My take on what's going on with banks - check out Banking on Hope: Making something out of nothing the TARP way at http://ping.fm/LwMxS

Swine flu cases soar in England: http://ping.fm/tCCBM

To preempt availability questions, I'm currently planning to take some time off during August, so it's business as usual till then :(

A selection of my articles at Newsblaze and Brighthub can be found at my Squidoo lens titled "Politics, Finance and Investing".

Feel free to drop by anytime and check some of the stuff I've been writing :)

What happens if Germany decides that BMW, VW or even GM-owned Opel is too big to fail? What if Russia, UK, France, Italy or Japan also decide that some automakers are too big to fail?

At first, GM was your nowadays typical "too big to fail" company, so the taxpayer had to pick up the bill; as the stock price and capital reserves evaporated, much needed capital was infused in a desperate effort to save GM.

Then apparently something changed, and bankruptcy became an option, although it wouldn't be the usual, most endearing process of Chapter 11 better known as the "vanishing act" after the necessary "catch-me-if-you-can" court drama: nope, in this case something would eventually emerge as a more or less functioning entity of sorts. And until then you shouldn't worry, because your car will be serviced by the public sectors finest; in fact now, more than ever before, you should buy your new car with the utmost confidence, because the warranty is backed by the United States of America. (To get an idea where all this is based on, check out http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/03/30/obama-remarks-on-us-auto-industry)

Check out the rest of my new article "G20 Babylon: Automakers' Tale of the Unforgiven" at Newsblaze.

What is technical analysis? Check out my latest article at: http://ping.fm/D7MOe

Play me another hand,
Lose everything I am,
Until we meet again.
ELO, Electric Light Orchestra, Poker

Europe has up to now pointed the finger at the US, with disdain and possibly even a bit of brotherly annoyance at the mishaps of its adventurous, risk loving offspring. Europe has traditionally been more conservative, less leveraged - European stock markets had only gotten sort of a glimpse (albeit a dizzying one!) of the so-called "irrational exuberance"; economic growth had neither skyrocketed nor plunged and helping out with the Iraq problem while lending a bit of a sympathetic ear to the "humanitarian" side of the equation meant that it had also played its geopolitical cards somewhat more prudently - or so it would seem.

Read the rest at Newsblaze!

"Technical analysis contends that based on observations of past pricing movements, future price action can be predicted, to a certain degree. All without aid from external sources, such as fundamental analysis, for example."

Interested in technical analysis? Check out my new article at brighthub!

Interested in how money is created, Bretton Woods and free markets? My latest article at brighthub is an excellent place to start!

So... what is funny money after all?

Well I did it and so can you - it's for a good cause!!!