Palash Ghosh

The fact that markets did not witness a rush to buy U.S. dollars and Treasurys during the crisis in Egypt should serve as an ominous warning that investors are increasingly shunning the traditional U.S. safe-havens.

Stocks rallied after Hosni Mubarak resigned as president of Egypt and the Obama administration announced plans to dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The attractive woman wearing glasses and a red suit at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) may have looked like Sarah Palin, but it was actually Palin look-alike Patti Lyons.

Bill O’Reilly’s interview with President Obama before the Super Bowl last Sunday has elicited a broad array of criticism, particularly from liberals like Bill Maher who claimed O’Reilly interrupted the President too much and didn’t show him enough deference. Meanwhile, conservatives and others called Maher a hypocrite because he savagely had attacked George W. Bush when he was President.

More than 50,000 people were arrested last year in New York City for possessing small amounts of marijuana , according to the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services. Those 50,383 arrests represented 15 percent of all arrests by the New York Police Department (NYPD)

Hosni Mubarak’s somewhat belated decision to resign as President of Egypt has elicited almost universal joy (mixed with caution) from leaders and prominent figures around the world:

Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt and handed over power to the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces, according to an announcement read by Vice-President Omar Suleiman on state TV.

China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has arrived in Zimbabwe to start a five-nation tour of Africa, amidst reports the two nations have signed a $10-billion trade deal.

The European Union’s (EU) energy commissioner has said that the EU’s new partnerships with Central Asian nations do not pose a threat to Russia’s gas sales to Europe.

Spain, reeling under the weight of massive unemployment and a collapsed property market, saw its economy shrink by 0.1 percent last year, although it grew by 0.2 percent during the fourth quarter, according to the country’s National Statistics Institute.

Stocks finished narrowly mixed, amidst much speculation that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would voluntary resign from his office. (He later announced that will stay on until September elections).

In a long and rambling speech on state TV, embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that he has a framework to provide for a peaceful transition to a new regime at the September elections, but that he will remain in power till then.

The mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has offended some Irish-American leaders after making some comments referring to drunkenness among the Irish, a month ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

As speculation grows that Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak will step down in a few hours after more than two weeks of continuous political unrest in the country, the Egyptian Higher Military Council said it is in a state of “continuous session” to protect the nation and the aspirations of the people.”

Trevor Bailey, one of the greatest England all-rounders of the post-war era, has been found dead in a fire at a nursing home in Essex.

A senior Egyptian army commander has reportedly told protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on that Everything you want will be realized,” according to Al-Jazeera, suggesting that President Hosni Mubarak may soon be steeping down acceding to the protesters’ demands.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported last night that Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) who recently vacated his job for a medical leave, was seen on the company’s campus recently and was “looking good.”

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported that home repossessions dropped by 24 percent in 2010

A strike by employees of Pakistan’s national airline carrier has severely disrupted air travel in the country and stranded thousands of travelers around the world.

Mehdi Karroubi, an Iranian opposition leader, has been placed under house arrest, according to his own official website.

Anthony Borgese, who uses the stage name Tony Darrow, pled guilty in Brooklyn federal court to one count of participating in an extortion conspiracy to collect a debt.

More than 700 workers at Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) will lose their jobs after the Delaware bank is officially taken over by Buffalo-based M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB).

U.S. stocks finished narrowly mixed after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke warned that unemployment may remain at elevated level for several years, although he downplayed inflation risks.

Federal Reserve chairman said the risk of inflation was “quite low” and that higher prices in emerging markets were unlikely to spill over into the U.S.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded New Jersey bon d rating by one notch to “AA-“ from “AA” (both with stable outlooks).

The New York Stock Exchange (which also owns Euronext) and Germany’s Deutsche Borse have said they are in advanced talks to merge in a transaction that would result in the biggest stock exchange in the world valued at $24-billion.

The Romanian government has proposed a new bill under which people who practice witchcraft can be fined or even imprisoned if their predictions do not come true.

Based on its definition of how body mass index (BMI) is related to being overweight and/or obese – last year WHO unveiled a list of countries with the highest percentage of its population who are overweight. Here is a list of countries along with the percentage of the population that is overweight by WHO’s standards).

As a microcosm of the huge financial crisis enveloping state and municipal governments across the country consider the case of Oakland, California.