Top Picks ~ Week of February 25, 2008


Money & Markets

Follow the Trend
By James Turk – GoldMoney.com (29 Feb 2008)

Pennsylvania Student Loans Halted on Auction Failures
By Adam L. Cataldo – Bloomberg.com (27 Feb 2008)

Orwell’s Vision, Lockheed’s Dream
By Chris Sanders – Sanders Research (29 Feb 2008)

Dems Work to Keep Subsidies for Agribusiness
By Carolyn Lochhead – San Francisco Chronicle (28 Feb 2008)

G7’s Readiness to ‘Stabilize’ Markets Reiterated by Japanese Official
By Natsuko Waki & Toni Vorobyova – Reuters (28 Feb 2008)

New York Faces Double Whammy as Swaps Compound Failed Auctions
By Michael Quint – Bloomberg.com (28 Feb 2008)

MBIA Maintains Highest Rating, Pfizer Cut
At Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis (26 Feb 2008)

Former AIG, General Re Execs Guilty
At CNNMoney.com (25 Feb 2008)

Small and Midsize US Banks Beginning to Struggle in Credit Crisis
By Eric Dash – New York Times (27 Feb 2008

Industrial, Political Pressure Rises on ECB to Weaken Euro
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (28 Feb 2008)

Russia Quietly Starts to Shift its Oil Trade Into Rubles
By Andrew E. Kramer – New York Times (27 Feb 2008)

Calpers Approves Big Increase in Commodity Investments
By Saljel Kishan – Bloomberg.com (28 Feb 2008)

More Small Business Owners See Economic Conditions for Their Businesses Improving
Rasmussen Reports (25 Feb 2008)

Mark-to-Market Requirements Turn Into Doomsday Machine
By John Dizard – FinancialTimes.com (24 Feb 2008)

Lunch Crowd Invests in Vermont Diner
On Morning Edition – NPR.org (26 Feb 2008)

Greenspan Tells Gulf to Drop Dollar
Aljazeera.net (25 Feb 2008)

Confidence Plunges, Inflation Rate Soars
Associated Press (26 Feb 2008)

Activist Fund Seeks Ban On ‘Nusiance Shareholders’
By Judith Burns – Dow Jones Newswires (22 Feb 2008)

US Considers Sanctions Against Iran’s Central Bank
From AFP (25 Feb 2008)

~ View Current Updates on Clear Channel Deal

Taxes To Bail Out Robert Rubin
By Dean Baker – Truthout.org (25 Feb 2008)

Hedge Funds Call Banks to Account
By James Mackintosh – FinancialTimes.com (14 Feb 2008)

Fears that $3bn May Not Be Enough to Save Ambac
By Tom Bawden – TimesOnline (26 Feb 2008)

Germans Accuse UBS of Sub-Prime ‘Mis-Selling’
By John Waples – TimesOnline (24 Feb 2008)

Banks Lose to Deadbeat Homeowners as Loans Sold in Bonds Vanish
By Bob Ivry – Bloomberg.com (25 Feb 2008)

High Court Overrules 3 State Laws
By Jess Bravin – Wall Street Journal (21 Feb 2008)

Nigerian States Support Discontinuing Payment in Dollars
By Kunle Aderinokun – This Day, Lagos, Nigeria (20 Feb 2008)

_________________________________________________________

Precious Metals

Demand for Gold and Silver as Currency of Legal Tender for Merchant Services
By Alex Wallenwein – The Market Oracle (27 Feb 2008)

Another Public Pension Fund Official Recommends Gold
By Chris Powell – GATA (28 Feb 2008)

Global Shortage of Metals Looming
By Peter Hodson – Financial Post, Toronto (25 Feb 2008)

US Backs Plan for IMF to Sell Some Gold
By John Brinsley – Bloomberg News (25 Feb 2008)

US Treasury to Support IMF Gold Sales if Linked to Cost-Cutting, Reforms
Thomson Financial News (25 Feb 2008)
_________________________________________________________

Mortgage Market

Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Forms Available Now
PortClintonNewsHerald.com (Feb 2008)

Zell Sees Start of Housing Recovery in the Spring
By Sam Zell – CNBC (26 Feb 2008)

________________________________________________________

Food & Health

How to Grow Fantastic Vegan Food Indoors
By Pauline Lloyd – VeganOrganicNetwork

2008 Dirtiest Hotels ~ Let Us Save You From Hotel Hell

Organic Pot Noodle Anyone?
At CorporateWatch.org – Newsletter 38

Food and the Spectre of Malthus
By Mark Thirlwell – FinancialTimes.com (26 Feb 2008)

All Kids Need Flu Shots, CDC Says
By Mark Stobbe – ABC News (27 Feb 2008)

Ice Cream Crisis as Bees Buzz Off
By John Sterlicchi – Guardian.co.uk (25 Feb 2008)

xx

xx

Commodities Boom Sends French Food Prices Rocketing
By Sybille de La Hamaide – Reuters (25 Feb 2008)

India: Calls to Ban GM Crops Intensify After Rats Suffer
By Ranjit Devraj – CommonDreams.org (6 Jun 2005)

Morgellons Syndrome ~ From Wikipedia

Midlife Suicide Rises, Puzzling Researchers
By Patricia Cohen – New York Times (19 Feb 2008)

_________________________________________________________

Life

How to Build a Village By Claude Lewenz
By Joanne Hay – Nourished Magazine (Feb 2008)

There Will Be Floods
By Alex Prud’Homme – New York Times (27 Feb 2008)

xx

xx

Renewables 2007 Global Status Report
By WorldWatch

The Century of the Self
A Documentary by Filmmaker Adam Curtis (2002)

Born Rich ~ A Documentary

xx

xx

xx

xx

Air Car, Powered by Compressed Air, To Begin Production Soon
By Alex Sydell – SparkingTech.com (15 Feb 2008)

_________________________________________________________

Geopolitical

Bush Calls Surveillance Bill an ‘Urgent Priority’
By David Stout & Brian Knowlton – New York Times (28 Feb 2008)

Ron Paul Sharing The Political Wealth With Like-Minded Candidates
By Jonathan Allen – CQPolitics (27 Feb 2008)

Consortiumblog ~ Online Community for consortiumnews.com

North American Army Created Without OK By Congress
By Jerome R. Corsi – WorldNetDaily (24 Feb 2008)

Media Blackout of 60 Minutes RE Alabama Governor Siegleman
AtLargely.com (24 Feb 2008)

Recovered History: Don’t Cry For Me, Arkansas
By Sam Smith – Progressive Review (22 Feb 2008)
_________________________________________________________