Top Picks ~ Week of January 28, 2008


Money & Markets

Vote on Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo ~ Lodge your opinion in this Wall Street Journal poll

Robert Rubin: What meltdown?
By Katie Benner – CNNMoney.com (31 Jan 2008)

MBIA Posts Biggest Loss, Considers New Capital Plans
By Christine Richard – Bloomberg.com (31 Jan 2008)

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US District Attorney General Seizes $1.1Bn in 2007
Press Release from LawFuel (31 Jan 2008)

George Noory Renews Long-Term Deal with Premiere Radio Networks
ClearChannel Radio Press Release (15 Jan 2008)

Subprime Lenders Get Big Accounting Break at SEC
By Jonathan Weil – Bloomberg.com (30 Jan 2008)

Russia’s Hard-Nose Policy Threatens Economic Boom
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (01 Feb 2008)

Counting the World’s Assets [Must register to view full article.]
From Financial Times (30 Jan 2008)

P&G Gets Boost From Overseas Growth
By Daniel Pimlott – Financial Times (31 Jan 2008)

ECB Secretely Rescues Spanish Banking System
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (28 Jan 2008)

Corporate America Braced for Recession
By Francesco Guerrera – FinancialTimes.com (29 Jan 2008)

Jim Rogers Interview: Where to Put Your Money
At ResourceInvestor.com

SEC to Rework Rules After Funds Struggled With Subprime Prices
By Jessee Westbrook & Miles Weiss – Bloomberg.com (25 Jan 2008)

Click here for Updates on the SocGen – “Lone Trader” Story

US Bond Insurer Rescue Takes Shape
By Aline van Duyn, et al – FinancialTimes.com (28 Jan 2008)

The Richest People You’ve Never Heard Of
By Louis Hau – Forbes.com (28 Jan 2008)

Central Bankers are Fiddling as Rome Burns
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (29 Jan 2008)

Dollar Peg Pushes Saudi Inflation Above Official Interest Rates
From the Gulf Daily News – GATA.org (28 Jan 2008)

Althecat’s Letter From Tomorrow
At DemocraticUnderground.com(27 Jan 2008)
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Precious Metals

More Questions About the Silver ETF
By James Turk – GoldMoney (28 Jan 2008)

Half of Gold in Central Banks Gone?
From World Net Daily (29 Jan 2008)

Central Bank of Cyprus Joins the Central Bank Gold Agreement
Press Release – European Central Bank (25 Jan 2008)

The ‘Real’ Gold Price
By James Turk – GATA (25 Jan 2008)

SAfrica Miners in Desperate Talks Over Power Crisis
By James Macharia – Reuters (27 Jan 2008)

Trading Imaginary Gold Gets Easier in Gold-Savvy Vietnam
By Nguyen Nhat Lam – Reuters (27 Jan 2008)

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Mortgage Markets

FBI Says 14 Companies Under Investigation For Possible Fraud in Connection With Subprime Loans
By Alan Zibel – KYPost.com (29 Jan 2008)

salesNew Home Sales Plunge Record 26 Percent in ’07
By Patrick Rucker – Reuters (28 Jan 2008)

US Mortgage Crisis Creates Ghost Town
At Breitbard.com (27 Jan 2008)

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In Sacramento: ‘Intentional Foreclosure’
By Koula Gianulias – CBS13 (25 Jan 2008)

Click the links for updates on current and ongoing lawsuits relative to mortgage markets:

Baltimore vs Wells Fargo
Barclays vs Bear Stearns
Cleveland vs 21 Lenders
NY Pensions vs Countrywide
Ohio Pension vs Freddie Mac
Resources:
Who’s Who in the Housing and Mortgage Bubble

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Life

China Issues Red Alert for Snowstorms
The People’s Daily Online (28 Jan 2008)

China Drought Underlies Hydropower Reliance Risks
By Emma Graham-Harrison – Reuters (17 Jan 2008)

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Geopolitical

Escape From Suburbia Screening & Panel Discussion
Feb 01 through Feb 02 – Sponsored by LocalEnergySolutions.org

Sandi Bacom’s “SUCKO” – On Social Security
Sandi is interviewed on ABC News

Global Warming: Truth or Dare?
By Denis Rancourt – Activist Teacher (27 Feb 2007)

Treaty of Lisbon ~ Amending the Treaty Establishing the European Community

Heavyweights Ready to Rumble
By Katy Dowell – TheLawyer.com (14 Jan 2008)

Margaret
Thatcher Told Navy to Raid Swedish Coast

By Pelle Neroth – TimesOnline (27 Jan 2008)

Empire State Building Car Zap Mystery
By Richard Weir – NY Daily News (27 Jan 2008)

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Collateral Damage: Surveillance Aimed at Terrorists Can Easily Go Awry
By Jeff Stein – CQ Politics.com (25 Jan 2008)

Ethan and Kate Declaration of War (mp3) ~ “Firey and Beautiful Radical Folk

2008 Election Political Contributions Overview ~ Top Metro Areas (Dollars in Millions)

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Closing the ‘Collapse Gap’: the USSR Was Better Prepared For Collapse Than The US
By Dmitry Orlov – Energy Bulletin (4 Dec 2006)

Post-Soviet Lessons For a Post-American Century
By Dmitry Orlov – SurvivingPeakOil.com (Archives)

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