Free Republic

Not everyone gets the Wall Street-Main Street connection. But they should, because both streets intersect on every block in America. “In the sense that if the credit market dries up on Wall Street, capital will be unavailable on Main Street,” said University of Arizona political science professor Robert Maranto. “So no car loans, house loans, business loans and the like.” In the short run, Maranto explains, there is no reason to panic, but over two years it would lead to higher unemployment. Maranto also reminds that most of Middle America's savings are plowed into the stock markets, “so if the...

Preface. In reading the history of nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarities; their seasons of excitement and recklessness, when they care not what they do. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first. We see one nation suddenly seized, from its highest to its lowest members, with a fierce desire of military glory; another as...

so how many more banks will fry

The financial world breathed easier Friday, as the full force of the U.S. government was employed to stop what had become a full-fledged global panic. Now comes the equally crucial job of protecting taxpayers -- and restoring markets -- after a historic federal intervention. There's little doubt that this week we were watching the modern equivalent of a 1930s bank run. Instead of lining up at bank windows, investors were unloading financial assets on their PCs. Credit markets had seized up, to the point that even routine daily settlements had stopped until banks had the actual securities or cash in...

Much has been written and millions of words expended on the current financial panic, most of it utterly wrong because it's made by people who don't have a clue about the workings of the financial markets. And, yes, that especially includes people in the media. Todd Zywicki, at Volokh posts: Did Eliot Spitzer Contribute to AIG's Demise? to which we get the predictable response for the invincibly ignorant: [Responding to a comment made by someone who works for an AIG insurance subsidiary] Poor you. Maybe if your industry had a few less greedy crooks, you wouldn't have to be so...

Seldom has there been a larger contrast between the style of a candidate and the strategy of his campaign. Barack Obama is cool, firm and permanently unruffled. It is precisely this quality of steadiness that has made him seem a credible prospective president with the thinnest of résumés. But Obama's campaign is rootless, reactive and panicky. At every stage since securing the nomination, it has seemed fearful of missteps and unsure of its own organizing principle. So it has invariably adopted the Democratic conventional wisdom of the moment. Obama's first major decision was his running mate. He could have reinforced...

The retooling of the Obama message is the focus of this Washington Post story: "After a string of tactical successes by McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, over the past two weeks, the Obama campaign sought to regain its footing on Monday. The shift followed a series of internal meetings, including a rare Sunday evening session at the campaign's Chicago headquarters that Obama attended. Advisers reinforced the division of labor in the days ahead: Obama will articulate the campaign's broader message of ‘change’ and outline how the Democratic ticket will govern, while Biden will deliver attacks against...

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...