Losing the Forests for the Banks

An interesting study by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb), commissioned by EU, puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion. This makes the current loss from financial crisis look like small change.
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After today's market decline, the S&P 500 is at 2003 levels. This despite extraordinary intervention by the Treasury and the Fed, combining fast and loose monetary and fiscal policies.

Now the government wants to guarantee payments to banks on loans the latter make to individuals and businesses, in return for some equity stakes. Why don't the bozos go the whole distance and just nationalize the banks, rather than play this charade? If the taxpayers are going to be saddled with lousy assets, let them decide who get to run these entities to the ground.
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On a lighter note...
Google's clever new idea -Mail Goggles.

Downturn Forces Cutbacks Big and Small: Two-Sided Copies, Fewer Car Rentals and Firing the Lawn Service -- Companies Trim as Business Slows

Mayor Richard Daley vowed Thursday to identify, discipline and fire city garbage workers caught loafing on the job.

"These are great jobs. No one should be loafing, drinking, smoking, quitting early or anything else. . . . If you don't want the job, just quit,” the mayor said after a news conference on property tax bills.

"We are going to identify these individuals. We are going to discipline and fire them,” he added.

The tough comments, typical for Daley after embarrassing news breaks, came after an Inspector General’s report released Wednesday blasted garbage workers for loafing in what was characterized as “systemic, pervasive” waste and fraud. The office spied on 77 garbage truck drivers and 145 laborers in 10 wards before drawing its conclusions.

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Brunswick plans to shut 4 plants, lay off 1,400 workers as boating market continues to sour

Falling prices for the flash memory used in a wide range of consumer electronics have forced Micron Technology to shut down most of a factory it shares with Intel and lay off close to 3,000 workers, the company said on Thursday.

Consumers forced to rethink buying patterns