OneHourAhead

I was finally personally affected by the credit crunch today.  There shouldn’t be any real repercussions for me but my bank here in the US, Wachovia, was bought out by Citigroup today in a $2.1 Billion deal.  Apparently the bank “did not fail“.

From the FDIC press release:

“For Wachovia customers, today’s action will ensure seamless continuity of service from their bank and full protection for all of their deposits.” said FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair. “There will be no interruption in services and bank customers should expect business as usual.”

And Wachovia’s press release in full (although I haven’t received anything from the bank):

September 29, 2008
Wachovia Announces Bank Subsidiary Divestitures to Citigroup
Wachovia Corporation to become a focused leader in retail brokerage and asset management.
CHARLOTTE, NC—Wachovia today announced intentions to sell its retail bank, corporate and investment bank and wealth management businesses to Citigroup. Wachovia Corporation will remain a public company with two main operating subsidiaries:  Wachovia Securities, the nation’s third largest brokerage firm, and Evergreen Asset Management, a leading provider of asset management services.

“During recent weeks, the financial landscape has changed significantly and presented us with unprecedented challenges,” said Robert K. Steel, CEO and President of Wachovia.  “Today’s announcement is the best alternative for the company, enabling a resolution on the Golden West portfolio.”

Under terms of the transaction, Citigroup will pay $2.1 billion to Wachovia and assume the senior and subordinated debt of Wachovia Corporation.

The transaction is expected to close before year-end. It has been approved by directors of both companies and is subject to shareholder approval of Wachovia and the appropriate regulatory approvals.

Customers of both companies should continue banking as usual, and feel confident that their deposits are secure. Also, employees and vendors should continue to operate business as usual.

At this time, there are no changes to Wachovia’s board of directors and two Wachovia directors will join Citigroup’s board.

Wachovia Corp. will remain headquartered in Charlotte, NC.  Wachovia Securities will continue to be headquartered in St. Louis, MO. Citigroup will headquarter the retail bank in Charlotte and the investment bank in New York.

Wachovia’s investment bankers were Goldman Sachs, Perella Weinberg Partners and Wachovia Securities, and its legal advisors are Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Just in case you were wondering, it wasn’t my fault!  I owe ‘em nowt.

CNN are reporting that Sarah Palin, the current Governor of Alaska is McCain’s choice for his VP.

So either a black President or a female VP - exciting times.

Just watching skins on BBC America.  They have had to subtitle it.

CNN are reporting that a man walked into the Democratic party headquarters in Little Rock claiming to want to volunteer and asked to see the Chairman, Bill Gwatney.  When denied he walked into Gwatney’s office and opened fire, killing Gwatney.

The man himself was killed after a car chase with police ended in gunfire.

Updated from CNN:

Chairman Bill Gwatney died at 3:59 Wednesday afternoon after a gunman entered his Little Rock office and shot him several times in the upper body, Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

Authorities confirmed the news shortly after former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton released a statement expressing their condolences.

“We are deeply saddened by the news that Bill Gwatney has passed away,” the former governor and first lady of Arkansas said. “His leadership and commitment to Arkansas and this country have always inspired us and those who had the opportunity to know him.”

The shooting suspect, a white male, also died Wednesday afternoon after a police chase ended in gunfire, Hastings said.

I think I just heard George Monbiot’s head explode.

From Justin at Chicken Yoghurt:

A liberal mind-hammer

How’s this for messing with liberals’ heads…

The US military have embraced renewable energy, specifically, wind turbines…

To power Guantanamo Bay.

(Via Greenpeace UK’s Twitter feed)

Just watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on NBC.  Annoyingly, when it got to Team GB they missed their entrance by still talking about Latvia, had a quick shot of Tom Daley and then cut to Nicholas Sarkozy! 

God I miss the BBC.

Still , the drummers were cool.

Howdy. 

OneHourAhead is now posting from the other side of the Atlantic instead of the other side of the North Sea so forgive me for being slightly late on the draw on any breaking news.

I will however at least have a ringside seat for one of the most exciting political races in recent history.  I am in a democratic city in a republican state in the south so things could get interesting.

Just reading the Lexington Column of The Economist and found out that the NY Governor’s tryst with Ms Kristen took place in the Mayflower hotel in Washington, DC - the very same hotel that I stayed on my trip to DC.  It’s nice to know that myself and hypocritical, philandering bastards have the same classic tastes.

My stay there wasn’t as fun-filled as Mr Spitzer’s though, I just sat in my room writing a talk on face recognition and watching American Football on ESPN.  Although one night Dick Cheney was in the building and one of his Secret Service chaps asked “is there was anything I can help you with, sir?” as I was craning my neck round a door in the lobby trying to see who had just turned up in a 10-vehicle motorcade outside.

It’s a very nice hotel if you are ever in Washington, DC, although perhaps stay away from Room 871 - I’m sure they change the sheets, but still.

Here are a few articles that might interest both the geek and politico that I know lurks within us all.  They are partly about recent work that the research group I am involved with has been doing in the field of neuroprosthetics but also about the transfer of technology and knowledge to developing nations (in this case Brazil) so that they can use it to stimulate their own economies.

Mind Powered Robots & Creating Science Cities

Building the Knowledge Archipelago

Building a Future on Science

I don’t know about you, but this really does chill my spine. Nero, fiddling and burning all somehow sprang to mind. Our beloved makes his entrance about five minutes in.