Comments on: Home Today, Homeless Tomorrow?

By: TheLurkingMod

TheLurkingMod — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:08:24 +0000

Jane is upstairs!
Wes Clarke Walks Into McCain’s Giant Wood Chipper

By: Organic George

Organic George — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:49:39 +0000

Ann

A depression is when 1% of the population controls 90% of the wealth.

Nuf said

By: Organic George

Organic George — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:47:24 +0000

Sorry but the futures markets were developed to allow those holding commodity products, farmers, oil producers etc to hedge their risk and yes there are deliveries with futures contracts.

Now it’s a small percentage of contracts that actually make delivery but that is by design, not proof of speculation.

Options can be on futures contracts or on commodities themselves. I think you have mixed up the FOWARD market of cash commodities with the futures markets. Forward marketing can be done with a handshake agreement or complicated contact. Futures market are for very specific products, LSC instead of HC.

The current problem is that there is a segment of oil trading, know as the ENRON exception that allows a portion of the oil market to trade out side of the regulators watchful eye. That is how Enron gamed the CA electricity markets before they went under. Much of the talk about speculators driving the oil markets has to do with the unregulated segment of the oil market.

By: Ann in AZ

Ann in AZ — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:11:26 +0000

I’m probably wrong, but…a depression, isn’t that what happens when you try to equalize pay for jobs across several continents and third world countries on this continent and the pay on the other continents and third world countries is much lower than your pay? Just sayin’…

By: TheLurkingMod

TheLurkingMod — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:01:03 +0000

Thank you msmolly. Fixed now.

By: Ann in AZ

Ann in AZ — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:58:04 +0000

One wonders what our elected officials think when they’re told by former donors that they should get their future donations to their future campaigns from those segments of their constituency that they perceive were pleased by this or that of their votes or actions.

By: msmolly

msmolly — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:57:28 +0000

That link goes to the wrong post. Here is the correct one:

Blue Texan

By: cbl2

cbl2 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:50:52 +0000

reminder Firedogs,

emails don’t mean crap to these klowns

in order of effectiveness

In Person visits to either DC or local offices
(look up Roots Project in fdl search to see how it’s done)

Phone Calls to both DC and local offices

Faxes
(said faxes containing your LTE to local paper about their cowardice tend to get noticed and often result in phone calls from staffers)

By: Organic George

Organic George — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:50:31 +0000

I follow a lot of Econ Blogs but all you have to do is Google LIBOR.

The problem with LIBOR is that up until the past few weeks the UK over site of the banks posting interbank rates was a gentleman’s agreement.

Then the regulators caught the bank lying about what rates they were actually paying and LIBOR rates started to widen. The reason for the current spike is more central banks are now agreeing that the worst is not behind us but directly in our path.

It will get very ugly world wide.

I don’t know enough to predict a Depression but I have live though some severe resessions and they were not pleasent.

By: selise

selise — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:49:20 +0000

excellent catch re bernanke’s confirmation hearing - if i can find the time i may try to give it a listen.

there are tons of smart people on staff- I’m jes sayin plenty of them are privy to the wonky stuff long before we hippies get our hands on it

yeah. i’d love to know who they are so that we can get an early warning - while there is still time to do something before the shit hits the fan.