NightBlogger

LONDON (Reuters) - A global sell-off knocked world shares to a five-month low on Thursday as surging oil fanned concerns about inflation and slowing growth, ahead of an expected euro zone interest rate hike and a key U.S. jobs report. The gloom was all-pervasive, with Tokyo stocks setting their longest losing streak in more than half a century while the dollar hit a two-month low against the euro. The European Central Bank is set to become the first G7 central bank to raise interest rates since the credit crisis erupted in August. The decision is due at 1145 GMT (7:45 a.m. EDT). At 1230 GMT (8:30 a.m. EDT), ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet gives a news conference and at the same time U.S. non-farm payrolls data are due. More

Bob Morris @ Jun 30th 2008 05:55 - Category: Credit crisis
I was emailing a friend recently about the stock market. He thinks the markets are “totally divorced from the reality of the time” and in many ways he’s right. They exist in a bizarre other universe, seemingly not affecting the rest of us much. Except when they do, as witness the subprime debacle that has now morphed into a worldwide credit crisis.

* Former Sec. of Labor Robert Reich: “The economy is failing” and Congress needs to pass a massive stimulus package now, deficit spending be damned.
* Former Sec. of the Treasury Lawrence Summers: “In the months ahead there is the real possibility that significant financial institutions will encounter not just liquidity but solvency problems“
* Mish says forced sales of bank assets are coming soon as banks desperately try to raise money. WaMu is toast and Citigroup will be broken into pieces.
* Barclays Capital is warning clients that a major financial storm is coming and blames the Fed for not moving against inflation.
* The Royal Bank of Scotland advises all the chickens will be coming home to roost after the current excesses and that the contagion will be worldwide.

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Photo Woodley

The H5N1 avian flu virus has infected flocks in much of Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. Experts fear it could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person, sparking an influenza pandemic that could kill millions. “The risk of a pandemic remains and is probably expanding,” said Dr. Supamit Chunsuttiwat, a disease control expert at Thailand’s health ministry who is chairing the four-day meeting. Supamit noted the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus persisted on three continents and had caused human cases in Indonesia, Egypt and China this year.
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Pic courtesy of oddsock
With the uncertain economy and falling dollar, many would-be travelers rule out vacation abroad or exotic destinations of their dreams because they simply can’t afford it. What if you could room for free anywhere in the world. Meet The Couchsurfing Project., “a free international Internet-based hospitality service, and currently the largest hospitality exchange network. As of April 2008, it had more than 500,000 members in 226 countries and territories, with 40 percent offering their couches to host travelers, another 22 percent saying “maybe”, and others who are traveling themselves”.

“We strive to make a better world,” it says on the website, “by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!”
Check it out