Thursday's stories

Downturn heightens pension crisis

Britain faces a retirement crisis after one in six people stopped paying into to their pension in the wake of the recession, official figures have disclosed.

the Telegraph

More than a million people pulled out of making personal pension contributions due to a squeeze on household finances, according to the Office of National Statistics, wiping billions from pension pots.

The ONS also raised concerns that a generation of pensioners would not have enough money in their old age because of the demise of gold-plated final salary schemes.

The figures led to warnings that Britons were falling into a “vicious spiral” of reducing their savings when the need to prepare for retirement was growing.

In its Pension Trends report, the ONS said that many people who had been making regular contributions had simply stopped paying money into their scheme as a result of the recession.

Rising inflation, pay freezes and high utility bills have eroded disposable household incomes, meaning that people have had to prioritise what they spend their money on, he said.

For article GO HERE

Stocks go wild and gold craters

Business Insider

7 September, 2011

Europe had a gigantic day and that spilled over into the US.

But first, the scoreboard:

Dow: +271.14

NASDAQ: +74.21

S&P 500: +32.97

And now, the top stories:

• Yesterday we noted that while the stock market technically "fell" it was actually a very bullish day since A) stocks ended well off their lows and B) the futures ended well ahead of where they traded during Monday's holiday session.

• And that bullish move continued through the night, with Asia gaining, followed by a really big rally in Europe (finally!). For once, most of the headlines out of Europe were positive. The German high court ruled that the bailouts were (mostly) legal, Angela Merkel delivered a big pro-euro speech, and Italy moved forward on its austerity measures. Everything rallied, with the exception of Greek debt, which is in freefall, suggesting perhaps that a Greek default is now assumed and perhaps "priced in."

• That rally continued in the US, which was actually a total vacuum when it came to domestic news. There was no major economic data, nor was there much in terms of corporate announcements. Just ongoing relief, really. Later in the afternoon, the Fed's latest Beige Book came out, and though it said growth was mediocre in most districts, it did at least say things were growing.

• The big outcome for the day: A major stock market rally, and a major selloff in gold, which is about $100/oz cheaper than it was yesterday morning. In terms of corporate news, both Bank of America and Yahoo rallied after they sacked executives. Click here for a story on the amazing life of Sallie Krawcheck 

• Tomorrow should be much bigger headline-wise: Bernanke is speaking, Trichet is speaking, and then of course Obama is unveiling his jobs plan (which will apparently be worth about $300 billion in new spending).

• Meanwhile, this weekend there will be a big G7 meeting.

Soros: Crisis 'Worse Than Lehman'

George Soros, the old Globalist - what’s he warning about?

CNBC

“This crisis has the potential to be a lot worse than Lehman Brothers,” said George Soros, the hedge fund investor, citing the lack of an authoritative pan-European body to handle a banking crisis of this severity. “That is why the problem is so serious. You need a crisis to create the political will for Europe to create such an authority, but there is still no understanding as to what the authority will do.”

For article GO HERE

Texas fires destroy more than 1,000 homes

the Guardian,

7 September, 2011

One of the most devastating wildfire outbreaks in Texas history has left more than 1,000 homes in ruins and stretched the state's firefighters to the limit, confronting Govenor Rick Perry with a disaster at home just as the Republican presidential contest begins in earnest.More than 180 fires have erupted in the past week across the lone star state, with nearly 600 homes destroyed in one catastrophic blaze in and around Bastrop, near Austin, that raged out of control on Tuesday for a third day.

Whipped into an inferno by Tropical Storm Lee's winds over the weekend, the fire burned more than 45 square miles, forced the evacuation of thousands of people and killed at least two, bringing the overall death toll to at least four.

For article GO HERE

Bombing Outside Court Kills 11 in India's Capital

Huffington Post

7 September, 2011

NEW DELHI (AP) — A powerful bomb hidden in a briefcase ripped through a crowd of people waiting to enter a New Delhi courthouse Wednesday, killing 11 people and wounding scores more in the deadliest attack in India's capital in nearly three years.

An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility, though government officials said it was too early to name a suspect. The attack outside the High Court came despite a high alert across the city and renewed doubts about India's ability to protect even its most important institutions despite overhauling security after the 2008 Mumbai siege.

For article GO HERE