Pakistan facing bankruptcy, West to discuss
bailout in Abu Dhabi --Ali Zardari: Pakistan needs bail out worth $100 billion from
international community 06 Oct 2008 Officially, the central bank
holds $8.14 billion (£4.65 billion) of foreign currency, but if forward
liabilities are included, the real reserves may be only $3 billion. Nine months
ago, Pakistan had $16 bn in the coffers. The government is engulfed by crises
left behind by [Bush's] Pervez Musharraf, the military ruler who resigned
the presidency in August. President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to ask the
international community for a rescue package at a meeting in Abu Dhabi next
month. This gathering will determine whether the West is willing to bail out
Pakistan. [Guess where some of your $700 billion is going? See also: US renting Pakistan army for $100 million a
month 14 Jul 2007; Aid to Pakistan in Tribal Areas Raises
Concerns 16 Jul 2007; US Senate approves Pakistan aid worth
$785m 20 Dec 2007 --Incidentally, three days later: Medicaid Funding for Schools
Cut 23 Dec
2007; Billions in U.S. Aid to Pakistan Wasted,
Officials Assert 24 Dec
2007.]

Days after AIG's $85bn rescue, insurer hosted
banquets 08 Oct 2008 The world's largest
insurance company, AIG, spent $440,000 on a lavish corporate retreat at one of
California's top beachside resorts a few days after accepting an $85bn emergency
loan from the US government to stave off bankruptcy. Details of the week-long
getaway enraged legislators at a congressional hearing yesterday where AIG's
former bosses were accused of spending taxpayers' money on pedicures, golf games
and cocktails. [I
got your golf games right here.]

Lehman sought millions for execs while seeking
aid 06 Oct 2008 The now-bankrupt investment
bank Lehman Brothers arranged millions in bonuses for fired executives as it
pleaded for a federal lifeline, lawmakers learned Monday, as Congress began
investigating what went so wrong on Wall Street to prompt a $700 billion
government bailout.

U.S. Debt Too Big for National Debt
Clock 06 Oct 2008 The National Debt Clock,
launched in 1989 when the nation's debt was less than $3 trillion, cannot keep
pace with the growing national debt, now at more than $10 trillion. NBC News
reports. (Video)

Mega barf
alert! Fed's new tool: Business loan
bailout --Federal Reserve to buy loans crucial to
business to unfreeze markets. 07 Oct 2008 The
Federal Reserve announced a new program to help the battered market for
short-term business loans - taking its closest step yet to lending directly to
businesses.

Fed Considers Plan to Buy Companies' Unsecured
Debt --Move would put more taxpayer dollars at
risk 07 Oct 2008 As pressure built in the credit
markets and stocks spiraled lower around the world on Monday, the Federal
Reserve was considering a radical new plan... Under a proposal being discussed
with the Treasury Department, the Fed could buy vast amounts of the unsecured
short-term debt that companies rely on to finance their day-to-day activities,
according to officials familiar with the discussions. If this were to happen,
the central bank would come closer than ever to lending directly to
businesses. 

Pensions lose $2 trillion --Congressional budget analyst says many workers may need to delay
retirement. 07 Oct 2008 Americans' retirement
plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top
budget analyst estimated Tuesday. The upheaval that has engulfed the financial
industry and sent the stock market plummeting is devastating workers' savings,
forcing people to hold off on major purchases and consider delaying their
retirement, said Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. Stocks Drop; S&P 500, Dow Post Worst
Retreats Since 1937 07 Oct 2008 U.S. stocks
fell, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index below 1,000 for the first time
since 2003, on speculation banks and real-estate companies are running short of
money as the credit crisis worsens.

Bernanke Signals Fed May Cut Rates as Crisis
Deepens 07 Oct 2008 Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben S. Bernanke signaled policy makers are ready to lower interest rates as the
credit freeze poses an escalating danger to the economy.