Dubai’s sovereign credit-default-swap spreads soared to their highest level in a year this week, amid concern about the terms of a debt restructuring by a state-owned conglomerate. There is increasingly shrill commentary arguing that Greece is the start of a far bigger problem. “A Greek crisis is coming to America”, blared the headline on a recent Financial Times article by Niall Ferguson, a financial historian.

via Sovereign-debt theories: Domino theory | The Economist.

If you live in Greater Los Angeles and are fed up with Time Warner Cable, there’s probably not much you can do about it (unless you’re the L.A. city attorney, in which case you can sue). The frequent outages, slow customer service and small number of high-definition channels are a fact of life. But the next time your Time Warner Internet goes down, wait a moment before you shout expletives at your modem. There may be a solution, albeit an unauthorized one.

via Lose your Time Warner Internet connection (again)? You could try Open DNS | Technology | Los Angeles Times.

U.S. prime jumbo mortgages at least 60 days late backing securities reached 9.6 percent in January from 9.2 percent in December, the 32nd straight increase for “serious delinquencies,” according to Fitch Ratings.

via Jumbo Mortgage ‘Serious Delinquencies’ Rise to 9.6% (Update1) – Bloomberg.com.

Conflicting U.S. jobs data and mounting concerns about debt defaults abroad that threaten global economic growth triggered a worldwide wave of stock-market volatility Friday amid fears that the improving U.S. economy could unravel.

A mixed jobs report from the Labor Department, including a revision that showed that 2009 job losses were far greater than thought, called into question the strength of the U.S. recovery.

via Global market turmoil hints that U.S. recovery may founder | McClatchy.

We don’t know what happened yesterday, but two seismic monitoring stations  some 1300 miles apart  both reported an 8.6 earthquake in China. Maybe it was a weapons test.

via Did An 8.6 Quake Hit China?.

Hot potato!

If you don’t stop reading out of anger, this is actually a very good synopsis of what’s gone down — in broad strokes — and why you’re going to want to pick up one of these.

Seriously, that this comes out late on a Friday should only reinforce the significance of this revelation. Crazy damaging news that must be revealed is always done at the start of a weekend or holiday (if possible). It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d hoped for this to come out at the start of the  Washington’s Birthday three-day weekend.

In fact, we ought to watch out for more damaging information to show up right around then.

The idea of secret banking cabals that control the country and global economy are a given among conspiracy theorists who stockpile ammo, bottled water and peanut butter. After this week’s congressional hearing into the bailout of American International Group Inc., you have to wonder if those folks are crazy after all.

I remember reading about stuff like this back in the 90s; it was all fringe stuff back then. Not so much, any more.

via Secret Banking Cabal Emerges From AIG Shadows: David Reilly – Bloomberg.com.

No delays are expected to result from the revocation of a permit that allowed around the clock construction on the Expo Line that will come to Santa Monica in its second phase. However, delays may occur if the second phase’s environmental impact report does not pass its Feb. 4 review.

via Expo timetable stays on track, but faces hurdle.

In Downtown Los Angeles, at least eight residential projects and one hotel have fallen into bankruptcy. Some of those projects, along with others in the area, have also faced foreclosure — an equally complex process with just as many possible endings.

via Los Angeles Downtown News and Information – LA Downtown News Online > News > The Big Takeover.

The 7th round of ACTA negotiations will conclude around lunch time today in Mexico.  If past meetings are any indication, a few hours later the participating countries will issue a bland statement thanking the host Mexican government, discussing the progress on civil enforcement, border measures, and the Internet as well as noting the transparency discussions and the continued desire to address the issue.  The release will then conclude by looking forward to the next meeting in Wellington, New Zealand in April.

via Michael Geist – ACTA Guide, Part Five: Speaking Out.

… so we put a volcano island on your volcano island so you could sacrifice virgins while you drive.

Taal Volcano is a complex volcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is situated between the towns of Talisay and San Nicolas in Batangas. It consists of an island in Lake Taal, which is situated within a caldera formed by an earlier, very powerful eruption. It is located about 50 km (31 Miles) from the capital, Manila. It is one of the active volcanos in the Philippines, all part of the Pacific ring of fire.

via Taal Volcano – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.