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Last Updated: Nov 3rd, 2008 - 12:22:36 |
Dow Drops 7.3%; Largest Loss Since ’87 Crash
In the largest loss since the crash of 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over seven percent on Thursday, closing below 9,000 for the first time in five years. Over the past six trading days, the Dow has plummeted over 2,200 points, or about 21 percent. USA Today reports the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is now on track for its worst year since 1931. Earlier today, global stock values plummeted in trading as fears grow of a worldwide recession. In Japan, the Nikkei Exchange closed down 9.6 percent. In Australia, stocks fell eight percent.
Bush Signs Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act
President Bush has signed the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. The law will give the Justice Department $10 million a year to examine unsolved murders from the civil rights era. The bill is named after Emmett Till, the fourteen-year-old African American teenager who was beaten and killed in 1955 in Mississippi after he reportedly “wolf-whistled” at a white woman.
Sheriff Refuses to Evict Residents from Foreclosed Homes in Chicago
In Illinois, the Cook County Sheriff has announced he will no longer evict residents from foreclosed properties in Chicago. The department was on pace to conduct 4,700 foreclosures this year, nearly triple the number from two years ago. Sheriff Tom Dart said he took the measure because an increasing number of the residents being evicted were renters who might have been dutifully paying their rent. Under a new Chicago law, renters are entitled to a ninety-day grace period, starting at the time a foreclosure sale is confirmed, before they can be evicted. This comes as the Wall Street Journal reports the relentless slide in home prices has left nearly one in six US homeowners owing more on a mortgage than their home is worth.
Study: Nearly All of McCain’s Ads Now Negative
In campaign developments, a new study has found that nearly 100 percent of John McCain’s recent campaign advertisements have been negative. The study by the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin examined campaign ads during the week of September 28 through October 4. During the same period, 34 percent of Barack Obama’s ads were negative. On Thursday morning, the McCain campaign issued its first ad tying Obama to the 1960s militant Bill Ayers. During a campaign stop later in the day, McCain accused Obama of having a “clear radical, far-left, pro-abortion record." Senator Barack Obama criticized McCain’s approach during a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio.
Sen. Obama: “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re not—they don’t seem to want to talk about the economy. They want to talk about me. And his campaign actually said this. I quote them: they said, ‘If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.’ Well, I’ve got news for John McCain. This isn’t about losing a campaign; this is about Americans here in Dayton who are losing their jobs and losing their homes and losing their life savings. It’s about young people losing hope and losing direction.”
3,000 Obama Donations Questioned Due to Fictitious Donor Information
The New York Times has found nearly 3,000 donations to Barack Obama came from people with apparently fictitious donor information. Although the contributions represent a tiny fraction of the record $450 million Obama has raised, the paper reports the questionable donations raise concerns about whether the Obama campaign is adequately vetting its unprecedented flood of donors.
Bush to Hold Emergency Meeting with World Finance Leaders
On Saturday, President Bush plans to host an emergency meeting with finance leaders from Britain, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Japan. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, warned countries against taking actions that could destabilize the financial systems of their neighbors.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn: “Our view is that the situation is very serious, but at the same time that we can solve problems if we can act quickly, forcefully and cooperatively.”
Paul Wagner of Morgan Stanley said the current economic crisis is affecting Main Street as well as Wall Street.
Paul Wagner: “Stocks and stock purchase plans and mutual funds and everything else. So, it’s a major ripple throughout our world, throughout the globe.”
Roubini: Global Depression Cannot Be Ruled Out
New York University economics professor Nouriel Roubini is predicting that the US and global economy is heading towards a near-term financial meltdown. Roubini, who is often credited with forecasting the current crisis, writes, “At this point severe damage is done and one cannot rule out a systemic collapse and a global depression. It will take a significant change in leadership of economic policy and very radical, coordinated policy actions among all advanced and emerging market economies to avoid this economic and financial disaster."
World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned developing nations may be particularly hard hit by the market meltdown.
Robert Zoellick: “The events of September could be a tipping point for many developing countries. A drop in exports will trigger a fall-off in investments. Deteriorating financial conditions, combined with monetary tightening, will trigger business failures and possibly banking emergencies.”
GM Stocks Fall to Lowest Level in 58 Years
Meanwhile, concern is growing that the American auto giants General Motors and Ford could both face bankruptcy. On Thursday, GM’s stock plunged 31 percent to its lowest level in fifty-eight years. Stock in Ford Motors fell nearly 22 percent.
No Confirmation Hearings For Bailout Czar
In other economic news, the website Politico is reporting Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd has no plans to subject the new bailout czar Neel Kashkari to confirmation hearings. Kashkari is the 35-year-old Treasury official tapped by Secretary Henry Paulson to oversee the more $700 billion bailout. Like Paulson, Kashkari is a former employee of Goldman Sachs. Kashkari graduated from business school six years ago.
Ex-Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Finland’s former president Martti Ahtisaari has won the Nobel Peace Prize for a long career of peace mediation work. The announcement was made earlier today.
Nobel Committee: “The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 to Martti Ahtisaari for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.”
In 2005, Martti Ahtisaari helped secure an accord between Indonesia and rebels in Aceh. In 1990, he played a key role in securing Namibia’s independence from South Africa. Until March 2007, he mediated Serb-Albanian talks on Kosovo as the UN’s special envoy. This is Martti Ahtisaari speaking in 2005 after a peace deal was signed between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement.
Martti Ahtisaari: “This achievement has only been possible with the commitment of the parties to find a peaceful, comprehensive and sustainable solution to the conflict in Aceh with dignity for all. The purpose of this peace process has been to give a new start for the people of Aceh to live their lives in peaceful, just and democratic society.”
Sen. Webb Calls on Pentagon to Cancel $300M Iraq Propaganda Program
The Army Times is reporting Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia is asking the Pentagon to halt a $300 million program to produce pro-American news and public service messages in Iraq. Webb said, “At a time when this country is facing such a grave economic crisis…it makes little sense for the Department of Defense to be spending hundreds of millions of dollars to propagandize the Iraqi people.” The Pentagon recently awarded a total of $300 million in new contracts to four contractors to produce pro-US propaganda for Iraqi audiences. The contractors are the Washington-based Lincoln Group, the LA-based Leonie Industries, as well as MPRI and SOSI, both based in Virginia.
Israeli and Palestinians Clash in Town of Acre
Tension remains high in the Israeli town of Acre after clashes between Jewish and Palestinian residents. The fighting began on Wednesday night when a group of Jewish teens attacked a Palestinian man for driving his car through a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. The attack sparked a day of riots that saw Palestinian and Jewish residents of the town hurling rocks at each other. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports Israeli police warded off hundreds of Jewish rioters, chanting “death to Arabs.” Ahmed Tibi, one of the few Palestinians in the Israeli Knesset, called the violence a "pogrom perpetrated by Jews against Arab residents.”
St. Paul Sued Over Pre-RNC Raid
The city of St. Paul Minnesota is being sued $250,000 over a controversial house raid two days before the start of the Republican National Convention. On August 30, St Paul police, FBI and Homeland Security agents raided the home of Michael Whalen. Whalen and his tenants and guests – including members of the group I-Witness Video—were held at gunpoint for several hours.
AIG Execs Held Luxury Vacation Days After $85B Taxpayer Bailout
On Capitol Hill, the House Oversight Committee continued hearings into the financial crisis with testimony from executives of the trouble mortgage giant AIG. Investigators revealed AIG executives held a week-long retreat at a luxury resort just days after receiving an $85 billion taxpayer bailout last month. The $440,000 vacation included $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals and $23,000 in spa charges. Democratic Congress member Elijah Cummings of Maryland took issue with the timing of the retreat.
Rep. Elijah Cummings: “We contacted the resort where AIG held this week-long event, and we requested copies of AIG’s bills. We learned that AIG spent nearly half-a-million dollars in a single week at the—at this hotel. Now, this was right after the bailout.”
AIG has already used up $61 billion of its $85 billion government loan.
© Copyright 2006 SeeingBlack.com
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