Tally Hits 52 as Regulators Close 7 Banks - WSJ.com

For my friends who think it's half over - this is from today:

WSJ.com:

"State regulators closed six banks in Illinois and one in Texas, raising the number of bank failures in the U.S. to 52 this year. The seizures were the most in a single day during the financial crisis.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the closures of First State Bank of Winchester, John Warner Bank, Rock River Bank, Elizabeth State Bank, First National Bank of Danville, Founders Bank and Millennium State Bank of Texas are estimated to cost the FDIC $314.3 million."

Video - Viewpoints: Soros on Obama and Ailing Banks - WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/video/viewpoints-soros-on-obama-and-ailing-banks/B3353A69-8BA2-4CCA-9D41-B346D92F801E.html

WSJ: Viewpoints: Soros on Obama and Ailing Banks 6/30/2009

Hungarian-born billionaire forex speculator George Soros talks to WSJ Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray about how the Obama administration went about restabilizing the banks. He talks about the fear of "nationalization" that stopped re-capitalizing the banks. He talks about the treasury as possible an "underwriter" instead of a lender. Soros complains of being left out of the picture when so much money is being given to banks... and perhaps of burdening the taxpayer when one could use Soros money instead (this is Soros's brand of populism if I "read" the guy correctly). His Eoropean-style smooth remarks still underline the fact that the Obama administration does not even represent capitalist interests anymore, but rather the very small group of banks led and fed by the Fed.

Operation completed

June 1
Clip: Kurdistan begins oil export

June 29
News:
"Oil giants scramble for Iraq's vast reserves in televised contract auction"

June 30
BBC: US troops are withdrawing from towns and cities in Iraq, six years after the invasion, having formally handed over security duties to new Iraqi forces.

Chinese Gold Moves Set Stage for Price Spike -- Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha:

"It is interesting to hear a senior economic researcher from the Chinese Communist Party calling for bigger gold purchases by China to diversify away from the US dollar, whose devaluation looks inevitable with the printing of money to finance deficits."