February 2009 World economic and property articles

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Hi

Sorry about the lack of posts recently, I lost my internet connection last Thursday lunchtime and only got it back today (apparently a hardware fault at one of TM's exchanges). Anyway normal service resumed.

Paul

Market Oracle: Economic & Financial Markets Forecast 2009: Collapsing Global Financial System Ponzi Scheme
As economic activity and PONZI finance fall off the face of the earth, we enter the stretch run of the CON game known as the Bond and FIAT currency markets. Although both are headed for their ultimate demise, the path will be quite different. In 2009, these challenges will be headed your way. Prepare properly and thrive, or fail to do so and fall to your demise.
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article8593.html

Telegraph: UK House prices to be the same in 2013 as they were in 2003
"House prices could be the same at the end of 2013 as they were in 2003, according to a think tank that warns the house price crash could leave a generation of homeowners out of pocket". "The Centre for Economics and Business Research is forecasting that property prices will fall by 40 per cent from their peak in 2007 unless Government action succeeds in boosting mortgage lending".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/houseprices/4422757/House-prices-to-be-the-same-in-2013-as-they-were-in-2003.html

BBC News: Obama predicts more bank failures
US President Barack Obama has warned that more US banks are likely to fail, as the full extent of their losses in the economic crisis becomes clear. Speaking to NBC News, Mr Obama said "some banks won't make it" but stressed that people's deposits would be safe. He has also asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to draw up guidelines for banks receiving taxpayers' money.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7865165.stm

Telegraph: Conservatives would give Bank of England new powers to control UK house price rises, says George Osborne
The Shadow Chancellor used a speech to a London think-tank to give more details on how the Tories would reform banking rules and financial regulation to avoid repeating the boom-and-bust cycle of recent decades. Signalling that he wants to see an economy less dependent on the City and financial services, Mr Osborne promised a "new settlement" for banking and finance.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/4436380/Conservatives-would-give-Bank-of-England-new-powers-to-control-house-price-rises-says-George-Osborne.html

MoneyWeek: We're heading for a long, deep depression
"After every period of feast comes an inevitable period of famine. The period in which market conditions appear to be back to normal may, in fact, only be the period during which the pendulum, driven into aggressive motion by the actions of governments and central bankers, swings back through the middle of its arc."
http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/economics/were-heading-for-a-long-deep-depression-14585.aspx

MoneyWeek: Savers should look on the bright side
Savers are under attack. But this is nothing new. The whole history of saving and generating private wealth has been the tale of individuals trying to stay ahead of government attempts to confiscate it, whether through direct taxation, or through inflation. We just happen to be writing a new chapter right now.
http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/economics/savers-should-look-on-the-bright-side-14586.aspx

Mortgagestrategy: Concern over "significant losses" at Barclays
Moody’s has cut its long-term ratings on Barclays amid fears of “significant further losses” and forecasts that the bank will be forced to accept government support. The rating agency has cut long-term ratings on the bank by two notches to Aa3. It has also lowered its financial strength rating from B to C and has cut the bank's hybrid instruments by two notches to Aa3. The move follows a similar ratings downgrade from Fitch last week which cut the lender by one notch to AA-minus.
http://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=180155&d=403&h=401&f=402

Economic Research: Total Borrowings of Depository Institutions from the Federal Reserve
Click the view data button on this page and you can see the borrowing over the years. In one month alone, it seems that more has been borrowed than all the years added together since 1919 ! The dollar is more doomed than anyone is letting on, looking at this chart its no wonder.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/BORROW

BBC: Northern Ireland savers at risk
More than 400,000 people who save with credit unions in Northern Ireland are not protected by the compensation scheme which applies elsewhere. The 9,500 members of the Presbyterian Mutual Society face considerable losses on the £300m they trusted to it. A third of that was lent to property developers and for buy-to-let loans. The directors estimated in November that if the society was liquidated then savers might get only 60p in the pound. But Kevin Magee says "that might be a very optimistic figure."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox/7862643.stm

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hi, corporateangel,

Nice to see you back on line.

regards, Scott

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MoneyWeek: What makes this recession so different
Britain's snowstorms will soon clear, but the recession is here for the long term, says John Stepek. The sheer scale of bad investment, and the global nature of the slump means there's no easy way out, while the surge in government debt will stunt economic growth for years to come.
http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/economics/what-makes-this-recession-so-different-14587.aspx

Times: Australia cuts rates amid new stimulus plan
"The Australian Government has announced a $42 billion (£19 billion) economic stimulus package as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut the interest rate to a record low in a bid to stave off a looming recession. The 100 point rate cut was the RBA’s third in four months and reduces Australia’s official interest rate to 3.25 per cent — the lowest in 45 years"."Mr Rudd called his latest plan an "extraordinary package for extraordinary times".
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5648320.ece

Bloomberg: Obama Foreclosure-Relief Plan May Guarantee Rewritten Loans
The Obama administration is considering government guarantees for home loans modified by their servicers, seeking to stem the record surge of foreclosures that’s hammering U.S. property values. The proposal, which may also have the taxpayer share in the cost of reducing mortgage payments, is aimed at shielding lenders from default after they loosen loan terms for struggling borrowers. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, who regulates national banks, said yesterday that “working out the details of it is still something that’s ongoing.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axbAdJ_Fb_ds&refer=home

MoneyWeek: More bad news to come for the markets
"Never in the modern capitalist world has there been a recession/depression as a result of such an apocalyptic bank crisis, borne of banks of the highest quality knowingly promoting loans to borrowers of inadequate status... Though banks have to be saved because of the systemic risk they pose, they have nonetheless, for obscene selfish motives, ruined our world."
http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/stock-markets/more-bad-news-to-come-for-the-markets-14587.aspx

BBC: Bank of England lent banks £185bn
The Bank of England has announced that it lent £185bn to financial institutions since April. The Bank of England has said that 32 banks and building societies took part in the scheme. "The government, which also provided guarantees to the banking sector, is reportedly considering additional lending measures to boost mortgage lending".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7867355.stm

Bloomberg: Pending Home Resales in U.S. Rose 6.3% as Prices, Rates Dropped
More Americans signed contracts to buy previously owned homes in December for the first time in four months, signaling slumping prices may be boosting demand. The index of pending home resales climbed 6.3 percent to 87.7, the first increase since August, from a revised 82.5 in November, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today in Washington. Pending sales rose in two of four regions. Record foreclosures are pushing down home values, making homes more affordable for those buyers able to get financing. Still, restrictive lending rules and further price declines are likely to scare away the majority of purchasers, indicating the real-estate recession will persist for a fourth year in 2009.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acq6NkPRjmmA&refer=home

Independent: FSA was warned about Icelandic bank, MPs told
"The City watchdog was warned that Icelandic bank Kaupthing was not "fit and proper" to run the UK bank Singer & Friedlander, MPs were told today. Tony Shearer, former chief executive of Singer & Friedlander (S&F), said he contacted the Financial Services Authority about his doubts in April 2005 during the takeover of the group by Kaupthing." I came across this on Alice Cook's UK Bubble blog.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/fsa-was-warned-about-icelandic-bank-mps-told-1544235.html

Telegraph: Hedge fund to offer shares priced in gold
A hedge fund is to offer its shares priced in ounces of gold rather than pounds or dollars to investors worried that inflation will take hold as a result of countries around the world printing more money. Osmium Capital Management, a Bermuda-based money manager, says investors who take this option will gain the same exposure to the fund's investments as those whose holdings are denominated in conventional currencies, but they will also benefit if the gold price rises.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/4401452/Hedge-fund-to-offer-shares-priced-in-gold.html

The Times: Alistair Darling tells peers: we slipped up on economy
Alistair Darling admitted government failings over the credit crunch yesterday while attacking the banks for not holding their executives to account.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5655136.ece

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BBC News: Pair Victim of 'Cheap Houses
'This couple are complaining that they haven't been able to get a mortgage as the houses they are trying to buy are being devalued by the surveyors. It's a shame they don't realise this is a good thing...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7469961.stm

Channel 4 news: Poll: 'bailout bounce' not enough to save Brown
Where is any inspiration for the change our society needs? The world of party politics is a dodo ! Doomed I tell yee, doomed !
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/poll+bailout+bounce+not+enough+to+save+brown/2922067

BBC: Mortgage hurdles become tougher
The conditions attached to mortgages have become more severe in the past month, as banks have continued to rein in their lending to new borrowers. Well, basically every time the banks lower their rates to ease government pressure, they also hike up the LTV, which reduce the quantity, which end up back to square one.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7869468.stm

MoneyWeek via Market Oracle: UK Heading for Worst Recession Since World War2
Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff compare the current crisis with ones in the past...the real eye-opener is the massive surge typically seen in government debt. This isn't just down to bail-outs – in fact, it's mostly down to normal recession effects, such as unemployment payouts rising while tax revenues slump...Reinhart and Rogoff argue that "a near doubling of the US national debt suggests that the endgame to this crisis is going to eventually bring much higher interest rates [as investors demand higher yields in return for buying US government debt] and a collapse in today's bond-market bubble." The high level of debt will also mean "stunted US growth for at least five to seven more years".
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article8648.html

Nationwide: Nationwide Consumer Confidence
Some interesting figures from the Nationwide. Consumer confidence at all time low. Future expectations at all time low. 51% of people still believe now is a bad time to buy a house.
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E7FABB29-D8E9-4D3D-8FAB-C0ABD2F3F0A2/0/January_NCCI_4February2008.pdf

TruthDig: It’s Not Going to Be OK
The daily bleeding of thousands of jobs will soon turn our economic crisis into a political crisis. The street protests, strikes and riots that have rattled France, Turkey, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Iceland will descend on us. It is only a matter of time. And not much time. When things start to go sour, when Barack Obama is exposed as a mortal waving a sword at a tidal wave, the United States could plunge into a long period of precarious social instability. The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one perhaps of the Left, and the other of the Right, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090202_its_not_going_to_be_ok/?ln

RawStory: California goes broke, halts $3.5 billion in payments
"People are going to be hurt starting today," said Hallye Jordan, speaking on behalf of the state Controller. "There's no money." Since state legislators failed to meet an end of January deadline on an agreement to make up for California's $40 billion budget gap, residents won't be getting their state tax rebates, scholarships to Cal Grant college will go unpaid, vendors invoices will remain uncollected and county social services will cease.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/California_goes_broke_halts_3.5_billion_0202.html

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Telegraph: Interest rates: Bank of England accused of 'assault' on savers
Consumer groups and trade bodies expressed anger at the latest 0.5 per cent reduction, arguing that it penalised savers, while doing little to help the majority of borrowers. They also voiced concerns that with the returns on deposit accounts already at a record low, people would be put off saving, further reducing the supply of funds available to banks and building societies for mortgage lending. Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, said: "The rate cut is an assault on savers who will have seen their interest payments drop by 83 per cent since July 2007.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/interestrates/4526362/Interest-rates-Bank-of-England-accused-of-assault-on-savers.html

Telegraph.co.uk: ECB delays on interest rates despite German industrial slump
German orders crashed 25pc in December year-on-year, roughly in line with the manufacturing melt-down underway in Japan and Korea. "This is astonishingly weak data from Europe's industrial heartland," said Julian Callow, Europe economist at Barclays Capital. Spanish orders fell 20pc. Europe's car industry has been the hardest hit sector. There is such a glut of unsold vehicles that they are being left on ships at anchor, clogging up the ports of Northern Europe. Stuck between a rock and hard place the ECB have a strong currency to support. It could be about to get dumped. Had some recent support from Japan but the confidence is going. You only need look at the data.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/4527496/ECB-delays-on-interest-rates-despite-German-industrial-slump.html

Independent: A manifesto to save the free market
No. 8 is my favourite: retribution for the bankers.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jeremy-warner-a-manifesto-to-save-the-free-market-1546275.html

Times: Driven down by debt, Dubai expats give new meaning to long-stay car park
For many expatriate workers in Dubai it was the ultimate symbol of their tax-free wealth: a luxurious car that few could have afforded on the money they earned at home. Now, faced with crippling debts as a result of their high living and Dubai’s fading fortunes, many expatriates are abandoning their cars at the airport and fleeing home rather than risk jail for defaulting on loans. Police have found more than 3,000 cars outside Dubai’s international airport in recent months. Most of the cars – four-wheel drives, saloons and “a few” Mercedes – had keys left in the ignition. Some had used-to-the-limit credit cards in the glove box. Others had notes of apology attached to the windscreen....
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/the_gulf/article5663618.ece

BOE: News Release
Words can't sum up my feelings, I will never return to the UK
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2009/008.htm

BBC: UK reduces interest rates to 1%
"The Bank of England has reduced interest rates to 1% from 1.5% in an attempt to boost the slowing economy. This marks the fifth interest rate cut since October, as the Bank seeks to encourage more lending. The decision comes after official data showed the UK had entered a recession in December, after two quarters of shrinking economic growth. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7871932.stm

Telegraph: Phil Spencer's property company appears to be the latest victim of housing slump
Hang on how could this have happened? I am flumoxed - please explain to me how this article can be true? This CANT be happening to such a renowned property market expert and well connected individual.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/4451100/Phil-Spencers-property-company-appears-to-be-the-latest-victim-of-housing-slump.html

This is money: House prices to fall 38%
I'm so confused, the Halifax told me that prices were up 1.9%. Someone is lying,,, please help me out here guys
http://blogs.thisismoney.co.uk/this_is_money_blog/2009/02/why-house-prices-may-fall-another-38.html

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I note the comment about "cars piling up on the dockyards". It is the same the world over. What is very amusing (in Perth at least) is that there have been big adverts in the press by car companies such as "beat the price rise" "buy now prices going up next month" etc etc. What a stupid waste of money. They must think poor old joe public is thick. Anybody thinking of buying a new car will know that the car manufacturers have cars coming out of their ar...es and they can/should nail them to the floor if they are buying.

I agree about your comment on bankers - but don't hold your breathe!  Still can't work out where all the dosh has gone ( read the article you mentioned) trillions of it. Was it all just an illusion?

Cheers

Brian

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The Times: Analysis: what's a depression and is this one?
This year ALONE will reach: 9% unemployment (official) - currently hidden in gov stats 20% of people of working age unemployed 2.8% contraction in GDP - remember things have to grow exponentially in our finance system to pay the bankers their interest 17% collapse in house prices 33% fall in FTSE 30's Britain - 1930 to 1934 15% unemployment 5% contraction in GDP 40% fall in FTSE
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5666625.ece

Telegraph: We're in denial: afraid to face up to the real causes of recession
Much has been written about the animosity and interdependence between press and politicians. Every self-respecting journalism school has a stack of theses on the relationship, many of which seem to conclude, in a cruel but fair way, that we're a bunch of untrustworthy rascals who deserve each other. My favourite comment on the matter was penned by Tom Plate, a former senior editor at Newsday, the New York newspaper: "Politicians are always trying to pimp journalists. And we journalists are always seducing and then abandoning them, after we have used them up or exposed them." Nice
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/4528718/Were-in-denial-afraid-to-face-up-to-the-real-causes-of-recession.html

Times Online: UK company collapses soar by 251%
With a FIVE fold increase in large companies going to the wall and probable 15,000 people being made redundent EVERY week there has never been a better time for fools to buy into the property market. Every time I see one of them on the news saying "I'm a first time buyer" I think "There's a complete fool" . "However, 2,018 businesses entered into administration — the insolvency scheme used by larger companies — between October and December last year, up from 575 in the final quarter of 2007, figures from the Insolvency Service show. " - Ouch !
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5674413.ece

MoneyWeek: Why Baugur's bust is bad news for retail stocks
It's tough on the high street right now. To earn just a thin crust, the UK's battered retail businesses are desperately trying to persuade hugely over-indebted consumers, who've already maxed out their credit cards, to keep buying things they can't afford. Meanwhile the banks won't advance credit and the cost of stock is soaring as the sterling slump drives up import prices.
http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/stock-markets/why-baugurs-bust-is-bad-news-for-retail-stocks-14608.aspx

FT: A house should be viewed as a home and not as an investment
Mathew Carter, divisional director of Nationwide Mortgages and Savings talks offering his outlook for the UK mortgage market and his assessment on the status of the first-time buyers.Getting the balance right could have gone a long way to avoiding the present economic crisis, and Mr Carter agrees that a fundamental paradigm shift is needed in the way people manage their finances. He said: "One should no longer be fooled by an increasing HPI. A house should ultimately be viewed as a home and not as an investment structure for the future. People need to think in a balanced and diversified way about what their long-term savings objectives are and should not necessarily build all of this around bricks and mortar."
http://www.ftadviser.com/FinancialAdviser/Mortgages/Features/article/20090129/e5bf9ad6-e3b2-11dd-81b9-00144f2af8e8/Will-there-be-a-time-when-lenders-will-again-start-to-look-at-high-LTVs-and-more-active-support-for-firsttime-buyers-Yes-there-will.jsp

BBC News: UK Manufacturing Declines Sharply
Manufacturing output declined at its fastest rate since 1981 in December, underscoring the fragile state of the UK economy, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it fell 10.2% from a year earlier as recession hit the sector. For the final three months of 2008 output fell 5.1%, the biggest quarterly fall since 1974.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7874297.stm

Times: Sarkozy attack on Brown tax cut
Challenged over his own plans to boost the French economy by infrastructure spending rather than tax cuts, Mr Sarkozy said: "Britain is cutting taxes. That will bring them nothing. Consumption continues to decrease in Britain." President Sarkozy publicly disparaged Gordon Brown's response to the global economic crisis.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5675801.ece

Citywire: Video: UK banks are insolvent, fund managers agree
The majority of leading fund managers believe a number of British banks would be insolvent if they were forced to mark their assets to market, according to a Citywire survey.
http://www.citywire.co.uk/adviser/-/news/other/content.aspx?ID=328648&re=4693&ea=118560

Times online: UK Council house tenants offered £30,000 bribes to move out
Councils are now paying tenants to 'downsize' or move out of their properties to make way for idiots who either got themselves into trouble or in some other way now depend on local authorities to house them. "Council chiefs are holding urgent talks with ministers about expanding cash incentive schemes." - "Tens of thousands of people have taken up the offers but councils plan to push schemes more aggressively in another unexpected consequence of the recession." - What the dick-ens are we going to have next. How about this crazy idea ! Maybe we could get some of the 'vacant' properties or second homes that are continually empty and repo-them. When is the madness going to end ?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5680129.ece

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Sterling rallies after rate cut 
The pound has hit a two-month high against the euro, after the Bank of England slashed interest rates to a record low to tackle the recession. But sterling's rally against the dollar could be be short-lived, with many experts predicting further losses in the coming months.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7874130.stm

Telegraph: UK economy is being held to ransom by deflation fear
Our currency has lost a third of its value in twelve months – pushing up import prices. But inflation isn't a problem. Inflation is yesterday's news. Politicians and commentators, instead, warn of deflation around every corner. I don't deny deflation is bad. Falling prices warp incentives, increase real debts and – if expected to continue – hammer retail spending. Such problems plunged Japan into a decade-long recession in the 1990s. But UK policymakers evoke the spectre of deflation not because it's an immediate danger; it's instead been conjured up as an excuse – so ministers can yank monetary policy back from the Bank and throw fiscal caution to the wind, using fear to trump objections based on common sense and economic lessons hard-won over many decades.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/liamhalligan/4547805/Our-economy-is-being-held-to-ransom-by-deflation-fear.html

Telegraph: Property overseas: our great escape
This property was put on the market for £975k......couple of WEEKS later it's £825k. The gist of this article is 'things are so dear, here'. Oh the irony ....nearly a million quid for a really unremarkable terrace house in 'Ove, ponzi schemed up over 10 - 15 years, and they're mystified why the currence is debased. If they can't sell for the right 'price' - they'll let it. Cheered me up no end - muppets. What is it that has driven them, like so many others in the biggest brain drain for 50 years, to leave England behind? "We are tired of the doom and gloom, the dodgy weather and the fact that those who are careful with their money are being punished with low interest rates," says Mary. "In Australia the fee-paying schools are so much cheaper than they are here that we can afford to educate the boys privately. It will be a better life."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/overseasproperty/4515093/Property-overseas-our-great-escape.html

Alice Cook - UK Bubble: The truth about the UK banking and the credit crunch
More shocking charts from the bitter renter in London. For every one pound that commercial banks lend to the manufacturing firms, 13 pounds are lent to the shadow banks. There doesn't appear to be much of a credit crunch within the UK's off-balance sheet dodgy and unregulated financial sector.
http://ukhousebubble.blogspot.com/2009/02/truth-about-uk-banking-and-credit.html

Telegraph.co.uk: Record 200 people a day declared bankrupt, says UK Insolvency Service
A record 200 people a day are being declared bankrupt, says the Insolvency Service. More people are now taking the bankruptcy route, rather than an IVA as lenders tighten up on IVAs. This is not a good time for those who stretched their finances to the limit during the boom.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/4536873/Record-200-people-a-day-declared-bankrupt-says-Insolvency-Service.html

Bloomberg.com: Advanced Economies ‘in Depression,’ Worse May Come, IMF Says
Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Advanced economies are already in a depression and the financial crisis may worsen unless the banking system is fixed, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5q174.8B8XM&refer=home

The Sun: UK Property 'faces 25% crash'
HOUSE prices could fall by a further 25 per cent this year, a leading think tank has warned. Nationwide claims average house prices fell by nearly £100 A DAY!!!!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/article2195188.ece

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Mail: Worried that Britain is going bankrupt? Cheer up – we’re about to be bought up by the Islamic world.
The $18billion (£12bn) in assets of Britain’s Islamic banks are said to dwarf those of Muslim states such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey and Egypt.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1141087/Britains-world-leader-sharia-banking--havent-grasped-sinister-dangerous-implications.html

Independent: 'This is the worst recession for over 100 years'
In an extraordinary admission about the severity of the economic downturn, Ed Balls even predicted that its effects would still be felt 15 years from now. The Schools Secretary's comments carry added weight because he is a former chief economic adviser to the Treasury and regarded as one of the Prime Ministers's closest allies. Mr Balls said yesterday: "The reality is that this is becoming the most serious global recession for, I'm sure, over 100 years, as it will turn out." He warned that events worldwide were moving at a "speed, pace and ferocity which none of us have seen before" and banks were losing cash on a "scale that nobody believed possible". [?]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/this-is-the-worst-recession-for-over-100-years-1605367.html

Information Clearing House: Rep. Kanjorski: $550 Billion Disappeared in "Electronic Run On the Banks
"Video At 2 minutes, 20 seconds into this C-Span video clip, Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania explains how the Federal Reserve told Congress members about a "tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550 billion dollars." According to Kanjorski, this electronic transfer occurred over the period of an hour or two.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article21964.htm

CNN.com: Wall Street: Thumbs down on bailout
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slumped Tuesday afternoon after the Obama administration's overhaul of the bank bailout plan failed to reassure investors unnerved by the ongoing fallout in the financial sector.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/10/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm?postversion=2009021014

FT: UK credit card woes lift bond delinquencies
"Missed payments by UK credit card borrowers surged in the last three months of 2008 and lifted delinquency rates in bonds backed by such debt to a historical high"
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/61e6d3f4-f6fa-11dd-8a1f-0000779fd2ac.html

MoneyWeek: The race to the bottom in currencies
Recent action on the forex markets has been perverse. The lower a central bank's interest rate, the better it was for its currency.
http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/the-race-to-the-bottom-in-currencies-14611.aspx

NYTimes: You Try to Live on 500K in This Town
PRIVATE school: $32,000 a year per student. Mortgage: $96,000 a year. Co-op maintenance fee: $96,000 a year. Nanny: $45,000 a year. We are already at $269,000, and we haven’t even gotten to taxes yet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/fashion/08halfmill.html?_r=2&em

FT: Russian debt worries hit euro
The euro suffered on Tuesday as a report that Russia was looking to restructure $400bn of its outstanding corporate debt highlighted concerns over the eurozone’s exposure to problems in emerging Europe. Analysts said the report triggered a knee-jerk bout of heavy euro selling, given the eurozone’s high exposure to the region through bank lending. According to the Bank for International Settlements, European banks’ foreign claims on Russia totalled just over $200bn, or around 1 per cent of GDP.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/10/52268/how-do-you-say-oops-in-russian/

Citywire: UK House sales fall to new low
The UK's housing market continues to suffer in 2009 amid the ongoing recession, with new figures released today showing house sales and prices are still falling. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that in January the average number of sales over the last three months had dropped again to a low of just 9.9 sales, down from 10 in December and its lowest level since the survey began in 1978. The majority of surveyors have also seen prices fall again, with an increased balance of surveyors reporting further declines in prices rising in January than in December.
http://www.citywire.co.uk/adviser/-/news/property-and-mortgages/content.aspx?ID=328929&re=4711&ea=118560&Page=1

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Herald Tribune: Ireland to take control of banks, while plans for Fortis are rebuffed
"The fundamental problem is that almost no one knows what is on the balance sheets of most banks, and as the recession deepens, even once solid lenders are being dragged down by uncertainty and investor nerves. Some analysts say it may be time for policy makers to do what they have been studiously trying to avoid: full-scale nationalization, at least in certain countries."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/11/business/eire.php

La times: 'Exponential rise' in mortgage fraud
The economic crisis has sparked an increase in criminal fraud, including an "exponential rise" in mortgage scams that is straining the FBI's resources, a leader of the agency said today.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fraud12-2009feb12,0,6384407.story

Telegraph online: Mervyn King suggests savers will be sacrificed as rates fall
"Savers are going to bear the brunt of the Bank of England's attempts to revive the economy,".......I am so glad I tried to be prudent, careful and save for my and my families future, just to have it torn out from under my feet, in the interests of the greater economy; ie the imprudent and profligate socialist ideals.Thank you Mervyn, Gordon et al for ensuring a huge and permanent change in personal financial planning. There is absolutely sod all point in saving and living within your means, when it is plainly obvious that it is theose who indebted themselves and lived way beyond their means that actually count in this modern NUlab society.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/savings/4592271/Mervyn-King-suggests-savers-will-be-sacrificed-as-rates-fall.html

Bloomberg: Property Investment to Fall Further as Buyers Search for Credit
"Banks have been reluctant to lend or refinance real estate loans as they try to conserve cash after losses and writedowns totaling $1.1 trillion." ... *** Are they really reluctant to extend loans? Who wants a loan? Rolling over loans is not -extending- credit. The Peak Credit idea is very convincing to me, why would this be wrong?
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a7wjg1MVhxT4&refer=uk

BBC: Bank says UK 'in deep recession'
The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has warned that the UK is facing a deep recession in 2009 and said rate cuts may no longer work.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7883255.stm

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hi,

Many thanks corporateangel for continuing with the Economic Articles. I've been reading all morning. Via the Telegraph site I linked to an article headlined, "3 Million attempt DIY dentistry." How bad can things be?

regards, Scott

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Thankyou for the support Scott,

I know that some people aren't keen on the articles or maybe the quantity and others enjoy reading them and use them for research to help them make informed decisions. Reading the articles has helped me by keeping me on my toes and proactive when it comes to my own finances and hopefully others will have benefitted in the same way.
This type of subject will always have 'for and against people' including those that prefer to stick their heads in the sand and ignore whats going on until it directly affects them! 

However 2009 turns out, personally I don't think things are going to be good, I will and I hope many others will keep reading and learning from the articles posted so that they don't make many of the mistakes that I have made with my money over the past 10 years!

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NY Tines: Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down
NYT article rehashes what was in the Times a few days back, but still amusing to read. Again, what were they thinking was going to happen?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html?hp

Home.co.uk: UK Prices Falling Faster in the South
"Asking prices fell in all English regions, Scotland and Wales over the last six months, although there is a marked North-South divide. During this period, asking prices have fallen much further in the southern English regions, exemplified by the South East, Greater London and East Anglia. Further north, market house prices have declined more slowly (North East –0.6%, Scotland -1.2%) since August 08." London prices slashed by 6.5% since August
http://www.home.co.uk/asking_price_index/HAPIndex_FEB09.pdf

BBC 'News': Watchdog's early warning for HBOS
No documentary evidence to back up this claim. As they say in politics, the future is certain only the past is in doubt.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7885059.stm

Daily Kos / C-Span: USA was 3 hrs away from Economic, Political Collapse in September 2008
Not sure if this has been posted before but I found it truly terrifying: " I was there when the secretary and the chairman of the Federal Reserve came those days and talked to members of Congress about what was going on... Here's the facts. We don't even talk about these things. On Thursday, at about 11 o'clock in the morning, the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous drawdown of money market accounts in the United States to a tune of $550 billion being drawn out in a matter of an hour or two. The Treasury opened up its window to help. They pumped $105 billion into the system and quickly realized that they could not stem the tide. We were having an electronic run on the banks. They decided to close the operation, close down the money accounts, and announce a guarantee of "
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/9/234340/6189/142/695504

Telegraph: European bank bail-out could push EU into crisis
“Estimates of total expected asset write-downs suggest that the budgetary costs – actual and contingent - of asset relief could be very large both in absolute terms and relative to GDP in member states,” the EC document, seen by The Daily Telegraph, cautioned. "It is essential that government support through asset relief should not be on a scale that raises concern about over-indebtedness or financing problems.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/4590512/European-banks-may-need-16.3-trillion-bail-out-EC-dcoument-warns.html

Bloomberg: BRICs Show No Death of Equities in Emerging Markets
The only major stock markets recording gains of more than 8 percent this year are China, Russia and Brazil, and India’s benchmark index is little changed. That’s enough of a sign that the so-called BRICs are showing a resilience unimaginable in the U.S., most of Europe and Japan.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=artnWg1k9vK4&refer=home

CNN: US Home prices in record plunge
The National Association of Realtors reports that home prices dropped a record 12.4% in the final quarter of 2008 - the biggest decline in 30 years.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/12/real_estate/Latest_median_prices/index.htm?postversion=2009021215

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Well things don't seem to be getting any better, yesterday CNBC discussed the possibility of the DJIA going down as low as 6000. I am about 80% of the way through watching 'W' the film by Oliver Stone about George Bush, if anyone wants to know why we are in this mess I suggest that you watch it! - if there is any truth in this film then W has to take a large part of the blame. It covers the life story of W and how he got to where he did, but the general intelligence of the man and his priorities are shocking.

Egypt Lowers Interest Rates for First Time Since 2006 as Commodities Slump
Egypt’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since April 2006 after inflation in the Arab world’s most populous country eased as global commodity prices declined.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aUm05TcmAOEc&refer=africa

Yen, Dollar Post Weekly Gain as U.S. Stimulus Concern Spurs Haven
Demand The yen and dollar recorded weekly gains against most of the other major currencies as concern U.S. plans to end the recession and the financial crisis will fall short spurred demand for havens.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=acSwW29QVXL8&refer=asia

Darling Says U.K. Considering Ways to Support Lloyds After Shares Plunge
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said the U.K. is considering ways to support to Lloyds Banking Group Plc, whose share price dropped 32 percent yesterday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a_DK.SeKC8W0&refer=uk

Another Day, Another Scandal as Ireland Unravels Decline of Anglo Irish
Anglo Irish Bank Corp.’s decline last year cost the jobs of its chairman, chief executive officer and Ireland’s financial regulator. Today, it spelled the end for three top executives at rival Irish Life & Permanent Plc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aCrUEStvvx_c&refer=uk

Pound Rises Against Dollar, Euro on Stocks, Before G-7 Meeting
French and German finance ministers plan to confront Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling at the G-7 meeting today over sterling’s decline and ask him to consider action to boost the pound, the Telegraph reported,
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ajbBeAuD2fWw&refer=uk

BBC News: Lloyds and HBOS humbled
The profits warning just released by Lloyds is shocking. The loss at HBOS - which is a fraction under £11bn - represents a new record loss for a British bank. Lloyds says that the loss on loans to companies is partly the result of Lloyds applying its more conservative accounting standards to HBOS's loan book - which is one serious kick in the tender parts for HBOS's previous executives. HBOS also suffered the indignity of incurring further big losses on its holdings of assorted dodgy investments. It is a terrible humiliation for HBOS's already bashed-up previous chief executives, Andy Hornby and Sir James Crosby. Shares in Lloyds - 43% owned by the government - fell by as much as 40% on investor shock
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2009/02/lloyds_and_hbos_humbled.html

Telegraph: Debt threatend UK AAA credit rating
CDS for UK debt hits 148 - will try to attach a comparative graph below
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/4604826/High-debt-levels-endanger-Britains-AAA-credit-rating-for-first-time.html

Press and Journal: North East Scottish House Sales Dire !!!!
Even cash rich oil capital Aberdeen and the north east of scotland is stating to feel the efects of the downturn.
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1062778?UserKey=

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Failure to save East Europe will lead to worldwide meltdown
Eastern Europe has borrowed $1.7 trillion abroad, much on short-term maturities. It must repay – or roll over – $400bn this year, equal to a third of the region's GDP. Good luck. The credit window has slammed shut.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/4623525/Failure-to-save-East-Europe-will-lead-to-worldwide-meltdown.html

Daily Mail: Mystery of the phantom mortgage
Phantom mortgage deals are being offered by lenders under pressure from the Government to help borrowers, claim angry brokers. The loans appear available, but when borrowers apply, they are turned down. Several banks and building societies, including Abbey, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Halifax, the Post Office, RBS NatWest and Yorkshire Building Society, advertise mortgages with only a ten per cent deposit. But brokers say that borrowers are being rejected even when they have an excellent credit history, stable job and high salary. Brokers say there is no apparent method behind the rejection of applicants. They also warn that lenders are 'down-valuing' properties, effectively reducing the amount that can be borrowed.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1145491/Mystery-phantom-mortgage-Lenders-offering-attractive-low-deposit-home-loan-deals--they.html

Telegraph: Falling pound fails to boost tourism
Britain's tourism industry is failing to benefit from the weak pound, with latest figures showing a sharp drop in the number of foreigners visiting the country. The number of visits to the UK was down 12.5 per cent to 7.45 million in the last three months of last year compared to the same period in 2007, according to the Office for National Statistics.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4604166/Falling-pound-fails-to-boost-tourism.html

FT: Don’t hold your breath for house price rises
Don’t hold your breath for house price rises
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/46c41014-f9ed-11dd-9daa-000077b07658.html

TheTRUMPET.com: Experts Say Economic Storm Has Barely Begun
Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and author of Crash Proof, on why the stimulus bill will lead to “unmitigated disaster”: “This week President Obama claimed that failure to pass his economic stimulus bill will have catastrophic consequences for the U.S economy. The reality is the catastrophe will be far greater with his plan than without it. If the trends of January and early February of 2009 continue, the rug will be completely pulled out from beneath the U.S. economy, and the full cost of the president’s ‘economic depressant package’ will be apparent to all.”
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=5941.4310.0.0

Price of petrol creeps up in 2009 
The price of petrol at the pump has been steadily rising since the start of January, figures have shown.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7888458.stm