Migrant workers hit hardest by economic slump
12th April, 2009
The queue snaked through the city centre: hundreds of desperate people waiting patiently for a food parcel filled with basics such as bread, beans and sugar.
Posts Tagged ‘economic collapse’
Record demand for free food parcels in Dublin
Posted by seumasach on April 13, 2009
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: economic collapse | Leave a Comment »
Dmitry Orlov: The collapse of America is unavoidable
Posted by seumasach on April 8, 2009
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: economic collapse, financial collapse, new economy | Leave a Comment »
The Upcoming Political Crisis in Washington
Posted by seumasach on March 10, 2009
David Gordian
9th March, 2009
In recent days we have seen even mainstream Democratic figures as Joe Stiglitz and Paul Krugman sound the alarm on what seems to be uncertainty in the Obama administration. Stiglitz, Krugman et al. are following in their essential critique a path well worn over the past few weeks by a range of commentators to be found as much among the Austrians as those on the liberal-to-left part of the spectrum. The fundamental point is, of course, that it is now clear to all but the militantly unreflective that Obama can – perhaps – save the Real economy or – perhaps – save Finance (i.e. Bank bond- and shareholders), but certainly not both. The increasing, but still relatively gentle, criticism of Stiglitz, Krugman and their ilk is owing to the fact that it is becoming all too clear that Obama is still unwilling to engage Finance in what might turn out to be the greatest intramural fight capitalism has ever seen.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: bailout real economy, Destruction of real economy, economic collapse, financial collapse, Obama agenda, stop the bailout | 1 Comment »
Citizens Advice sounds warning over spiralling household debt
Posted by seumasach on February 26, 2009
26th February, 2009
It would take an average of 93 years for people contacting a debt charity for help to repay their borrowings at an affordable rate, research showed today.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: bankrupt Britain, economic collapse, Financial crisis, household debt | 3 Comments »
Latvian government becomes second European government to collapse as a result of international financial crisis
Posted by seumasach on February 25, 2009
Latvia’s centre-right government resigned last Friday, against the background of a worsening economic crisis. This is now the second European government to collapse as a result of the international financial crisis, following the government of Iceland, which resigned in January after mass protests had filled the streets of Reykjavik.
Posted in Battle for Europe | Tagged: economic collapse, financial collapse | 1 Comment »
Monetize This!: Resolving a Spiraling Public Debt Crisis- How Obama could take a Page from the Fed’s Playbook
Posted by seumasach on February 23, 2009
“The bottom line is that we cannot borrow our way out of debt. Only new money will stimulate a debt-ridden economy – money that is interest-free and does not have to be paid back.”The Gordon Brown approach is to increase debt in order to revive the economy. Ellen Brown’s approach is to create new money as a stimulus to productive investment and basic consumption of necessities. This maybe something similar to the Chinese approach.According to Ellen Brown the problem lies not with quantitative easing itself but the fact that the money is being channeled towards the financiers. However, it remains irreconcilable with the dollar’s role as a reserve currency.
Ellen Brown
21st February, 2009
“Diseases desperate grown are by desperate appliances relieved, or not at all.” – Shakespeare, “Hamlet”
Moody’s credit rating agency is warning that the U.S. government’s AAA credit rating is at risk, because it has taken on so much debt that there are few creditors left to underwrite it. Foreigners have bought as much as two-thirds of U.S. debt in recent years, but they could be doing much less purchasing of U.S. Treasury securities in the future, not so much out of a desire to chastise America as simply because they won’t have the funds to do it. Oil prices have fallen off a cliff and the U.S. purchase of foreign exports has dried up, slashing the surpluses that those countries previously recycled back into U.S. Treasuries. And domestic buyers of securities, to the extent that they can be found, will no doubt demand substantially higher returns than the rock-bottom interest rates at which Treasuries are available now.1
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: economic collapse | Leave a Comment »
Get Ready for Mass Retail Closings
Posted by seumasach on February 22, 2009
This video is not to be missed. The collapse of the commercial real estate guarantees the next phase of the financial implosion. The upside is plenty of downtown living space for homeless Americans.
19th February, 2009
About 220,000 stores may close this year in America, says our guest, retail consultant Howard Davidowitz of Davidowitz & Associates. As more Americans save and spend less, it’s clear there’s too much retail space. Just visit Web site deadmalls.com and track retail’s growing body count. And luxury retailers? They’re on “life support,” Davidowitz says.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: collapse survival, commercial real estate crisis, economic collapse, financial collapse | Leave a Comment »
On the brink of doom, mad Mandelson promises to take on the ‘doomsters’
Posted by seumasach on February 21, 2009
No doubt the low carbon “industrial revolution” offers ‘huge economic opportunities” to friends of New Labour. Apart from that, it’s simply madness to describe this as a solution to Britain’s devastated economy. Coming from Mandelson this can also be taken as a veiled threat to “”doomsters” who talked down the British economy”.
BUSINESS Secretary Lord Mandelson pledged to take on the “doomsters” who talked down the British economy, as part of the Government’s fight back against the recession.
In a speech to business leaders in north-west England, the
minister maintained that the UK was on the verge of a low carbon “industrial revolution” which promised huge economic opportunities.
minister maintained that the UK was on the verge of a low carbon “industrial revolution” which promised huge economic opportunities.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: bankrupt Britain, economic collapse | Leave a Comment »
Social collapse best practices
Posted by seumasach on February 16, 2009
The following talk was given on February 13, 2009, at Cowell Theatre in Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, to an audience of 550 people. Audio and video of the talk will be available on Long Now Foundation web site.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for showing up. It’s certainly nice to travel all the way across the North American continent and have a few people come to see you, even if the occasion isn’t a happy one. You are here to listen to me talk about social collapse and the various ways we can avoid screwing that up along with everything else that’s gone wrong. I know it’s a lot to ask of you, because why wouldn’t you instead want to go and eat, drink, and be merry? Well, perhaps there will still be time left for that after my talk.
I would like to thank the Long Now Foundation for inviting me, and I feel very honored to appear in the same venue as many serious, professional people, such as Michael Pollan, who will be here in May, or some of the previous speakers, such as Nassim Taleb, or Brian Eno – some of my favorite people, really. I am just a tourist. I flew over here to give this talk and to take in the sights, and then I’ll fly back to Boston and go back to my day job. Well, I am also a blogger. And I also wrote a book. But then everyone has a book, or so it would seem.
You might ask yourself, then, Why on earth did he get invited to speak here tonight? It seems that I am enjoying my moment in the limelight, because I am one of the very few people who several years ago unequivocally predicted the demise of the United States as a global superpower. The idea that the USA will go the way of the USSR seemed preposterous at the time. It doesn’t seem so preposterous any more. I take it some of you are still hedging your bets. How is that hedge fund doing, by the way?
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: crash survival, economic collapse | 2 Comments »
Consumer cash crisis turns the screw on the high street
Posted by seumasach on January 4, 2009
4th January, 2009
A quarter of all British families will have no disposable income in 2009, dealing yet another blow to the beleaguered retail sector.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: bankrupt Britain, economic collapse, financial collapse | Leave a Comment »
Why the U.S. Trade Deficit is Worsening and Dollar Implications
Posted by seumasach on December 23, 2008
Eric de Carbonnel
22nd December, 2008
Right up until the commodity bubble burst this summer, there was the ridiculous theory going around that the world was now “decoupled” and that European and emerging markets would somehow avoid being affected by the US slowdown. These decoupling theories disappeared as oil dropped like a rock, only to be replaced by an equally ridiculous idea: that the world’s economic pain would be spread evenly. This is wrong. Although the entire world is going into a recession as a result of the credit crisis, some economies are better prepared than others to weather the storm.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: economic collapse | Leave a Comment »
In These New Times 