Tag Archives: u.s.

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.

 

International, U.S.

Iran names 26 U.S. officials in Human Rights violation sanctions

On May 24, Iran issued a list of 26 officials from the United States that violated international Human Rights laws.

The list includes: Commander of U.S. forces in Iraq Raymond Odierno.

USS Vincennes Captain Will Rogers III.

Former FBI chief Thomas J. Pickard.

Former commander of the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Geoffrey D. Miller.

Current Guantanamo commander Rear Admiral Jeffery Harbeson.

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Former U.S. US administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer.

Former U.S. Army General Tommy Franks.

Iran is joined by Amnesty International, and the UN Human Rights Council in condemning the growing evidence human rights violations committed by the U.S., both outside and inside its borders.

 

International, U.S.

German bank continues violating sanctions against Iran

European-Iranian Trade Bank AG (EIH Bank), based in Hamburg Germany, says it will not abide by European Union sanctions against Iran.

Earlier in the week the EU froze the bank’s assets.  Bank officials say it will not stop them: “Nothing has changed; the same Bundesbank office which approved our transactions during the investigation will continue to approve our transactions under sanctions.”-Norbert Eisenmenger, EIH finance and marketing

Last year the United States blacklisted the EIH bank, saying the bank was providing financial services for other banks doing business with Iran.

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.

International, U.S.

More proof that the U.S. is controlled by British Empire: Obama says it’s “essential” for International Security

“When the United States and Britain stand together, our people and people around the world can become more secure and more prosperous…Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship – for us and for the world”-joint statement by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron

Basically, what Obama and Cameron are saying is that the British Empire (the only empire to stand on four corners of the world. those who believe in the last days of the Christian book of Revelation need to pay attention to that!) is going to fight to hold on to every piece of territory the Empire controls (or fight to gain territory it wants to control).

During World War 2, the U.S. and U.K. formed a “Special Relationship” to fight the Germans and Japanese (after all the United States and the British Empire were supposed to be mortal enemies).

That relationship continued, thanks to the propaganda of Winston Churchill and Senator McCarthy, with the Cold War against Communism.  With the War on Terror the U.S. and U.K. have decided their relationship is now “Essential”.

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.

 

Fukushima

24 May 2011, Fukushima Daiichi still flooding Pacific Ocean with radiation!

Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is reminding Tokyo Electric Power Company that it must stop the flood of contamination that is still pouring into the ocean.

According to NHK, TEPCo is still trying to figure out how to stop leaks of contaminated water.  The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency gave TEPCo until 01 June 2011 to figure out a way to plug the leaks.