Name Withheld Date: 2008-12-30, 10:40PM EST

Don’t be an ignorant fxxk or a “YardApe” as they say in the souf! If you don’t prepare yourself I do hope you have ass, grass, or gas because NO ONE RIDES for FREE! Get IT? Silver or gold will also do.

We are on the brink of going over a cliff. Pay attention and do some research.
Get your money out of US stocks, buy some silver if you can’t afford gold. Hell at this rate you wont be able to get it anyway cause you been asleep at the wheel. There is a 12-14 week wait if you can get it at all. The smart people have already stocked up. LOL. Inflation is going to go through the roof, ever heard of hyperinflation? $50 for a case of beer, $10 for an onion, $15.99 for a can of soup? Yeah I am crazy right? Or maybe you are just a fool.

Dec 26, 9:21 PM (ET) By LAUREN SHEPHERD

Two hours before the doors were set to open Friday morning, a Miami-area Wal-Mart parking lot was full of cars – and possibility. But in a Christmas shopping season in which many Americans were unwilling to spend, even a packed lot doesn’t always translate into holiday cheer for stores.

As stores offered rock-bottom prices and extended return policies, shoppers returned to the malls the day after Christmas. But many were on the hunt for big bargains on specific items or hoping to return unwanted gifts – not looking to splurge.

Brenda Peterson was looking for “flat-out bargains” after driving 35 miles to arrive at a J.C. Penney in Raleigh, N.C., at 5 a.m., a half-hour before the store opened.

North Pole: Santa Clause has done it again. He spent most of 2008; while so many people were immersed in politics, work, disasters, survival, being good, and being bad; in his workshop here at the North Pole.

Now, he finishes up wrapping and tagging for two days, loads sled for all day Christmas Eve, had a big meal with his Elves and helpers; and harnesses up his reindeer for his all night work of bringing toys to the boys and girls of the world.

Once again, NORAD will be tracking Santa on their powerful RADAR; and You can follow him from the official US Government site: http://www.noradsanta.org

* Russian strategic missile forces’ commander says Moscow will simply not need a number of expensive programmes

MOSCOW: Russia will stop developing some strategic weapons if the United States drops plans for a missile shield in Europe, Interfax news agency quoted the commander of Russia’s strategic missile forces as saying on Friday.

The remarks may be another step in Moscow’s efforts to build ties with the incoming US administration but also reflect difficulties Russia faces in financing its ambitious military programmes at a time of global economic crisis. “If Americans give up plans to deploy the third positioning region and other elements of the strategic missile defence system then certainly we will adequately respond to it,” Colonel-General Nikolai Solovtsov said. “We will simply not need a number of expensive programmes,” he added echoing earlier Kremlin overtures to the new US administration.

WASHINGTON (AP) Dec 16, 9:10 AM (ET)

As unemployment rises painfully higher and nest eggs are shattered, the Federal Reserve is prepared to slash a key interest rate – perhaps to an all-time low – in a desperate bid to stem the country’s economic slide.

With the Fed’s key rate dropping ever closer to zero, the central bank is moving into uncharted territory.

Nonetheless, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has made it clear the Fed isn’t running out of ammunition to fight the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. It is exploring using tools – other than rate cuts – to revive the economy. New insights on that front could be revealed when Bernanke and his colleagues wrap up a two-day meeting Tuesday.

Reuters Posted: Dec 15, 2008 at 0044 hrs IST

Washington: The US Federal Reserve is expected to drop interest rates close to zero on Tuesday, but anticipated remarks on unconventional methods to dispel a year-old recession are what will really matter.

Economists forecast a clear statement that the US central bank will aggressively deploy so-called quantitative easing measures to shelter the economy from a steepening downturn, but do not expect details of what steps it will actually take.

Those words would accompany a decision by the Fed to lower its target for overnight rates by at least a half-percentage point, economists believe.

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM Published: December 11, 2008

The spiraling financial crisis has hit American businesses where it hurts: exports are falling as foreign economies stumble, undercutting a pillar of the economy.

The trade deficit widened in October for the first time in three months as exports dropped 2.2 percent, with big declines in sales of American-made products like automobiles and consumer goods. China, one of the larger sources of export demand, has cut back sharply, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

Domestic businesses had come to rely on exports as Americans reduced their spending and put off major purchases, putting more pressure on companies to ratchet up foreign sales to make ends meet. But American-made goods are less attractive now that the dollar has strengthened against major world currencies. And the economic downturn is taking a toll on foreigners’ willingness to pay big shipping costs for American goods.

Are you having trouble keeping up with your mortgage payments? Have you received a notice from your lender asking you to contact them?

* Don’t ignore the letters from your lender
* Contact your lender immediately
* Contact a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency
* Toll FREE (800) 569-4287
* TTY (800) 877-8339

If you are unable to make your mortgage payment:

1. Don’t ignore the problem.

The further behind you become, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan and the more likely that you will lose your house.

2. Contact your lender as soon as you realize that you have a problem.

Lenders do not want your house. They have options to help borrowers through difficult financial times.