China Investment Corp., the nation’s US$200 billion ($246 billion) sovereign wealth fund, has started operations as the Government seeks to boost returns on the world’s biggest foreign-exchange reserves. The investment agency will come under the direct supervision of the nation’s cabinet, the State Council. Lou Jiwei, former vice finance minister, will act as director and […]
Monthly Archives: September 2007
New Zealand exporters face payment delays as fallout from the US sub-prime mortgage market crisis hits our trading partners, according to research from Dun & Bradstreet. The credit services company says businesses across Asia-Pacific – a vital export region for New Zealand – face a credit squeeze as demand for products decreases with the US […]
Home owners are becoming increasingly uneasy about keeping up with their mortgage repayments, a Research New Zealand survey says. The poll found home loan interest rates were a concern for 68 per cent of those with mortgages. The survey of social attitudes asked those with home loans if they were concerned that rising mortgage interest […]
by Charles E. Carlson Global Research, September 29, 2007 Eight years of Biofuels (ethanol) policy and legislation has cemented in place the first world wide food cabal, which promises a humanitarian disaster, a famine more serious than those caused by any tsunami, earthquake or drought. This crisis is not in the dim future, it is […]
(AP) Countrywide Financial Corp. Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo cashed in $138 million in stock options over the last year, switching his trading plans as the mortgage company went into a tailspin, it was reported Saturday. Between November 2006 and August, Mozilo changed the plans outlining how many of his shares would be sold monthly, the […]
One in four New Zealand tenants suffer from “rent rage” – and the phenomenon is set to grow as more people are shut out of owning their own home. According to a national survey by property website allrealestate.co.nz more than half of the 170 online respondents expressed “anxiety” over their rental predicament, with rising rents […]
National Party leader John Key is considering using private developers to build and own new state schools. He said such private sector involvement was seriously under consideration for the party’s education policy. “I think it’s entirely possible the private sector could build, own and maintain a property which is operated by the public sector,” he […]
Shoppers paying almost double the normal price for free-range eggs may be wasting their money if they think they are choosing the most ethical and nutritious option. Many eggs sold as “free-range” are laid by hens that never get outside to peck at fresh grass and insects, and may even have clipped beaks, say industry […]
I wonder how much of John Key’s $50 mill. are invested in these companies. Or in Rio Tinto, or some of the other big Corporations currently vying for NZ resources (Exxon, Shell etc). And I also wonder if Kiwi’s want to elect a man who may not wish to defend NZ’s best interests but instead those […]
Posted by Bill Bonner on Sep 28th, 2007 Now we’ve finally figured it out. We were sitting in a pub, listening to a crazy woman. All of a sudden, it was clear…what went wrong with the US economy, we mean.The dollar has dropped so low that America is becoming a shopping paradise for foreigners. Of […]
Posted by Dan Denning on Sep 28th, 2007 Anyone know if the credit crunch is officially over yet? Just checking.The US Fed was busy pumping US$38 billion into the financial system in the last two days. “The Federal Bank of New York added US$6 billion in 14-day repurchase agreements, US$20 billion in 14-day repurchase agreements, […]
Labour has fought back to within 5.2 points of National in the latest Herald-DigiPoll opinion survey. The clawback comes in a month when National’s leader, John Key, has not been in the media spotlight nearly as much as Prime Minister Helen Clark. The poll rounds out a bad week for National, which fumbled the announcement […]
A Parliamentary select committee has decided the Prime Minister and not the High Court should decide who is a terrorist. The committee has reported back on the Terrorism Suppression Amendment Bill. Read more
12:12PM Thursday September 27, 2007 Tony Ryall The National Party is being accused of running a secret agenda after confirming it will scrap controls on doctors’ fees. Health spokesman Tony Ryall and Party leader John Key launched a discussion document, which made no mention of doctor costs. Mr Ryall insisted he had previously announced that […]
By Graham Stairmand WELLINGTON – Grey Power has warned the National Party it won’t win next year’s election if it intends selling state-owned assets. “Nobody will be naive enough to believe that this is not going to be a step to full privatisation,” said Graham Stairmand, national president of the politically powerful organisation which represents […]
A bill introduced this week by Australia’s Parliament would give the Australian federal police the power to control which sites can and cannot be viewed by Australian Web surfers. Introduced on Thursday, the bill–titled the Communications Legislation Amendment (Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content) Bill 2007–would empower the federal police to alter the “blacklist” of […]
Lots of promises, lower tax for the rich, privatazation of healthcare (like in America) yep John Key and nats are finally showing their true colors Public health groups are angry at National Party plans to remove caps on doctors’ fees if it wins next year’s election. National announced yesterday it would scrap the Government’s controls […]
The debt crisis is more significant than most people think, and is causing panic in high places. Tools Institutions and human psychology lead financial markets to bounce back and forth between exuberant greed and catatonic fear. Times of fear generate high unemployment. Times of greed are likely to be times of destabilizing inflation. – Economist […]
Sarkozy, John Key’s ideological brother has called for a new world order. Pappy Bush, and the Neo Con Cabal in Washington are calling for the same. If New Zeeland votes John Key and National in will he do the same? New York – The United Nations should avail itself as an instrument for a “new world […]
So much for the trickle down effect of tax cuts for the rich. Posted by Bill Bonner on Sep 26th, 2007 The Fed hit the markets with a half-point rate cut. The S&P shot up more than any time since the invasion of Iraq in March ’03. And now we read in the paper that […]
We live in an age of economic shocks, or an Age of Turbulence if you ask Alan Greenspan. Households have been encouraged to take on record amounts of debt during an historic low in interest rates. Now, as interest rates are set to rise, the value of assets purchased with debt will fall. There are […]
The following is an excerpt from Robert Reich’s new book Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life. Of Two Minds In recent years, the cheerleaders of American capitalism — denizens of Wall Street, lobbyists on Washington’s K Street, the inhabitants of top executive suites and New York penthouses, most Republicans, many economists, editorial […]
NEW YORK – Sales of existing homes, depressed by turmoil in credit markets, fell for a sixth straight month in August, pushing activity to the lowest point in five years an industry trade group said Tuesday. A separate report showed that t he nationwide decline in home prices accelerated in July, posting the steepest drop […]
by Eric Englund Inflation is an immoral tax that leads to immoral values ~ Anonymous South American banker Having been in the credit profession for the past 23 years, I have observed several cycles involving the loosening and then the inevitable tightening of credit-underwriting standards. Of course, the Federal Reserve stands at the epicenter of […]
Ashley Seager, Andrew Clark and Marianne Barriaux in Paris Wednesday September 26, 2007 The Guardian Financial markets on both sides of the Atlantic took fright yesterday at economic data showing weakness in the US and Germany as investors fretted about banks’ balance sheets in the wake of the Northern Rock fiasco.The FTSE 100 share index […]
The price of existing homes in the 10 largest US cities fell by 0.6% in July – the steepest drop in 16 years – a survey has found. The data, from S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, put the annual price fall in those cities at 4.5%. A broader survey of 20 cities found that prices fell […]
Sub-prime mortgages are set to grow faster than mainstream mortgages, independent market analyst Datamonitor has said. The group said that by 2011, the marketplace would reach £31.5bn, compared with £24.6bn in 2006. Sub-prime mortgages are those sold to people with poor credit histories and thus a greater chance of defaulting. Read more
One of the most shocking things about sharemarket corrections is that so few people see them coming. Even highly trained and experienced experts among the funds managers, financial advisers and sharebrokers are taken by surprise (which negates their usefulness somewhat). I have always maintained that the secret to sharemarket success is to think and act […]
Some people have been advised to lie to buy a house A BBC investigation has found evidence of serious mis-selling in Britain’s sub-prime mortgage market. Industry insiders have described how people have been advised to lie about their incomes to take out loans far bigger than they can afford. Half of all sub-prime mortgages […]
Aotearoa: A Wider Perspective 