Market Turmoil Leads to Red and Black Graphs
Everyone loves a markets-crashing story — today's comes complete with scary graphs and alarmist back-of-envelope calculations. It's also a bad day to be Toyota, a brown pelican or a Baptist missionary in Haiti.
Only the pelicans are entirely blameless, but there does seem to be a kind of perverse joy in punching new holes in Toyota — the New York Times, Washington Post and LA Times all find new facets to their misery.
Other interesting and diverting stories:
- The New York Times examine how efforts by lobbyists to block reform of student loans are succeeding.
- The Washington Post looks into sex parties.
- And the Wall Street Journal take a look at crowds for rent in Kiev, Ukraine.
Disclosure: I freelance write and report for newspapers that are included in this roundup. Where there is a direct conflict of interest I will make it clear.
The New York Times:lead with the turmoil in the markets, find another facet to Toyota's problems and report on efforts to settle 9/11 lawsuits. There's also news that Haiti will charge American Baptist ministries with child abduction for attempting to take 33 children out of the country without consent, a report on the indignity of Shreeveport, Louisiana, standing in for LA in a Hollywood movie and a look at the efforts student loans industry lobbyists are making to prevent overhaul of the system.
The Washington Post: also lead with the decline in the markets, and report that US commanders in Afghanistan face tougher scrutiny. There's also news on the imminent blizzard, the federal probe into Toyota and a report on the zoning difficulties a sex party host faces. (That is not a metaphor.)
The LA Times: leads with another, different, Toyota-is-in-trouble tale, and report an increase in health insurance rates. Los Angeles County is to allow more foster care, brown pelicans are in trouble and there's a look inside a troubled family.
The Wall Street Journal: has some scarily-colored graphs to illustrate the problems in the markets. They report on a fraud suit against the ex-Bank of America chief Ken Lewis, the troubles of the missionaries in Haiti and rent-a-crowds in Kiev, Ukraine.
The New York Post: decides it wants to scare people by bandying around huge numbers and calculating the national debt per person. Which is a completely pointless figure.
The Daily News: reports on the troubles at the Aqueduct Raceway.
Bakersfield Californian: how many times has a version of this picture appeared on a local front page?
Boston Herald: flags up what may be the end of an era.
