Bill Bonner, c0-author of The New Empire of Debt and daily columnist for The Daily Reckoning, UK Edition, offers his analysis on the state of the global economy.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): We all have a friend like him. For me it’s a guy named Greg. He has some great ideas and his entrepreneurial spirit runs deep, but for some reason, his plans never seem to make it to fruition. Somewhere from the drawing board to the production line, he runs into a debilitating snag.

Most of the time, it’s money.

Baltimore — (TFN): Do you think Rupert Murdoch and his multi-billion-dollar buggy whip factory is getting nervous? Unless the prince of print media single-handedly transforms an industry, his empire will come crashing down.

This story goes well beyond Murdoch’s decision to start charging for his company’s online news content.

Baltimore – (TFN): Hallelujah, the markets work! You have no idea how happy I was this morning when I opened the Wall Street Journal and found an article detailing Goldman Sachs shareholder anger at the recent bonus payouts.

Now, I don’t care who makes what. That’s between bosses and their worker bees. But I do get a little peeved when Uncle Sam tries to tell some worker he can’t get paid per his contract.

Bellwethers Report Disappointing Earnings; Morgan Stanley on the Hunt for Regional Banks; NYT Reports Loss; Pentagon Computers Hacked; FDIC Ready to Replace Pandit; TARP Faces Fraud; Financial Institutions Lost $4.1 trillion; India Cuts Rates

I was captivated by the Wall Street Journal headline “Bearish Big Investors Catch Gold Bug” by Gregory Zuckerman, because I don’t ever expect to see anything favorable about gold in the WSJ…

In a sign that the planned construction of new nuclear reactors in the U.S. market could jump-start the nation’s moribund manufacturing sector, France’s Areva SA and defense-industry giant Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) have formed a joint venture to make nuclear reactor vessels, steam generators and other related components at Northrop’s Newport News shipyard in Virginia.

I explained that, yes, I had my foot on the accelerator, but the car went fast all by itself! In fact, the more I stepped on the accelerator, the faster the car went! It’s obviously one of the mysteries of the universe!

52-Week T-Bill is Back; Sweet-Smelling Deal for FTD; First Family of Oil Calls for Environmental Focus; Garmin Losing Track; PepsiCo. Stocking up on Water; Bovespa Hits Record on S&P Rating; Kraft Profit Tumbles 13%; Kellogg Profit Sheds 2%.

Sky-high default rates om mortgages are not confined to subprime-related borrowing, and the US economy has yet to feel the full force of the housing crisis, according to a report in the The Wall Street Journal.

According to the WSJ, there is a “rapid rise” in default rates on ARM mortgages,  mortgages that give borrowers with good credit several different monthly-payment options, reports. And a report by Citigroup says losses on ARMs may be “close to subprime” in some cases.