Category Archives: Business/Economics

Business/Economics, U.S.

Who the Government works for: GM & Chrysler excused from paying vicitms of car defects

“This was not a normal case. The government was deciding who was going to be taken care of and who was not.”-David Skeel, University of Pennsylvania Law School

The recent bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, did not just include money, it included legal liability for defective vehicles that caused injuries and deaths.

The bailout allowed GM and Chrysler to skip paying any court ordered settlements for injuries or deaths that happened before the auto makers went  bankrupt.  GM had 2,500 claims against it when they went bankrupt.  The excused settlements are in the tens of millions of dollars.

In the words of Telly Savalis: “Who loves ya baby?”  It’s not your government that’s for sure.

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Bank failures continue, now it’s local banks going down

Already for 2011, 43 banks have failed.  According to the FDIC, 157 banks failed in 2010, 140 failed in 2009, 25 in 2008 and only 3 in 2007.  Notice a trend?

According to Forbes, the U.S. banking industry has, for the first time in 27 years, reported a drop in revenue.  Down 3.2% for the first quarter of 2011.

It’s interesting that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation claims no banks failed in 2005, or 2006.  U.S. media have incorrectly stated that until 2006 there were no failures (Washington Post), but the FDIC list shows there were several bank failures every year from 2000 to 2004.  For some reason 2005 & 2006 had none.

The concern for 2011 is that the bank failures are hitting local community banks harder, instead of the larger regional and national banks.  One reason could be that the bigger banks got bailout money from the Federal Reserve, and U.S. taxpayers.  The local banks did not.

However, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that 98 banks that got bailout money are on the verge of failing.

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? U.S. home foreclosures hit record levels year after year

Reality Trac says U.S. property foreclosures hit 3.82 million in 2010.  A record.

It’s a continuing trend since 2006. The percentage of foreclosure filings just keeps going up: 2.23% of all U.S. housing units received at least one foreclosure filing during 2010.  2.21% in 2009.  1.84% in 2008.  1.03% in 2007.  0.58% in 2006.

The top five states for foreclosures in 2010 are: California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Surprise; China does not own the United States

“China’s hold or ownership is only 8 percent of our outstanding debt and in no way does China’s position influence U.S. foreign policy.”-Gary Locke, U.S. Commerce Secretary

The United States Commerce Secretary made the statement while being interviewed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for the job of U.S. ambassador to China.

Locke says the majority of U.S. government debt is held by…U.S. domestic investors.  Find out who they are and you’ll know who the real shadow government is.

Business/Economics, U.S.

GAO study shows U.S. companies that get taxpayer money owe $750 million in back taxes

The Government Accountability Office released a study that showed that some of the government contractors that got paid with taxpayer “stimulus” money, don’t pay taxes.

The GAO says 3,700 contractors who got stimulus money, owe back taxes.  That’s about 5% of the contractors that got the taxpayer money.  Some of the contractors that avoided paying taxes include construction companies and companies that specialize in social services.

While 5% may not seem like much, the GAO says that 5% owes $750 million in back taxes.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International

Don’t be fooled by news of Chrysler paying off its government debt

The U.S. media is talking about Chrysler’s announcement that it plans to pay off the U.S. and Canadian government loans.  It is not a sign of a good economy, because the loans are not being paid off with profits.

Chrysler’s pay off is coming as a result of more loans.  The Auto maker has decided that it does not want to keep paying the high interest rate of the government bailout loans, so it has refinanced through private banks.  In other words Chrysler is still in trouble.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Sign that U.S. & China at odds: U.S. suddenly inspecting Chinese products for fair trade violations

According to Chinese media, the United States has investigated Chinese products for “Section 337” violations, at least 56 times since 2006.  That’s more times than all the previous 20 years prior to 2006.

Section 337 investigates claims of unfair trade and competition, as well as possible U.S. copyright violations.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Sony PlayStation continues to get hacked, losses big money

May 24, Sony announced that their online services continue to get hacked.  The latest involve countries like Greece and Thailand.

Japanese IT officials think hackers are just practicing, and that Sony’s security sucks: ‘‘Hackers are launching attacks apparently to hone their skills. Sony must review the security systems of its entire group to redress their vulnerability.’’-Information Technology Promotion Agency

Sony announced that they have lost, so far, $171 million because of the hacks.  This adds to Sony’s year after year losses.

Business/Economics, International

Global Food Crisis: Drought puts France in state of crisis

French environment minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, declared a “crisis situation” because of the ongoing drought.  She explained that current water levels are the same as if it was July, instead of May.

She has ordered a third of all French administrative departments to cut back on water use.  Two-thirds of the country’s groundwater reserves are reported to be below normal.