"You know what the news is-- in a minute, you're going to hear the rest of the story"- Paul Harvey
Crude oil is trading down this morning after a slight build was reported in crude inventories by the EIA. Despite the builds, the June crude oil contract is only down .34 to $117.73.
The financials came under pressure this morning after Ambac Financial (ABK) reported heavy losses in its CDO mortgage-related holdings.
Liberty Mutual announced it was buying Safeco for $6.12 billion.
Today I thought I would provide you with a few opinions from some stock market experts whose opinions and insights I admire. In addition, I have provided you with some information not widely covered by the mainstream (controlled) media.
Bill discusses the Bank of England's plan to allow banks to temporarily swap "their mortgage-backed and other securities for U.K. Treasury bills, to ease the current credit crunch".
"This emergency tactic of the Bank of England is really about helping to usher in a 2000-2002 recession-occurring Bear market rather than a 1930’s era Great Depression and mother of a Bear market. You see, the UK is in every bit of trouble as is the US… and Europe, and Japan. Even proponents of India and China are going to see what happens to 5% and 6% economic growth with the inefficiencies that are in those markets."
Rogers says, "Ben Bernanke should resign and the Fed should be abolished as a way to boost the falling dollar and speed up the recovery of the U.S. economy".
"I think the stimulus package will be an ill-fated attempt to revitalize the economy. If you look at the problem of the economy, it’s been excessive credit growth that came from easy monetary policies. And what they want to do now is essentially to implement another set of monetary policies and other measures to stimulate consumption, when consumption precisely has been the problem of the United States – the excessive consumption".
"Billionaire George Soros called the current financial crisis the worst since the Great Depression and said markets will fall more this year after a brief rebound."
News Not Covered by Mainstream Media
Paul Craig Roberts
Roberts, the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan says, "Exactly as the British press predicted, last week’s congressional testimony by Gen. David Petraeus and Green Zone administrator Ryan Crocker set the propaganda stage for a Bush regime attack on Iran".
Texans March on State Capitol to Stop NAFTA Super Highway
For Peyton Gilbert, the battle over the Trans-Texas Corridor is reminiscent of the moment in 1836 when Lt. Col. William Travis drew a line in the sand at the Alamo and invited those willing to fight thousands of Mexican soldiers to step across.
"That line in the sand is the Trans-Texas Corridor, and it's a threat to our sovereignty again, just like at the Alamo," said Gilbert, 14, who is from Whitehouse, near Tyler.
Iraq: "The Three Trillion Dollar War"
Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda J. Bilmes casts a spotlight on expense items that have been hidden from the U.S. taxpayer.
Russians Expect US to Attack Iran
"The latest military intelligence data point to heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran," the official said, adding that the Pentagon has probably not yet made a final decision as to when an attack will be launched.
UK Guardian: Hillary Clinton's pledge to 'obliterate' Iran
Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
Man charged with passing US secrets to Israel
Another Disagreeing Commander Bites the Dust
Rumor has it that Adm. William "Fox" Fallon once called General Petraeus "an ass-kissing little chickenshit."
Sounds pretty accurate.
