Canada became the first G8 member to raise interest rates. The rate was increased a quarter point to 0.5%. Since the recession began, only a few countries have raised rates, among them Australia, Brazil and India.

The Bank of Canada issued the following statement explaining the rate change: "Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be weighted against domestic and global economic developments."

Continue reading Canada Is the First G8 Member to Raise Interest Rates

Canada Is the First G8 Member to Raise Interest Rates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Have the G-8 nations lost their economic power? This is exactly what James G. Neuger feels may be happening. How can this be, you ask. Aren't the G-8 nations are the wealthiest nations on earth? Yes, that is true, but it is also true that the G-8 countries also hold the the most debt.

Bank bailouts and stimulus programs will explode the G-8 nations' debt to 114% of GDP in 2014. This debt load would be triple that of emerging countries. Even some G-8 members say that the group has lost its grip in this global recession, which left them wounded and unable to carry out the grandiose programs they previously envisioned like the reduction of greenhouse gasses.

Continue reading How did the G-8 nations lose their buying power, stature and credibility?

How did the G-8 nations lose their buying power, stature and credibility? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading NYU's Roubini: 'All fronts' approach necessary to end global financial crisis

NYU's Roubini: 'All fronts' approach necessary to end global financial crisis originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If overnight interest rates do not fall as a result of the Fed's guarantee for commercial paper and related efforts to create incentives for banks to lend, the leaders of world's central banks and treasury departments may have to try a more creative approach to end the financial crisis: a global distressed asset summit.

As economist David H. Wang told BloggingStocks Wednesday, the major economies may have to hold a global 'out & price' summit to get distressed and bad assets -- the source of so many of the defaults and resultant fear among banks -- out of the financial system.

The problem, Wang said, is not just that the subprime and Alt-A mortgage backed securities represent distressed and bad debt, it's that "banks and other financial institutions can't determine the value or price of many of these securities."

Unknowns about toxic assets driving fear

Wang believes that "lack of certainty about price is the biggest factor in banks' unwillingness to lend."

"Banks can't determine the price of these assets, it represents a big uncertainty, therefore because they're uncertain regarding what their competitor banks hold, they aren't lending, and they're charging higher rates for short-term loans," Wang said. "Both are restricting commerce and will continue to slow economies all over the world if the problem is not addressed."

Continue reading We need a global summit to get toxic assets out of the system

We need a global summit to get toxic assets out of the system originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading G-8 economic powers focus on Africa aid, Iran uranium issues at summit

G-8 economic powers focus on Africa aid, Iran uranium issues at summit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dollar rises on talk G-8 leaders will support currency at meeting

Dollar rises on talk G-8 leaders will support currency at meeting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm just two generations removed from Germany and so is my wife. We still have "folks" of the Austrian and Bavarian persuasions so let's just say we have some mildly vested interest in this situation. UPI reports that violent protests have broken out last week in Germany amid massive peaceful assemblies that sought to derail the G8 summit in the city of Rostock. It seems that although many "leaders" of the demonstrations have attempted to quell the passions of their followers, those efforts have been at least temporarily futile.

It is no surprise to me that certain of the demonstrators have become majorly unglued. When one considers that the protest movement itself is so heavily left leaning, it's surprising to me that they have retained any order and control of themselves at all. Socialists, liberalists, anti-capitalists and anarchists, that's who most of these rioters are. I can almost hear them from here saying, "We don't like what we have so chaos is our last vestige of control."

I don't stand in the way of any person's right to protest, in fact, the democratic nations of the world have made provision for that. What I can't seem to bring myself to grips with is this wimp-like, face hiding, hood raised, pansy-assed style of rock throwing, car burning protest. What a bunch of puppies they are. They're all full of big words of hatred and world upheaval, but they choose to deliver their message from behind goofy masks. Back in my day, if you had a message to deliver to the establishment, you got right in a cop's face, close enough so he could smell your breath, you locked eyes with him and delivered your message firmly and in person within earshot of the press. If the cop was a man (or lady), they'd accept your message straight-faced and wait for you to move on. If the cop was an establishment fascist, you generally got grabbed by the collar, were given a set of stainless steel bracelets and spent the night in the tank. Either way, your message got through and there was no measurable property damage.

Protests can be the vehicles of change. Riots are just plain blatant stupidity. Anonymous rioters are criminals of the worst sort. Common sense and history dictate that peaceful demonstrations have the greatest effect over time. I have no other more effective solutions than that to offer.

G8 protests get ugly in Germany: What a bunch of Dachshund puppies. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.