Tag Archives: banks

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Best Buy founder jumps ship, hopes his leaving will help company recover!

“There is an urgent need for Best Buy to reinvigorate growth by reconnecting with today’s customers and building pathways to the next generation of consumers.”-Richard Schulze, founder of Best Buy

7 June 2012, founder and boss of Best Buy for 36 years, Richard Schulze, has resigned.

Best Buy has been struggling with falling sales, and accusations of inappropriate behavior by members of the board.

A former CEO of Best Buy is accused of “…violated company policy by engaging in an extremely close personal relationship with a female employee that negatively impacted the work environment…”-Best Buy statement

Best Buy suffered a 26% drop in net income for the 1st quarter of 2012!

U.S.

Christian “Ice Princess” Republican Senator convicted of ripping off taxpayers, could serve 10 years in prison!

“You stand convicted of crimes that demean the sanctity of all we do as lawyers…the sin is overborne by the deflection; the crime overshadowed by the cover up.”-Jeffrey A. Manning, Judge

On 4 June 2012, former Pennsylvania Republican Senator, Jane Clare Orie, was sentenced to as many as 10 years in state prison.  She was convicted in March of using taxpayer money to run election campaigns.

Orie, who claims to be Christian, used her own taxpayer paid staff to conduct campaigns.  She also introduced forged evidence at her first trial, which helped to get her the heavier sentence of up to ten years in prison.

Orie was convicted of 14 counts including theft of services, conflict of interest and forgery.  The judge is still deciding how much in fines she will have to pay.

Former Warren County Sheriff, Larry Kopko, called Orie “the meanest” prosecutor he ever saw.  She was called “The Ice Princess” by the Warren County press.

Orie still doesn’t think she did anything wrong, she admits that “Every staff was involved in campaigns…”, but stressed that it was not unusual for an elected official to use their taxpayer paid staff to help with elections.  She’s not remorseful: “I’ll never stop doing what I did.”

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Emergency meeting Group of 7! “Impossible” to save Spain! Major credit freeze coming, just as Toyota warned!

“It is really hard in Spain to get a job right now because there are no jobs, and if somewhere you might have a chance, they do not want to pay what is more or less normal. Plus, everything is so expensive: supermarkets, food… Everything is really difficult now.”-Ada Adon, unemployed in Madrid, Spain

 

It has been revealed that the seven top industrialized countries (Group of 7, aka G7) had been in an emergency phone conference since late last night Japan time, early morning U.S. time!

Finance and banking officials from Japan, United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy were discussing the global economic situation, a sign that things are getting worse!  The focus is on the European Union (EU).

No joint statement was issued, but Japan’s Finance Minister, Jun Azumi, said all efforts at the moment will focus on preventing a total collapse of the EU.

A German analysts said many investors are on the verge of giving up: “History is repeating itself, we are again in full crisis mode. Last year: crisis; this year: crisis.  The politicians have learned nothing. It would be so easy though. The ECB [European Central Bank] should massively intervene and buy time for countries like Italy and Spain so that they can pursue reforms. Nobody can bear this cacophony, this waiting, this riding out any more.”-Robert Halver, Baader Bank

This comes before the G20 meeting, and it comes on the same day Spanish officials announced a possible second credit crisis.

Spanish Treasury Minister, Cristobal Montoro, admitted on Spanish radio that it was “technically impossible” to save Spain’s economy!

It turn’s out that the recently created EU European Stability Mechanism (a bailout fund) doesn’t have enough money to bailout Spain, let alone other EU members!

Montoro blames high interests rates for crashing the Spanish economy, as well as other EU economies. He says the result will be another huge credit crunch.  On 31 May 2012, Toyota of Japan signaled such an international credit crisis by announcing it was selling $2.5 billion USD in bonds, to raise cash in order to ride out a second coming credit crisis (of course the U.S./British media misreported it).

 

 

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 31 May – 03 June. More girls poisoned. U.S. puppet government admits 70% of drugs sent into Iran! Farmers not profiting from Opium! Canada giving its taxpayers’ money to Afghanistan! India says “please don’t go!”

3 June 2012

Another Afghan school has been hit by poisoning, at least 65 girls hospitalized. It’s the 6th school poisoning this year.  This time suspects have been arrested.

In past poisonings “Taliban” reps denied any involvement, and accused the U.S. puppet government of the poisoning.  The four suspects arrested today include a  woman from Pakistan.  So far no indication that they are connected to any Afghan Mujahideen.

In Baghlan Province, the provincial education chief survived an attack, supposedly by Mujahideen. The education chief said he does not know who shot at his house.  Local police are investigating. The attack took place at 03:30 hours.

The Defense Ministry of Afghanistan claim their forces killed, or wounded, at least 20 Mujahideen in the past 24 hours.  They also report that four of their own troops were killed, and 16 wounded.  The battles took place in the provinces of Badakhshan, Maidan Wardak, Kandahar, Farah and Ghazni.

In Nangarhar Province a local police boss was assassinated by “unknown gunmen”, while he was on his way to work.

2 June 2012

Iran has hanged three drug smugglers from Afghanistan.  Iran has been claiming that illegal drugs from Afghanistan have increased since the U.S. invasion more than ten years ago.  Iran claims hundreds of their border police have been killed fighting what they believe is U.S. backed drug smuggling.

There are hundreds of Afghans in Iranian prisons, convicted of drug smuggling.  Afghans cry foul, but just the other day (2 June 2012) the U.S. puppet Afghan Counter-Narcotics Minister, Zerar Ahmad Muqbil, admitted that 70% of the illegal Afghan opium is being deliberately smuggled into Iran: “1/3 of the heroin produced in Afghanistan is smuggled to other countries through northern regions while 2/3 of the heroin produced is smuggled through Iran to other parts of the world.”

Muqbil also stated that more than 90% of the money made from illegal opium is going to the dealers, the farmers are only getting a pittance. This challenges the claim by international observers that farmers are doing it for the money!

A couple of years ago Iranian police captured several Afghan drug smugglers, who were using credit cards which the Iranian police traced back to the United States!

Also, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) reports another drug bust.  Approximately 1,364 kilograms (3,000 pounds) of hashish was captured in Kandahar Province.

The Defense Ministry of Afghanistan reports that five of their own troops were killed, and 4 wounded, after Mujahideen launched attacks in the provinces of Ghazni, Patkia, Kandahar and Badghis.

The Interior Ministry of Afghanistan claims that 30 Mujahideen were killed, 14 wounded and six captured in battles in the provinces of Helmand, Uruzgan, Logar and Ghazni.

In Farah Province, local officials claim to have killed a potential suicide bomber.

Canada has sent a new ambassador to Afghanistan. He stressed that Canada was there for the long run. On 21 May 2012, Canada announced it will give Afghanistan $110 million per year, over the next three years.

ISAF claims another “leader” was captured in Khost Province.  A “facilitator” was captured in Helmand Province.  ISAF also claims to have killed 22 Mujahideen in battles in Kunar and Khost (aka Khowst) provinces. No word on occupying troop casualties.

In Nangarhar Province, a U.S./NATO supply convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber.  Local officials say they don’t know how many people were killed or wounded.

In Parwan Province, an Afghan army General was assassinated, along with his wife, daughter and nephew.  Local officials say they don’t know who did it.   The General and his family were on their way to Kabul when they were killed.

1 June 2012

A U.S./NATO soldier was killed during a Mujahideen attack in southern Afghanistan. As is ISAF SOP no details were given.

At least 182 occupying personnel have been killed since the beginning of 2012.

A suicide bomber attacked U.S. FOB Salerno at Sara Bagh in Khost Province. Some reports say as many as 17 people were killed.  Other reports said several Mujahideen attacked the forward operating base, after the explosion, but were killed or driven off.  ISAF claimed 14 Mujahideen were killed, but local officials say only three Mujahideen were killed.  Many of those killed by U.S. forces were actually civilian bystanders!

In Kapisa Province, three Afghan soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb (mine).

In Kandahar Province, local police claim they killed eight Mujahideen, and wounded four others.

ISAF claims to have captured a “leader” in Paktika province.

31 May 2012

In Helmand Province, local officials said a suicide bomber, wearing a police uniform, was shot and killed before he could blow himself up.

The Ministry of Labor reports that more than six million Afghan children are living in “critical conditions”, including being slave laborers, and sexually exploited.  The United Nations backs that up.  So what happened to all the taxpayer money coming from the occupying countries?

The United Nations has donated more vehicles to the U.S. puppet government of Afghanistan.  This time at least 50 cars and vans, making for a total of 59 vehicles given to the puppet government in the month of May.

ISAF reports that an U.S./NATO occupying troop was killed by an explosion in southern Afghanistan.

In Nangarhar Province a suicide bomber killed two cops.  The attack took place near an army commander’s office.

In Kandahar Province a suicide bomber killed five cops. The bomber targeted a police station.

In Kunduz Province a anti-terrorism boss, and three others were killed when they drove over a mine.

ISAF claims the capture of a “leader” in Khost Province.

India is begging the United States to keep major military forces in Afghanistan, past the 2014 pullout date.  It’s all about money: “India has invested significant resources for Afghanistan’s development in areas identified by Afghanistan and our Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghanistan is a reflection of this commitment.”-Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to the United States

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho’s Hoku Materials about to be finished off by lawsuits from unpaid contractors! Lays off 100 more employees in Bannock County!

“The proceeds of the loan are insufficient to pay down current liabilities, resume construction or start commercial operations. The loan proceeds will be used to fund working capital requirements while we plan for a restructuring of our liabilities, and the liabilities of our subsidiary Hoku Materials Inc.”– Scott Paul, CEO of Hoku Corporation

At the end of May, 2012, the CEO of Hoku Corporation basically said that Hoku Materials, in Pocatello, Idaho, has ceased operations, even before it began operations!

I speculated that the 17 May decision to jack up U.S. tariffs on Chinese made solar products would be the final nail in the coffin for Hoku Materials, and it looks like I was right.

This is because Hoku turned to Chinese companies to bail them out of their financial woes.  They became a subsidiary of Tianwei New Energy Holdings, which is an affiliate of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC).  All their contracts are with Chinese solar product companies hoping to increase their business in the United States.

On top of that, JH Kelly, primary contractor working on the Hoku Materials project, is finally fed up with not being paid and has sued Hoku.

At the beginning of 2012 Hoku Materials laid off 20 employees (according to an Idaho State Journal report, that left around 150 employees).

In April, remaining construction work was stopped all together (due to the lawsuits).

At the end of May 2012, a local Pocatello TV station started getting phone calls from unnamed sources within the Hoku Materials factory.  The callers were reporting massive layoffs.

Hoku Materials admitted to the local TV station that they laid off another 100 employees, because of massive debts, the increased U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar products, and civil suits by JH Kelly and other contractors!  Hoku is now going through “restructuring”, which usually includes selling off assets to pay debts.

I’ve been warning since 2010 of the impending doom of Hoku Materials.  The sad thing is that officials with the city of Pocatello, as well as Bannock County officials, bent over backwards to get Hoku to build their polysilicon plant in Pocatello (that included essentially giving the land to Hoku, by allowing a tax credit equal to the value of the land). This is because truly good paying jobs have become hard to find locally (no thanks to previous city and county leaders chasing off major employers for personal/religious reasons, such as refusing to allow Union Pacific to make Pocatello their Pacific Northwest Depot!).

Now there’s an unfinished polysilicon factory, taking up space equal to 50 football fields!  To top that, the factory butts up to a residential area, a once dead end residential street is now the entry road to the defunct factory!

NEW Obama imposed U.S. TARIFFS ON CHINESE SOLAR PANELS COULD BE THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR IDAHO’S HOKU MATERIALS

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? 1% Elitist Queen of England’s Crown Estate sees 9,200% increase in revenues! Why aren’t the British commoners benefiting?

2 June 2012, United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II’s rental property & business management empire, Crown Estate, reported a 9,200% increase in revenue over the past 60 years!

Keep in mind that according to an Act of Parliament, all profits from the Royal property/business management scheme are to go to the British Treasury!  According to the Financial Times: “Under an agreement struck between King George III and the government in 1760, the portfolio was managed by the Crown on behalf of the state, with surplus revenue going to the Treasury. In turn, the Treasury made a fixed annual payment to the monarch.” 

Also: “The Queen has no powers to liquidate assets belonging to the Crown Estate. She cannot buy or sell properties and is entitled to a modest slice of the company’s revenues.”

So how much money is the Crown Estate making?  Here’s what the Crown Estate’s own website claims:  “…the urban estate the value of the portfolio increased by 11.6 per cent to £5.2 billion [$7.9 billion USD].”

“…marine estate revenue increased by 1.7 per cent to £47.4 million [$72.8 million USD]. Total property value rose to £586.9 million [$902.2 million USD]…”

“…income from renewables….rose….to £3.5 million [$5.3 million USD]…”

“The coastal estate…added £14.3 million [$21.9 million USD] in revenue…”

“…capital value of the rural estate exceeded £1 billion [$1.5 billion USD] for the first time…”

“…asset management saw revenue rise….to £25.7 million [$39.5 million USD]…”

The question is, if the Crown Estate is making so much money, and it’s supposedly meant to benefit the commoners of the United Kingdom (through the state) then why is the government of the United Kingdom imposing such drastic austerity measures upon those very commoners?

Just how much is the “fixed annual payment to the monarch”?  Under a new Sovereign Grant Act, beginning in 2012 the Queen can receive only 15% of the revenues.  How much was she getting before that?

But wait, there’s more!  Members of the royal family own other property companies, not beholden to the British government.  Here’s one; the Grosvenor Estate.

“The Grosvenor Estate is a portfolio of businesses, rural estates and other assets owned by trusts on behalf of Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor who is the 6th Duke of Westminster, and his family.”-Grosvenor website

However, unlike the incompetent British government (by the way the Queen is the literal boss of the House of Lords in the British government, she is not a figure head!), Grosvenor Estate is actually spending money to try and build up the economy in the English city of Liverpool.  The Duke’s Grosvenor Estate is spending the equivalent of $1.5 billion USD on a project called Liverpool One.

Again, the question is, what happened to all the money from the Queen’s Crown Estate that was supposed to be used for the people of Britain?

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Japan & Iran avoiding U.S. & British controls, by developing their own insurance system for oil tankers!

2 June 2012, despite Japan just joining a trilateral military pact with the U.S. and Australia, getting oil from Iran is still of utmost importance to Japanese industries.

So much so that Iran and Japan are developing their own shipping insurance companies, to avoid the U.S./U.K. dominated shipping insurance business, and therefore get around U.S./European sanctions.

The European oil sanctions against Iran go into effect on 1 July.  Iran is considering laws that will allow their domestic shipping insurance industry to insure foreign ships.

Japan is now working to create an insurance system that will cover Japanese oil tanker ships carrying Iranian oil.  The system might be similar to one created to help Japanese airlines after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the U.S.  Prior to that Japanese airlines were insured through U.S. companies, but the U.S. companies drastically cut their coverage after the 11 September attacks.

Business/Economics, Opinion, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Fast oil money, and a big wind farm, brings Hyper Inflation to Kanasas

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.”-Dorothy, MGM’s 1939 movie version of Wizard of Oz

Just as North Dakotans are dealing with hyperinflation thanks to their exploding economy, which in turn is no thanks to their oil boom, now Kansans are experiencing the same thing: “It’s like a gold rush. No one knew this little area was worth anything, and now all of a sudden there’s all kinds of business going on, and everyone wants a piece of it.”-Kathy Smith, motel owner who turns away 25 customers per day!

The oil industry has been busy in Kanasas, and the result is that in the past three years the cost of living there has tripled, at least.  Oh and don’t forget the new wind farm that was built.  The result is a population boom, caused by the wind farm and the oil industry, and that has caused prices, like rent and even food to skyrocket.

Sure there are lots of good paying oil jobs in Kansas now, but those oil workers are paying thousands of dollars in rent, for homes that were costing only hundreds to those living in them before the oil boom.

In fact, just as in North Dakota, the Kansans living in those rental homes were actually kicked out by the property owners, so that much much higher rents could be charged to the incoming oil workers: “We’re one of the ones forced out of our home. We lived in our home 11 years and four months, we received a certified letter in the mail saying we had one month to get out.  There was no where to go.  That month was a holy hell!”-Eileen Morris, Harper County resident

Here’s what a real estate “entrepreneur”, who caters to the oil industry, said about the housing situation: “My goal was to get housing available as quickly and efficiently as possible.”-Bobbie Oliver

To give you an idea just how high rents have gone, mobile homes (aka “modular” homes) that would normally rent for several hundreds of dollars per month, are renting for as much as $2,100 USD per month!

But what about those Kansans who aren’t working for the oil industry?  Here’s what a local county official in Kansas said about that: “…people are charging higher rent prices and so these guys that have jobs that are paying $12 to $15 an hour, it’s a hardship for them.”-Mike Lanie, Economic Development Harper County

Some of the oil companies, like Shell, are actually paying holding money on homes that were forcefully vacated, in order to ensure that their oil workers have a place to live when they get there.  So far no one’s said what’s happened to those Kansans who were kicked out of the homes they were living in.

And just like North Dakota, Kansas is seeing a skyrocketing crime rate.  According to Tracy Chance, Undersheriff of Harper County, the biggest increase so far has been car accidents and public intoxication.

Isn’t the promise of fast easy money wonderful?  Welcome to the false Christian run western Whore of Babylon oil industry!  Like Peter Voser, current CEO of Shell, who will be attending this year’s Bilderberg beast conference in Virginia!  Like Edward P. Cross, current president of the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association and a paid lobbyist for the oil industry!  Like Tom L. Ward, current CEO of Oklahoma based SandRidge Energy, which holds horizontal drilling rights in Kansas!

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? My employer says no paychecks until US Bank pays up!

1 June 2012, after working weeks of overtime, my paycheck never arrived!

My employer, who has contracts with unAmerican Corporate America banks, says she can’t pay because US Bank (which is now her main contract on the eastern side of Idaho) failed to pay her!

This is strange because US Bank (aka US Bancorp, USB) recently reported 1st quarter earnings that were up!  Maybe my employer is lying?

Whatever the case, since my employer pays only once per month, all us employees have burned through last months pay and are in need of our well earned paychecks just to be able to buy necessities for the next month, let alone pay our debts!  Don’t tell me the economy is getting better!!!

(I’m writing this because it’s not the first time we’ve had problems with our employer paying us on time. You’d think a contractor working for the too big to fail banks would have such a problem.)

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? U.S. student loan debt hits $904 billion! Recipe for Civil War!

“Student loan debt continues to grow even as consumers reduce mortgage debt and credit card balances. It remains the only form of consumer debt to substantially increase since the peak of household debt in late 2008.”-Donghoon Lee, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

31 May 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported a huge increase in student loan debt, from the 1st quarter of 2003 to the 1st quarter of 2012: “…student loan debt has substantially increased since 2003, growing $663 billion.  Outstanding student loan debt surpassed credit card debt as the second highest form of consumer debt…”

Student loans now stand at $904 billion USD! Also: “…delinquency rates for student loans steadily increased from 6.13 percent in the first quarter of 2003 to its current level of 8.69 percent.  They remain higher than that of mortgages, auto loans and home equity lines of credit…”

Of course student loans are up, more and more people who can’t find good jobs are going to college with the hopes that an expensive degree will get them at least a “good” job.

The problem is that unAmerican Corporate America is not creating enough good jobs to employ all those highly edumacated workers who’ll need really really good paying jobs in order to pay off those student loans.  The latest estimates are that 362,000 net new jobs must be created every month, for three years straight, before there’s any true economic recovery!

 

In the study of revolutions and civil wars you’ll discover that one of the primary ingredients to social collapse is a country with not only a huge number of unemployed people, but a huge number of highly educated unemployed people!