
Concerned about the media? TELL A FRIEND!
© 2007 MediaChannel.org
