Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has told one of its subsidiaries to stop insuring bank deposits above the amount guaranteed by the federal government, dealing a fresh blow to the financial-services industry as it tries to assuage anxious customers.

If you needed an OMG! moment, there it is. Katie bar the door.

Berkshire, in Blow to Banks, Reins In Its Deposit Insurer - WSJ.com

Mort drops the bomb about what this means and why it needs to happen.

Mort Zuckerman: What Fannie and Freddie mean

Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide.

Eddie Bauer to close more stores after closing 27 stores in the first quarter.

Cache, a women’s retailer is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide

Talbots, J. Jill closing stores. Talbots will close all 78 of its kids and men's stores plus another 22 underperforming stores. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J. Jill.

Gap Inc. closing 85 stores

Foot Locker to close 140 stores

Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores. The 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Levitz - the furniture retailer, announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910.

Zales, Piercing Pagoda plans to close 82 stores by July 31 followed by closing another 23 underperforming stores.

Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores.

Home Depot store closings 15 of them amid a slumping US economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store.

CompUSA (CLOSED).

Macy's - 9 stores closed

Movie Gallery – video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery
and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental
chain closed last fall as part of bankruptcy.

Pacific Sunwear - 153 Demo stores closing

Pep Boys - 33 stores of auto parts supplier closing

Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations to close with 4,000 employees following 5,000 layoffs last year.

J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are all scaling back

Ethan Allen Interiors: plans to close 12 of 300 stores to cut costs.

Wilsons the Leather Experts – closing 158 stores

Bombay Company: to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores.

KB Toys closing 356 stores around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization.

Dillard's Inc. will close another six stores this year.

This is what you call booming business. It's hitting the ground and going boom.

The Real State of the US Economy

RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, California, said the national foreclosure rate in the second quarter was one foreclosure filing for every 171 U.S. households.

Those home ownership numbers coming back as foreclosures. This defines an economy tanking.

Foreclosures double from last year | U.S. | Reuters

MSHA levied $1.6 million in fines against mine operator Genwal Resources, Inc. for a series of violations it characterized as highly negligent and showing reckless disregard. It also fined the company's engineering firm, Agapito Associates Inc., $220,000 for showing reckless disregard in its design.
Assistant Labor Secretary Richard Stickler said it is the largest fine the agency has levied in a coal mine disaster.

Gee. Kill 6 people, get a $1.8 million dollar fine? That's all? Let's see what happens in the wrongful death lawsuits... Tort reform! Tort Reform! Go screw.

Reports: Crandall Canyon doomed by poor design, inadequate oversight - Salt Lake Tribune

Bond prices fell sharply as investors worried a bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could dent the government's credit rating.

(emphasis mine)

That's an AP report. The GOVERNMENT'S credit rating??? This whole thing looks about one to two steps from 1929 free fall. Buckle up.

Paulson: No Bailout For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The forecasts calling for a jump to between $7 and $10 a gallon are based on the view that the price of crude is on its way to $200 in two to three years.

Translating this price into dollars and cents at the gas pump, one of our forecasters, the chairman of Houston-based Dune Energy, Alan Gaines, sees gas rising to $7-$8 a gallon. The other, a commodities tracker at Weiss Research in Jupiter, Fla., Sean Brodrick, projects a range of $8 to $10 a gallon.

Think this would be a good time to rework public transportation? Just maybe?

Gasoline May Soon Cost a Sawbuck - April 28, 2008 - The New York Sun

Judges in at least five states have stopped foreclosure proceedings because the banks that pool mortgages into securities and the companies that collect monthly payments haven't been able to prove they own the mortgages.

Remember the subprime mortgage mess? Guess what, it just got incomprehensibly worse.

Banks Lose to Deadbeat Homeowners as Loans Sold in Bonds Vanish

Now -- the Republicans have created a meter on their website to track the increases in government spending. You guys ran the government for 6 years. You had complete control. YOU GOT US INTO THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE. SHUT THE HELL UP.

Stewart is very good at breaking things down, here's his latest installment of what sort of hell the GOP has stuck us with for eternity, and what it means.

Hale "Bonddad" Stewart: Obama's Economic Plan is Unworkable

Citigroup (C) awarded Chief Executive Vikram Pandit $26.7 million worth of shares and 3 million stock options six weeks after he took over the largest U.S. bank, and a week after the company reported a record $9.83 billion quarterly loss.

It's the new version of "heckuva job Brownie!" Lose $10 billion, get paid $25 million plus! How can I get that job?

Citigroup CEO gets $26.7 million in stock, 3 million options - USATODAY.com