Disconnected

U.S., World Stocks Continue Descent:

World stock markets tumbled on Friday and central banks in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere continued an unprecedented infusion of cash into the financial system, as concern spread about the state of the U.S. credit market and the complicated array of investments it supports.

Area’s Big Financiers Brace for ‘a Serious Shakeout’:

Yesterday’s 387-point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average, precipitated by concerns about a global squeeze on credit, left area financiers bracing for the fallout to hit locally.

So how does Bush react to the threat to the world economy posed by substandard lending practices?

Bush to propose tighter migrant work rules:

The Bush administration plans to announce a broad new initiative today to sharpen immigration enforcement, including measures to raise fines for employers who hire illegal workers, require federal contractors to use an employment verification system and add thousands more agents at the southern border.

That’s right — crack down on those fucking Brown people.

And bragging about the economy:

Since we began cutting taxes in 2001, our economy has expanded by more than $1.9 trillion. Since the tax cuts took full effect in 2003, our economy has added more than 8.3 million new jobs, and almost four years of uninterrupted growth. Inflation is low, unemployment is low, real after-tax income has grown by an average of more than $3,400 per person since I took office. The American economy is the envy of the world, and we need to keep it that way.

Followed, of course, by this:

Stocks fall as credit concerns persist
Wall Street skidded further Friday as investors again succumbed to anxiety over tight credit conditions even after the Federal Reserve said it would do all it can to “facilitate the orderly functioning of financial markets.” The Dow Jones industrials came off of their lows after the Fed added a second dose of liquidity to the markets.

The market, which has been gyrating for weeks over fears that credit is drying up, began to pare its losses after the Fed’s latest injection of cash into the banking system Friday. The day’s declines, however, showed the depths of fear that have investors yanking money out of stocks.

Then again, President Bush’s timing has always been impeccable.