Oct 07 2008
Asian Stocks Way Down
You know there’s trouble when CNN interrupts taped programming to broadcast CNN International live. I see that Asian stock markets are suffering mightily again today. The Nikkei 225 finished down more than nine percent. Trading in Jakarta was suspended after the index dropped 10 percent. Hong Kong and India markets were down substantially as well. European trading will start in a couple of hours. I can’t imagine the news will be any better.
There is no true “24-hour” cable news channel in the U.S. Fox News Channel and CNN begin live programming weekdays at 6 a.m. eastern and continue until 11 p.m. Both networks offer repeats from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. most nights. MSNBC’s live broadcast day runs from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. eastern, with repeats dominating the overnight hours.
It’s disconcerting to know the cable news outlets quit by 8 p.m. pacific. The weekends are full of reruns as well. CNN had to air CNN International’s live coverage at 11 p.m. pacific Friday when O.J. Simpson was convicted of robbery and ancillary charges.
I added a couple of pages to the site. One lists the members of the U.S. Senate, separated into their classes (year their terms end). The other new page provides a quick reference to the latest Electoral College projection.
I didn’t know CNN didn’t run live through the night in the US. My main beef with CNN is that they have so many programs concentrating on business and stuff that we don’t really find out news unless you happen to turn on at the right time of day/hour. I know that the stuff about “Inside Africa” etc is informative and interesting, but I want to know what’s happening in the news around the world when I switch on a news channel. They even disbanded their teletext pages so unless I happen to be lucky enough to hit a news program CNN tells me zip about what’s going on - so usually they lose me to somewhere like Sky News. If I want a documentary I’ll go to Discovery! Sorry - you hit a current nerve!
Katie-Anne (getting off soapbox)
(climbing on abandoned soapbox)
Our stock market is schizophrenic. Given that the subprime mortgage deals and an irresponsibly lowered Federal Interest Rate were two of the biggest reasons for this meltdown, we respond to the meltdown by (drumroll) lowering the Fed and printing more money for the banks to lend to people who need home loans!
We’re short-bus smart.