Dow plunges 3,000 points in biggest single-day drop

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is displayed after closing bell on floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ©  REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Source: RT News

The Dow Jones plummeted nearly 3,000 points (2,997.1, to be exact) at the close of trading on Monday, finishing down 12.93 percent as markets continued to slide despite tripping a circuit-breaker minutes after opening.

The S&P 500 sank by a whopping 12 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13 percent. The Dow has dropped over 30 percent since opening at a high on February 12. This latest Dow drop is the worst since the infamous Black Monday crash in 1987.

While the Federal Reserve has cut rates toward zero in an effort to boost the economy, the continuing closure of schools, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, etc. across the country is affecting the market dramatically, and with no end in sight to the coronavirus panic, it’s an unsure market for investors.

Confidence in the markets was not helped by a Monday afternoon press conference in which President Donald Trump said the federal government could be responding to the coronavirus until “July or August,” possibly longer.

Precious metals have also been sent into free fall, with gold dropping by 1.3 percent to just over $1,500 an ounce. Silver, platinum, and palladium have seen even steeper declines, each falling by over 12 percent on Monday.

Brent and WTI crude tumbled by 9 and 11.3 percent respectively, taking a toll on petrol giants including Chevron, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Suncor Energy, each of which saw more than a 15-percent decline in stock price. Apache was among the worst affected, down by over 30 percent.

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UK PM warns of permanent cuts

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron takes questions
at a 'PM Direct' event at the Institution of Engineering
and Technology in Birmingham



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137379§ionid=351021806


UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned taxpayers that public sector cuts will be permanent.

In a question and answer session with an audience in Birmingham, Cameron dashed hopes of restoring public sector funding levels once the budget deficit has been addressed.

The prime minister told the audience that cuts imposed by his government should be sustainable.

"We are going to have to change the way we work," he said. "How can we do things differently and better to give value for money?"

"Every family knows that as a business you cannot go on living beyond your means indefinitely. You have to make sure that revenue and spending come into balance. At the end of this parliament we will be paying £17bn in interest just on the interest on debt, (which) is more than we spend on schools."

"There is a moral responsibility," he added. "I don't think we should be racking up our debts for our children to pay. We need to be fair to future generations, and this generation should deal with its own problems."

On a question about social housing provision, the prime minister said that he believes council houses should no longer be granted "for life".

He noted that the tenants should be given fixed-term deals in the future so they can be moved on if their circumstances change.

The prime minister, however, conceded that attempts to reform the system would cause a "big argument".

UK mulls financial disaster scenarios

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129225§ionid=3510213



Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has asked the country's largest banks to model a number of disaster scenarios in response to Europe's deepening financial crisis.

According to analysts, banks in Britain have a total exposure of more than £100 billion to Greece, Portugal and Spain alone. In one scenario, British banks have been asked to model the possibility of Greece defaulting on its loans.

The request is part of a "risk map" by senior officials at FSA to examine potential quandary that British banks may encounter as a result of the eurozone country's growing economic troubles.

Even after an EU rescue package worth €750 billion (£620 billion) was set up to help bailout EU countries on the verge of bankruptcy, European markets continue to remain on edge.

New concerns have risen over Hungary's finances as their new government recently announced that its predecessors falsified data on the country's finances. Moreover, the euro has slid below $1.20 for the first time since March 2006, with analysts expecting it to hit the same level as the dollar.

British Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce a new tax on British banks as well as cuts to welfare programs and public sector pay in his emergency budget on June 22, which has been backed by the G20 groups of leading nations.

Prime Minister David Cameron has signaled that Britain faces "years of pain ahead," as the government tries to cope with its own financial crisis.

Another Day, Another Rescue

Report By: Alan Fisher
Source: Al Jazeera
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/europe/2010/05/21/another-day-another-rescue


It has been like trying to stem a flood in a dam. Every time they plug the leak in one place, the water starts gushing out of another. And now here we are in Brussels on what is another important day for the Euro and the European Union.

This latest emergency meeting of the bloc’s 27 finance ministers is an attempt to show the world markets that Europe and the Eurozone in particular is getting its house in order. But what is agreed here isn’t just important financially – it has political implications for the whole European Union.

The Germans are trying to draw up the post financial crisis rule book. They come here after their parliament will almost certainly approve a multi-billion dollar injection to a Euro fund to help struggling economies. They will then insist that as they have been the template for fiscal stability, the others have to start playing by their rules.

The plan is the European Commission will tighten economic surveillance and enforce budget discipline to build confidence in the Euro and try to ensure there’s no repeat of the Greek debt crisis.

First, there is the idea that national budget plans are submitted for scrutiny by EU experts before they’re put before national parliaments. This worries a few countries worried that this threatens their sovereignty. The Swedish and the British are particularly dissenters on this idea.

Then there is the warning that persistent fiscal sinners, those who regularly run national debts at more than 3 per cent of GDP will face sanctions. First EU funds will be choked off until they get things under control. Then there is the possibility that when EU finance ministers meet, offenders won’t be allowed a vote. That has huge political implications for EU treaties. After a decade of trying to secure agreement on the Lisbon deal which reformed institutions and procedures – no one wants to engage in another round of referenda on further treaty change. The Irish don’t want it and the new UK Government certainly doesn’t want it.

Germany is the economic driver in Europe – but it can’t do anything in Europe without the political support of the French. Both see the future of the eurozone in very different ways. The Germans think there should be much tighter budget discipline, while the French believe there should be much closer economic policy co-operation which will help mutual economic growth. Despite the differences – and there has been indications of real differences between the two – nothing gets done without the two working together. And both know how important it is now to put up a united front to stabilise the currency.

At the end of this meeting – there will be a news conference and the EU finance ministers will hail the deal agreed, congratulate each other on the work done and try to assure the world the Euro has been saved and is stable. It’s something they’ve done over the past few months – but it’s something that world financial markets have not bought into. And are unlikely to do so now.

Markets slip on economy fears

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2010/05/20105213837710482.html


Stock markets in Europe have followed their Asian counterparts and slumped in early trade, amidst ongoing concerns about the economic recovery in the US and the stability of the euro.

Germany's DAX and the UK's FTSE 100 both opened lower on Friday, losing roughly 1 per cent of their value in early trading.

In Asia, the Nikkei - Japan's benchmark index - was down more than 2.5 per cent in late morning trading on Friday, bringing the index to a five-year low.

Taiwan's stock exchange slipped 2.6 per cent; Shanghai's main index was down more than half a per cent, though it regained ground in afternoon trading.

The poor early showing in Europe and Asia follows a rough day of trading in the United States. US markets fell sharply on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding 3.6 per cent.
The numbers partly reflect an unexpected jump in jobless claims in the United States.

US unemployment

The US labour department said on Thursday that 471,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 15. That was a 5.6 per cent increase from the prior week's total.

Analysts had expected the number of jobless claims to drop. Investors fear the poor showing is a bad sign for the US economic recovery.

"People believed the recovery was underway, they anticipated continuous improvements in the unemployment rate," said Steve Keen, an economics professor at the University of Western Sydney.

"But the cause of this crisis too much debt, and we still have that debt overhang... that is depressing spending," which leads to continued high levels of unemployment, he said.

Investors also continue to worry about the euro, which has reached its lowest value against the Japanese yen since November 2001. 27 European Union finance ministers are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss ways to strengthen their common currency.

Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are closed on Friday because of a Buddhist holiday, and Thailand's stock market is closed because of the ongoing turmoil in Bangkok.

The Madness We Call Reality

This is a repost of an article I wrote a year ago (Oct 20th 2007)


By: Stewart Brennan

Everyday we engage in a pressure cooker of daily routines that become more complex and energy consuming as time passes. These sophisticated routines we burden ourselves with, squeezes every last bit of energy out of us until we are practically disabled. What is it that has all of us in a mindless hurry? What is it that empowers us to be an active participant in this “thing” that drives our daily lives and society? Is it real or imagined? I say its time to take a good look at this madness we call reality.

What is this… “Thing”?

It has been chipping away at the foundation of civilization for a very long time. It has crept into and has woven a belief within our minds, and it guides us in everything we do. Those that have control of this “thing” dictate our very existence. “They” use it against us and control our actions with it. “They” will say anything and do everything to grab our attentions away from knowing the truth. They bombard us with planned suggestion to support this “thing” that they control.

The “thing” I am taking about is “money”, and “They” the “Private Bankers”, are the ones who control and Print it. We are totally subservient to them and their money system. It has disconnected us from our free collective ability and isolated us from each other.

Civilization should be based on the wonderful capabilities and accomplishments that humanity has achieved and not on money. Humanity should not be controlled by a few individuals but by the moral pillars of what is honest, and truthful in a just society.

Commercialism impedes our focus on reality:

You can call this monetary system a misguided direction or plan, or whatever you want…Capitalism, Imperialism, or Dictatorship, it doesn’t matter. The real problem, and driver of the current system is the money-maker, his printed-paper, and an idea called financial wealth.

If we choose to remain on this path of “financial wealth”, we will always be controlled by the few that have set their sights on acquiring and controlling anything and everything. If we continue to embrace this system of money and not in the ability of our collective selves, mankind will perish from the Earth.

Remember, “Wealth is in the Soul”, not the bank, or stock market.

What Do We Do?

Today, our survival is in the hands of corrupt bankers and corporations that hire politicians to make laws that benefit the corrupt few instead of the population.

If mankind is to survive, he must evolve out of the illusion that economics portrays and into the Global reality of unity. The reality is that we need to help each other to progress as a species. The purpose in life is not enslavement by debt, but to work collectively for the betterment of mankind or the society. We need to remove the illusion of monetary wealth. Real wealth is not in a bank account, precious metal, or abundance of material. “Wealth is in the Soul”! Imagine a World without money.

Private Bankers and their system of financial wealth have created a World that is dysfunctional. It enslaves society to keep it running. The leaders of the financial system decide on who gets food, water, medicine, and who lives and dies. It makes weapons of mass destruction, and makes tyrants and slaves. Money is the root of all our problems.

A “Society based on money” robs us of our ability to think freely. Our attentions are taken away by commercialism via communication devices like the cell phone, television, radio, and Internet. All of which portray an unrealistic bubble that most people have come to believe is reality. The system is blindly supported by many and not questioned because those that control the system have told you not to question it.

Together we can remove the oppression that money and corrupt officials have imposed on society. Let's create a “World United” where everyone goes to sleep on a full stomach, has enough water to sustain themselves, has the medicine to treat sickness, and schools to teach the values and responsibilities of being alive. Lack of Money should not impede our helping others. It is morally wrong to say that helping someone costs too much! Remove the controlling element of money from society and the future begins to look brighter.

Basic Survival:

Many of us have forgotten how to take care of ourselves and those around us when money is not involved, and I am sure the prospect scares you. The reality is that we have been disconnected from nature and do not have control of our destiny. We need to regain control of our lives… We are supposed to be integrated with nature...that is what is missing in our lives! That missing element in your life, the hole in your soul, that void we try and fill but never seem to satisfy…is our connection to nature.

One day, everything will stop…No more “Grid Electricity”, no more running water, transportation, which means no more food deliveries to stores. Think about how you would survive without electricity…no more communications. TV, radio, Internet, telephones, will all be silent. No more modern-day communications.

Does anyone remember how to build a fire, purify water, gather food, build their own shelters, know what plants and roots will cure your ailments? The world we know or knew will be gone, and that can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be.

Knowledge is your Salvation:

Our Grandparents or great grandparents and for some of us, our parents, knew how to survive hard times. They also warned us about the Private bankers and their money. My generation grew up without knowledge of hard times. We are the TV generation, born and raised.

Right now, we need to prepare for the collapse of the American Empire and the financial system that controls the World…and that means to learn everything about basic survival.

We need to get involved now by building trust in our communities. Reconnect with nature. We have to approach life as a unified community. The very lives of our children and grand children depends upon it.

Money and its guarantee of greed is the destroyer of our World. It is the sole reason for war. All crimes committed are sprung directly or indirectly from greed and the society that money created. In a future world devastated by economic upheaval…survival will come down to who was ready.

Disconnected from Nature:

We are now completely disconnected from nature and our symbiotic relationship with it. Individually, we no longer know how to provide the basic needs we require to survive. We are completely dependent on the function of the current economic system and the direction we have embraced is leading us to complete destruction. But now, “The Financial System” appears to be feeding on its self.

The foundation on which our modern world is built is crumbling, and with it the whole world will fall because government would have you believe that being a social society is evil when in fact it is quite the opposite.

Humanity needs strong characters to stand up against the endless waves of anger, brutality, and oppression that are systematically removing Human Rights and freedoms of the individual. It is up to everyone that reads this plea to stand up and make a difference in his or her perspective countries and or communities. Not one country, province, or state, and not one individual can escape the oppression that the World Bank and ruling class have imposed upon us. The time to act is NOW!

Be prepared; get back in touch with your surroundings and your community. Plan for the survival of your community in a long-term disaster scenario, and do it collectively together. We depend on each other to survive. We cannot do it alone. Be at peace.