Most Popular Stories
- Social Security the Greatest Ponzi Scheme Ever?
- Richardson Withdraws Nomination for Commerce Secretary
- Wall Street Falls Amid Corporate Earnings Concerns
- Apple's Steve Jobs Cites Hormone Imbalance for Weight Loss
- Wall St. Braces for 2009 First Full Week
- Pharmed Founders Face Hearing Today on Fraud, Tax Evasion.
- U.S. Construction Drops 0.6 Percent in November
- U.S. Carmakers End 2008 With Steep Drops in Sales
- Spanish-Language Radio Stations Refocus their Missions
- Caravan Named Most Dog-Friendly Vehicle
U.S. Construction Drops 0.6 Percent in NovemberU.S. construction spending dropped by 0.6 percent in November, the Commerce Department reported Monday. |
Social Security the Greatest Ponzi Scheme Ever?For weeks the U.S. and international media have been following the story of Bernard Madoff and his "giant Ponzi scheme," as The Wall Street Journal called it, which may have cheated unsuspecting investors out of tens of billions of dollars. The Securities and Exchange Commission termed it "a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions." But is this -- as it is being touted -- the largest Ponzi scheme in history? The answer is no. That honor goes to a Depression-era creation of the U.S. government itself: the Social Security system. |
Richardson Withdraws as Obama's Commerce SecretaryU.S. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn as President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary, NBC reported on Sunday. |
Wall Street Enjoys Upbeat Start to 2009Wall Street started the new year optimistically Friday as investors brushed off a weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing and sent stocks sharply higher. The Dow Jones industrials jumped more than 225 points. |
Manufacturing Index Hits 28-Year LowU.S. manufacturing activity declined for the fifth consecutive month in December, falling to a 28-year low, the Institute for Supply Management said Friday. |
Oil Prices Drop FridayCrude oil prices fell on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday after a profit-taking trading session to end 2008 left prices inflated. |
A Close-up on Japan's 'Lost Decade'Not a day goes by without Japan's so-called "lost decade" being wheeled out in support of pleas for bigger and faster injections of government money into wobbly financial systems and weakening economies. Japan's allegedly inadequate response to the bursting of its asset bubble 18 years ago is said to have led to years of economic woes. According to this wisdom, Japan is the example to be avoided. But could the Japanese have been wiser than you think? |
Revolution Reaches 50 And Cuba Is SomberCuba commemorated the 50th anniversary Thursday of its revolution amid somber assessments of an economy hampered by shortages and battered by hurricanes, even as its Communist leaders exalted the resilience of a political system that has endured 10 administrations in the United States while preparing to deal with an 11th. |
U.S. Government to Get 5 Million Preferred GMAC SharesThe federal government will get 5 million preferred shares of GMAC LLC paying 8 percent interest in exchange for its $5 billion capital injection to help the troubled lender avoid bankruptcy. |
Cynthia McKinney on Boat with Medicine for GazaFormer Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is a high-profile member of a boatload of activists that set sail Monday from Cyprus to deliver medicine to war-torn Gaza. The activists, organized by the Free Gaza Group, said they would defy an Israeli blockade of Gaza and ferry 16 activists and 3 tons of Cypriot-donated supplies. The supplies are intended to help treat the wounded from Israeli bombings against targets in Gaza in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns. |
Consumer Confidence Hits All-Time LowConsumer confidence in the United States hit a record low in December as employers continue to shed jobs and amid a gloomy outlook for the next year. |