It Is Friday, and The Economy is Doing “Fine”: NOT TODAY !!!

Despite the President’s pronouncement that the private sector is “doing fine”, the economic news emanating the airwaves in the past days, hours, is all but FINE.

The May housing sales numbers show a decline from prior months, despite the lowest mortgage interest rates in modern history.

The manufacturing sector showed signs of further contraction.

The stock market closed yesterday down nearly 300 points amid the banking turmoil, with Moody’s lowering the credit ratings of some of the Big Players.

With downgrades to the likes of Bank of America, Citigroup, and JP Morgan, the stories of the implosion of some of these “too big to fail” institutions are abounding.

But there is always the news that gas may be as low as $3.00/gallon by the Fall……………… we will just not have any $$$$ to buy it with!

US Universities Doing “Land Grabs” in Africa; Displacing Local Farmers

Harvard and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many thousands of people off their land, according to a new study.

Researchers say foreign investors are profiting from “land grabs” that often fail to deliver the promised benefits of jobs and economic development, and can lead to environmental and social problems in the poorest countries in the world.

The new report on land acquisitions in seven African countries suggests that Harvard, Vanderbilt and many other US colleges with large endowment funds have invested heavily in African land in the past few years. Much of the money is said to be channelled through London-based Emergent asset management, which runs one of Africa‘s largest land acquisition funds, run by former JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs currency dealers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/08/us-universities-africa-land-grab?CMP=twt_fd