1.      Why Dollar's Reign Is Near An End

“For decades, the dollar has served as the world's main reserve currency, but, argues Barry Eichengreen, it will soon have to share that role. Here's why and what it will mean for international markets and companies.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110301-714544.html

2.      George Soros: rocketing oil price is a bubble

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/2790539/George-Soros-rocketing-oil-price-is-a-bubble.html# <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/2790539/George-Soros-rocketing-oil-price-is-a-bubble.html>

3.      Financial terrorism suspected in 2008 economic crash

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/28/financial-terrorism-suspected-in-08-economic-crash/print/# <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/28/financial-terrorism-suspected-in-08-economic-crash/print/>

4.      What Really Killed Bear Stearns?

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/what-really-killed-bear-stearns/

5.      Federal Reserve chief warns GOP: Don't hold debt-ceiling vote hostage

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke approves of plans to bring federal deficits under control, but he tells senators not to link such a move to a coming vote on raising the debt ceiling.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0301/Federal-Reserve-chief-warns-GOP-Don-t-hold-debt-ceiling-vote-hostage

6.      China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/09/us-china-usa-pla-idUSTRE6183KG20100209

Gas Prices: Up 24 cents in 8 days

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/02/news/economy/gas_prices/ <http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/02/news/economy/gas_prices/>

• The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose 1.2 cents Wednesday to $3.387, according to a daily survey from motorist group AAA. Prices have jumped 23.6 cents over the past eight days.

GAS PRICES RISING

• From Feb. 21 – Feb. 28
• From Feb. 28 – March 1
• From March 1 – today

WIKILEAKS TIMELINE

**THE DATES BELOW ARE OF THE FIRST TIME WIKILEAKS RELEASED A DAMAGING REPORT ABOUT THE COUNTRY. THEY HAVE SINCE RELEASED ADDITIONAL DOCS ON EACH**

TUNISIA

• June 2008: One of the U.S. government cables released by WikiLeaks exposed the corruption of Tunisia's President's family, its reach into business in the country, and ability to transcend the rule of law. President Ben Ali's family was called "The Family" throughout the leak. The government attempted to block access to WikiLeaks earlier this month. (Business Insider)

• January 14, 2011: Riots force Pres. Zine al Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country after 23 years of power

EGYPT

• July 2008: The consequence of invading Iraq was to strengthen the hand of Iran, concluded a key U.S. ally in a 2008 meeting with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), according to a State Department cable obtained and released by WikiLeaks. Mubarak openly spoke of such ties in the meeting with Kerry. Mubarak said that he could not publicly oppose Iran for fear of "sabotage and Iranian terrorism." He said Iran's sponsorship of terrorism is "well-known but I cannot say it publicly. It would create a dangerous situation." (Huff Po)

• Dec. 2008: US diplomatic memos released by WikiLeaks this month show previously unknown friction with Egypt over military assistance and strategy (AP)

• Jan 25 2011: Rioting begins

• Feb. 11, 2011: After 18 days of protest, Mubarak steps down

LIBYA

**LAST WEEK WIKILEAKS RELEASED A CABLE ON LIBYA

Nov 2010?

(Reuters, Feb. 24, 2011)

Libya placed billions of dollars at U.S. banks: WikiLeaks

• Libya's secretive sovereign wealth fund has $32 billion in cash with several U.S. banks each managing up to $500 million, and it has primary investments in London, a confidential diplomatic cable shows. The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and revealing the details of a January meeting between the head of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) and the U.S. ambassador in Tripoli

YEMEN

**ON THE BRINK

• Sept. 15, 2009: The cables expose for the first time the true scale of America's covert military involvement in the Arab world's poorest nation amid deep concern in Washington that it has become the haven for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Workers at Yemen's Sana'a International airport Workers at Yemen's Sana'a International airport, where the US fears poor security will not be able to stop al-Qaida using it as a launch pad for terrorist attacks(The Guardian)

The Crisis in Yemen: On the Brink of a Showdown

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2056045,00.html <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2056045,00.html>

• Only a few short months ago, (Yemeni President) Saleh was sitting snugly on a substantial pile of U.S. military aid as a result of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the most active arm of the organization, having carried out near daily attacks in the country and threatened deadly missions on American turf.
• Afraid that U.S. troops on the ground could create a second Afghanistan, the Pentagon started pumping money into the Yemeni army in the hope it would crush the al-Qaeda threat. Saudi Arabia followed suit, afraid that instability in its southern neighbor could seep across the border to target Saudi oil production. Saleh, already fighting rebels in the north and a separatist movement in the south, knew he could rely on Yemen's volatility to garner the dollars he needed to pay off tribal foes and keep himself in power

SAUDI ARABIA

**ON MONDAY WIKILEAKS RELEASED A 1996 CABLE ON THE ROYAL FAMILY’S WEALTH**

(Reuters, 2/28/11)

Special Report: U.S. cables detail Saudi royal welfare program

• Besides the huge monthly stipends that every Saudi royal receives, the cables detail various money-making schemes some royals have used to finance their lavish lifestyles over the years. Among them: siphoning off money from "off-budget" programs controlled by senior princes, sponsoring expatriate workers who then pay a small monthly fee to their royal patron and, simply, "borrowing from the banks, and not paying them back."
• As long ago as 1996, U.S. officials noted that such unrestrained behavior could fuel a backlash against the Saudi elite. In the assessment of the U.S. embassy in Riyadh in a cable from that year, "of the priority issues the country faces, getting a grip on royal family excesses is at the top."

• Nov. 2010: The Guardian said some cables showed King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia repeatedly urging the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear program. The newspaper also said officials in Jordan and Bahrain have openly called for Iran's nuclear program to be stopped by any means and that leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt referred to Iran "as 'evil,' an 'existential threat' and a power that 'is going to take us to war,'" The Guardian said

COPPER PRICES

From Feb 2, 2011 - TODAY

• High on Feb. 14 by labeling it $4.63.
• Low on Feb. 23 by labeling it $4.29

From March 2010 – TODAY

• High on Feb. 14 by labeling it $4.63.
• Low on JUNE 4 BY LABELING IT $2.79

Copper Sinks as Oil Tops $100 (WSJ, TODAY)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559604576176351797075040.html <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559604576176351797075040.html>

• Oil's rally has raised concerns that higher energy costs will damp economic growth and crimp global demand for copper.
• "Copper is used in housing, cars, manufactured goods and demand for that type of stuff will drop as consumers clamp on spending to adjust for higher gasoline prices," said Matt Zeman, head of trading at Kingsview Financial in Chicago.
• Despite Wednesday's decline, copper prices remain near record highs of $4.6375 a pound, set Feb. 14. Prices for the red metal are up almost 35% from last year as analysts forecast global demand to outpace mine supply this year.

HOLDER “MY PEOPLE” SOT

• When you compare what people endured in the South in the 60s to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, to compare what people subjected to that with what happened in Philadelphia, which was inappropriate // in those terms I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line for my people

HOLDER SISTER-IN-LAW SOT

• My wife's sister integrated the University of Alabama - and George Wallace stood in the door and said that she as a state resident could not attend // To compare that kind of courage, that kind of action and to say the Black Panther incident, wrong though it might be, somehow is greater in magnitude or is of greater concern to us historically, I think just flies in the face of history and the facts.

HOLDER DOJ RACE SOT

• The allegations, that somehow someway , this Justice Department does things on the basis of race is simply false.  // Anybody who makes that contention is not telling the truth, is not familiar with the facts, or has a political agenda.

GLENN RACE CARD SOT, 1/6

• Let me predict the future. The progressives are becoming increasingly desperate // And the progressives still have a couple of pieces out on the table, you know, for the transformational puzzle that they're putting together

GLENN RACE CARD ON IMMIGRATION SOT, 1/6

• Whether it passes or not is going to be irrelevant, quite frankly, to these people. It is exactly what they need. What is in the bill? It doesn't matter. The issue will be racism. The progressives must reactivate their far left base.