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Tankergate UPDATE: It's dead, John McCain must be happy

Today the Pentagon announced that is terminating the competition for a new airborne refueling tanker.

The tanker deal that tanked.

Bottom line, the politics of the whole thing got too hot for them. As many know, European Aerospace Defense System (EADS) subsidiary Airbus beat out Boeing for the contract; a bid that also included US-based Northrop Grumman. Everyone expected the Chicago/Seattle-based aerospace maker to land the contract, but the EDS product proved more appealing to the Pentagon. You see, the plane that Airbus had submitted was much larger than the one Boeing had proposed.

Economic Meltdown..Do you really give a DAMN ?

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David Walker is not a politician. He was hired by Bill Clinton to head the GAO. His official title was: Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO. He was the nation's chief accountant. He was not an elected official and was hired for 15 years regardless of which president or political party was in office, which means he was in office during both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Walker has been preaching of impending fiscal doom for some time now. It is his premise that there is not enough money to pay future retirees their full Social Security and Medicare benefits and unless something is done immediately, our country may not survive.

Sign of the times: $.99 says they can't sell for under a buck!

While Larry Kudlow and the rest of the neo-con Kudlowites are telling you the economy is Goldilocks, reality is trying to remind us that things aren't so golden.

Sure oil is now almost at under $100, and that gas in some places now cost less than a discounted haircut. The grain complex has come off its seasonal highs, with the talk of a "crash." Hell, even the price of homes has come down to the point where folks are beginning to say the end of this deflation could end soon!

Yet, in light of all this, the general consensus is that prices in general are still on the upside. Costs across the board are still going up. And today, one of the hallmarks of cheap goods is now saying they can't even live up to their name's sake!

Who will get bailed out next?

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Take a load off, Fanny
And you put the load right on me
- "The Weight" by The Band

Now that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been bailed out by the taxpayer at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars that we simply don't have, we can now start the next round of the most popular game on Wall Street today -- which group of thieves will get bailed out next?

The Great Taxpayer Bailout is a wonderful game. For instance, Richard F. Syron, the departing chief executive of Freddie Mac who ran that company into the ground, will be getting a severance package of $14.1 million taxpayer dollars. Syron has taken home about $17 million since 2004.
Daniel H. Mudd, the departing CEO of Fannie Mae will be collecting $9.3 million taxpayer dollars on his way out, after destroying a 70 year old institution. Mudd collected about $12 million in pay since 2004.

Manufacturing Monday: Strike at Boeing, Dell to sell plants, and Solar Arabia,

Greetings everyone, I hope your weekend was fantastic. Welcome to another edition of Manufacturing Monday! Some exciting and interesting stuff to cover this week. First the big time strike happening at Boeing. Then theres computer maker Dell looking to sell of ALL of it's factories, and finally could Saudi Arabia claim to be Mecca of solar energy beside crude oil??

Dreamliner turning out to be a nightmare for Boeing and it's workers

Honestly, Boeing should have seen this coming. Well, in case you weren't aware, the machinists at Boeing went on strike over the weekend. The raison d'etre for calling the move? Outsourcing of work, or basically job security was the main issue.

The Fannie/Freddie "Conservatorship": Sometimes abject despair is appropriate

I've been asked what my thoughts are about the Fannie and Freddie bailout leaked by the Treasury to the NYTimes and the Washington Post late Friday afternoon.
Since the actual details haven't been released, and you can click over to Tanta and Barry Ritholtz as easily as I can, I suggest you go there for the best exposition so far of the proposed details. In fact, Ritholtz' "The Big Picture" has a pretty good multi-point presentation, which forms the basis for my comments below.
This story is MAJOR, in multiple ways, and almost none of it good, particularly for the long-term. Some points below.

It must be nice to be in a rich Republican family

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On Friday we saw some pretty awful economic news. Unemployment spiked to over 6%, and the word is out that the taxpayers will be bailing out the massive mortgage giants of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

With news like that it would be pretty easy to miss a much smaller item with huge political implications for the presidential race.
The news I speak of is that regulators have seized Silver State Bank.

"When the casinos treat you poorly, let Silver State treat you like a valued customer."
- the Silver State Bank motto (I kid you not)

Friday Movie Night - It's all about the Money

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hot buttered popcorn

It's Friday Night! Party Time!

Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

This weeks video clip theme is Corruption and Conventions, brought to you by Corporate Lobbyists (and now a word from our sponsors):

ABC News aptly called this spectacle Lobbyists Gone Wild:

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