Some tension in Hollywood...

Do you really think that the financial difficulties are just real for the poorest ones?

Even in the land of make-believe, where the meltdown on Wall Street feels a million miles away, these are tense days. While no one can say for sure how the financial crisis will affect Hollywood, a prevailing view is that the film business is relatively protected for at least a year or two, but that the TV industry which was already impacted by last winter's writers' strike could be in for a rocky ride.

Surreal at the best of times - ok, all the time - sunny Tinseltown has avoided the sense of catastrophe that has enshrouded Wall Street and spooked Silicon Valley. But now its biggest players are trying to come to grips with exactly what the financial and economic meltdown is going to mean for them. One big-deal agent told me the other day that only projects involving major stars and producers are going forward right now. "Everybody's putting their tail between their legs," the agent said. "It's hard to get deals done." More worryingly, one senior TV executive posited to me: "I can almost guarantee that you're going to see major cuts across our businesses."

Global summit in the US...

While the new president is still unknown, we still have someone who can speak for us!

President Bush said Saturday he will host an international summit in response to the global financial crisis, but said that any reform of financial systems must not chip away at the foundations of democratic capitalism and free enterprise.

Bush, meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, did not set a date or place for the meeting.

In a statement Saturday night, however, the three leaders said it would happen sometime after the U.S. presidential election in early November. They also said the meeting could be the first of a series aimed at addressing the global financial crisis.

The goal of the first meeting, they said, would be "to review progress being made to address the current crisis and to seek agreement on principles of reform needed to avoid a repetition and assure global prosperity in the future." Later summits would seek agreement on "specific steps to be taken to meet those principles," according to the statement.

Separately, Bush said the summit attendees must be open to ideas from around the world, but he said nations should avoid protectionism.

Dollar is now recovering...

While the marketplace is going back to normal, all the Americans have now a new reason to be confident:

The dollar meandered on either side of break even against major currencies Friday, giving recent volatile swings a break.

The euro bought $1.3412, down less than 0.1% from $1.3445 on Thursday. The British pound fell to $1.728, just slightly lower than the $1.73 it bought the previous day.

The dollar also edged a bit lower against the Japanese yen Friday, down 0.02% to ¥101.65 from ¥101.68 on Thursday.

The greenback's respite follows weeks of tumultuous ups and downs, coinciding with wild swings in the stock market, ever-tightening credit and more signs that the U.S. economy is entering a recession.

New energy sources in the USA are needed...

As the image shows, there are some alternative ways of producing energy, but we couldn't obviously we cannot addapt that to a car, right? Well, the problem is that gas prices continue to cause some minor problems while also menacing our lives...

Gasoline prices continued to slip, tumbling below $3 a gallon for the first time in nearly nine months, according to a daily survey of credit card swipes released Saturday.

The average price of unleaded regular fell to $2.99 a gallon, down four and nine-tenths of a cent, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report issued by motorist group AAA. Prices have fallen 30 cents in the last week and 86.4 cents, or 22%, in the last 31 days.

The current national average is $1.12, or 27.3%, off the record high price of $4.11 that AAA reported July 17.

The decline comes as hurricane season winds down and oil prices drop over concerns that a prolonged economic slump would curb demand for energy.

The last time the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline dropped below $3 a gallon was Jan. 25, when it reached $2.99.

Alaska has the most expensive gas with prices averaging $3.92. The cheapest gas is found in Oklahoma with prices averaging $2.58.

No quick recovery in the US!

Even though you could imagine that the US was already prepared to recover from the current financial trends, the truth is that the Reserve has recently shown us that it doesn't work that way... That's why you should read the following:

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned in a speech Wednesday that the U.S. economy will take some time to recover even if the credit markets return to normal soon.

Bernanke, speaking before the Economic Club of New York, said he believes the steps taken by the Treasury Department, the Fed and Congress in recent weeks provide policymakers with the "tools" they need to fix the recent crisis in financial and credit markets."

Us economy shall now recover...

The federal government on Tuesday announced an extraordinary and historic direct investment in the nation's banks - the biggest bet ever made with taxpayer dollars on the U.S. financial system.

As a start, the Treasury will pump $250 billion into financial institutions. Nine of the nation's largest banks have already agreed to take the capital and in return will give preferred shares to taxpayers and accept limits on executive pay. Half of the money, or $125 billion, will go to the nine large banks.

"This is an essential short-term measure to assure the viability of America's banking system," President Bush said in comments outside the White House. "These measures are not intended to take over the free market, but to preserve it."

In addition, Bush made a formal request for an additional $100 billion to help out financial institutions. Congress authorized up to $700 billion as part of the financial system bailout enacted on Oct. 3, but it required the president to certify the need for any amount above the initial $250 billion.

The government can use the additional $100 billion to buy troubled assets held by firms or to make additional capital infusions into banks.

The world needs a fix...

The world's leading nations stepped up their efforts Sunday to stem the fallout from the worst global financial crisis in decades.

After days of singular responses, officials the world over were scrambling to get out ahead of growing expectations for more aggressive and coordinated action to prop up banks. Stock markets have plummeted in recent days as anxiety over the credit crisis - which began in the implosion of U.S. housing prices - has spread worldwide.

In the most dramatic move, the leaders of 15 European nations - gathering in Paris at an emergency meeting - agreed to a wide-ranging plan to shore up troubled banks by adding capital through investment and by guaranteeing inter-bank lending, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"We want to give ... banks the means to lend, to support the economy to enable households to borrow for mortgages or consumption and give companies the means necessary to invest for growth," said Sarkozy, who also holds the rotating European Union presidency.

The 15 nations also said they would protect individual depositors' accounts and move to ease accounting regulations that determine how assets are valued, removing a requirement that they be based on market prices - so-called "mark-to-market" accounting.

Sarkozy announced the agreement after a meeting of leaders of the Eurozone countries, which use the euro. He said France, Germany and Italy will hold Cabinet meetings on Monday and will announce their plans.

"These measures will be implemented in France without delay," said Sarkozy.

Earlier in the day, Sarkozy met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The British Treasury and some of the nation's biggest banks are expected to unveil details of a capital plan early Monday.

Other countries also took fresh action Sunday to support their economies. Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have all reportedly moved to guarantee bank deposits. Global markets have taken a beating as the financial crisis deepened around the world.

New solutions for our economy...

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that financial markets continue to be "strained" but he urged "patience" and said the federal government will use all tools necessary to ensure stability in the financial system.

"We will coordinate the use of our existing and new authorities to restore market confidence by strengthening financial institutions, preventing systemic bank failures, increasing liquidity to financial markets and keeping mortgage credit available and affordable," Paulson said.

He added: "Every effort will require careful analysis, deliberation and transparency, and some measure of patience from the American people as we create the most effective process possible."

Paulson noted that it will likely be several weeks before the Treasury starts fully operating a program to buy troubled mortgage assets as it is authorized to do by the $700 billion bailout enacted last Friday.

In addition, Paulson said he would discuss with his counterparts in G7 countries what more can be done collectively to stabilize the financial system, and that he will be calling for a meeting of the G20, which includes countries with emerging economies.

Some important updates about our economy...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted that the global financial markets crisis is likely to restrain the economy well into next year and signaled that the Fed may be getting ready to cut interest rates.

But he said he believes the unprecedented steps taken to have the Treasury Department and the Fed intervene in financial markets were done in time to prevent more expensive and permanent damage to the nation's leading financial institutions.

In a speech before the National Association of Business Economics in Washington on Tuesday, Bernanke said the threat of inflation has receded recently, while the economy has continued to weaken. This could be interpreted as a sign that the central bank might be preparing to lower its key fed funds rate soon.

"Overall, the combination of the incoming data and recent financial developments suggests that the outlook for economic growth has worsened and that the downside risks to growth have increased," he said.

"In light of these developments, the Federal Reserve will need to consider whether the current stance of policy remains appropriate," he added.

Credit crunch may menace your holidays...

With the big year-end shopping holidays fast approaching, the credit market freeze couldn't come at a worse time for consumers, retailers and the broader economy.

"There's definite nervousness in the [retailing] industry," said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with NPD Group.

"We've not even made it to Halloween and retailers are already talking about Christmas discounts," Cohen said.

Christmas is obviously a big deal to retailers, given that year-end holiday-related purchases typically account for half or more of merchants' annual sales and profits.

(Source: CNN)

President Bush has the solution!

After two weeks of contentious and often emotional debate, the federal government's far-reaching and historic plan to bail out the nation's financial system was signed into law by President Bush on Friday afternoon.

"By coming together on this legislation, we have acted boldly to prevent the crisis on Wall Street from becoming a crisis in communities across our country," Bush said less than an hour after the House voted 263 to 171 to pass the bill.

The House vote followed a strong lobbying push by the White House and other supporters of the bill. The House rejected a similar measure on Monday - a defeat that shocked the markets and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle.

The law, which allows the Treasury Secretary to purchase as much as $700 billion in troubled assets in a bid to kick-start lending, ushers in one of the most far-reaching interventions in the economy since the Great Depression.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he welcomed the news. "The legislation is a critical step toward stabilizing our financial markets and ensuring an uninterrupted flow of credit to households and businesses," he said.

(Source: CNN)