Dow percentage gain is biggest since 1933
Following European and Asian leads, U.S. markets have closed higher with the Dow scoring a record point gain for a single day of 936. The advance was the largest ever during a session on a point basis. The point gain was equal to 11.1%, the best one-day percentage gain since 1932 and the fifth-best ever. full story

(171) Do not make a loan to an Israelite on interest. “If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.” (Leviticus 25:35-38) Again, this passage is related to Jubilee—God’s quintessential picture of gracious forgiveness. Which of us has not fallen on hard times? Oh, not materially, necessarily, but spiritually we have all become debtors. Yahweh has taken pity upon us, paid off our debts, and put us on our feet. Should we not do the same thing for our brothers?

It is with deep sorrow that I must note that our entire monetary system today is based on a violation of this precept. In America, as in most of the rest of the world, money is based on debt. With little or nothing of intrinsic value to back it up, wealth is created out of thin air in tandem with loans—if every debt were paid off today, our entire money supply would cease to exist. Hardly anybody understands how our central banking boondoggle—I mean system—really works, of course; if we did, we would descend on Washington and New York en masse, pitchforks and torches in hand. Required reading: The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, by G. Edward Griffin. (Copyright 1994-2002, American Media. www.RealityZone.com)

We (or is it just me?) are entirely too reluctant to trust Yahweh with our finances. Rather than living simply and within our means, we indulge our every whim and then feverishly scheme and calculate how to make ends meet. All too often, our solutions involve shortchanging the charitable end of the spectrum—not just by giving less to advance Yahweh’s cause, but also oppressing our brothers by selling what we should be giving away or taking advantage of others’ misfortune by buying things cheaply. One I am personally guilty of: The house is priced under-market because the owners are getting a divorce and need a quick sale—we can make a killing here. When are we going to learn that our Father owns everything? It’s an insult to Him to doubt His willingness to meet our needs—and to demonstrate that doubt by taking advantage of our fellow man.

(172) Do not borrow on interest (because this would cause the lender to sin). “You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.” (Deuteronomy 23:19-20) It’s a fine sentiment, I suppose: don’t cause your brother to stumble by offering incentive to sin. But the rabbis have missed the point. The burden is upon the lender: he must not take advantage of a brother in need by making a profit on his misfortune. If God has blessed him to the point that he has more than he needs, he is not to leverage that blessing into a growth industry.

Yahweh makes a distinction here between “brothers” and “foreigners.” Those outside the fellowship of faith are not under God’s protection—by their own choice. Yahweh understands that there is a time-value to money. But we are to conduct our business relationships with fellow believers as if we were dealing with God Himself. Would we charge Yahshua interest? Would we demand guarantees and collateral from Him? Of course not. We should be aware that He regards what we do for “His brothers” as being done for Him—personally. Remember the admonition concerning the separation of the “sheep from the goats” in Matthew 25.

In the real world, especially today, especially in America, we needn’t be “poor” to feel like we need to borrow. But it’s an illusion, for the most part. We have forgotten how to distinguish between needs and wants. If we borrow, we become debtors, and debt is a chain: one from which Yahweh would spare us. “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law…. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8, 10)

Bush announces global financial summit

U.S. President George W. Bush, meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Union President Jose Manuel Barroso, said he will host the first summit to discuss the global response to the financial crisis. The news came as South Korea announced a $100B package for its banks. full story

Commentary: Why this bailout is as bad as the last one
October 14, 2008 -- Updated 1532 GMT (2332 HKT

Story Highlights
Jeffrey Miron: Investors aren't willing to back banks because of problem loans
Government investments will mask the banks' problems for a while, he says
Miron: Other failing industries will now seek similar bailouts
Government's role in economy will spread inefficiency and crony capitalism, he say

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Ten days after passage of its $700 billion bailout of the financial sector, the U.S. Treasury has announced that it will implement this program, in part, by giving banks $250 billion in return for shares of their stock.

In other words, the U.S. government will acquire a significant ownership stake in the banking sector.

The goal of this stock purchase is to "inject liquidity." This will, in principle, improve bank solvency and increase bank lending, thereby minimizing the chance of a recession...

Government ownership means that political forces will determine who wins and who loses in the banking sector...

Government pressure will be difficult for banks to resist, since the government can both threaten to withdraw its ownership stake or promise further injections whenever it wants to modify bank behavior...

Government ownership of banks will not be a temporary expedient. Politicians can swear they will unwind the government's position once "economic conditions improve," but no one can enforce this promise. The temptation to use banks as a political tool will be permanent, not temporary, so government ownership will continue for decades, or forever...

Worse yet, government ownership of banks sets a precedent for ownership in every industry that suffers economic hardship...

Government purchase of bank stock, therefore, is a transfer from taxpayers to people who took huge risks and lost...

It is time for the government to do the one thing it does well: nothing at all...

U.N. chief: 'Drastic' action needed for poor
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for "drastic" measures to shore up banks and extend lines of credit to the world's poorest states. full story

Summit leaders unite to fight economic slump
Asian and European leaders meeting for the second day of their biennial summit vow to act together to address the global financial crisis. "We either stick together or we sink together," EC President Jose Manuel Barroso said at the talks in Beijing. full story

Eurozone slumps into recession for first time
The combined economies of the 15 nations that form the eurozone are in recession for the first time since the introduction of the euro 10 years ago, the EU has reported. It comes as world leaders start to gather in Washington this weekend for the G20 summit, aimmed at discussing ways to tackle the global financial crisis. full story

Crisis squeezes Croat Christmas

The Croatian government has banned Christmas and New Year parties in the public sector because of the global financial crisis.

State-run firms and organisations have also been told that they won't be allowed to dip into their funds to buy Christmas presents. full story.

" Obama will 'do what's necessary' to fix economy"

White House may bail out Big 3
The Bush administration says it will consider using the money set aside to help banks and Wall Street to rescue the auto industry. full story

Bush announces $13.4B bailout for automakers
President George W. Bush has announced a short-term $13.4B rescue plan from federal loans to aid ailing U.S. automakers. The money will come from the $700 billion fund set aside to bailout Wall Street firms and banks in October. full story

Tens of thousands lose jobs as recession bites
Companies on both sides of the Atlantic have continued to slash their workforces as American economists say they expect an already deep recession to worsen in 2009. In the United States, more than 20,000 redundancies were announced, with a further 13,000 workers laid off in Europe. full story

It`s just amazing to see these kinds of headlines. The pieces seem to begin to be falling into to place for the eventual establishment of a NWO. Honestly though, I thought we were years away from seeing these types of headlines in print.

General Motors to Invest $1 Billion in Brazil Operations -- Money to Come from U.S. Rescue Program

By Russ Dallen
Latin American Herald Tribune staff

SAO PAULO -- General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market, said the beleaguered car maker.

Japan's economy 'worst since end of WWII'
Japan is grappling with its worst economic crisis since the end of World War II, the nation's economic and fiscal policy minister said Monday. full story

Obama signs $787 billion stimulus into law
President Obama signed a $787 billion economic stimulus package into law Tuesday. The president and economists say the biggest marker will be an improvement in employment. Compared to that, CNNMoney reports, getting the law passed was the easy part. full story