Current Events and Links

See also:
Mark of the Beast

Global Food Crisis Expected to Produce Social Unrest

Apr. 5, 2008 - A growing global food crisis demands immediate attention of world leaders. World Bank President Robert Zoellick says the prices of staples have jumped 80 percent since 2005. Corn, rice and wheat prices have all reached new highs.

"As financial markets have tumbled, food prices have soared," Zoellick said in a speech on Wednesday. He said the situation is not expected to get better any time soon -- and he is pushing what he calls a "new deal for global food policy."

Without immediate action by The United States, the European Union, Japan, and other donor countries, the UN's World Food Program will not have the $500 million of additional food supplies to meet emergency calls. The result will be that many more people will suffer and starve.

Source: Crosswalk

Corn Hits $6 a Bushel on Tight Supplies - ABC News

Huge job losses set off recession alarms - Yahoo

USA 2008: The Great Depression

April 1, 2008 - The Independent, a British Newspaper, claims that the U.S. is in a Depression. Their evidence is that 28 million people in the US will be using government food stamps to buy essential groceries. This is the highest level since the food stamp program began in the 1960s. This rise is partly due to recent efforts to increase public awareness of the program.

But above all it is the pressures being exerted on ordinary Americans by an economy that is suddenly beset by troubles. Housing foreclosures, accelerating jobs losses and fast-rising prices all add to the squeeze.

Source:The Independent - UK

Fed Poised to Cut Rates Again

Mar. 18, 2008 -

The Federal Reserve is expected to aggressively lower interest rates in its intensified battle against the credit crisis and spreading economic weakness. The question is whether all of the effort will turn the tide.

Source: NewsMax

Markets slump on banking worries

Mar. 17, 2008 - Wall Street's fifth-largest investment bank, Bear Stearns came close to collapsing when JPMorgan Chase agreed to purchase it for a mere $2 a share. The US Federal Reserve will also hel0p by lending $30bn.

In New York the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 194 points, more than 1.5%, in early trading before recovering.

Fear of worsening economy in the U.S. is causing trouble in other stock markets world-wide.

Source: BBC

Rescue for troubled Wall St bank - BBC

Housing meltdown hits US economy - BBC

Stocks Plunge, Then Post Big Gains

Jan. 23, 2008 - The Stock Market responded to yesterday's 0.75-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve Board. It began with a plunge of more than 300 points but reversed the trend midday, ending nearly 300 points above the day's starting number.

By day's end, the Dow had swung 631.86 points from its low point to its high — the largest single-day turnaround in more than five years.

Source: Associated Press

World Economic Forum Opens in Davos

Jan. 23, 2008 - Representatives to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland are discussing the liklihood of recession in the U.S. and the global effects of such a downward course.

Source: NewsMax

Fed slashes rates in shock move

Jan. 21, 2008 - Reacting to the plunge in stock values and the threat of a world-wide recession, The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to 3.5%, a shocking three-quarters of a percentage point reduction. Major concerns that have led to the crisis are the slump in the US housing market and increased unemployment levels.

"Unfortunately they have no power to reverse what in my opinion is the worst post-war recession," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer in New York.

The Federal Reserve has not cut interest rates this much since August of 1982. Analysts say the move should help, but if it doesn't, panic could ensue because people will think there is nothing else the Fed can do.

Source: BBC

Recession in the US 'has arrived' - BBC

It's a Black Monday as stock markets tank in every corner of the globe - New York Daily News

Market Meltdown? U.S. Worries Ricochet Around World - ABC

Stock sell-off drives Dow down 307 points on economic fears

Jan. 18,, 2008 - Because of economic fears, The Dow Jones average dropped almost 307 points.

For the first half of January, the Dow has lost more than 1,000 points.

Economic factors include: A 16-year low for housing starts, the Federal Reserve's report that manufacturing fell to a six-year low in the Philadelphia region, and calls by the President and by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke of a temporary stimulus package to jump-start the economy.

Source:USA Today

Markets open big on stimulus hope - CNN

Bush to outline stimulus plan - CNN

World Rides to Wall Street's Rescue

January 16, 2008 - In the midst of financial turmoil in America, foreign investors from Japan, Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are helping by investing in troubled institutions.

The list of players that agreed yesterday to pump a combined $19.1 billion of capital into Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. spotlights a dramatic shift in power.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Inflation rate is worst in 17 years - Yahoo

7-year plan aligns U.S. with Europe's economy - WorldNetDaily