Weeks ending 16 August 2008

News from 04/08/08 to 16/08/08


Georgia forced to accept a Russian occupation


Georgia crisis: Medvedev promises to guarantee any vote by rebel states to break with Tbilisi


US and Poland sign defence deal


Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles


'2 US aircraft carriers headed for Gulf'


The next wave of mortgage defaults


Hundreds of banks will fail, Roubini tells Barron's


US junk-bond defaults may quadruple

Defaults on American corporate junk bonds could more than quadruple in the next year as the declining economy in the United States severely restricts companies' ability to repay their debts, the Standard & Poor's ratings agency has said.

One Third of New Owners Owe More Than House Is Worth


Indonesia warns oil output to finish in 10 years’ time


Violence in NW Pakistan triggers exodus

About 100,000 Pakistani villagers have fled clashes between security forces and militants in a northwestern region raising the danger of a big humanitarian problem, a government official said on Friday.

ECB slammed as Europe crumbles

The economies of Germany, France and Italy all contracted in the first quarter and may now be in full recession, shattering assumptions that Europe would prove able to shrug off the effects of the credit crunch.

Weeks Ending 03 August 2008

News from 20/07/08 to 03/08/08


'Nuclear bomber base' raises fears of a new Cuban crisis

The Russian military, furious at American plans to install a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe, is talking up the prospect of turning Cuba into a base for its long-range nuclear bombers.

NAB sends a bleak message to the world

NAB's decision to book an $830 million charge against $1.2 billion of US home loan exposure to carry write-downs to 90% of the original value sends an extremely gloomy message to the global banking system and the world's sharemarkets.
...The mortgages concerned are not subprime junk. In fact, they had received an AAA credit rating originally, which as Stewart said yesterday, implied a one in 10,000 chance of default.

The huge threat to the US economy


Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Congress backs rescue package


America's house price time bomb

"This is becoming a tsunami of voluntary defaults," Professor Roubini says.
"The losses for the financial system from people walking away could be of the order of one trillion dollars when the entire capital of the US banking system is only $1.3 trillion."

Russian Navy prioritizes construction of nuclear submarines


Britain plans to spend £3bn on new nuclear warheads


U.S. biofuel plants go bankrupt on feedstock costs


Zimbabwe runs short of paper to mint money


Zimbabwe slashes ten zeros off its currency


Sexual assault in [U.S.] military 'jaw-dropping,' lawmaker says


Iran says OPEC to consider oil rationing


Haiti: Mud cakes become staple diet as cost of food soars beyond a family's reach


China’s Guerrilla War for the Web


Fuel cell cars still 15 years away at best-study


Graph of Total Borrowings of Depository Institutions from the Federal Reserve


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Also of interest:

Photos of the Large Hadron Collider

Photos of current and future developments in Dubai