Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:01:34 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://infoshop.org/economics/images/logo.gif http://infoshop.org/economics/ chuck@mutualaid.org http://infoshop.org/economics/Article35.phtml The national credit crisis, and its symptomatic rash of foreclosures, is potentially devastating for Baltimore city. It risks undoing modest and fragile gains made in homeownership in this beleaguered city. As housing advocates argue, homeownership is key to the health of Baltimore: those who own their residences are more likely to upkeep them and remain within the neighborhood, thereby stemming the tide of boarded up housing. Homeowners, as opposed to renters, are the building blocks of stable communities. Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:01:34 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article34.phtml On January 14, 2008 the FDIC web site began posting the rules for reimbursing depositors in the event of a bank failure. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is required to “determine the total insured amount for each depositor.....as of the day of the failure” and return their money as quickly as possible. The agency is “modernizing its current business processes and procedures for determining deposit insurance coverage in the event of a failure of one of the largest insured depository institutions.” Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:49:25 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article33.phtml As Americans begin to taste the bitter dregs of recession; the economy spirals to the top of primary election rhetoric. Briefly displacing the issue of Iraq. Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:32:20 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article32.phtml As record numbers of homeowners default on their mortgages, questionable practices among lenders are coming to light in bankruptcy courts, leading some legal specialists to contend that companies instigating foreclosures may be taking advantage of imperiled borrowers. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:55:57 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article31.phtml Consumer confidence sustained its steepest one-week drop in more than 20 years of ongoing polls this week, falling to its lowest level since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in late October 2005. Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:54:32 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article30.phtml Back in the 1980s, it was leveraged buyouts (LBOs, for which this publication was named, sorta). In the 1990s, it was the dot.com’s. And in this upcycle—do we ever have deep downcycles anymore?—it’s been private equity (PE). Sure, the hedge funds have been playing a major supporting role, but they’ve been around for a while. The stars—armed with an economic philosophy even—have been private equity. Sometimes it seems like the 1980s all over again. Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:52:06 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article29.phtml In June, the international credit rating and risk evaluation agency Standard & Poor’s changed Estonian national rating from stable to negative. I agree with the opinion of Standard & Poor’s, Financial Times and others; that Estonian economy is in for a heavy fall. Runaway inflation is created together by corporations, private enterprises, the state and the people themselves. Public involvement in dealing with social problems should be an essential part of a democratic state – just that would be the deciding factor softening the impact after the economic high. Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:20:44 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article28.phtml The disastrous impact on the economy of George W. Bush’s response to the attacks of September 2001 is still being measured. On Friday of last week the Bush Administration announced that it would not renominate Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Administration’s decision to throw a loyal supporter overboard avoids a messy confirmation hearing that would have further focused a war-weary nation’s attention on the past. But sometimes looking backward can help us anticipate the future. Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:12:04 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article27.phtml Miami developers, whose condominiums are nearly completed, could tap into a new source of revenue based on a news report from the Florida coastal town, Punta Gorda. Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:08:42 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article26.phtml IN 1985, THE FORBES 400 were worth $221 billion combined. Today, they’re worth $1.13 trillion—more than the GDP of Canada. Tue, 24 Oct 2006 13:45:02 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article25.phtml Economic Democracy Vs. Parecon: Debating Life After CapitalismWhat follows is a debate between David Schweickart, author of After Capitalism and SolidarityEconomy.net editor, and Michael Albert, author of Parecon and founder of Z Magazine. The debate was sparked by Schweickart’s critique of Parecon, “Nonsense on Stilits.” Thu, 19 Oct 2006 23:09:58 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article24.phtml Housing slowdown creating 'ghost towns'SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The housing slowdown has turned some parts of the Phoenix and Las Vegas metropolitan areas into "ghost towns," where many unsold homes stand empty, Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, said Monday. Thu, 19 Oct 2006 23:06:45 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article23.phtml The November payrolls job report was announced Friday with the usual misleading hype. Spinmeisters made the most out of the 215,000 jobs. Looking beyond the glitter at the real facts, this is what we see. 21,000 of those jobs were government jobs supported by taxpayers. There were only 194,000 new jobs in the private sector. Sat, 03 Dec 2005 23:08:15 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article22.phtml America's exploding debt is a ticking time-bomb. No one can say for sure what might trigger a crisis and when the bomb might explode, but this much is for sure: America's current level of borrowing is unsustainable. Fri, 02 Dec 2005 11:35:24 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article21.phtml Congratulations, parents of the Class of 2009! As you read this, your child is settling into the routines of college life: ill-timed early morning lectures, inevitable all-night cram sessions, and the search for parties on a now fairly familiar campus. Mon, 28 Nov 2005 14:44:30 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article20.phtml All around the world the lasting images of Hurricane Katrina were not of the storm, but of the poor. In the superpower where President George Bush promised "no child left behind" - tens of thousands of children, and their parents, were indeed left behind. Literally. Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:07:30 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article19.phtml Of the world's 100 largest economies, 47 are nations, and 53 are corporations. Seventy-five percent of major corporations hire a consultant to stop employees from forming a union. Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:03:30 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article18.phtml While politicians on both sides of the aisle refuse to talk about the war on the working class by the Bush administration, the increasing cliff edge disparity of wealth distribution in America is creeping precariously closer for the middle class. The grinding suffocation of poverty, always clear to the people on the bottom of our economy, is coming into view for a lot of folks who never suspected it would happen to them. Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:01:00 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article17.phtml Nov 17 - As national lawmakers consider legislation granting somewhere between $35 billion and $60 billion in tax cuts, much of it to the nation’s wealthiest citizens, a progressive economic think tank yesterday released its annual Thanksgiving report asserting that the acceleration of tax cuts since 2001 has done little to create jobs while contributing to "economy-choking deficits." Sun, 20 Nov 2005 09:58:06 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article16.phtml TomPaine.com "You’ve got to be kidding me" is going to become my new catch phrase when it comes to Congress. Last night, the House voted 217-215 to cut student loan subsidies and freeze Pell Grants for the fourth year in a row, along with other programs that benefit the poor and working class. This move will save the government roughly $50 billion. It’s unfathomable to me how politicians who tout the benefits of education and say they’ll leave no child behind would vote to cut federal student aid at a time when college tuition rates continue to skyrocket. Sun, 20 Nov 2005 09:46:20 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article15.phtml Production line Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times. Tue, 10 May 2005 22:50:15 -0700 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article14.phtml The National Association of Home Builders ranks 162 metropolitan areas by estimating the percentage of homes sold that would be affordable to a family earning the area's median household income. Nine of the top 10 most-affordable markets in the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Opportunity Index are in Ohio, Michigan or Illinois. All of the top 10 least-affordable housing markets are in California. Wed, 19 Jan 2005 15:31:16 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article13.phtml The consequences of a gambling addiction can be among the most devastating of all the possible consequences of all the possible addictions. Addiction to gambling is almost always ruinous to the gambler's or the gambler's family's economic well-being. Addicts are compelled by their pathology to risk their paychecks, their savings and their credit. And because the odds are always — always — stacked against the gambler, these risks never — ever — pay off. Sat, 15 Jan 2005 12:37:45 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article12.phtml A new weapon debuts this month in the Wal-Mart workers war, as the retailer opens a large outlet on the former site of a condemned housing project in Hartford. Even people bored with the old debate over Wal-Mart - is it good or bad for the economy? - will want to keep an eye on this one. Thu, 06 Jan 2005 18:26:18 -0800 http://infoshop.org/economics/Article11.phtml President Bush's entire plan for Social Security privatization rests on the premise that the system is in severe crisis. But a careful look at the numbers suggests that the financial crisis is largely a myth. Thu, 23 Dec 2004 08:58:32 -0800