Economics and Investing:

F.G. sent this: Restaurants on the Ropes

Thanks to for this link: Airlines adjust as demand slides. “Nevertheless, IATA expects passenger yields to fall by 7% this year and cargo yields to decline 11%” The manufactures also expect fewer orders for planes.

Also from F.G. comes this Wall Street Journal piece: Retailers Flee a Dying Detroit

KAF flagged this: U.S. likely to lose AAA rating: Prechter

Items from The Economatrix:

German Newspaper Article Thinks [Ponte Chiaso] Bonds May Be Real.

Timeline of Events and Updates as they Happen

Weisenthal Talks the $134.5 Billion Bond Seizure on Glenn Beck
Treasury: Can’t comment because of on-going investigation.

Asian Stocks Drop on NY Manufacturing, Commodity Prices

Oil Below $70 on Dollar Gain, Equity Market Drop


Wall Street Sees Worst Day in a Month


California Puts 90-Day Hold on Foreclosures


Long Beach May Inbound Cargo Down 22%, Outbound Off 26%

Projection: It Will Be Years Before Jobs Return To Much of the US

Bond Volatility and Interest Rate Swaps
“This China story was intended to mask the real events, to blame them in part for the US bond instability, and to divert attention away from a potentially important threat. Not only has the housing market stalled, with new mortgages and refinanced loans hitting a brick wall. The other major threat is to the Interest Rate Swap, those powerful credit derivative contracts that tie together the bond world in complex knitting. The instability of US Treasurys on the long maturity (10-year & 30-year) and on the short maturity (so far just the two-year) will surely unleash great firestorms of disruption, heavy losses, and raging fires for the big banks. It is next! It will be the greater second chapter to the Credit Default Swap opening salvo. Twice as many IRSwaps exist than CDSwaps, a story that bankers refuse to discuss.”

GM’s Deal Erased Many Average American’s Savings

US Credit Card Defaults Rise to Record Level in May

Hedge Funds in Cayman Islands Withdraw from UK Banks