Americans have difficulty embracing the concept "reality."
Good News / Bad News : Oil prices have plunged. So has gold. And the stock market. Deflation, anyone?
Quote: "All signs point to an economic slump that will be nasty, brutish — and long." Paul Krugman. Are you sure that Warren's not off a bit on his timing?
Lean, Two: There were 544,000 single-family housing starts in September, lowest leavel since 1982. And only 532,000 permits were issued, suggesting even fewer starts next month.
Tapped Out: BP's head of exploration and production says the world's oil companies may have reached the peak of their ability to extract hydrocarbons. Not the same as Peak Oil; worse. For how much you have in reserve is not near as important as how much you can put on the table today. And tomorrow.
World Food Day: The World Bank estimates that 1 out of 6 people in the world are malnourished.
Actually: Plan A was to buy toxic paper and hide it. Plan B is to force-feed banks like geese. Plan C will be whatever it takes to extend and consolidate Paulson's power over the US economy. Fixing the problem is not the goal, controlling the country is.
Wedding Plans: Merger talks between GM and Chrysler continue. Banks and other lenders are eager to see them tie the knot - especially the banks that still hold those Chrysler pier loans.
Nixon went to China: After trying to drown the US government in the bath for the last quarter century, the GOP has ushered in the largest expansion of government entanglement in the economy since Roosevelt.
Belly Up to the Bar: First it was banks, then primary dealers, the auto makers and then the auto loan folks. Now the monoline insurers want a teat to suckle.
What Have You Done For Me Lately? First AIG got $85 billion. Then, a few days ago, it got another $38 billion and didn't even tell us what they needed it for. Now they want a place at the Fed's commercial paper trough.
Un-Funny Joke: Zimbabwe's inflation rate now exceeds 200 million percent. A loaf a bread would cost $Z400 billion, if there were bread.
Silly Logic: An "intellectual conservative" wonders at the US pumping 10% of the world's oil supply from only 3% of the world's oil reserves, and thinks this is a Good Thing.
Tradition: Critics say the Bank of England will have to lower borrowing rates to 2% or even lower - which would be lower than at any time since 1694.
Scrooged: Lawrenceburg, TN is asking employees to take unpaid time off over the holidays, because the city doesn't have the money to pay everybody. It'll give them time to practice for the Christmas play.
Porn O'Graph: Paying the Bills
3 comments:
Great Stuff here
[Tapped Out] Rate of production exactly what Peak Oil is about. What makes you think othewise?
reino - I've understood Peak Oil as the peak of production as limited by geology, when demand cannot be satisfied by production. What we have now is (a temporary) Peak Flow as limited by demand, not ability to supply. If Paulson's economic miracle occurs and world economies start picking up and America hits the road in the next year, resuming 85mbd will be relatively easy. ckm
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