Mr Krugman is a fierce critic of President George W Bush

American academic Paul Krugman has won this year’s Nobel economics prize, it has been announced.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the award recognised Mr Krugman’s analysis of trade patterns and where economic activity takes place.

It said Mr Krugman, 55, a Princeton University professor, had formulated new theories that answered questions about free trade and globalisation.

Mr Krugman said he hoped the $1.4m win would not change his life greatly.

"The prize will enhance visibility but I hope it does not lead me into going to a lot of purely celebratory events, aside from the Nobel presentation itself," he said.

We are now witnessing a crisis that is as severe as the crisis that hit Asia in the 90s. This crisis bears some resemblance to the Great Depression Paul Krugman Nobel prize winner

Mr Krugman teaches economics and international affairs at Princeton University in New Jersey, and also writes a regular column for the New York Times.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7667190.stm

Former Commando and General, Pervez Musharraf, who seized power of Pakistan’s 170 million people and their arsenal of nuclear weapons and failed to find Osama Bin Laden (currently hiding in Pakistan’s "lawless border region"), but who nevertheless has been a so-called "loyal U.S. ally" and "trusted partner in the Global War on Terror" — even though he dismissed Pak’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court last November — is done.

Press reports are that Musharraf, heavily supported by the Bush administration, will be flown to exile in Saudi Arabia (where else would a loyal Bushie go?).

In Pakistan, he survived four (4), assasination attempts and was so unpopular that after "winning" a fraudulent election last November, even his own hand-picked Army Chief of Staff decided not to support him.

And what does a dictator who loses control of his army of oppressive goons do?  Flee to safety in Saudi Arabia.  Don’t worry though, I’m sure that we’ll find more brutal dictators to support (as long as they sell us oil).

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Pakistans-President-Pervez-Musharraf-Resigns-During-Address-To-Nation/Article/200808315080861?lpos=World%2BNews_0&lid=ARTICLE_15080861_Pakistan%2527s%2BPresident%2BPervez%2BMusharraf%2BResigns%2BDuring%2BAddress%2BTo%2BNation

The proposal, which does not require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews that government scientists have been performing for 35 years. Developers welcomed the plan, while environmentalists derided it.

Well, here’s the latest and greatest:  The Sony Classics film, "Who Killed the Electric Car? ":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

The film covers the GM car called the EV1, of which about 1000 were sold and driven from 1997 to 2003… They were owned by many VIP’s including Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks and Alexandra Paul of Baywatch fame.

In 2003, they were repossessed by GM and crushed .   …The vehicles had plenty of power and would drive 110 - 160 miles on a charge… for the equivalent of of $0.60 / gallon (!!!)

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=who%20killed%20the%20electric%20car&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#

In this case, $19 Billion of its deposits are insured by FDIC and will be recoverable by depositors… About 5%, however was not.  Those investors are out of luck on about $1 Billion of their deposits.
(CNN) — IndyMac Bank, closed Friday by federal regulators, will reopen Monday with a new charter and a new name — IndyMac Federal Bank.

Analysts fear thousands of IndyMac customers could lose as much as $500 million.

Customers who found locked doors and armed guards Friday afternoon could use ATM cards over the weekend to get to their money, but an estimated 5 percent of the $19 billion deposited in the bank was not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Indymac’s failure, which the FDIC chairman said could add up to be the most expensive U.S. bank failure ever, came as the FDIC’s list of "problem" institutions is on the rise.

The FDIC disclosed last month that it was closely watching 90 financial institutions on its "problem list," up from 76 in the first quarter of 2008. The total assets of "problem" institutions rose from $22.2 billion to $26.3 billion, the FDIC said.

The number of troubled institutions monitored by the FDIC has grown in each of the last six quarters, starting in the fall of 2006 when there were just 47 on the list, the agency said. The last time it approached this level was in the fall of 2004 when the number was 95.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/07/13/indymac/

For more than two decades, Washington officials have expressed faith that financial markets were best left alone to regulate themselves. But that faith has been shaken by the collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns, and a growing number of officials are calling for tougher government regulation. On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke joined the chorus.

Read more:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/43476.html

A major bailout… Rumors are that special terms include the Fed will provide guarantees on Countrywide’s loan portfolio.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080111/ap_on_bi_ge/countrywide;_ylt=AhARySvLuah3KGgzoZdY6A4DW7oF

Notice how the “convential wisdom” is totally wrong. Reagan and Bush have presided over the largest increases in government since WWII.

From IntelligentGuess.com

…Even though they only constitute 11% of the overall population.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21678030/

Times to Stop Charging for Parts of Its Web Site

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA

The New York Times will stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight Tuesday night.

The move comes two years to the day after The Times began the subscription program, TimesSelect, which has charged $49.95 a year, or $7.95 a month, for online access to the work of its columnists and to the newspaper’s archives. TimesSelect has been free to print subscribers to The Times and to some students and educators.

In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/business/media/18times.html?ex=