List of Business Failures From Jan 08 to Feb 09 is appalling.

A total of 72 multi-billion dollar business houses collapsed in 2008. So on an average 6 closing shutters every month. Things have heated up in 2009 quite dramatically already in the first two months 29 businesses have closed shutters. So on an average 14-15 closing shutters every month if this trend continues for the rest of the year we'll have 174 business failures! We can only imagine the repercussions that would follow seeing the apocalyptic past year. So ladies and gentlemen get ready as the era of parsimony is dawning upon us.

Business Houses that have collapsed in 2008:-

1. Adams Childrenwear(UK)
2. A.J.Purdy(UK)
3. Aloha Airlines(USA)
4. Amtrak Express Parcels(UK)
5. AP Hydraulics(UK)
6. ATA Airlines(USA)
7. Australian School of Business & Technology(Aus)
8. B3 Technologies(UK)
9. Bill Heard Enterprises(USA)
10. Bowie Castlebank(UK)
11. Buffet Holdings(USA)
12. Champ Cars World Series(USA)
13. Circuit City Stores(USA)
14. Coast Air(NOR)
15. Commander Communications(AUS)
16. EOS Airlines(USA)
17. FreshXpress(UK)
18. Glitnir Bank(ICL)
19. Gretna Football Club(UK)
20. Halifax Town Association Football Club(UK)
21. Holley Performance Products(USA)
22. IndyMac Federal Bank(USA)
23. International Race of Champions(USA)
24. IQon Technologies(IRE)
25. Kaupthing Bank(ICL)
26. Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander(UK)
27. Krispy Kreme(USA)
28. Landsbanki(ICL)
29. Lehman Brothers(USA)
30. Lenox Group(USA)
31. Levitz Furniture(USA)
32. Lillian Vernon Corp(USA)
33. Linens 'n Things(USA)
34. Mattress Discounters(USA)
35. Mervyns(USA)
36. Meguro Sushi(HK)
37. MFI Group(UK)
38. Montres Villemont(SWS)
39. Morgan De Toi(Fra)
40. Nationwide Airlines(SA)
41. Northern Rock(UK)
42. Oasis Hong Kong Airlines(HK)
43. Officer's Club(UK)
44. Olan Mills(USA)
45. Opes Prime(AUS)
46. Peau Vava'u Airlines(TON)
47. Photo-Optix(UK)
48. RC Developments(USA)
49. Rosebys(UK)
50. Sanlu Group(CHN)
51. Sharper Image(USA)
52. Silver State Helicopters(USA)
53. Silverjet(UK)
54. SkyBus(USA)
55. Smart Union(CHN)
56. Super Aguri F1(JPN)
57. Tai Lin Radio Services(HK)
58. Tropican Resort & Casino(USA)
59. Trust Company Ltd.(JPN)
60. U-Right(HK)
61. USC Stores(UK)
62. VeraSun Energy(USA)
63. Vivitar(USA)
64. WCI Communities(USA)
65. Wickes Furnitures(USA)
66. Washington Mutual(USA)
67. Whittard of Chelsea(UK)
68. Woolworths Group(UK)
69. XL Airways(UK)
70. Zavvi(UK)
71. Ziff Davis Media(USA)
72. Zoom Airlines(CAN)

Business Houses that have collapsed in 2009:-

1. Apex Silver Mines(USA)
2. Arbios Systems(USA)
3. Bearing Point(USA)
4. Charter Communications(USA)
5. Empire Direct(UK)
6. Fashion House Holdings(USA)
7. FlyLal(LIT)
8. Fortunoff(USA)
9. Goody's Family Clothings(USA)
10. Gottschalks(USA)
11. Hartmarx Corp(USA)
12. Journal Register Company(USA)
13. Land of Leather(UK)
14. LyondellBasell(USA)
15. Merisant(USA)
16. Midway Games(USA)
17. Nortel Networks(CAN)
18. Philadelphia Media Holdings(USA)
19. Qimonda(GER)
20. Saab Automobile(SWE)
21. SFCG Co(JPN)
22. Smurfit-Stone Container Corp(USA)
23. Spectrum Brands(USA)
24. SsangYong Motor Company(KOR)
25. ThinkEngine Networks(USA)
26. Tronox(USA)
27. Trump Entertainment & Resort(USA)
28. Waterford Wedgewood(IRE)
29. Young Broadcasting(USA)

Clinton Wraps Asia Trip By Asking China To Buy U.S. Debt

Clinton made the plea shortly before leaving China, the final stop on a four-nation Asian tour that also took her to Japan, Indonesia and South Korea, where she worked the crowds to try to restore America's standing abroad.

In Beijing, she called on authorities in Beijing to continue buying US Treasuries, saying it would help jump start the flagging US economy and stimulate imports of Chinese goods.

Clinton had sought to focus on economic and environmental issues in Beijing, saying Washington's concerns about the human rights situation in China should not be a distraction from those vital matters.

Beijing's human rights record emerged nonetheless as an issue, as Chinese activists on Saturday reported being harassed or intimidated by Chinese authorities in a bid to stop them speaking out or meeting Clinton while she was here.

Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi largely agreed to disagree on human rights as they pledged future joint action on the economy and climate change.

The US secretary of state had said on Saturday after meetings with China's leaders that Beijing was still confident in US Treasury bonds and expressed Washington's appreciation for the investments.

China is the top holder of US Treasury bills, with 696.2 billion dollars worth of the securities in December followed by Japan with 578.3 billion dollars, according to the latest official data from Washington.

China's economic growth is at its slowest rate in about two decades as foreign demand for its exports, including in the recession-hit United States, have dried up.

Yang indicated Saturday that China would not deviate drastically from its US Treasury policies, but gave no overt promises either way.

California to Wed Cannabis to Fight Recession!!!

A NEW BILL COULD MAKE MARIJUANA CALIFORNIA'S NEWEST CASH CROP.

California State Assembly man Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has announced the introduction of legislation to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcoholic beverages. The bill, the first of its kind ever introduced in California, would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine, and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.

Estimates based on federal government statistics have shown marijuana to be California's top cash crop, valued at approximately $14 billion in 2006 — nearly twice the combined value of the state’s number two and three crops, vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion) — in spite of massive “eradication” efforts that wipe out an average of nearly 36,000 cultivation sites per year without making a dent in this underground industry.

Ammiano introduced the measure at a San Francisco press conference this morning, saying, “With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense. This legislation would generate much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes,” said Ammiano. “California has the opportunity to be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana.”

“It is simply nonsensical that California’s largest agricultural industry is completely unregulated and untaxed,” said Marijuana Policy Project California policy director Aaron Smith, who also spoke at the news conference. “With our state in an ongoing fiscal crisis — and no one believes the new budget is the end of California’s financial woes — it’s time to bring this major piece of our economy into the light of day.”

Independent experts from around the world, from President Nixon’s National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse in 1972 to a Canadian Senate special committee in 2002, have long contended that criminalizing marijuana users makes little sense, given that marijuana is less addictive, much less toxic, and far less likely to induce aggression or violence than alcohol. For example, in an article in the December 2008 Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Australian researcher Stephen Kisely noted that “penalties bear little relation to the actual harm associated with cannabis

APART FROM THE US$ 14 BILLION THAT IT MIGHT GIVE. POT BARS WOULD SURELY HELP LESSEN THE RECESSION BLUES!!!!

The US Angle to the Mumbai Attack

Apart from the fact that in the Mumbai attacks of 2008, 28 foreigners lost their lives which indeed created a stir in the echelons of the various capitals and garnered a lot of media frenzied coverage. The aftermath of this grotesque attack was a shift in the foreign policies of various western countries per se Pakistan from an ‘ally of the west to fight terror’ to a ‘harbinger of terror’. Recently a very bizarre finding came to light that the relationship between the Mumbai attacks and the west was far from the deceased citizens.
A western media report has claimed that the last year's terror attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai were partly planned in the US.

Gunmen behind Mumbai raids used cell phones that were activated in the US and paid for with funds sent from Italy Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday.

The revelation comes after New Delhi sent the intelligence information to some Western countries so investigators could expose any ties to the network behind the November raids.

The Italian daily said that the Italian security forces were also investigating a wire transfer sent to the US from the northern Italian city of Brescia.

The message was sent by a Pakistani- suspect, named as Javaid Iqbal. Iqbal also sent the funds via Western Union to pay for five cell phones with Austrian country codes.

But the cell phones were activated in the US by an American company and registered to an Indian citizen, it said.

Based on the report, at least three of these phones were used by the militants during the Mumbai siege.

India has highlighted the importance of cell phone communication between the plotters and militants carrying out the attacks.

Relations between Islamabad and New Delhi have worsened in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror raids, in which 200 were killed including nine militants.

Washington and New Delhi have been maintaining that the Mumbai terror attack plan was hatched in Pakistan.

Following an investigation earlier this month, Pakistan's interior ministry admitted for the first time that the raids were partly hatched on its soil.

Islamabad, however, has denied any involvement by Pakistani state agencies and says it is building a case against Pakistani 'non-state actors' accused of involvement in the raids.

Hungary On The Brink Of Bankruptcy

The birthplace of the Rubik's Cube has provided its government with a multi-sided financial crisis that defies any resourceful solution.

The forint currency has plummeted and unemployment has ballooned, creating a voracious debt trap that is sucking down banks backed by Western taxpayers, particularly those of Switzerland and Austria.

For almost a decade Hungary binged on cheap foreign loans taken out in Swiss francs and euros. It was a regional trendsetter. Foreign banks targeted the newly liberated central and eastern European states hoping to expand rapidly in new markets.

When forint interest rates proved stubbornly high, lower rate loans in Swiss francs and Euros offered extra purchasing power. Statistics show that more that 60 per cent of Hungarian mortgages and car loans are denominated in foreign currencies. In one retrospectively frenzied month - October 2007 - foreign currency loans represented 93 per cent of all lending.

Hundreds of debtors in default have turned to a volunteer organization, the Association of Bank Loan Victims, for advice on saving their homes from repossession.

It is not just individuals that are prey to the downturn. Hungary is experiencing its gravest crisis since 1946 when it suffered history's worst bout of hyper-inflation. Today's battered forint was introduced then to replace the pengo, which was destroyed after the government tried to wipe out a Second World War debt overhang.

Within the Soviet bloc, however, Hungary was one of the most prosperous states. It's government kept trade links open to the West, which in turn hoped to use its open borders as a platform to undermine ComEcon, the Communist common market.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, Hungary was a poster child for foreign investment, particularly in the realms of car manufacturing and property. After a run on the currency last year, the property market collapsed. A double whammy in the form of a collapse in Western European demand for manufactured goods - most notably cars - means Hungary has seen no advantage from the devaluation. Unemployment has soared - 100,000 people are expected to lose their jobs this year.

The Hungarian government is attempting to guarantee the mortgage payments of everyone who loses a job in the crisis but it is already in receipt of IMF assistance and the pledge will mean more cuts in general expediture. International help has been sought. Switzerland has promised to provide all the Swiss francs the Hungarian government needs to meet repayment demands. Austria is demanding the EU to establish a 150 billion euro (£134 billion) fund to bail out East and Central Europe.

The highly unpopular prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, hit out at bankers that enjoyed the profits of lucrative cross-border transactions without ensuring customers were fully prepared for the risks of an economy turning sour.

Princeton Physicist Says Earth In Global CO2 Famine.

Dr. William Happer, currently a professor of Physics at Princeton University, was once fired by Gore at the department of Energy 1993 for disagreeing with the Vice-President on the effects of ozone to humans and plant life, also disagrees with Gore's claim that manmade CO2 increases the temperature of the earth and is a threat to mankind. Happer appeared before the US Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee on Feb 25, 2009 and explained CO2 is in short-supply in relative terms of the history of this planet.
"Many people don't realize that over geological time, we're really in a CO2 famine now. Almost never has CO2 levels been as low as it has been in the Holocene - 280ppm - That's unheard of," Most of the time it's at least 1000ppm and it's been quite higher than that."
Happer said that when CO2 levels were higher - much higher than they are now, the laws of nature still managed to function as we understand them today.