I just came across this article in Wired, detailing how a newly discovered rainforest fungus creates a diesel like fuel.

The fungus, Gliocladium roseum is detailed in the Journal Microbiology.

IF this plant can be harvested and grown commercially, it may help alleviate the oil situation. With the advent of solar power, and this plant providing oil for plastics manufacture, we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil greatly.

Yesterday, the Fed cut rates a half point to 1%. Here are some comparisons with other lending rates.

Bank of America interest on a saving account.

• 1.5%-2%

Lowest rate on a mortgage I have seen lately

• 5.5%

Most common quoted rate range

• 7%-8%

Subprime mortgage lending rate

• 12%-15%

Discover Card Interest Rate

• 18%

Capital One Interest Rate

• 25%

Cheapo Payday Loan Place

• 102%

One Month Payday Loan Place

• 200%-300%

Two week Payday Loan Place

• 500%+

There is still quite a bit of money to be earned, just not by the consumer.

The US government is giving upwards of 20-22 US banks upwards of $250 billion dollars to stabilize lending and ease credit flow.

Nine of the banks are receiving the first $125 billion, with Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo each receiving $25 billion; or approximately $2 per star in our galaxy.

FactBox here

The market is going to go down, but not severely. I have read some people claiming a 700+ point loss. I am going to go ahead and say 450 points down.

Gold will drop to a thirteen month low.

Oil will drop $3/barrel, gas will follow at $0.03/gal.

Copper will fall like it did last week, but silver will stay stable.

We can’t manufacture enough ammo to meet the gun needs of the United States, so stockpile some good rocks. :p

Rumor is, Ford will declare chapter 11 soon, and maybe GM will as well. I would be careful of this, as the GM Financing division is still turning a profit.

Microsoft is still turning a profit, so they will make a good investment, even if they make a lousy product.

Remember, with winter coming, now is the time to start getting your home and car ready for the cold weather, if you have not done so already. Check the weatherstripping your doors and windows, and make sure your car’s tires are properly inflated.

I found this cute little graph on Fark.com detailing the fall of global economies compared to the US.

Perhaps this explains why the dollar is rising vs other currencies despite the market going down faster then a drunk on ice skates. Economics sure is complex.

Japan has moved to allow unlimited access to it’s internal funds in a move to shore up confidence in the stock market. Sourced here.

If you are the risk-taker, now is the time to buy Nikkei stock, as it will soon be going up.

The Guardian has posted the Reuters story from earlier, so I expect European stocks will climb tomorrow morning, bright and early. Although I do expect them to continue their current trends, and tomorrows jump will be relatively minor. Story here

The US Gov has announced that it will release $250 billion of the $700 billion it has earmarked for the Wall Street bailout directly to banks.  The move comes after the weekend, where Germany, Britain, and France dumped $1.36 trillion into their local banks, and Japan has commented that it might do the same. Forbes Reuters

While the move is freeing up credit, the government is directly guaranteeing the new debt, which provides little incentive for the banks to lend wisely.

I have mixed feelings about this move, on one hand, it allows banks to continue to lend freely, and businesses to work, while on the other, it dumps money directly into worldwide economies with no ability to reign it in later; thus increasing inflation. Although, with only $250 billion, the relative increase will be less then inflationary rates of other countries.

If these are loans, which the Reuters article makes mention of, then this money has the ability to stave off more recession now, and possibly for quite a while, if the banks can get it together and stem the flow of cash into bad marks. This will push up bank stocks, indeed, they have risen 10+ percent, but it will artificially inflate other stocks, delaying their downward fall for a few days.

Expect the market to eat this money up, then continue falling, starting on Friday, and continuing at a slower pace (3-4%/day) for the next week.