Credit crunch forcing US middle classes to live in their cars | World news | The Guardian

Credit crunch forcing US middle classes to live in their cars | World news | The Guardian: "Homeless people living in cars and motorhomes across the US are being joined by a new breed: the middle class."

US confidence plummets as house prices slump 23% - Times Online

US confidence plummets as house prices slump 23% - Times Online: "US house prices dropped 22.8 per cent over the last three months as American consumer confidence signalled the worst level of consumption since since 1974."

Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol - Times Online

Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol - Times Online

Saudis get serious on oil prices - Jun. 19, 2008

Saudis get serious on oil prices - Jun. 19, 2008: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Saudi Arabia this weekend will convene a special summit on oil prices that could lead to cheaper crude on the world market."

Bloomberg.com: Commodities

Bloomberg.com: Commodities: "June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices may rise to $5,000 an ounce as investors seek to protect themselves against accelerating inflation, said Schroder Investment Management Ltd., which oversees $277 billion of assets globally."

Bank robberies up around USA - USATODAY.com

Bank robberies up around USA - USATODAY.com: "Bank robberies are up in cities across the USA this year and, although the reason is unclear, the down economy is a suspect."

ExxonMobil to sell 2,220 gas stations - CNN.com

ExxonMobil to sell 2,220 gas stations - CNN.com: "(CNN) -- Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to sell its company-owned gas stations, saying they aren't profitable enough even with gasoline selling at $4 per gallon.
The 2,220 stations make up about 1/5 of the Exxon and Mobil stations in the United States.
The nation's largest oil company, which earned nearly $41 billion last year, says it will sell more than 2,000 stations over the next few years."

With transparent HP tech, pretty solar buildings? | Green Tech - CNET News.com

With transparent HP tech, pretty solar buildings? | Green Tech - CNET News.com: "Hewlett-Packard is licensing flat-panel display technology to a start-up that could lead to dramatically more productive--and aesthetically pleasing--solar panels.

The deal, announced Wednesday, allows Livermore, Calif.-based Xtreme Energetics to use HP-developed transparent transistors to bend light in concentrating photovoltaic, or CPV, solar arrays. CPV systems squeeze more electricity from panels by maximizing the light that hits solar cells."

More than a million homes in foreclosure in latest report - Jun. 5, 2008

More than a million homes in foreclosure in latest report - Jun. 5, 2008: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More than one million homes are now in foreclosure, the highest rate ever recorded, according to a trade group which warned Thursday that number will continue to climb."

Zimbabwe's currency crashes, prices rocket | Reuters

Zimbabwe's currency crashes, prices rocket | Reuters: "Official figures put Zimbabwe's annual inflation -- the highest in the world -- at 165,000 percent in February, but analysts say the figure vaulted as high as 1.8 million percent by May."

House prices | Through the floor | Economist.com

House prices | Through the floor | Economist.com: "AS HOUSE prices in America continue their rapid descent, market-watchers are having to cast back ever further for gloomy comparisons. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller national house-price index, published this week, showed a slump of 14.1% in the year to the first quarter, the worst since the index began 20 years ago. Now Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale University and co-inventor of the index, has compiled a version that stretches back over a century. This shows that the latest fall in nominal prices is already much bigger than the 10.5% drop in 1932, the worst point of the Depression. And things are even worse than they look. In the deflationary 1930s house prices declined less in real terms. Today inflation is running at a brisk pace, so property prices have fallen by a staggering 18% in real terms over the past year."