Free Republic

It happened at least once a year, every year. In a roomful of a dozen Harvard University financial officials, Jack Meyer, the hugely successful head of Harvard’s endowment, and Lawrence Summers, then the school’s president, would face off in a heated debate. The topic: cash and how the university was managing - or mismanaging - its basic operating funds. Through the first half of this decade, Meyer repeatedly warned Summers and other Harvard officials that the school was being too aggressive with billions of dollars in cash, according to people present for the discussions, investing almost all of it with...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) could have suffered dramatic losses if the federal government had not intervened to prop up American International Group Inc (AIG.N), according to a government report. The report by the special inspector general for the government bailout program raises doubts about Goldman's previous claims that it was hedged against potential AIG losses. Last fall, as the financial services industry stood on the brink of collapse, the government stepped in with an unprecedented effort to rescue the system. AIG was among the companies that received billions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury's Troubled...

"After the collapse of the equity and real estate bubble that has plagued us for the last 10 years, Americans have absorbed a tremendous blow to their wealth. We all know housing is down about 30% from its peak. But I’d like to concentrate on what the equity market has done since December of 1999 in both nominal, dollar and gold terms. In nominal terms the S&P500 is down “just” 28.6% since the decade began. But when you ask questions like what how much of my purchasing power have I lost vs. gold and other currencies, the data become even...

The prospect of recovering the government's assistance to GM and Chrysler is heavily dependent on shares of the two companies rising to unprecedented levels, the report said. The government owns 10 percent of Chrysler and 61 percent of GM. The shares "will have to appreciate sharply" for taxpayers to get their money back, the report said. Treasury Department officials have acknowledged that most of the $23 billion provided by the Bush administration is likely to be lost. But Meg Reilly, a department spokeswoman, said there is a "reasonably high probability of the return of most or all of the government...

"We continue to lose manufacturing jobs, government jobs, retail jobs, financial services jobs. The economy continues to contract," Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland More than 2.3 million Americans have lost their jobs since the stimulus went into effect, and that's a big chunk of the 6.9 million jobs that have been lost since the recession started last year. Many economists believe unemployment is a lagging indicator during a recession and is often the last part of the economy to recover. Vice President Joe Biden said last week the stimulus is working better than the administration had...

Strong bank results mask wider weakness JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs prosper, but broader industry fights headwinds By John W. Schoen The long national banking nightmare may be over — but only for a select few banks. For the second time this week, a major banking giant has jolted Wall Street with surprisingly strong earnings. On Thursday, JPMorgan Chase & Co., bolstered by strength in investment banking, reported a 36 percent increase in second quarter profit that beat analysts' expectations. The report follows news from Goldman Sachs on Tuesday of a stunning $2.7 billion profit less than a year after one of...

For Oregonians, many employers owe more benefits than their retirement plans can pay You think your 401(k) is in bad shape? Your pension could be worse off. Provided you even have one. Thirty-four of 36 large publicly traded employers operating in Oregon owe more retirement benefits than their traditional pensions can pay, an analysis by The Oregonian found. http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/07/pensions_in_peril.html

WASHINGTON — Friday's better-than-expected employment report from the Labor Department gave another sign that the U.S. economy may be bottoming out, but the jump in the unemployment rate is a reminder for millions of Americans that the outlook for jobs will remain bleak for some time.

Summary of key points: European banks own 8 trillion US assets (treasuries, agencies, consumer loans, etc…) and they are losing access to their dollar funding. If European banks are forced to sell their US assets, it will crash the credit markets, and they will have to recognize enormous losses. Since the fed is desperate to prevent the collapse of the US financial system, it lent those European banks 600 billion dollars so that they wouldn’t be forced to sell. Meanwhile, European banks accepted this 600 billion because they don’t want to recognize losses on their toxic US securities. What is...

ZURICH (AFP) – Two of Switzerland's largest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, are set to announce combined losses for 2008 of 29 billion Swiss francs later this week, the Sonntag newspaper reported Sunday. According to the report, UBS will announce an annual loss of 21 billion Swiss francs (14 billion euros, 18 billion dollars) on Tuesday, the largest in Swiss history and reflecting the fact the company was one of the banks hardest hit by the US subprime loan crisis. Last November, UBS posted a net profit of 296 million Swiss francs for the third quarter following a year of...

Losses incurred by the world's major financial institutions on "toxic" assets hoovered up in the final boom years have hit $2,800bn (£1,800bn), according to the Bank of England. The Bank's estimates on the size of writedowns facing banks, insurers and hedge funds have more than doubled since its last update in April, and raise the spectre of massive new provisioning by Britain's troubled lenders. Royal Bank of Scotland, for one, is expected to reveal another £4bn of writedowns on Friday.In the UK, the Bank calculates, "mark-to-market losses" have hit £123bn compared with the £63bn estimated in April. To date, Britain's...

If I told you that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were the leading cause of U.S. casualties in Iraq, you'd expect the Pentagon would have mounted a major R&D effort to defeat this threat. And you'd be right. If I told you that helicopter crashes and shoot-downs were the leading cause of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan, you'd expect the Pentagon would have mounted a major R&D to defeat that threat as well. But you'd be wrong. Helicopter losses are the No. 1 cause of U.S. casualties in high-altitude, mountainous Afghanistan and the third leading cause in Iraq. Yet Pentagon R&D spending...

After Barack Obama swept the Potomac Primaries last night, one might have expected Hillary Clinton to say a few words to her supporters to explain the losses. If so, the crowds that turned out for her in Texas had to manage their disappointment. They managed to let her know when they disagreed with her, however: As news of her triple defeat in the Potomac Primary sank in, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did what has become a specialty in recent weeks: She headed someplace else. After flying from Virginia to Texas for a rally on Tuesday night, Clinton did not publicly...

**EXCERPT** WHITE MARSH, Maryland (CNN) — Hillary Clinton on Monday explained away Barack Obama's clean sweep of the weekend's caucuses and primaries as a product of a caucus system that favors "activists" and, in the case of the Louisiana primary, an energized African-American community.She told reporters who had gathered to watch her tour a General Motors plant here that "everybody knew, you all knew, what the likely outcome of these recent contests were.""These are caucus states by and large, or in the case of Louisiana, you know, a very strong and very proud African-American electorate, which I totally respect and...

The news about American newspapers is only semi-bad, but you'd never know it from all the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth on Wall Street. The attempted kidnapping this week of the Wall Street Journal, which Rupert Murdoch covets to make a compliant cog in his media machine, has focused attention on newspapers and why they're such targets for the barons of finance. Nearly everyone is rooting for the owning Barclay family of Boston to keep the Journal and its reputation safe from Lord Copper, but the stakes are so enormous that nobody is betting against the king of the...

DETROIT General Motors reported a loss over all but an unexpectedly large profit from operations for the third quarter Wednesday. The figures bolstered claims by executives that the company's effort to turn itself around is gaining traction. GM earned $529 million in the July- to-September period, excluding special charges. In the same quarter last year, it lost more than $1 billion, on its way to a full-year loss of $10.6 billion. The latest results were equivalent to 93 cents a share; Wall Street analysts had projected 45 cents. Revenue for the quarter totaled $48.8 billion. The automaker's results contrasted sharply...

Estelle Busch may have been a loser at the slot machines, but she won when she took on the Minnesota state tax system. The Minneapolis woman did it by claiming to work more than full time — 60 hours a week, in fact — at gambling. She said she won $1.5 million and lost $1.7 million over three years. The state said she couldn't deduct her gambling losses — $200,000 — under applicable Minnesota tax law. Instead, the Department of Revenue audited her returns and demanded $102,000 in back taxes. But Busch argued hers weren't gambling losses; she was running...

Single-family home sales and prices in Massachusetts fell 1.5 percent in March, capping a first quarter in which sales slowed dramatically from the previous year... ''Inventory is at record highs, so buyers are taking their time," said David Wluka, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. ''They can pick among several houses so they don't feel the pressure." The slowdown in Massachusetts' housing market ran counter to a surprising pick-up in March in nationwide sales of homes, condominiums, and townhouses. Analysts had predicted that strong February sales... The housing market in Massachusetts ''simply isn't as strong as it is in...

It's a widespread belief, one reinforced by public officials including President Bush: ``Illegal immigrants do the jobs Americans won't do.'' But it's being challenged in a five-year study that concludes millions of undereducated Americans are without work in a labor market oversaturated by illegal immigrants. Steven Camarota, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that favors reduced immigration, released the findings Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The study calls into question the theory that America is desperately short of underskilled workers, Camarota said. More importantly, he added, the research concluded that illegal immigration had a direct effect on...

Cell phones prove deadly Contributor in 14 fatalities this year on Toll Road, police say By Joshua Stowe South Bend Tribune Posted on Sun, Dec. 25, 2005 ELKHART – Nick Vilders sees his cell phone as a lifesaver. The Orland man said he’s placed countless calls to stay awake while driving home after a day’s work as a building maintenance employee on the Indiana Toll Road. “I have a cell phone, I ain’t gonna lie,” Vilders said. Police and safety experts say Vilders’ attitude, while common, puts him at risk. They say it’s a mistake to think a person can...

NEW YORK The application deadline for the Boston Globe's buyout package passed yesterday, and media reports indicate that at least 34 editorial employees have applied for the deal. That number about matches the Globe's goal for cuts. Writing in the Boston Phoenix, former Globe media writer Mark Jurkowitz reports that those seeking buyouts include "eight staffers in a Living/Arts (features) department that would be hit particularly hard by the cutbacks." Jurkowitz adds: "The company still has to respond to the applicants as well as negotiate how long some of the departees will remain in their jobs. But among those confirmed...

NEW YORK Orlando Sentinel Publisher Kathy Waltz told staffers in a memo today that the paper would likely cut "a limited number of positions," but did not state how many jobs would be eliminated or from which departments they would come. "As we finalize plans, decisions will be communicated first to affected employees, then companywide in the next few weeks," she said in the memo, which was first posted on the Poynter.org Romenesko Web site. "Our company's goals remain the same -- to serve our readers, advertisers and communities, expand our audience and grow revenues. To accomplish this, we are...

Hurricane-Felled Timber Worth Billions United Press International U.S. timber companies are scrambling to harvest tons of timber felled by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The companies are moving as quickly as possible to recover the millions of trees before they rot, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Industry analysts estimate that more than 20 billion board feet are down, enough to build 1 million houses. Timber down in Louisiana is worth $900 million; in Mississippi, the felled timber is worth $2.4 billion, experts estimate.

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2005 – Taliban members who face off against coalition forces or the Afghan National Army are facing heavy losses, so they've resorted to recruiting young teens to join the fight, the Joint Staff's operations director told Pentagon reporters today. Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway spoke following a July 25 incident that involved heavy fighting in a small village west of Deh Rawod in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province. The incident, which left one U.S. soldier and an Afghan National Army soldier dead, took a considerable toll on the enemy, the general said. Some press reports claim as many as...

Why does the left (see the BBC and Michael Moore, for example) insist that terrorism doesn't exist? Here's as good an explanation as I've seen. The website Dr. Sanity writes: The Left calls international terrorism an "illusion." I call the the views of the Left "delusional". Thier illusion is a concoction of wishful thinking, projection, and outright denial of reality. What we see in the delusion that "terrorism does not exist", is a desperate attempt by the Left to explain-- in terms they can understand, their own fall from power and influence in the world. They would rather believe this...

The biggest companies in America are oil companies. And why shouldn't they be? For just one speculative oil well, drilling to seek commercially extractable oil, the bill can easily come to $50 million. And that's just to find it. Getting it out of the ground usually costs a lot more. Multiply the risk with the volatility of oil prices, and the only way to stay in business is to save for a rainy day. Big oil companies are tremendously capitalized. ExxonMobil is the largest company in America. So it's all the more remarkable to see that the new Fortune 500...

AFL-CIO leaders say they're making progress toward reaching agreement with a coalition of dissident unions in hopes of minimizing the number of defections from the nationwide federation of almost 60 unions. But the optimism is muted: Some labor leaders fear the federation might lose at least one - the 1.8 million member Service Employees International Union - the federation's largest union. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press that the federation is doing everything it can to avoid losing any of the coalition's five unions. "The differences between the proposals for change are not...

In the board game Jenga, a tower of wooden blocks is erected. Players remove one block at a time from the tower, and then stack it on top. As each successive block is removed, the tower becomes increasingly precarious. The game ends when the tower's foundation can no longer bear the weight of the structure built on top of it, and the tower falls. The Supreme Court's recent decisions in the Ten Commandments cases are a form of constitutional Jenga. Think of our system of government and the liberties it grants as a Jenga tower. In our analogy, the blocks...

Last month over 1,500 family members who have lost a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan gathered at Arlington National Cemetery at the behest of an organization called Faces of the Fallen, which has assembled dozens of artists to paint portraits of those killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the keynote speaker. While his speech managed to strike a few emotional chords, it was what he did after speaking that was remarkable. Hours after his speech concluded General Myers was still standing out in a cold drizzle talking at...

How appropriate that Democrats, when they were looking for a mascot, settled on the donkey. It can be an ornery and stubborn animal that sometimes just won't learn its lesson. Sort of like California Democrats. They never learn from their mistakes. In fact, they just keep making them over and over again. At campaign time, they always seem to try to drive up their opponent's negatives and hope that will be enough to coast to victory. And it looks like that's pretty much the Democrats' battle plan for retaking the governor's mansion in 2006. Just listen to what came out...

So where does the shifting political landscape leave Democrats? Should they elect pro-life, pro-gun, pro-war presidential candidates? Not necessarily. But they may consider doing something radical: supporting candidates in Middle America that represent the viewpoints of... well, Middle America. Zell Miller is right. The Democratic Party is a national party no more. But give Ed Gilliespie, Ken Mehlman or myself the keys of the DNC for four years and we could once again put Democrats in power in the House and Senate. That's because Republicans understand middle America-national Democrats don't. Maybe if the Party of FDR listened more to Peter...

From LtCol Smith:(to his wife and her friends) Ladies, It is with an extremely heavy heart and with much pain that I report to you the deaths of the following two heroes: 1. LCpl Richard D. Warner, Fox Co, 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, USMC 2. PFC Brent T. Vroman, Fox Co, 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, USMC Both were killed when an improvised explosive device, planted inside a parked vehicle in the market area of Yusufiyah, was detonated on their foot patrol. An Iraqi citizen was killed in the blast, and several more severely injured. The very market where local people...

I have been watching with amusement as the left has been vainly struggling to describe American conservatism, in a sort of know-your-enemy exercise, in order to attack the ideology due to their monumental loss at the polls last month. The amusing thing is that none of them seem to have the first clue what American conservatism even is. They lack the first idea how different American conservatism is in comparison to the concept in other countries. They think that conservatism is some “new” phenomenon ginned up by a sly class of demagogues and liars to lead the “stupid” public by...

There is much talk of post-election reorganization and rethinking among demoralized liberals, especially in matters of foreign policy. They could start by accepting that the demise of many of their cherished beliefs and institutions was not the fault of others. More often, the problems are fundamental flaws in their own thinking — such as the ends of good intentions justifying the means of expediency and untruth, and forced equality being a higher moral good than individual liberty and freedom. Whether we call such notions “political correctness” or “progressivism,” the practice of privileging race, class, and gender over basic ethical considerations...

My conservative friends continue to tell me that the liberals (who just lost the election) “just don’t get it.” That is, liberals “don’t get” the destructiveness of the American Civil Liberties Union’s relentless efforts to ban any allusion to Christianity and any mention of God in a country that is 96 percent Christian. They “don’t get” that the vote recounts in Ohio and elsewhere – which are costing taxpayers millions of dollars – are not, as they claim, to insure the sanctity of the voting process, but rather a colossal example of sour grapes at its worst.

The last twelve months have been very hard on the terrorism industry. Saddam's been captured. Ghadafy surrendered. Hamas leaders have been assassinated. And the best bin Laden could do to disrupt American elections was send Al-Jazeera another videotape in which he looked more like an Islamic insurance salesman than the mortal enemy of Western civilization -- in VHS no less. And the worst month in history to own terrorism shares may turn out to be November 2004. The month began with very bad news for terrorism investors all across the globe when U.S. President George W. Bush was re-elected to...

The New York Times Co. lowered its fourth-quarter earnings outlook Thursday on softer-than-expected advertising revenue and set plans to expense employee stock options. The newspaper publisher (NYT: news, chart, profile) said it expects fourth-quarter earnings per share of 69 to 73 cents, below the current forecast of 75 cents per share in a survey of analysts by Thomson First Call.

The Labor Department reported this morning that the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% in August, down from 5.5% in July, and that our economy created 144,000 new jobs in August. July job creation was revised upward to 73,000 from the 32,000 initially reported. 78,000 new jobs were added in June. Looks like the July numbers were a blip and we’re getting back to the torrid pace of job creation of May (248,000), April (346,000), and March (353,000). After President Bush’s stirring speech last night and the good economic news, just how will Senator Franken-Kerry put a negative spin on...

Will John Kerry issue in an age of a “stronger America” as his campaign bumper stickers state? I have found quite the contrary, and have provided documentation. In the mid 1960’s he tried to avoid military service for 12 months so he could continue his studies in Paris, according to Britain’s Telegraph. [1] Then he served 4 ½ months in Vietnam. Though he claimed a Purple Heart for his first “injury,” his own diary for that day states, “we hadn't been shot at yet.” [2] According to the Military Order of the Purple Heart, you have to be wounded to...

Bob Dole Slams Kerry By Andrew L. Jaffee, August 23, 2004 Home   Search   Forum   Terms Nothing has really changed for Democratic hopeful John Kerry, except that real war veterans, like Bob Dole, are questioning the “superficial wounds” and resulting “medals” he received during four (4) months service in Vietnam. Kerry is still flailing, trying to cover up a career punctuated by extreme left-wing politics and flip-flopping by talking to voters about his military service. He squandered his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention by trying to convince Americans that his tour of duty in Vietnam will make him a great commander...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALIFORNIA LEAVIN' Report: 40% of firms to move jobs from state Burdensome regulatory costs create bad climate for business -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: February 28, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com The business climate in California is so poor that 40 percent of the companies questioned in a report say they will move jobs out of state. Half of the firms said they would not add jobs within California, according to the survey by the California Business Roundtable, the Sacramento Bee reported. Mostly because of regulatory costs, doing business in the Golden State is 30 percent more expensive than...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The nation's largest pension fund announced Tuesday it is filing a class action lawsuit against the New York Stock Exchange, alleging that fraudulent practices cost it millions of dollars in recent years. The $154 billion California Public Employees Retirement System, representing an estimated 1.4 million members, will seek to recover pension fund investment money it lost because of alleged fraud at the stock exchange, said California Treasurer Phil Angelides. The unprecedented lawsuit seeks an unnamed amount of money from the exchange, but officials of the pension fund said it could add up to hundreds of millions of...

A year before the 2004 elections, the news is grim for Democrats, losers of statehouses in Kentucky and Mississippi in off-year balloting, victims of a wave of retirements by Senate Southerners and petitioners in court hoping to block a Texas House redistricting massacre. Yet despite the recent Republican run, including Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory in last month's California recall election, President Bush's poll numbers have sagged lately, and surveys consistently reflect concern about an economy that is finally showing signs of a recovery and the aftermath of the war in Iraq. ''I don't want to overstate the national impact and say...

Associated Press (Sep 15, 08:16 AM) The Tigers became the first team in 34 years to lose 110 games in one season, setting a team record for defeats in one year with a 7-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. "At this point, the losses make no difference to me," said the Tigers' Bobby Higginson, who was on the 1996 Detroit team that lost 109 games. "It's been a miserable year." Detroit (38-110) has the most losses since the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres each went 52-110 in 1969, their first seasons in the major leagues. The...

Charity gears up for 1st campaign since its scandal A coalition of labor unions vowed Wednesday to help the Capital Area United Way with "unprecedented support'' in an upcoming fund-raising campaign. The charity soon will launch its first drive since a $2 million embezzlement discovery late last year. Official campaign goals have not yet been set, but board leaders appear focused on at least equaling the $6.9 million pledged in 2002. That could prove difficult in a sluggish economy, coupled with fallout from the embezzlement by the former finance chief - likely the largest ever from one of the United...

Cotton losses staggering on High Plains BY MARY JANE SHORT AVALANCHE-JOURNAL The amount of High Plains cotton acreage lost to adverse weather has sailed past the 1 million mark with counties north of Lubbock hit hardest by the wipeout, recent estimates from Texas Cooperative Extension and Plains Cotton Growers show. Experts say that of 3.6 million acres planted, about 1.18 million have been lost, almost a third of cotton acreage in PCG's 25-county area. Counties sustaining the big gest losses include Bailey, Coch ran, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Lamb and Parmer. All report a 70 percent or greater acreage loss. Earlier...

<p>Nearly 700 nursing homes will be in serious financial trouble if Gov. Gray Davis' proposal to cut Medi-Cal is enacted, according to a University of California-San Francisco report released Monday.</p> <p>The state program for the poor pays for about two-thirds of the nursing home care provided in California, and many nursing homes are dependent on the program.</p>

Comptroller: Texas heading for sales tax losses Associated Press AUSTIN (AP) - A day after revealing that state sales tax collections dropped for the month of March, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn predicted Wednesday that Texas will experience a second consecutive year of sales tax declines. "I really do believe that we're going to have a historic first of back-to-back - two years in a row - loss in sales tax for the first time in history, an unfortunate historic first," Strayhorn said. That's further bad news for state legislators, who are grappling with a $9.9 billion budget shortfall and are...

Saddam's army retreats to Mosul with heavy losses By Patrick Cockburn near Mosul, northern Iraq 03 April 2003 The Iraqi army's northern front began to collapse yesterday as troops pulled back in confusion to the city of Mosul after suffering heavy losses from US air strikes and fighting with Kurdish militia. Sarbast Babiri, a Kurdish commander, smiled triumphantly as his men, many wearing captured Iraqi helmets, milled around him. "The Iraqi army has withdrawn to positions nine kilometres north of Mosul. They left behind heavy machine-guns, rocket launchers, food and many dead bodies," he said. The crumbling of the northern...

The following table is a representation of all combat damage and losses reported by the Coalition during the 1991 Gulf War. Times are expressed either in Zulu (Z) or Local (L); D/L indicates whether this was combat damage (Damage) or a combat loss (Loss); all unit designations are American unless otherwise noted; abbreviations for Allied air forces are as follows: RAF (Royal Air Force), FAF (French Air Force), KAF (Kuwaiti Air Force), IAF (Italian Air Force), RSAF(Royal Saudi Air Force). Common causes are either AAA or SAMs, either infra-red (IR-SAM) or radar-guided (R-SAM). Two cases are listed as "DEA-Other", which...