Capitalism

Well They Would, Wouldn’t They?

Capitalism, Corruption, Democratic (in)action, Economy, US politics
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Congressional Democrats think that stealing national assets to cover private losses is just fine and dandy and want to act fast to save the banking system:

Rep. Frank sees Congress acting fast on bailout plan

They think Bush’s bailing out the banks is brilliant:

Democrats see boost for $50 billion econ stimulus By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The urgent need for the U.S. Congress to approve a Bush administration plan to rescue Wall Street has given Democrats renewed hope of enacting another economic stimulus package for Main Street, congressional aides said on Friday.

For months, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leading Democrats in Congress have been pushing $50 billion in emergency spending they say would spur the flagging U.S. economy.

I wonder why? Here’s your answer:

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) — The market storm that brought down Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., American International Group Inc. and other pillars of U.S. finance may have also blown holes in the portfolios of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Kerry and more than 50 other members of Congress.

Altogether, 56 senators and representatives had stakes in AIG, Lehman, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns Cos. or IndyMac Bancorp Inc. — some of the biggest casualties of the market bloodbath — according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The most recent annual disclosure filings list investments as of Dec. 31, 2007, and reveal the size of holdings only within a range of values. Lawmakers may have sold shares since then.

I should’ve known.

Comment Of The Day

Capitalism, Comment of the Day, Economy
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There’s not much to smile about in the papers this morning except David Hockney in The Grauniad’s letters page, who deserves a special prize for cleverly piggybacking his pet cause onto a crisis :

Could it be that the smoke-free rooms of New York bankers are not working as well as the old ones. Smoking a cigar or pipe makes me ponder, whereas the replacements can make prudence go out of the window. Just a thought.

David Hockney
London

As any smoker knows the real business of meetings is done outside in the rain while sharing a convivial fag. He has a point there.

“For now you can still buy a Beemer with your dignity intact. The question is, should you?” *

Capitalism, Fashion in Action!, Feminism, Media, Parenting, Sexuality, Women
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A used beemer, that is.

Why so? Thanks to Egalia at Tenessee Guerilla Women for drawing my attention to this sick little ad campaign for BMW:

As it’s described in Salon:

Broadsheet: [A] beautiful young woman — presumably naked and lying in bed — wearing a come-hither look and a crown of blond curls. In small print scrawled across her bare shoulder, it reads: “You know you’re not the first.” As your eyes drift to the bottom of the advertisement — and the top of her chest — you learn that it’s an advertisement for BMW’s premium selection of used cars. Used cars, used women — get it?! And, finally, there’s BMW’s slogan in the bottom right-hand corner, which takes on a whole new meaning: “Sheer Driving Pleasure.”

I’d also add – how old is that girl? 13? 14? She could be 18; but even so the aim is to make her look pubescent, yet still available.

The air of innocence suggests virginal chastity, yet the pose of passive abandon says ‘here, take me’. The makeup is deliberately designed to accentuate the dewy skin, pouting mouth and cherubic curls of extreme youth; yet the direct gaze gives an implicit promise of sexuality. It’s all very carefully done and just to make sure you get the message, it’s made explicit in the slogan. “You know you’re not the first”. Oh well, that’s all right then. Lech away at the child.

No doubt BMW’s marketing droids are aiming for a discrete demographic – and from the message sent by this ad, I’d say that’s the repressed-paedophile-with-aspirational-tendencies-in-a-boring-job-that-doesn’t-pay quite enough-for-a-posh-car market segment. I bet the research people found their target audience goes on holiday in Costa Rica or Thailand as well; but what I’d find even more interesting is the range of media this ad’s been placed in. That would tell us even more about whether BMW sees their customers as potential paedophiles or not. But on the content of that ad alone, I think that were I a second-hand beemer driver, I’d be just a tad insulted.

[First spotted by Copyranter.]

* Jeremy Clarkson, The Sunday Times

The Surge ™ worked: Shell, others to get Iraqi oil concessions

Capitalism, War on Iraq
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Or perhaps it’s just that oil is at such a high price level now, partially thanks to erm the War on Iraq that the profits now outweight even the risks of working in Iraq. At any rate, the big sell-off has started:

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

Of course the contracts on offer are still relatively small and the idea that the Iraqi fields might be the key to lowering oil prices is certainly in the short term just a fantasy. But just getting control of the oil fields is important in its own right. For the companies involved just adding more reserves to their portfolio will of course help boost stock prices, while it helps eliminate the threat of an independent Iraqi oil industry ruining things for them..