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Derivative traders open session to reduce Lehman risk Sun Sep 14, 4:04 pm ET NEW YORK (Reuters) – A rare emergency trading session opened Sunday afternoon to allow Wall Street dealers in the $455 trillion derivatives market reduce their exposure to a potential bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers. U.S. regulators and bankers were making last-ditch efforts on Sunday to prevent toxic assets from ailing Lehman Brothers (LEH.N) spilling into global markets and rupturing investor faith in the international financial system. "This is an extremely, and I stress extremely, rare event. It also speaks to the more general notion that, in...

Bloomberg is link only. Emerging-Market `Panic' May End as Profits Spur 20% Stock Gain There is a bright side to the dismal market, if you have some money to spend.

THE high-heeled, moose-hunting governor of Alaska has sent Barack Obama’s campaign into a state of panic as support for the Democratic presidential candidate haemorrhages in the battleground states he must win to reach the White House. Sarah Palin, 44, continued to scythe through Obama’s support among women by taunting the first potential black president for declining to choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate and by declaring that questions about juggling work and family were “kind of irrelevant” in the modern age. The mother of five, who has been called Xena, the warrior princess, said in a television interview: “I...

A secret video of the current happenings in the Obama war room, of election strategy. (Humor) Inside the Democratic Party War Room

Democratic jitters about the US presidential race have spread to Capitol Hill, where some members of Congress are worried that Barack Obama’s faltering campaign could hurt their chances of re-election. Party leaders have been hoping to strengthen Democratic control of the House and Senate in November, but John McCain’s jump in the polls has stoked fears of a Republican resurgence. A Democratic fundraiser for Congressional candidates said some planned to distance themselves from Mr Obama and not attack Mr McCain. “If people are voting for McCain it could help Republicans all the way down the ticket, even in a year...

The Obama campaign has tonight again demonstrated that it will try to silence voices with which it does not agree. This should chill all Americans, for it offers a preview of the tactics to which a President Obama might harness the power of the federal government. The means chosen include harassment of television stations running the 527 group Ayers ad, a demand for a Justice Department investigation, and just last night, disruption of a radio talk show in Chicago that dared have Dr. Stanley Kurtz of National Review, who has been examining the archives of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, in...

Will we run out of some of the basic elements fundamental to modern technology? This is a question that has recently lit up the blogosphere. In particular, the elements Indium and Gallium are frequently referred to as "threatened." The herd latched on to an eloquent post on Asimov's Science Fiction, which was itself a rehashing of a New Scientist piece, which took its cue in part from an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (which, oddly enough, does not discuss either Indium or Gallium). Regardless of the convoluted history, is there anything to really worry about...

The Aids scare was one of the most distorted, duplicitous and cynical public health panics of the last 30 yearsFinally we have a high-level admission that there is no threat of a global Aids pandemic among heterosexuals. After 25 years of official scaremongering about western societies being ravaged by the disease – with salacious, tombstone-illustrated government propaganda warning people to wear a condom or "die of ignorance" – the head of the World Health Organisation's HIV/Aids department says there is no need for heterosexuals to fret. Kevin de Cock, who has headed the global battle against Aids, said at the...

[How to fix health care? When it comes to the current state of heath care services in the United States, there are no easy answers. However, most people I've spoken to — both within and without the industry — agree that the way we are providing health care services in America now just isn't working, and that something must be done. Both Democrat presidential candidates are touting a public/private system of universal health care; the Republican candidate favors tinkering with the current system. Other proposals include getting rid of all government involvement in the health care industry, full-on British/Canadian-style socialized...

Warning panics China quake zone People in Sichuan are jittery after dozens of aftershocksPeople slept on the streets or drove to open ground and hospitals evacuated patients in towns and cities after the warning was broadcast on TV. The 7.9 magnitude quake struck on 12 May. More than 71,000 people are dead, buried or missing. China has begun three days of mourning exactly one week after the quake hit. Multiple aftershocksOn Monday, a statement from the National Seismology Bureau was read out on television, triggering the panic. People in cities across the quake-hit area rushed out of their homes carrying...

Oh, dear Lord. The hapless Republican establishment has gone and made a public embarrassment of itself again. Can your hearts take much more of this? Mine can’t: Hoping to get things moving in a positive direction, House Republicans will on Wednesday begin rolling out their own policy agenda, trying to showcase their differences with Democrats on issues such as health care, the economy, energy and national security. In a memo to be sent to Republican members today, the leadership hints at a new slogan building on the change message that has already been shown to have political resonance with a...

Petrol panic looms as protesters threaten blockade, strike closes major refinery and oil hits new high By PAUL SIMS - More by this author » Last updated at 12:27pm on 21st April 2008 Fears are growing today that Britain could lurch towards another fuel crisis. As forecourt prices hit record levels and oil went above $117 a barrel, campaigners said they were secretly planning a series of blockades in an attempt to bring the country to its knees. Angered by the Government's planned 2p rise in fuel duty, they pledged to recreate the chaotic scenes which saw tens of thousands...

A deposit in an FDIC-insured bank or savings institution is one of the safest ways to protect your money. Bank failures are uncommon (only three banks failed in 2007). Also, the overwhelming majority of depositors have accounts that are fully within the FDIC's insurance limits. However, "if a bank fails, any deposits that exceed the FDIC's insurance limits are not protected by FDIC insurance," said Kathleen Nagle, Associate Director of the FDIC's Consumer Protection Branch. "That's why it's important for consumers to be aware of their insurance coverage and how they might ensure that their deposits are fully protected." Here...

Futurist and trends forecaster Gerald Celente, director of the Trends Research Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, predicted the 1987 stock market crash, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the Asian economic implosion of ‘97, the decline of the dollar beginning in 2005, the meteoric rise in gold prices in an age of currency volatility, and the turn of events that may be the blessing of our era, the subprime mortgage crisis. Because of this habit of prescience, Celente has appeared regularly on CNN and Fox and MSNBC, his “Trends Reports” widely quoted in newsprint, on Oprah Winfrey, on Good...

Hillary Clinton's most senior advisers are in a state of "panic" about her presidential prospects and are plotting to enlist Democrat leaders in Congress to thwart her rival Barack Obama's ambitions. The Clinton camp is braced for Mr Obama to win a series of primary elections over the next three weeks, which they fear could hand the Illinois senator unstoppable momentum in the race for the White House. Mr Obama has begun calling those "super delegates" - 795 congressmen and senior party officials who could break a dead heat - who are committed to Mrs Clinton, asking them to change...

Equities sank on Monday, tracking sharp losses across Asia, after financial stocks seen as being exposed to the bond insurance market were stung. By the close in London, the main European indices were . The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 5.1 per cent to 1,288.80, Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax shed 6.7 per cent to 6,825.63 . The CAC 40 in Paris lost 5.8 per cent to 4,798.66, and London’s FTSE 100 sagged 4.6 per cent 5,633.8. These were the worst one-day falls since September 11, 2001. The Eurofirst 300 and the CAC 40 were in technical bear-market territory, having fallen more...

Amid the daily market turmoil, and to help prevent a crash, it helps to step back and remember how we got here. With the benefit of hindsight, everyone can see that the U.S. economy built up an enormous credit bubble that has now popped. Our own view -- which we warned about going back to 2003 -- is that this bubble was created principally by a Federal Reserve that kept real interest rates too low for too long.In doing so the Fed created a subsidy for debt and a commodity price spike. The price spike contributed to "excess savings" in...

Panic selling shuts £2bn fund · Scottish Equitable acts after slump · Fears that other funds are at risk Patrick Collinson The Guardian (UK) Friday January 18 2008 The fund, invested in London office blocks and shopping centres across Britain, apparently no longer has sufficient cash reserves to meet demands from investors. Photograph: Martin Argles One of Britain's biggest property funds was forced to shut its doors to withdrawals yesterday after the slump in commercial prices triggered panic selling by small investors. The move prompted fears of a Northern Rock-style run on billions of pounds invested in once high-flying funds...

The scope of Barack Obama's victory in Iowa has shaken the Clinton machine down to its bolts. Donors are panicking. The campaign has been making a round of calls to reassure notoriously fickle "superdelegates" — elected officials and party regulars who are awarded convention spots by virtue of their titles and positions — who might be reconsidering their decisions to back the candidate who formerly looked like a sure winner.

One day, Aspen could be known for its golf courses, not its skiing. At least, that's one of the scenarios floated by Aspen officials studying global warming and how it could one day affect the lush Colorado city. "A lot of our economy is based on tourism and skiing," said Kim Peterson, global warming project manager for the city of Aspen. "So we've talked about what we do as a community. Do we put golf courses up?"