Karl Rove circumvents the President's responsibility when lying to the country regarding Iraq and places it on the emotional turmoil of aggrieved military familes. Just because a soldier does his job, or a father in pain for his son seeks to walk in the shoes his son left behind doesn't justify an illegal war in Iraq, but, Rove only sees 'what sells' to the public and the party without regard for 'the truth.'
Neil Patel tapped to head NTIA
Mar 10, 2008 12:10 PM
The Bush administration has nominated Neil Patel, an aide to vice president Dick Cheney, to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the federal agency overseeing the DTV converter box coupon program.
Meredith Atwell Baker, who has been heading the program as acting NTIA chief, said last week that she was leaving the agency.
Patel has been assistant secretary for domestic and economic policy to vice president Dick Cheney. Before that he was staff secretary to Cheney and is former general counsel at UUNET Technologies.
Baker has said she will stay at the agency until her successor is in place. Patel must still be vetted and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
http://broadcastengineering.com/news/neil_patel_tapped_ntia_0310/
Pfizer, Exxon Find Justices As Shareholders May Cost Them
By: Greg Stohr, © Bloomberg 2008
03/10/2008
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is one shareholder Pfizer Inc. might be better off without.
Justice Roberts's Pfizer stake, which is worth between $15,001 and $50,000, almost certainly led to a Supreme Court deadlock this week that allowed lawsuits over the company's Rezulin diabetes drug. Justice Roberts, 53, didn't take part in the case, and the court split 4-4, leaving Pfizer one vote short of stopping the suits.
"If you're on the industry side, it kills you that Roberts recused himself,'' said Mark Herrmann, a product-liability lawyer at Jones Day in Chicago. "That's your fifth vote.''
Justice Roberts's recusal, and others this term, have fueled calls for the nine justices to shed their stock holdings and put the money into funds or other investments less likely to create a conflict of interest.
"They ought to be encouraged to dump the whole portfolio,'' said Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Mr. Painter, who was President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer and worked on the nominations of Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, called stock ownership by jurists "a huge problem.''
Five days before the Pfizer deadlock, the court considered the $2.5 billion punitive damage award for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill without Justice Alito, 57, an Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholder. In January, the court ruled on shareholder lawsuits with no input from Justice Stephen Breyer, 69, who owned shares of Cisco Systems Inc., the parent of a company involved in the case.
Six Cases
The Pfizer and Exxon cases are among six scheduled cases the court is considering in the 2007-08 term without all nine justices. The 4-4 split in the Pfizer case is the second of the term for the court, which also divided evenly when Justice Anthony Kennedy didn't participate in a special-education case.
Four-to-four rulings resolve the individual case by upholding the lower-court decision, though they don't set a nationwide precedent.
"When we have a 4-4 decision, it creates uncertainty in the law,'' said Ronald Rotunda, an expert on judicial ethics at George Mason University's law school in Fairfax, Va. "We know it's important enough for the court to take, but we don't know the answer.''
The justices rarely say why they are disqualifying themselves from a case, although their annual financial disclosure reports often provide a likely explanation. The reports list investments owned by judges, their spouses and dependent children and show the approximate value of the holdings.
Exxon Mobil
Justice Alito's absence from the Exxon Mobil case might deprive the company of the fifth vote it needs to wipe out the damage award or get a new trial. Instead, the court may simply order a reduction in the record $2.5 billion award.
The prospect of a 4-4 deadlock in the 19-year-old case troubles some court watchers. "An important issue will be unresolved, the justices' time will be wasted, the parties' money will be wasted, and all over what is likely just a few thousand dollars' worth of investment,'' University of California at Los Angeles law professor Eugene Volokh wrote on his blog, the Volokh Conspiracy.
Justice Alito's stock holdings in Exxon Mobil were in the $100,001 to $250,000 range, according to his 2006 disclosure form. He didn't respond to a request for comment about his recusal policy. Justice Roberts and Justice Breyer declined to answer questions.
Kennedy And Thomas
Stock holdings aren't the only reason justices stay out of cases. Justice Kennedy and Justice Clarence Thomas stepped aside in cases involving companies that employ their children, according to Legal Times.
What distinguishes stock-based recusals is that they could be easily avoided, some experts say. Under a 2006 law, enacted at Justice Roberts's urging, justices can defer capital-gains taxes when they sell stocks and put the money into a qualified fund to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
Justice Roberts's most recent disclosure form indicates he is reducing individual company stock holdings. He sold a dozen securities in 2006, including Coca-Cola Co., Johnson & Johnson and State Street Corp.
Even so, Justice Roberts's sales have raised questions about timing and consistency. In each of the last two terms, he disqualified himself from a case, then reversed course and took part. A likely explanation was that he sold the stocks that created the conflict - Citigroup Inc. in one case, Cisco in the other.
Bloomberg
http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19376165&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8
Goldman Sachs CEO gets $100 compensation
10 March 2008
Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Goldman Sachs, has been awarded around $100 million in pay and stock during the 2007 fiscal year, it has emerged.
The company announced that Mr Blankfein was awarded $53.97 million in cash compensation during the year, while he also received $45.76 million through the vesting of stock, Reuters reports.
It notes that this figure reflects the methodology used by a number of executive pay consultants and is not identical to the company's calculation of Mr Blankfein's "approved 2007 compensation".
This compensation includes his $67.9 million year end bonus and totals $68.5 million.
"According to the same methodology, compensation for other top Goldman executives included a respective $53.04 million and $52.91 million for co-chief operating officers Gary Cohn and Jon Winkelried," the company said."
It added that chief financial officer David Viniar received $42.58 million, while chief administrative officer Edward Forst was paid $39.85 million.
Last month, Goldman Sachs announced the appointment of J Michael Evans and Michael S Sherwood as vice chairmen of the company with immediate effect.
http://www.bobsguide.com/guide/news/2008/Mar/10/Goldman_Sachs_CEO_gets_$100_compensation.html
Goldman Sachs adds M&A head for the Americas Stephanie Baum
10 Mar 2008
Goldman Sachs has created the role of head of mergers and acquisitions for the Americas to reinforce its leadership position in the US.
Tim Ingrassia is responsible for growing Goldman’s M&A business in the Americas by helping to expand its market share across all industry sectors, according to an internal memo from Goldman Sachs.
Ingrassia will help source and execute transactions across its client base in the Americas.
The memo reiterated the importance of the US to its global M&A strategy.
It said: “The merger product is a core component of our global franchise. It is a strategic priority for the division and firm that we maintain a leadership position in the United States and in each of the regions where we operate.”
It is the first regional head of M&A at Goldman Sachs. Gordon Dyal is the global head of M&A, a position he has held since November 2004. Jack Levy and Gene Sykes are the co-chairmen of M&A.
Ingrassia previously worked as the global head of the consumer retail group, a role he held for six years. He will be replaced by Kathy Elsesser whose role will focus on the Americas. Elsesser previously worked as a partner in the consumer retail group.
Last year, Goldman Sachs M&A revenue in Europe, Middle East and Africa surpassed the US for the first time with $1.24 trillion (€807.4bn) in the first half of 2007. In the US, it has worked on 21 deals for the year to date valued at $73.1bn, according to investment banking research provider Dealogic.
Although M&A deal volume is up for the year to date compared to the same period in 2006, the overall value of deals are down 28%. There have been $527bn worth of global M&A agreements for the year to date compared with the same period last year, according to Dealogic.
http://www.financialnews-us.com/?page=ushome&contentid=2350018884
Paulson says dollar to reflect strong fundamentals
March 7, 2008
STANFORD, California (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Friday reiterated his view that a strong dollar was in the U.S. interest and the greenback's value would ultimately reflect strong economic fundamentals.
"The strong dollar is in the nation's interest. Our economy like any other has got its ups and downs," Paulson told an economic policy conference at Stanford University. "The long term fundamentals are strong. And I'm confident they'll be reflected in currency market."
The dollar has declined in value as the U.S. economy has weakened under the strain of a housing crisis and financial market turmoil. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts have also reduced the dollar's value against major currencies including the euro and Britain's pound.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/03/08/paulson_says_dollar_to_reflect_strong_fundamentals/
Joaquin Almunia calls for concerted action to halt collapse of US currency
Gary Duncan, Economics Editor
Europe’s economic leaders sounded renewed warnings yesterday over the euro’s relentless rise against the embattled dollar, in the latest sign of mounting eurozone anxiety over the single currency’s sky-high valuation.
JoaquÍn Almunia, the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, gave warning that the world economy was in a “precarious balance”, and suggested that the risks of a runaway collapse in the dollar as part of a disorderly unwinding of global economic imbalances had risen markedly.
Mr Almunia, in a speech in Brussels, also voiced European concern that the euro was bearing the impact of the dollar’s steep losses virtually alone, as key Asian economies such as China maintained their controversial currency pegs to the dollar.
“Action is lacking at a time when it is most urgently needed,” he said. “In today’s climate of volatile financial markets and slowing global growth, all partners must make a concerted effort. We should not wait until financial markets force global adjustment.”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article3525442.ece
U.S. January Trade Deficit Rises 0.6%; Exports Gain (Update2)
By Shobhana Chandra
March 11 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. trade deficit was smaller than forecast in January as a weaker dollar propelled gains in exports, while oil imports jumped to a record.
The gap grew 0.6 percent to $58.2 billion from a revised $57.9 billion in December that was narrower than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Overseas demand increased 1.6 percent to the highest level ever.
The slump in the U.S. currency and sales in overseas markets including Asia may avert a deeper decline at American factories as escalating job losses hurt consumer spending. Exports are one of the few bright spots remaining in an economy that is heading toward, or may already be, in a recession.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3_cWGSGXH5g&refer=home
Job losses not a surprise: Paulson
STANFORD, California: US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that February job losses were unwelcome but not surprising, and urged major financial institutions to raise capital to keep lending taps open during a difficult period.
Paulson, who was visiting California to discuss the economy, spoke to reporters after the Labor Department reported that 63,000 jobs were lost last month, on top of 22,000 lost in January. – Reuters
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/10/business/20589116&sec=business
American home equity drops below 50%, lowest in 60 years
SACRAMENTO, Calif –OBSNews- On Thursday March 6, 2008 the Federal Reserve reported that during the final three quarters of 2007 the amount of equity that Americans had in their homes dropped to below 50%.
This is the first time that Americans have owed more on their homes collectively than they have owned since 1945.
This statistic shows that American homeowners borrowed large amounts of money against the value of their homes in recent year..
For homeowners who are trying to sell their properties to avoid foreclosure this statistic indicates a difficult market reality.
Mark Zandi, the head economist for Moody’s http://www.Economy.com, said “Consumers are growing more cautious, first, because they are now worth less, and they know it.
He added, “Secondly, they can’t borrow against their homes as aggressively as they did.
http://www.obsnews.com/news/american-home-equity-drops-below-50-lowest-in-60-years-241.html
Bush: No ‘Secret Deals' in CSX-Commuter Rail Plan
By Robin Williams Adams
THE LEDGER
LAKELAND Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush sharply rebuffed reporters seeking to question him Friday about plans developed during his term in office that would pay millions of dollars to CSX for railroad tracks to develop a commuter rail corridor in Central Florida and assist in relocating a CSX rail center from Orange County to Winter Haven.
Opposition to using state money to make those moves, part of a $491 million
deal, has been increasing because of the project's side effects: increased freight train traffic through Lakeland and substantially more truck traffic on local roads.
News reports and editorials have addressed concerns about the lack of detailed public discussion about the state's deal with CSX before Bush announced it in August 2006.
Bush, in Lakeland as a speaker for two Southeastern University events, was asked after his afternoon speech if he had time to answer questions.
He said he wouldn't if the questions were about CSX.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080308/NEWS/930658403/1004
US Prepares For 'Doomsday' Rule As British Forces Arrive In America
Sorcha Faal
Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that China's President Hu has refused the United States request for over $2 Trillion in emergency assistance to bolster the collapsing American Dollar, and asked for in a personal meeting with the former US President Bush, the father of the current President Bush.
Of the worst fears of the American Bush-Clinton Monarchy, which has ruled the US these past 20 years, these reports state, is the collapse of their privately owned hedge fund called the Carlyle Capital Fund and which is owned by their secretive war profiteering International behemoth Carlyle Group led by the Bush Family, Former British Prime Ministers, and others of the West's ruling elite, and as we can read as reported by Britain's Independent News Service:
"A fund managed by the US private equity giant Carlyle Group has become the latest to be hit by demands from lending banks making calls on loans secured on mortgage bonds.
Carlyle Capital Corp, a publicly traded fund that holds $21.7bn (£10.8bn) of securities, said it had received a default notice from one of its lending banks and expected at least one more after it failed to meet demands for extra security from jittery counterparties.
The Guernsey-based fund has struggled to meet more than $60m of margin calls and demands for extra collateral since the start of the month. It met the calls until Wednesday, when it was landed with more than $37m of demands and missed four out of seven calls."
To the greatest concerns, however, of Russian Military Commanders are the reports of President Bush's younger brother Neil's 'sudden' visit to the South American Nation of Paraguay as a guest of the secretive South Korean backer of the Bush-Clinton Monarchy, and self-proclaimed "messiah" Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and as we can read as reported by the Associated Press News Service:
"Neil Bush, younger brother of U.S. President George W. Bush, called on Paraguay's president as the guest of a business federation founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
A presidential press office source, who spoke on condition of not being named, confirmed the younger Bush met President Nicanor Duarte on Thursday along with a delegation from the Universal Peace Federation, a group associated with Moon."
[It is important to note that the Bush Family has reportedly already made plans to relocate from the United States to Paraguay, and as we had reported on in our October 15, 2006 report titled "US President Bush Makes Massive Land Purchase In Paraguay Ahead Of Expected War Crimes Charges", but denied by the US State Department, as that South American Nation has long been a refuge for Nazi War Criminals and their Western backers, of which the Bush Family were one of.]
The timing of this Bush Family-Moon visit to Paraguay during that Nation's horrific outbreak of yellow fever, and which has caused its President to declare a 'State of Emergency', meant, these reports say, that 'normal' abilities of [deleted] to track the whereabouts of these subjects was severely hampered due to the many restrictions placed upon the free movement of people within the country.
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2008/03/09/us_prepares_for_doomsday_rule_as_british
John Bolton joins Chicago-based firm
by James Oliphant
John Bolton, the outspoken former Bush administration official and UN ambassador, is joining Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis as a senior adviser.
Bolton worked as a senior arms-control policymaker in the State Department and became known for his hawk-like views toward Iraq, Iran and North Korea and a belligerant personal style. His nomination as United Nations ambassador in 2005 became a highly charged affair, largely because Bolton had expressed tremendous antipathy toward the U.N.
He was once quoted as saying that "The Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost ten stories today, it wouldn't make a bit of difference." Ultimately, he was never confirmed as U.N. ambassador but made a recess appointment by President Bush and again drew criticism for an abrasive manner while in New York.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/03/john_bolton_joins_chicagobased.html
Massive street repair program unveiled
by Leslie Williams, The Times-Picayune
Monday March 10, 2008, 9:48 PM
The public got its first peek Monday at where bits and pieces of repairs to minor streets throughout New Orleans will occur during the next 18 months or so.
Any one of the 17,000 street and sidewalk repair jobs financed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency might be "that big hole in the middle of the street that you've been wondering when someone might get to it," said Robert Mendoza, the city's director of public works.
In some cases, portions of a street will be mended with an overlay of asphalt. Broken sections of sidewalks will be fixed. Curbs will be redone.
Up to $40 million worth of repairs for parts or all of 6,000 city blocks are planned. In an illustration presented Monday by Mayor Ray Nagin, the city looked as if it had a bad case of industrial chicken pox, with purple work-site location dots covering most neighborhoods, including eastern New Orleans, Broadmoor, Uptown, downtown, Algiers and Lakeview.
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/no_unveils_street_repair_plan.html
Pork plant closing; 476 jobs ending
Jonathan B. Cox, Staff Writer
Smithfield Packing Co., the nation's largest pork producer, said Monday that it will close its only unionized plant in the state and eliminate 476 jobs in Kinston.
The decision came after a team of engineers decided that it would be too expensive to upgrade the factory, which dates to 1948, with modern equipment needed to satisfy customers, spokesman Dennis Pittman said. Workers will be offered jobs at other Smithfield Foods facilities in Eastern North Carolina. "We should have enough positions for pretty much anyone who wants to make the relocation," he said.
The Kinston plant, which will remain open until May 9, smokes whole hams often served at Thanksgiving or Christmas gatherings. Smithfield opened a separate $100 million Kinston facility in November 2006 after receiving the promise of as much as $11.5 million in state and local incentives.
Some displaced workers will get jobs at that plant, which makes deli meat, Pittman said.
Smithfield, with more than 10,000 employees in North Carolina, is among the state's largest private employers and is a major force in communities such as Tar Heel and Clinton.
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/993685.html
Rex and the City: Downtown lawyers
By Rex Noseworthy, rnoseworthy@nashvillecitypaper.com
Pump your Frists
He went from a failed presidential bid to starring in a Super Bowl commercial. What is next for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist?
Rex sources have confirmed that Frist had been in discussions in the past with Microsoft maven Bill Gates to head up The Bill and Melinda Gate’s foundation. Sources said those talks are likely ongoing.
Frist spokesperson Matt Lehigh refused to comment on the matter.
There are obvious tie-ins with Frist and the mission of the Gates Foundation. While in the Senate, Frist was a champion for President George W. Bush’s effort to spend billions to combat AIDS in Africa. He has also went on medical missions to Africa, operating on patients and attending to the situation in Darfur and other very troublesome areas.
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=59082
Justice Dept. Says Rape Is A-OK
By Aaron Elias
Last year, an unprovoked shooting by Blackwater Worldwide left 17 Iraqi civilians dead and 20 injured in a square in Baghdad. Blackwater is a privatized military firm that provides support for U.S. troops in Iraq, and a law known as Order 17, enacted by the Coalition Provisional Authority, grants all U.S.-employed private contractors blanket immunity from criminal sanctions. Really? They thought that was a good idea? Thanks to this law, Blackwater has been marauding around Iraq and making dozens of fatally retarded decisions, such as driving against traffic and shooting at civilians to make them get out of the way, because they know that there will be no consequences.
Jamie Leigh Jones, a woman working in the Green Zone in Iraq, alleged that she was drugged and violently gang-raped by her co-workers before being thrown into a shipping container. She was then held without food or drink for an undetermined amount of time. Jones’s employer, an engineering and construction company called Kellogg, Brown and Root employed by the United States in Iraq, told the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the poor woman was “taken to a secure unlisted living container where she could rest.” Wait, there’s more. The rape kit used by a military doctor to examine the victim was reportedly shipped to Halliburton and KBR, and now the doctor’s notes and photos of her bruises have mysteriously gone missing.
http://www.newuniversity.org/checkDB.php?id=6675
VIOLENCE CONTINUES TO RAGE IN IRAQ
Female suicide bomber kills tribal chief.
Mass grave containing 100 bodies uncovered north of Baghdad.
COST OF WAR CONTINUES TO SOAR
Book reports Iraq war to cost U.S. $12 billion per month.
U.S. TROOPS PROVIDED WITH UNSAFE WATER
Water supplied by Halliburton makes US troops in Iraq sick.
GOVERNMENT BRINGS BACK SADDAM-ERA SPIES
Iraq government brings back Saddam-era spies.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-bergmann/nsn-iraq-daily-update-31_b_90735.html
Farmington to decide on Halliburton bond
By Lindsay Whitehurst The Daily Times
Article Launched: 03/10/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
FARMINGTON - The City Council plans to decide Tuesday whether to give Halliburton Energy Services tax breaks to build a new $24 million facility.
Some councilors say the industrial revenue bond should be approved to keep the company, with its 200 jobs and approximately $1.5 million a year in tax revenue, in Farmington.
"(The) tax revenue says I very much want to keep them within the city," Councilor George Sharpe said of the project.
Others say the large corporation should not ask Farmington for one-time tax breaks of $200,000 and an additional $15,000 a year, and possibly $475,000 in infrastructure improvements.
"I can't see anything positive for us in doing it," Councilor Mary Fischer said.
The county would also give up $68,000 in property taxes.
http://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_8516857
March 10, 2008
Off-shore
American tax dollars
Kellogg Brown & Root, the largest private military contractor in Iraq, has already avoided at least $500 million in taxes to fund Medicare and Social Security.
A Halliburton Corp. subsidiary until last year, KBR raked in more than $16 billion in federal funds from the Iraq War between 2004 and 2006 alone - almost nine times as much as DynCorp International, its closest competitor for those military contracts.
Today, KBR employs more than 21,000 people in Iraq, including about 10,500 U.S. citizens, according to a March 6 article in The Boston Globe.
Two companies in the Cayman Islands, set up by KBR, employ those 21,000 workers.
Those two companies are located "in a computer file on the fourth floor of a building on a palm-studded boulevard here in the Caribbean. Neither company has an office or a phone number in the Cayman Islands," Globe reporters wrote.
The U.S. Department of Defense has known, at least since 2004, that KBR created those companies to avoid taxes.
But department officials apparently did nothing about it.
Dick Cheney headed Halliburton between 1995 and 2000, when he ran for vice president with George W. Bush.
Many members of Congress, including Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., have repeatedly questioned the creation of shell companies in places such as the Cayman Islands.
http://wvgazette.com/Opinion/Editorials/200803090240
Pentagon raises concerns about design of weapons destruction site
By JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press Writer
The Pentagon has raised questions about the design of a proposed building that would destroy Kentucky's stockpile of chemical weapons, and the concerns threaten to delay construction of the project.
Concrete was expected to be poured this summer at the munitions demilitarization building, the primary facility at Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond where Cold War-era rockets and other lethal weapons are set to be destroyed by 2017 to comply with an international treaty.
But John Schlatter, spokesman for Bechtel Parsons Bluegrass, the company in charge of the construction project, said Monday that timetable may have hit a snag after a Pentagon agency questioned the design of a room in the building that must be able to withstand an explosion.
The Defense Department Explosive Safety Board told the company last week that it can't accept the plans in their current form because they rely on a relatively new design regarding how the steel beams holding the concrete are connected.
http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/342617.html
AFX News Limited
Cheney to urge Saudi Arabia to cool oil prices via OPEC crude production boost
03.10.08, 10:24 AM ET
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - US Vice-President Dick Cheney will urge key OPEC member Saudi Arabia next week to push the oil cartel to boost output in an effort to rein in sky-high prices, the White House said.
OPEC, which is responsible for around 40 pct of global crude supplies, held production quota levels unchanged when it met in Vienna last Wednesday, claiming the market is well supplied with crude.
The cartel ignored a last-ditch warning from US President George Bush on Tuesday, who pointed out it would be a 'mistake' for OPEC not to increase supplies, with the world's largest oil-consuming economy already under duress.
OPEC has consistently blamed the recent run-up in prices on financial speculation and weakness in the US dollar rather than a constrained supply.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/10/afx4752432.html
Gas Prices Rise to New National Record
By JOHN WILEN – 1 hour ago
NEW YORK (AP) — The cost of filling up the family car jumped to a record high Tuesday, adding to the challenges consumers already face with falling home values and rising food prices.
Gas prices at the pump rose overnight to a record national average of $3.2272 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That's a tad higher than the previous record of $3.2265, set last May.
A year ago, rising demand and a string of refinery outages had raised concerns about supplies. Now, the soaring price of crude oil is the culprit, propelling gas higher even though supplies are at 15-year highs.
On Tuesday, light sweet crude for April delivery surged to a new record of $109.72 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling after the International Energy Agency cut its forecasts for crude consumption this year. In midday trading, crude futures fluctuated, rising 23 cents to $108.13 a barrel but alternating between gains and losses.
Where oil goes from here is anybody's guess. Many analysts expect prices to moderate, while others predict oil could keep rising to $120 a barrel, or higher. And with demand for gas expected to rise as warm weather arrives, analysts say pump prices will likely spike as high as $3.50 to $3.75 a gallon, regardless of what happens with oil prices.
That doesn't sit well with some consumers.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i5TtajgUpSm7KY5jf-lCJGHBB-tAD8VBAHP00
Bush: Cheney to press for Mideast peace
By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer
President Bush, dispatching Vice President Dick Cheney to the Middle East, said the goal is to get Israelis and Palestinians to hold firm to the promises they've made toward peace.
Bush said Monday in the Oval Office that Cheney would "reassure people that the United States is committed to a vision of peace in the Middle East."
As Cheney tries to help hold together fragile negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, Bush says he's still optimistic that a peace deal can happen before he leaves office.
Cheney departs Sunday for a trip to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Turkey. Oil is also on his agenda, as the White House - coping with high energy prices that have socked American consumers - continues to push for greater oil production in the Mideast.
http://www.kentucky.com/522/story/342385.html
Economy plays a hurtin' song in Bush's hometown
President's Texas ranch created boom for Crawford, but like rest of the U.S. now, 'things are getting rougher'
Mar 10, 2008 04:30 AM
Sean Gordon
Staff Reporter
CRAWFORD, Tex.–The cardboard cut-out of a beaming George W. Bush stands faded by the hot Texas sun in the main window of the Red Bull gift shop.
Inside the Red Bull, Crawford's first and oldest presidential store, visitors are confronted with a dizzying array of George Bush thermoses, pens, fridge magnets and sundry gadgets and tchotchkes, many now yellowed by age.
Like Bush's frayed presidency, the slightly ragged central Texas town he calls home, a dot on the map west of Waco, is inexorably fading back into the background.
"We had a boom around here for a few years, but things are slowing down. I think they'll pick up as the president's term gets closer to ending, at least I hope so," said Jamie Burgess, a manager at the Red Bull. "Things are getting rougher around here; we're all feeling the pinch."
There is at least one cause for short-term optimism here: first daughter Jenna Bush is getting married at the family ranch on May 10, and locals are expecting a flood of guests and well-wishers.
Nuptials notwithstanding, it would appear the slowing U.S. economy is bringing the impending recession to Bush country.
Like many Texans, Burgess is especially hobbled by increasing gas prices – regular unleaded now costs about 85 cents per litre, a figure most Texans consider extortionate.
http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/326795
Bush waterboarding veto attacked
By James Politi in Washington
Published: March 10 2008 02:00 Last updated: March 10 2008 02:00
Democrats yesterday attacked US president George W. Bush for using a veto to block legislation that would have barred the use by the Central Intelligence Agency of harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding.
"The CIA's programme damages our national security by weakening our legal and moral authority, and by providing al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups [with] a recruiting and motivational tool," said Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee.
Mr Rockefeller added that "by continuing this interrogation programme, the president is sacrificing our strategic advantage for questionable tactical gain".
On Saturday, Mr Bush announced in his weekly radio address to the nation that he was blocking the CIA legislation in his latest use of the presidential veto since Democrats regained control of both houses of Congress in the 2006 mid-term elections.
Mr Bush said that the bill "would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror - the CIA programme to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives".
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d197cd86-ee43-11dc-a5c1-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
President Bush, poking fun, sings his farewell tune to Gridiron Club
2 days ago
WASHINGTON — Add this to his legacy: President George W. Bush can sing. Well, he can be a good sport about it, anyway.
In a tuxedo and cowboy hat, the president sang his own farewell tune Saturday night at the annual dinner of the Gridiron Club, an invitation-only institution of Washington journalists. On a night of skits and satire, Bush surprised a high-powered crowd by crooning with the help of backup singers he called the "Busharoos."
The audience - Supreme Court justices, legislators, big-name reporters and more - rose to applaud his effort, the first singing performance by a president at the annual dinner of the club since it was founded in 1885.
To the tune of "Green Green Grass of Home," Bush sang about his life ahead - on the ranch, with his dog, and without the meddlesome media around.
"As I step down from the plane and there to meet me is my mama and my papa, down the lane I look and here comes Barney, heart of gold and breath like honey," Bush sang.
"Yes, you're gonna miss me, the way you used to quiz me," he sang to the reporters. "It's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."
Bush said his singing was the "first and final performance" of its kind. He also told reporters that he appreciated their work, for the most part.
"Now, it's true you sometimes get on my nerves," he said. "But when you're not writing your stories, you're really not half bad."
This was Bush's last Gridiron Club dinner; his presidency ends on January 20, 2009. Before he left the stage, Bush made sure that his acquaintances would not be forgotten. He joined other performers and the whole crowd for a send-off rendition of "Auld Lang Syne."
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jqmwmAem2FVExHLkut_QhCMsF_Tw
PETER BRIMELOW
The Bush family's budget legacy lives on
Commentary: George II leaves his successor with few options
By Peter Brimelow & Edwin S. Rubenstein,
Last update: 12:27 a.m. EDT March 10, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- George W. Bush reportedly thinks he can rally conservatives to the presidential campaign of GOP maverick Sen. John McCain. But looking at budget trends in the Bush years, it's hard to see what his conservative credentials are.
In fact, George II looks pretty much like what George I -- his father President George H. W. Bush -- once said he was: "A government guy."
The federal deficit, abolished under his Democratic predecessor (perhaps with a little help from a Republican Congress and the resulting gridlock) reappeared under George II.
And, after closing somewhat after the 2000-2001 recession ended and the economy expanded, the deficit is opening up again, to a projected 2.9% of GDP in fiscal 2008, which ends in October.
But the federal deficit not the true measure of Washington's burden on the economy.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bush-family-budget-legacy-lives/story.aspx?guid=%7B72B28EAE-B623-4714-AC7A-6CCD01A8EB58%7D
Carlyle Margin Call Fuels Fears
03-07-2008 Source: Hedge Fund Daily
When a firm managed by The Carlyle Group fails to meet a margin call, that gives folks invested in lesser firms reason to worry. According to Dow Jones Newswires, Carlyle Capital couldn’t answer the margin call on its $21.7 billion portfolio and may be forced to begin selling assets, after it received a default notice from one of the banks that funds its Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae portfolios through short-term repurchase agreements. The notice arrived after Carlyle Capital had to come up with an additional $37 million on Wednesday to maintain its funding by seen repurchase counterparties. In the past week, says Carlyle, it met its obligations on margin calls and additional collateral requirements of more than $60 million. The latest demand appears to have been too much. “Unfortunately,” Carlyle Capital CEO John Stomber told DJN, “this disconnect has created instability and variability in our repo financing arrangements,” adding that the company is working with seven repo counterparties to develop “more stable financing terms.” News of Carlyle Capital’s trouble saw shares of several mortgage real estate investment
http://www.emii.com/Articles/1888470/Hedge-Funds/Hedge-Funds-Articles/Carlyle-Margin-Call-Fuels-Fears.aspx
Sunday, March 9, 2008
"The Iron Triangle - The Carlyle Group Exposed" (video)
UH OH, the thieves are in some deep trouble, and if Carlyle is in this kind of trouble, so are YOU in this free-fall economy we are facing.
Carlyle Group Disrupted by Mortgage Fund's Blowup (Update4)
By Edward Evans
March 7 (Bloomberg) -- The collapse of the subprime- mortgage market has disrupted Carlyle Group, the world's second- biggest leveraged-buyout firm by assets.
Carlyle Capital Corp., the firm's mortgage-bond fund, was suspended from Amsterdam trading today after it failed to repay lenders, who in turn sold assets held as collateral. The fund expects more margin calls, which may deplete capital. The pool may be liquidated and the stock left worthless, Bear Stearns Cos. analyst Keith Baird said in a note to clients.
``This marks a further savage step in the ongoing credit implosion of recent months,'' Baird wrote today.
The blowup is a rare set-back for Carlyle founder David Rubenstein, who created the fund and tapped public markets for $300 million as part of efforts to expand his Washington-based firm beyond LBOs. Though not obligated, Carlyle Group has extended $150 million in credit to Carlyle Capital since August. It hasn't said how much of that has been used.
If Carlyle Group doesn't provide more financing, the fund ``could be forced into significant asset sales into a weak market or could face bankruptcy,'' Citigroup Inc. analysts including Donald Fandetti in New York wrote yesterday in a note to investors.
Carlyle Capital is ``considering all options,'' the fund said in its statement. Carlyle Group, which has about $30 billion in uncommitted capital across its funds, has no financial ties to Carlyle Capital beyond the $150 million credit line.
No Impact
http://thehollytree.blogspot.com/2008/03/iron-triangle-carlyle-group-exposed.html
Carlyle Capital asks lenders to halt further liquidation
By Julia Werdigier
Published: March 10, 2008
LONDON: Carlyle Group's troubled mortgage debt investment fund, Carlyle Capital, said Monday that it had asked lenders to halt further liquidation of collateral worth as much as $16 billion while the two sides discussed possible ways to repay debt.
The fund, which invests mainly in AAA-rated mortgage securities issued by the U.S. government-chartered finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, received $400 million in margin calls, and some of its lenders started to liquidate collateral for $5 billion in debt. Banks have begun to ask for their money back amid concerns that the economic climate could deteriorate further.
"At the beginning, banks were willing to accept not to trigger margin calls because they feared forced assets sales," said Philip Gisdakis, a senior credit strategist at UniCredit in Munich. "But now that there is a serious deterioration in the valuation of collateral, they cannot do that any longer and need to protect their loans."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/business/carlyle.php
Carlyle fund shares plunge 28% amid lender talks Vivek Ahuja
11 Mar 2008
Shares in the Amsterdam-listed investment vehicle of private equity firm The Carlyle Group plummeted 28% when trading in the fund, which is locked in talks with its lenders after facing margin calls, resumed today after a four-day suspension.
Carlyle Capital Corporation, which is listed on Euronext Amsterdam, said in a statement this morning it is continuing talks, with the help of The Carlyle Group, with its lenders “on various subjects including the execution of standstill agreements, while evaluating all available options to maximise value for all interested parties.”
The fund, which spent yesterday locked in talks with lenders holding around $16bn (€10.4bn) in assets, is seeking a standstill agreement whereby they would refrain from foreclosing and liquidating their collateral, said it has still not received executed standstill agreements from the lenders, although it described the talks as “constructive.”
It added that some of its lenders have liquidated a further $700m of collateral securing its debts in the open market, on top of the $5bn figure it provided yesterday.
Dutch regulators allowed trading in the fund’s shares, which were suspended on March 7, to resume this morning, and by 10:00 GMT they were down 28% to $3.6 from their $5 closing level the day before the suspension. The shares opened today at $4.27, down 15% from the March 6 close.
The Carlyle Group was forced to step in twice in a matter of days last August to help its troubled fund, providing a $100m loan to help the vehicle meet its margin calls before committing a further $100m eight days later.
Carlyle Capital Corporation is one of several listed funds of alternative investment groups whose parent companies have stepped in to ease their woes in recent months. In December, US buyout group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts revealed plans to buy shares in its own listed fund, KKR Private Equity Investors, after the unit’s shares slumped 30% from its listing price in April 2006.
Apollo Global Management last week spent $22.7m buying equity units in its Euronext-listed AP Alternative Assets fund between March 3 and March 7, according to a statement from the fund today. Apollo said the move, which increased its holding in the fund by more than half, came after the vehicle’s share price fell this year to the $12.86 average price it paid in last week’s purchases.
Josh Harris, Apollo’s president and founding partner, said: “Apollo believes the value implied by the market price of AAA units is significantly below the intrinsic value of its underlying net assets, which as of December 31 was $22.06 per unit. As a value-oriented long-term investor, Apollo considers the valuation implied by the current market price of AAA units as a highly attractive investment opportunity.”
Separately, Bear Stearns Private Equity, the London-listed fund of funds of US investment bank Bear Stearns, in a statement today announced plans to raise up to $350m of fresh equity to fund acquisitions over the next nine months. It said its current portfolio is “nearly fully committed.”
http://www.financialnews-us.com/?page=ushome&contentid=2450029547
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