Economic crisis, but not for fat cats

The Ascent of Money presents Niall Ferguson–the Harvard professor, noted economist and accomplished historian–taking a bull’s eye shot at explaining how money has played a key role in creating our current economic crisis: here.

No economic “green shoots” in world trade and transport: here.

State legislatures across the US worked late Tuesday to push through budgets containing massive spending cuts, as five states faced the possibility of at least partial shutdowns if their legislatures were unable to come up with budget deals: here.

This video from the USA is called Students march down Polk St. in San Francisco protesting proposed education budget cuts on April 18, 2008 at about 4pm.

Emergency financial manager Robert Bobb declared Monday that he is considering bankruptcy proceedings for the Detroit Public Schools, a move that would lead to the ripping up of union contracts, thousands of job losses and the closing of dozens of schools: here.

Hunger, poverty on the rise in Chicago area: here.

Steven Soderbergh’s new film, The Girlfriend Experience, is a glimpse into the life of a high-priced call girl in New York City, set and filmed during the financial meltdown (and pre-election period) in the fall of 2008: here.

The University of California has warned the 170,000 employees of the state’s higher education system that they face potential pay cuts. At a town hall meeting held in Los Angeles, representatives of the UC system defended six-digit bonuses paid to top management: here.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced a 50 percent salary deal for its chief executive, Stephen Hester: here.

Britain: Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are involved in a series of disputes around the country to oppose job losses, pay reductions and cuts in education services: here.

Canada: Toronto’s political and corporate establishment are ratcheting up pressure on 24,000 municipal workers to accept across-the-board concessions on wages, benefits, seniority rights, and working conditions: here.

A lengthy factory occupation in defence of jobs at Ssangyong Motor’s Pyeongtaek plant in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province reached a critical turning point last weekend. Clashes took place between occupying workers and several thousand company thugs, supervisory staff and non-striking workers: here.