Gold, gold, gold as world places Swan on a pedestal Good news at last ... Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year, Wayne Swan. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen THE Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has been named the world's best finance minister for his work in steering Australia through the global financial crisis. Last night, Mr Swan was named as the Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year for 2011 and will receive his award at a ceremony in Washington on Sunday at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund. It is only the second time in the award's 30-year history that an Australian has won. In statement from London, the finance and banking publication Euromoney said ''Swan receives his award for his careful stewardship of Australia's finances and economic performance during and since the global financial crisis''. Advertisement ''Throughout that time, Australia has not only avoided falling into recession but has been the best performing of the world's developed market economies.
Lloyd Chapman: Could a Simple Bill Save the World Economy? The indications that we are heading toward another recession are crystal clear. Markets are plunging, unemployment is soaring and investors, businesses and the general public are losing faith in Washington's ability to stimulate the economy. However, a bill aimed at directing federal infrastructure spending to the middle class could change everything. The Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act is a very simple bill that will close loopholes and end fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting programs. The legislation focuses on ending the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses, a problem preventing the creation of upwards of 1.8 million new jobs. The reason this bill is so powerful is because of the job creating potential of the small business community. But this is not a conspiracy theory. During his 2008 campaign, Barack Obama stated, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants."
Press Releases - PR-154-2011 9/23/2011 Press Releases Tri Counties Bank, Chico, California, Assumes All of the Deposits of Citizens Bank of Northern California, Nevada City, California Citizens Bank of Northern California, Nevada City, California, was closed today by the California Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Tri Counties Bank, Chico, California, to assume all of the deposits of Citizens Bank of Northern California. The seven branches of Citizens Bank of Northern California will reopen on Monday as branches of Tri Counties Bank. This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Citizens Bank of Northern California can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. As of June 30, 2011, Citizens Bank of Northern California had approximately $288.8 million in total assets and $253.1 million in total deposits.
WRITER'S TOOLBOX: 35 Best Tools for Writing Online Fed to Buy $44B, Sell $44B of Debt in Oct. The Federal Reserve will purchase $44 billion of longer-maturity Treasuries and sell the same amount of shorter-term debt in October under its monetary stimulus plan that’s become known as Operation Twist. Purchases will begin Oct. 3 with the acquisition of $2.25 billion to $2.75 billion of Treasuries maturing between February 2036 and August 2041, according to a statement today from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the branch of the Federal Reserve System that implements monetary policy. The Federal Open Market Committee said last week that it would replace $400 billion of short-term debt in its portfolio with longer-term Treasuries in an effort to further reduce borrowing costs and counter rising risks of a recession. Treasury 30-year bonds extended gains after today’s announcement. Yields on 30-year bonds fell 14 basis points, or 0.14 percentage point, to 2.91 percent at 2:31 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. Long-Bond Rally
Top 10 Xbox 360 Games of 2012 Top Xbox 360 Games of 2012 It's the end of the year, and even as we wind down with the best games of the year like Modern Warfare 3, and Skyrim, we look to see what the next year has to offer us and empty our wallets once more. There's no end to great games to look forward to, and 2012 looks like it'll shape up to be just as good as everything this year, though it's certainly hard to top. If you’re anything like us, your to-do list for the next year is already packed full of great games that you just didn’t have time to play. 2011 has been, without question, one of the busiest years in the Xbox 360’s six-year lifespan, especially over the last few months. Alas, there’s no rest for the weary, as 2012 is shaping up to be just as jam packed with huge releases as this year. #10 Mass Effect 3 If the Mass Effect games excel at one thing, it’s scale. For the first time in franchise history, Mass Effect 3 will also be offering multiplayer support. #9 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings #1 Halo 4
Senate Gets 79 Votes to Advance China Currency Bill as Obama Sends So-Called Free Trade Agreements to Congress Yesterday, the Senate voted for cloture on a motion to proceed on a bill to discourage China’s currency manipulation, with a bipartisan 79-19 vote. 31 Republicans voted for the bill with 48 Democrats. There is nothing out there that would move the needle on jobs that would possibly get that kind of broad support. Functionally, the American Jobs Act is not a going concern, so lowering the trade deficit by ending the policy of China artificially keeping the cost of their exports low is what we have to work with. It’s a key step for now and the future to rebalance trade and give US manufacturing and exports a fighting chance. That would be a real trade agenda, one that the broad mass of the American public supports and that has the support of both parties. The other “trade agenda,” the one neoliberals prefer, is the one the President kickstarted by sending three trade deals to Congress. So that’s really the choice. This is unacceptable.
Copper Rout Unlikely to Halt Chile $67 Billion Bet: Commodities (For more commodities columns, click NI CMMKT BN <GO>) Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Chile, the world’s biggest copper- producing nation, expects mining companies to maintain their investment plans even after prices slumped by the most in three years and is seeing few signs of weaker Chinese demand. Spending on new or existing mines will reach $67 billion over the next eight years, Mining Minister Hernan de Solminihac said in an interview in London yesterday. Copper slumped 33 percent since reaching a record $10,190 a metric ton in February as mounting concern about growth eroded expectations for supply shortages. “The fundamentals don’t explain the decrease in the price,” said the 53-year-old minister. Copper fell 29 percent to $6,789 this year on the London Metal Exchange, heading for its second-worst year in almost a quarter century. European Federation China imported 235,509 tons of copper in August, 21 percent more than in July and the most since January, customs data show. BHP Billiton
The Great American Bubble Machine | Politics News The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindled dry American empire, reads like a Who's Who of Goldman Sachs graduates. Invasion of the Home Snatchers By now, most of us know the major players. But then, any attempt to construct a narrative around all the former Goldmanites in influential positions quickly becomes an absurd and pointless exercise, like trying to make a list of everything. The Feds vs. They achieve this using the same playbook over and over again. BUBBLE #1 The Great Depression Goldman wasn't always a too-big-to-fail Wall Street behemoth, the ruthless face of kill-or-be-killed capitalism on steroids —just almost always. Where to go?