Nouriel Roubini, global macro Uber-Bear, has posted an interesting commentary on his blog - “The delusional complacency that the “worst is behind us” is rapidly melting away…and the risk of another run against systemically important broker dealers“ which I am excerpting below with my comments in red:
The deleveraging process for the financial system has barely started as most of the writedowns have been for subprime mortgages; the writedowns and/or provisioning for the additional losses have barely started. Thus, hundreds of banks in the U.S. are at risk of collapse. The typical small U.S. Bank (with assets less of $4 billion has 67% of its assets related to real estate; for large banks the figure is 48%. Thus, hundreds of small banks will go belly up as the typical local bank financed the housing, the commercial real estate, the retail boom, the office building of communities where housing is now going bust. Even large regional banks massively exposed to real estate in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and other states with a housing boom and now bust will go belly up.
A JOURNALISTIC investigation into terrorism suspects held at US prison camps around the world found that possibly hundreds had been wrongly imprisoned, it was reported today. An eight-month investigation in 11 countries on three continents found that the US wrongfully imprisoned suspects in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of “flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments”, McClatchy newspapers said.
McClatchy said it interviewed 66 released detainees, more than a dozen local officials, primarily in Afghanistan, and several US officials and former officials. The investigation also reviewed thousands of pages of US military tribunal documents and other records. According to their investigation “at least seven (detainees) had been working for the US-backed Afghan government and had no ties to militants, according to Afghan local officials”. Read More
(CNN) Police in Israel are investigating the burning of hundreds of New Testaments in a city near Tel Aviv, an incident that has alarmed advocates of religious freedom. Investigators plan to review photographs and footage showing “a fairly large” number of New Testaments being torched this month in the city of Or-Yehuda, a police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said Wednesday.
News accounts in Israel have quoted Uzi Aharon, the deputy mayor of Or-Yehuda, as saying he organized students who burned several hundred copies of the New Testament. The deputy mayor gave interviews to Israeli radio and television stations after word of the incident surfaced about two weeks ago. More
Hundreds of trucks rolled into central London on Tuesday to jam a major route into the capital to protest the rising price of fuel.
BBCNews
Hundreds of lorry drivers protested in London and a two-mile line of lorries crawled along the M4 towards Cardiff. Hauliers say diesel prices topping 120p a litre, plus the planned 2p fuel tax rise, will drive firms “to the wall”.
Meanwhile, ministers said Alistair Darling was “listening” to fears over plans to raise vehicle excise duty. The government is planning to increase road tax on older, more polluting vehicles, and next week the chancellor will meet Labour MPs opposed to the plan. More
The Washington Post says Homeland Security officials have used antipsychotic drugs to sedate hundreds of foreigners during the deportation process. The paper says this “involuntary chemical restraint of detainees” violates some international agreements on human rights. Just last year, the Post says documents show that 67 detainees were injected with the dangerous drugs, even though they weren’t known to suffer from a psychiatric disorder. Federal officials say it is supposed to be “an act of last resort,” according to the Post. Read more
Photo Mi dedo
Hundreds of employee laptops are unaccounted for at the U.S. Department of State, which conducts delicate, often secret, diplomatic relations with foreign countries, an internal audit has found. As many as 400 of the unaccounted for laptops belong to the department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, according to officials familiar with the findings. Ironically, the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program is administered by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), which is responsible for the security of the department’s computer networks and sensitive equipment, including laptops, among other duties. More
