Washington Mutual Seized By Federal Regulators
Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night in what is by far the largest bank failure in American history.
Violence Increases as Settlers Begin Challenging Israel
A pipe bomb that exploded late Wednesday night outside the Jerusalem home of Zeev Sternhell, a Hebrew University professor, left him lightly wounded and created only a minor stir in a nation that routinely experiences violence on a much larger scale.
Rain … Lots of it
Hopefully you got the most out this stretch of very nice, dry weather we’ve been happily mired in the last few weeks. Mother Nature has some catching up to do in the rain bucket, and boy will she certainly fill up the bucket today and tomorrow. The culprits are two systems to our south.
Economists’ Skepticism Deepens on Bailout Plan
As economists puzzle over the proposed details of what may be the biggest financial bailout in American history, the initial skepticism that greeted its unveiling has only deepened.
Market Volatility Makes Some Retirees Nervous
Older Americans with investments are among the hardest hit by the turmoil in the financial markets and have the least opportunity to recover.
With First Debate on Friday, Strategists Analyze Candidates
Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, heads into the first debate Friday with a track record as a scrappy combatant and the instincts of a fighter pilot, prepared to take out his opponent and willing to take risks to do so.
Infighting in Iraq Grows as Sunni Patrols Await Power Shift
In Adhamiya, a neighborhood that only a year ago was among the most dangerous in Baghdad, the violence last week seemed almost negligible. A shootout near a checkpoint left two people dead on Sunday. Another man was killed on Monday by a small bomb placed under a car.
Worries About Bailout Plans Give Stocks a Downward Shove
Fresh concerns about the biggest government bailout in history sent stock markets down sharply on Monday, while a weakening dollar sparked a frantic rush into commodities as investors remained nervous about the financial health of Wall Street.
Shorts (left)
There are swing states, and within them, swing counties. Here in northern Nevada, there are also swing streets.
Shorts (right)
Thabo Mbeki’s resignation as president of South Africa could hardly have come at a worse time for Zimbabwe, where he had just brokered a power-sharing deal that has now reached a pivotal — and perilous — moment, analysts say.
Fall Has Fallen
The Autumn season has officially begun as of 11:44 a.m. EDT yesterday morning, and today is its first full day. We can expect gradually falling temperatures through the coming months, as New England transitions from its warm, pleasant summer to another cold, snowy winter. Although you may need to stop wearing flip-flops and start wearing jackets, you will still get to enjoy some sunshine; in fact, October has the greatest average number of clear days of any month in Boston. However, while it may still seem nice outside now, it won’t be long until winter weather arrives, as the average date of the first trace of snow is November 4th.
Shorts (left)
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told a House committee on Thursday that he might fire employees in the agency that collects oil and gas royalties, a week after the department’s inspector general reported extensive ethics abuses there.
Shorts (right)
An agreement to extend the U.S. military mandate in Iraq beyond this year — near completion only a month ago — has stalled over objections by Iraqi leaders and could be in danger of unraveling, according to Iraqi and Bush administration officials.
Jittery Investors Strain Money Market Funds
For the second time in a week, a multibillion-dollar money market fund has been forced to take extraordinary steps to deal with sudden cash withdrawals by nervous institutional investors.
Iran’s President Says He Opposes Israel, Not Israelis
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, took the unusual step on Thursday of explaining that while he strongly opposed the state of Israel, his hostility did not extend to the Israeli people.
For Rivals, Financial Crisis Poses On-the-Fly Tests
The financial crisis has turned the race between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama into an audition for who could best handle a national economic emergency.
Two Regulators Move To Limit Short Selling
Traders who have sought to profit from the financial crisis by betting against bank stocks were attacked on two continents Thursday.
Sunny and Mild Days Ahead
September continues to live up to its expectation of being a month of calm, pleasant weather (don’t worry skiers, it’s only three months until snow). The next seven days look to be filled with sunshine, except for a few clouds here and there. High temperatures Sunday will be in the mid 70s, but otherwise highs will be in the low to mid 60s through the beginning of next week. Tropical activity in the North Atlantic is quiet for the moment, though we may see the development of a storm off the coast of Africa or in the Caribbean early next week.
Dow Falls Over 500 Points In Largest Loss Since 2001
Fearing that the crisis in the financial industry could stun the broader economy, investors drove stocks down almost 5 percent on Monday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index to their lowest levels in two years.
Obama, McCain Take Different Approaches to Wall Street
The crisis on Wall Street will leave the next president facing tough choices about how best to regulate the financial system, and although neither Sen. Barack Obama nor Sen. John McCain has yet offered a detailed plan, their records and the principles they have set out so far suggest they could come at the issue in very different ways.