Tag Archives: economy

Rep. Alan Grayson On Financial Reform: Too Big To Fail Means Too Big To Exist

Grayson thinks the Senate finance reform bill is too weak.

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Senate Passes Financial Reform Bill

By a partisan vote of 59-39, the Senate has passed its sweeping financial reform bill. The legislation aims to prevent a recurrence of the near-meltdown of big Wall Street investment banks and the resulting costly bailouts. It calls for new ways to watch for risks in the financial system and makes it easier to liquidate large failing financial firms. It …

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Movie Gallery To Close, AFA Takes Credit

The nation’s #2 movie rental company, Movie Gallery, is going out of business and will close its remaining 1900 outlets this year. And the American Family Association is taking credit. American Family Association has worked for years to close down Movie Gallery shops, pointing out to consumers and law-enforcement authorities the company’s practice of distributing hardcore pornography out of stores’ …

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Obama Makes A Funny

And it’s delivered perfectly.

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Chaos In Greece Over Financial Crisis

Greece is seeing its worst civil unrest in decades as the government imposed new austerity measures to combat the spiraling financial situation. Greece’s crisis is threatening markets around the world. Stock futures fell Wednesday, a day after major indexes posted their biggest losses in months on worries that Europe would not be able to contain Greece’s debt problems. Strict austerity …

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United And Continental Airlines To Merge

United and Continental Airlines have announced their intent to merge. The merger will create the world’s largest airline in annual passenger traffic. United’s name and Chicago headquarters will be retained, while Continental Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smisek, 55, will become the CEO and United’s Glenn Tilton, 62, will be non- executive chairman, the companies said today in a statement. Each …

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GM Lies About Bailout Repayment

Have you seen the below ad from General Motors claiming that they’ve repaid their loan from the federal government “five years early and with interest”? Yeah, not so much. Lawmakers, and even the inspector general for the bailout fund GM borrowed from, point out that General Motors only repaid the bailout money by dipping into a separate pot of bailout …

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Hertz To Buy Dollar Thrifty

Hertz is buying Dollar Thrifty for $1.2B as the consolidation of the car rental industry continues. The combined company will now have a single publicly listed U.S. company — Avis Budget to compete against. “Dollar Thrifty also has a strong international presence, complementing our global footprint, which enables us to utilize a recognized brand to accelerate our leisure rental strategy …

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Volcano Hits NYC Economy

Iceland’s volcano isn’t just wreaking havoc on the European economy, NYC has taken an estimated hit of $250M so far. City officials are bracing for the loss of $250 million in tourism-related revenue as the ash clouds prevented nearly 12,000 European travelers from visiting New York over the weekend. “The people we were expecting are not coming and not spending …

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TRAILER: I Need That Record

Here’s the trailer for the upcoming DVD release of the documentary about the demise of music retail, I Need That Record. Featuring discussion and commentary by THURSTON MOORE of Sonic Youth, IAN MACKAYE of Dischord Records Fugazi/Minor Threat, activist/author NOAM CHOMSKY, MIKE WATT of the Minutemen, LENNY KAYEguitarist of the Patti Smith Group, CHRIS FRANTZ of the Talking Heads/Tom Tom …

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Sen. Chuck Schumer To Feds: Tax Airline Fees For Carry-On Bags

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is demanding that the Treasury Department closes a loophole allowing airlines to charge for carry-on bags without paying taxes on the added revenue. Spirit Airlines’ $45 charge for carry-on luggage is the last straw for put-upon air travelers, said Sen. Chuck Schumer. He’s demanding that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner close a loophole that makes the fee …

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NYC’s St. Vincent’s Hospital To Close

St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan’s West Village voted to close itself last night after failing to resolve an estimated $700M in debt. The famed hospital served the gay community as a sort of ground zero during the early years of the AIDS pandemic. The exact timing for the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, which has about 400 inpatient beds, …

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Spirit Airlines To Charge For Carry-Ons

Spirit Airlines announced yesterday that they will begin charging passengers $20-$45 to place carry-on bags in the overhead bins. SRSLY. The cost depends on whether passengers are members of the airline’s ultra-low fare club and whether they “pre-reserve” their carry-on bag in advance. Each passenger will still be able to bring one personal item that fits under a seat for …

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Feds Crack Down On Unpaid Internships

The terrible economy has resulted in huge rise in the number of unpaid internships offered by employers. The Department of Labor says many of these jobs are illegal and has begun a campaign to enforce the regulations that define these positions. “If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going …

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OMFG WTF MTA?

The Working Families Party is warring with NYC for their refusal to allow a subway advertising campaign complaining about recently announced cuts in service. At issue is the “obscene internet shorthand” used in the ads. The MTA is not ROTFL at parody signs that use cheeky acronyms to criticize City Hall. “WTF?” asks one of two posters the Metropolitan Transportation …

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NYC Meets The $20 Movie Ticket

All these 3D/IMAX movies have pushed ticket prices to near $20 in NYC. The cost of movie tickets is rising this weekend, with seats for the IMAX 3-D cartoon “How To Train Your Dragon” soaring to $19.50 for adults at one Brooklyn theater. And movie fans say it’s Hollywood robbery. “It’s pretty absurd that in this economy, they want to …

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Unzipped Magazine Folds

The Sword (NSFW) reports that Unzipped Magazine has ceased operations. The bell tolled for Unzipped on Friday morning when its owner, Regent Media’s Paul Colichman, laid off over half its staff and told those who remained that the magazine was finished. The company is waiting to roll out the official announcement, but a couple newly-unemployed staffers leaked the sad news …

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SF LGBT Center Denies $1M Bailout Request From The City

The San Francisco LGBT Center has issued a statement denying yesterday’s SF Chronicle story claiming that they’d requested a $1M mortgage bailout from the city. Via their PDF: We do have $3.2 million in outstanding debt related to the construction of the building, which has been carried in a loan with First Republic Bank. After almost a year of very …

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SF LGBT Center In Financial Crisis

San Francisco’s LGBT Center is asking the city for a $1M “mortage relief” bailout so that it doesn’t go under. Eight years after opening with great fanfare, San Francisco’s city-subsidized, $12.3 million Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center is on the verge of foreclosure – and is asking the cash-strapped city for a $1 million line of credit to …

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The Feds Pay Better

According to a lengthy list published by USA Today, the federal government pays better than the private sector in 8 out of 10 job categories. Hit the link for the rest of the alphabetical list.

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