[cia-drugs] Norman Lear with People for the American Way is on our side. Let's get going!
We are so lucky to have great organzation such as People For the American Way (PFAW). We individually can't do that much, but put us all together and united, we can make it happen in 2008. There is so much to do and so little time. It is unbelievble how many people are willing to work togther to rebuild our country back, and our beloved Constitutuion. We must do something to end this war. It is going to take us all to get American going in the Right direction again, especially about our laws which have been passed by the gruesom neo-cons who have been running this whole government for 6 years. Or should I say not running it. Let's get busy, we don't that much time until the elections of 2008. We are pretty well organized and it gets better all the time. We can do it!! Just don't give up. Keep on keeping on. We are making progress. Regards, Theresa J. Steed [EMAIL PROTECTED] ** __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
[cia-drugs] Bernanke recovers from missteps to earn inflation credibility
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=150210 Bernanke recovers from missteps to earn inflation credibility Posted online: Friday, December 29, 2006 at 0046 hours IST DEC. 28: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is ending the year with considerably more credibility in the markets than he had at the start. After early doubts about the Fed chief's commitment to fighting inflation and charges that he was too candid about policy, investors are now giving the 53-year-old Bernanke a vote of confidence. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note has fallen to 4.65 percent - from 5.25 percent in June - even though he stopped raising interest rates in August with inflation above his declared comfort level. Traders are now so confident that Bernanke, who took office in February, will keep prices under control that they are counting on rate cuts next year. Such faith contrasts with the chairman's first few months, when he was criticized for foreshadowing the rate pause and condemned for telling a CNBC reporter that he had been misunderstood. ''The Bernanke Fed showed us that they're both committed to their inflation objective in the medium term'' and ''more flexible in how they're going to respond in a real-world environment,'' said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase Co. in New York. Bernanke's early ''missteps'' in public statements have become ''rather modest issues,'' Kasman said. ''He's been relatively conservative in the way he's communicated'' since then.The chairman's prediction that inflation would gradually slow is coming true. The Fed's preferred price gauge rose 2.2 percent in the year through November, down from 2.5 percent in August. The core personal consumption expenditures price index was unchanged from the prior month. -Bloomberg trans.gif Description: GIF image
[cia-drugs] Russian oil bourse to trade in Rubles in 2008. China dumps 1 trillion
http://sanfrancisco.tribe.net/listing/Russian-oil-bourse-to-trade-in-Rubles-in-2008-China-dumps-1-trillion/san-francisco-ca/5d953c81-68fb-4f17-bef8-e2210a823370 Russian oil bourse to trade in Rubles in 2008. China dumps 1 trillion Location SF Bay Area enlarge photo Russian oil bourse to trade in Rubles in 2008. China dumps 1 trillion $ US. www.indybay.org/newsitems/...8341140.php indybay.org/newsitems/2006/12/26/18341140.php Money changers sole purpose in existence is to make money from the act of not producing any product so they profit from your labors while they didn't produce. It's been decades since the second major company tore a chunk out of the US and will never give it back, that is the Federal reserve, it isn't even an American Company. The IRS is another corporate interest that has all the protections yet has to follow none of the laws of our land and is solely there to get more money out of We The People. And YOUR and MY Congresscritters and treasonous Senators voted for this to happen and the ones now in office will never allow that to change, as it is these people who get them elected, it is these interests that get them into office.. Or did you miss at the end of the 04 grass roots campaign why only Kerry and Edwards, one a skull and cross bones man, the other a Bilderberg (corporationists exclusive club, intent on ruling the world through economic means) that what we once thought WAS our Democratic Leadership said they couldn't get funding for any of the peoples choices, our whole grass roots campaign was only there to keep us entertained and to think that maybe we could change our party and country. That for me was the last bit of proof I needed to see that the Corporations tell the Parties, whether Demo or Repo, who they will fund and if they front someone else they will cut all their funding through out the next election cycle and they can't keep their offices open if the corporations (now with individual rights, thanks to out (NOT) representatives) don't give them money every year. Remember tax breaks for the rich? You send your tax dollars where you want change to occur instead of to the federal government and buying influence in major political parties is just to damned good of an investment to pass up, and you get to do it every year, not just in an election cycle. Scott Russian oil bourse Since I am not an economics major let me see if I have this right - China is dumping one trillion dollars of US currency and now Russia will be trading for oil with rubles = this isn't good? - I will hazard a wild guess - this news is not good. www.interfax.ru/e/B/finances/26.html Starting Jan, 2008. Stock trading in export oil in rubles to start in 2008 MOSCOW. Dec 20 (Interfax) - Stock Exchange trading for exported Russian oil in rubles will start in St. Petersburg in 2008, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Kirill Androsov told reporters. We will be able to launch trading in St. Petersburg in foreign currency in the fourth quarter of 2007, and after we work out clearing we can move over to ruble trading in 2008, he said. rm b120c204-adea-4937-a560-82acbe1a4b5d.medium Description: Binary data
[cia-drugs] Fw: [GATA] Will Gulf countries follow UAE in dollar drop?
- Original Message - From: Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 10:39 AM Subject: [GATA] Will Gulf countries follow UAE in dollar drop? Will Gulf countries follow UAE in dollar drop? Submitted by cpowell on 08:39AM ET Friday, December 29, 2006. Section: Daily Dispatches Emirates Narrowing Dollar Reserves By Jim Krane Associated Press Thursday, December 28, 2006 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061228/ap_on_bi_ge/emirates_selling_dollars The wilting U.S. dollar is pushing the United Arab Emirates, a close U.S. ally, to convert 8 percent of its foreign exchange reserves into the healthier euros, the central bank governor said on Thursday. The Emirates' nearly $25 billion currency reserves are currently 98 percent dollars. That percentage will drop to 90 percent in six to nine months if the bank's directors approve the switch as is expected, Central Bank governor Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said. The sale itself is a small one, worth about $2 billion. But the implications of a cash-rich friend of Washington selling off its dollars is a sign that central banks elsewhere may be looking to cut losses from a dollar widely expected to slip further in 2007. It's a prudent move and it's indicative of broader thinking, said Simon Williams, HSBC's chief Middle East economist. It's another factor that will exert downward pressure on the dollar. The dollar fell to $1.3132 euro in European trading on Thursday, compared with $1.3123 in New York on Wednesday. A bigger worry for the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank is that the six energy-rich Gulf Arab countries may consider converting dollar holdings in their far larger government investment funds, which Williams said keep more than $1 trillion under management. Gulf governments typically do not release the compositions of those funds. If they're moving those assets out of the dollar on the same scale, that's a much bigger deal, Williams said. Selling dollars on that scale could force the Fed's hand toward tightening monetary policy to help support the dollar. That would mean higher rates for adjustable mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other debt. The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman -- enjoy a collective current account surplus of around $220 billion this year, which must be invested in foreign assets. With a faltering dollar, Williams said a smaller amount of that energy surplus will flow into U.S. assets. A good chunk of that will still flow toward the U.S., but less than in the past, he said. The Fed will be watching this very closely. Other countries, including Russia, Venezuela, Indonesia and Iran also have decided to cut their dollar reserves or, in Iran's case, start pricing oil in the European currency. During OPEC's Nigeria summit this month, OPEC President Edmund Daukoru said the organization was not rushing into other currencies. But since global oil purchases are made in dollars, the shrinking dollar slashes the purchasing power of oil exporters. The Emirates decision to sell off its dollar holdings comes against a backdrop of strain in its normally warm relations with Washington. Many here were upset earlier this year when the U.S. Congress blocked the sale of U.S. port operations to Dubai-based DP World -- a move that officials here said smacked of anti-Arab bias. Since then, talks on a free trade pact between the Emirates and Washington have also faltered. * * * Join GATA at the 2007 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre Sunday and Monday, January 21 and 22, 2007 http://www.cambridgeconferences.com/ch_jan2007.html Admission is free for those who register in advance. The conference has arranged discount rates at the Pan Pacific Hotel adjacent to the convention center. * * * Help Keep GATA Going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at http://www.GATA.org. GATA is grateful for financial contributions, which are federally tax-deductible in the United States. Contact GATA [EMAIL PROTECTED] Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee 7 Villa Louisa Road Manchester, Connecticut 06043-7541 USA www.gata.org Recommended Sites Recommended Internet sites for daily monitoring of gold and precious metals news and analysis. Free sites: http://www.jsmineset.com http://www.cbs.marketwatch.com http://www.mineweb.com/ http://www.gold-eagle.com/ http://www.kitco.com/ http://www.usagold.com/ http://www.usagold.com/amk/usagoldmarketupdate.html http://www.GoldSeek.com/ http://www.GoldReview.com/ http://www.capitalupdates.com/ http://www.DailyReckoning.com http://www.goldenbar.com/ http://www.silver-investor.com http://www.thebulliondesk.com/ http://www.sharelynx.com/
[cia-drugs] Fw: [GATA] Gold finishes year up 23%, silver up 45%
- Original Message - From: Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 4:31 PM Subject: [GATA] Gold finishes year up 23%, silver up 45% Gold finishes year up 23%, silver up 45% Submitted by cpowell on 02:31PM ET Friday, December 29, 2006. Section: Daily Dispatches Don't worry -- We'll keep griping that it should have been a lot more! * * * By Ciara Linnane CBSMarketWatch.com Friday, December 29, 2006 http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/gold-closes-up-23-2006/story.aspx?... NEW YORK -- Gold futures closed higher Friday to chalk up a 23 percent gain for 2006, leading a broader advance in the metals market as the dollar fell against most of its major rivals. Gold for February delivery finished the session up $1.10 at $638 an ounce, compared with the front-month contract close at $518.90 a year ago. Gold gained 18 percent in 2005. Silver futures finished down 0.5 cent at $12.935 an ounce for a 45.5 percent gain on the year. * * * Join GATA at the 2007 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre Sunday and Monday, January 21 and 22, 2007 http://www.cambridgeconferences.com/ch_jan2007.html Admission is free for those who register in advance. The conference has arranged discount rates at the Pan Pacific Hotel adjacent to the convention center. * * * Help Keep GATA Going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at http://www.GATA.org. GATA is grateful for financial contributions, which are federally tax-deductible in the United States. Contact GATA [EMAIL PROTECTED] Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee 7 Villa Louisa Road Manchester, Connecticut 06043-7541 USA www.gata.org Recommended Sites Recommended Internet sites for daily monitoring of gold and precious metals news and analysis. Free sites: http://www.jsmineset.com http://www.cbs.marketwatch.com http://www.mineweb.com/ http://www.gold-eagle.com/ http://www.kitco.com/ http://www.usagold.com/ http://www.usagold.com/amk/usagoldmarketupdate.html http://www.GoldSeek.com/ http://www.GoldReview.com/ http://www.capitalupdates.com/ http://www.DailyReckoning.com http://www.goldenbar.com/ http://www.silver-investor.com http://www.thebulliondesk.com/ http://www.sharelynx.com/ http://www.mininglife.com/ http://www.financialsense.com http://www.goldensextant.com http://www.goldismoney.info/index.html http://www.howestreet.com http://www.depression2.tv http://www.moneyfiles.org/ http://www.howestreet.com http://www.minersmanual.com/minernews.html http://www.a1-guide-to-gold-investments.com/euro-vs-dollar.html http://www.goldcolony.com http://www.miningstocks.com http://www.mineralstox.com http://www.freemarketnews.com http://www.321gold.com http://www.SilverSeek.com http://www.investmentrarities.com http://www.kereport.com (Korelin Business Report -- audio) http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/home.htm (In Spanish) http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/plata/english.htm (In English) http://www.resourceinvestor.com http://www.miningmx.com http://www.prudentbear.com http://www.dollarcollapse.com http://www.kitcocasey.com http://000999.forumactif.com/ http://www.golddrivers.com/ http://www.goldpennystocks.com/ http://www.oroyfinanzas.com/ Subscription sites: http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/ http://www.goldinsider.com/ http://www.hsletter.com http://www.interventionalanalysis.com http://www.investmentindicators.com/ http://www.caseyresearch.com/ Eagle Ranch discussion site: http://os2eagle.net/SSL/phpentry.php Ted Butler silver commentary archive: http://www.investmentrarities.com/ Recommended Gold Bullion Dealers Coin and precious metals dealers who have supported GATA and been recommended by our members: Blanchard Co. Inc. 909 Poydras St., Suite 1900 New Orleans, Louisiana 70112 888-413-4653 http://www.blanchardonline.com Centennial Precious Metals Box 460009 Denver, Colorado 80246-0009 1-800-869-5115 http://www.USAGOLD.com Michael Kosares, Proprietor [EMAIL PROTECTED] Colorado Gold 222 South 5th St. Montrose, Colorado 81401 http://www.ColoradoGold.com Don Stott, Proprietor 1-888-786-8822 [EMAIL PROTECTED] El Dorado Discount Gold Box 11296 Glendale, Arizona 85316 http://www.eldoradogold.net Harvey Gordin, President Office: 623-434-3322 Mobile: 602-228-8203 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Gold Silver Investments Ltd. Mespil House 37 Adelaide Rd Dublin 2 Ireland +353 1 2315260/6 Fax: +353 1 2315202 http://www.goldinvestments.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] Investment Rarities Inc. 7850 Metro Parkway Minneapolis, Minnesota 55425 http://www.gloomdoom.com Greg Westgaard, Sales Manager 1-800-328-1860, Ext. 8889 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kitco 178 West Service Road Champlain, N.Y. 12919 Toll Free:1-877-775-4826 Fax: 518-298-3457 and 620 Cathcart, Suite 900 Montreal, Quebec H3B 1M1
[cia-drugs] DIABOLICAL NEW WEAPON!
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1237885.php/Sink_hole_in_Ukraine_capital_swallows_three_automobiles Sink hole in Ukraine capital swallows three automobiles Kiev - A massive sink hole suddenly appearing in the Ukrainian capital Kiev swallowed three automobiles, Sehodnia newspaper reported Friday. The four-metre-wide pit opened up at around 4 a.m. in a parking lot on Volkova street, in a working class neighbourhood. A Zhiguli four-door, a Volkswagen minibus, and a BMW sedan sank to depth of some two metres below the pavement, and were covered by water. 'I got up in the morning and looked out at the parking lot for my car, and all I saw was its antenna,' said the Zhiguli's owner, who identified himself as Vitaly. A crane hoisted the vehicles out of the hole later in the day. City inspectors arriving on the scene blamed the pavement failure on a broken water main. All three vehicle owners told reporters they intended to sue the Kiev city water administration damages received by their vehicles, as a result of poor maintenance of the city water supply system. A statement made public by the Kiev city water utility, Kievvodakanal, blamed the incident on the parking lot operator, who according to Kievvodakanal had broken a city code by running a parking lot directly over a water main. 'We issued no permit to operate a parking lot on ground directly over the water main,' a Kievvodakanal official said. 'The drivers can try to sue the parking lot owner, but not us.' Privately-run parking lots on questionable territory are ubiquitous in Kiev, which has seen a massive influx of automobiles in recent years, but almost no construction of parking lots. Hapless drivers searching for a spot often park in places usually forbidden to autos elsewhere in Europe - including sidewalks, traffic circles, and 'private' parking lots run by entrepreneurs controlling a bit of city pavement.
[cia-drugs] Argentine Youth Top Cocaine Users
In a related story: Restaurant Publicist Announces Return of Bush Twins http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B452946D8-3D77-468E-8109-28015D7210A6%7D)language=EN Argentine Youth Top Cocaine Users Buenos Aires, Dec 27 (Prensa Latina) Argentina placed first in cocaine consumption among secondary students, according to an official reports spread here Wednesday. This supremacy was established by a joint research project in nine South American countries made by the UN office against Drug and the OAS Inter American Commission for Drug Control. Cocaine consumption in students from 13 to 17 years old rose by 170 percent and the new drug Paco by over 200 percent. The document involves details from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. The specialists warned that the figure only involves school students, and ignores young people out of the educational system, which are precisely the most at risk of falling into drug addiction.
[cia-drugs] Fwd: Nevzlin, Russian-Israeli Oil Mobster Whom Litvinenko Visited in Israel, Now in the U.S.
Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: December 29, 2006 11:03:38 AM PST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Nevzlin, Russian-Israeli Oil Mobster Whom Litvinenko Visited in Israel, Now in the U.S. RUSSIAN MAN CAUGHT ON CCTV MAY HOLD KEY TO LITVINENKO POISON PLOT Created: 29.12.2006 13:16 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:17 MSK, 8 hours 2 minutes ago MosNews http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/12/29/poloniumtrail.shtml Detectives investigating the murder of Alexander Litvinenko are trying to trace a Russian businessman who flew to Britain at the same time as a consignment of deadly polonium-210 was allegedly smuggled into London, The Times reported Friday. The man was spotted on a flight from Hamburg sitting beside Dimtri Kovtun, another Russian whom German police are investigating for trafficking the radioactive material used to poison the former KGB spy. Officers have studied CCTV footage from airports at Hamburg and London and are understood to believe that the two men were travelling together. However, the mystery figure disappeared after leaving Heathrow with Mr Kovtun. The name he used on the flight and the passport presented to immigration officials does not show up on any hotel register in the capital. It is believed that he met up again with Mr Kovtun in London on November 1, the day Litvinenko fell ill. Mr Kovtun was one of the last people to see Litvinenko before he collapsed. Scotland Yard will not say if it regards Mr Kovtun as a victim, a witness or a suspect. German authorities say that traces of polonium-210 were found at a number of locations visited by Mr Kovtun while he was in Hamburg at the end of October. Russian authorities refused German requests to carry out check for polonium on the Aeroflot flight that Mr Kovtun took to Hamburg. Martin Koehnke, Hamburg’s chief prosecutor, said: “We assume that Mr Kovtun arrived on October 28 on a flight from Moscow and that he was already contaminated with polonium-210.” He said it appeared that from the moment Mr Kovtun landed at Hamburg airport he started spreading the radioative substance, including to the car sent to collect him. German police are puzzled why no polonium-210 was found on the Germanwings flight that Mr Kovtun and the mystery Russian travelled on to London. Mr Kovtun remains in a Moscow clinic where doctors say that they are still testing him for radiation poisoning. Russian police say that they believe Mr Kovtun was also a target for the assassin, and the businessman denies vehemently any role in the poison plot. The British team is reportedly still seeking more information from Mr Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy, his business partner. Polonium-210 was discovered on two British flights on which Mr Lugovoy travelled to London in October. On October 25 he took BA 875 and stayed at the Sheraton Park Lane. Radiation was found at both locations. It was also found on BA 872, which Mr Lugovoy took on October 31, and at the Millenium Hotel, in Grosvenor Square, where he and Mr Kovtun stayed and where they entertained Litvinenko. Experts also isolated traces at a third hotel, the Parkes in Knightsbridge, where both men stayed during another trip to London from October 16 to 18 when they flew on Transaero, the Russian carrier. Mr Lugovoy, who also remains in the Moscow clinic, denies any role in the plot and claims that he is being framed. Russian authorities say none of the poison was found on the Boeing 737s used by Transaero. The Russian Prosecutor-General is trying to shift the focus away from Moscow as his officers prepare to travel to London in the new year to interview a number of Russian exiles. They will include Boris Berezovsky, the oligarch critical of Mr Putin, and Akhmed Zakayev, the Chechen separatist envoy. Friends of Litvinenko fear that the Kremlin will use the investigation to try to settle scores. This week the Prosecutor General announced he wants to question a number of figures from Yukos, the oil giant, whose assets were seized. He named Leonid Nevzlin, a former executive. Mr Nevzlin fled to Israel in 2003 but flew to New Jersey at the weekend for a holiday in America. Russian officials on Thursday asked the US to arrest him. A spokesman for Mr Nevzlin denied any role in the plot. Mr Nevzlin told The Times how Litvinenko had travelled to Tel Aviv to hand over a file on how Russia’s Federal Security Service planned to claw back millions from wealthy Russians now living in the West. -- YUKOS BOSS SPURNS RUSSIA MURDER CLAIMS By Harvey Morris in Jerusalem The Financial Times (UK), December 29 2006 Leonid Nevzlin, a former Russian oil billionaire, on Thursday dismissed allegations by Moscow that he ordered the radioactive poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and said he had co-operated with British
[cia-drugs] Fwd: US Corporations Complain: We Have So Much Money, There's Nothing Left to Spend It On!
Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: December 29, 2006 12:01:23 PM PST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: US Corporations Complain: We Have So Much Money, There's Nothing Left to Spend It On! SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/271828_market27.html Corporations are sitting on piles of cash Interest on $643 billion is boosting bottom lines Saturday, May 27, 2006 By JOE BEL BRUNO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK -- Imagine the dilemma of having so much cash in your bank account that you didn't know what to do with it. This is of course a pipe dream for the average American, but is now reality for the country's biggest corporations. The industrial companies that make up the Standard Poor's 500 index -- which excludes financial, transportation and utility companies -- have a staggering $643 billion in cash and equivalents. Wall Street analysts remain unsure how companies will spend this record hoard. Even an unprecedented $500 billion in stock buybacks over the past six quarters has failed to stop companies from building lofty amounts of cash on hand. We're in a time that is out of whack with all historical numbers, said Howard Silverblatt, equity market analyst at Standard Poor's. People are demanding why corporations need so much cash, what are they going to do with it? In spite of stock buybacks, dividends and acquisitions, this cash is still going to take awhile to spend. Companies began propping up their reserves through 16 straight quarters of double-digit profit growth. The money tucked away in corporate coffers has now gotten to the point where it's having a major impact on quarterly earnings, with SP reporting that income earned on the interest rose 37.9 percent in 2005 and is expected to increase 64 percent this year. Coincidentally, the same Federal Reserve that spooked the markets with 16 straight interest rate increases has actually been doing these big companies a favor. The increase in rates helped companies grow through higher interest payments. The best example of how these stockpiles are helping companies boost profits might be Comverse Technology, whose $2.33 billion in cash represents 53 percent of its market valuation. In 2005, the voice-messaging software company reported a profit of $57.3 million -- and the amount of interest income was $38.9 million, according to SP. But leading the pack with the most cash is Exxon Mobil Corp., which has about $36.55 billion on its balance sheet. That amount is nearly equal to its 2005 profit of $36.13 billion, the highest ever for a U.S. company. This is expected to be among the topics brought up Wednesday when the oil company holds its annual shareholders meeting in Dallas. Beyond stock buybacks, very few companies have done much with their stockpiles. The most talked about was Microsoft Corp.'s decision to pay out a record $32 billion special dividend to shareholders in 2004 -- though relatively few companies have followed suit. Others have taken a more unusual approach, such as Apple Computer Co.'s decision to set up a Nevada-based asset management firm to handle its cash and short-term investments. Apple now has about $6.34 billion to play with, still below the $9.06 billion held by PC maker Dell Inc., according to SP. One of the biggest avenues in which companies have spent this excess money has been through mergers and acquisitions. Some 75.4 percent of all deals under $1 billion so far this year were done purely with cash, said Baird analyst Steven Bernard. There has been $122 billion worth of deals done under $1 billion, up from $101 billion during the same period last year. Many of these deals included spot acquisitions for major companies with money to burn. Barring all of that, Silverblatt at Standard Poor's said most companies will continue doing what they have been -- saving. Just like a person has cash in the bank and puts it into a money market, they are now putting it in six-month CDs, he said. They're looking for ways to save it for a longer period of time. © 1998-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
