Friday, July 11, 2008

SAR # 8193

Here’s what’s scary:
Our problem is much worse than you think.
Tom Friedman

Arctic Bonanza: Russia's Gazprom estimates that natural gas from the Yamal peninsula will cost $91 a thousand cubic meters verses the $7 a thousand for older fields. Gas from the Arctic shelf will be double or triple that.

Zombification: Term used to describe the future of the regional and small banks that do not fail quickly, but rather languish for years, teetering on the edge but not quite failing.

Money Trail: If you want to know what will be done about the energy crisis, figure out who can make the most money doing what. Bingo. It doesn't have to solve the problem. It doesn't even have to work. But it must generate enough money to profit the insiders and pay off the politicians, who will provide the tax breaks and public funding for private profit.

Monkey See: The US has decided that if you try to quit America with more than $600,000 in assets, there'll be an exit fee. They got the idea from the hedge funds.

The Optional Curse: Option ARMs - those delightful "products" that let the debtor decide if and when to make payment - will begin resetting en mass in April 2009, at $5 billion a month and build to $10 billion a month by January 2010. Nearly all these mortgages are now underwater. Selling or refinancing them will not be viable alternatives. That's not light at the end of the tunnel, it's a bonfire. Maybe a firestorm.

Volunteers: Nigeria needs $85bn of investment in its power infrastructure in order to produce electricity 24 hours a day, experts say. Great deal! They'll pay you back in oil.

RRRRRRRRRRRead: An Indiana teacher who tried to inspire her students was suspended for 18 months for using an award winning book, The Freedom Writers Diary. Someone should encourage the school board to read the Constitution.

Ouija Board : The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission warns that prices for natural gas and coal will result in "significantly higher power prices that will last for years to come.”

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