No sign of life at the RBA: The Reserve Bank is keeping with tradition and not meeting today, despite the economic downturn. The RBA meets on the first Tuesday of every month, except January. But it has met in January in the past when tough economic conditions have warranted it. — ABC

Madoff packs up the heirlooms, eBay items flourish: Accused Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff has appeared in court in New York amid a media scrum and was immediately accused by US Attorney Marc Litt of breaking his bail conditions by mailing jewelry worth $1 million to family members. Madoff has been under house arrest after authorities accused him of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Meanwhile, Madoff memorabilia has begun to appear on eBay.

According to AFP:

Beach bags, flashlights, blankets, binoculars, jackets, T-shirts, umbrellas and other items — all emblazoned with the Madoff Securities name and logo — are up for sale at the online auction house.

Among the more unusual items are “Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC” desktop cigar humidors being sold outright for 79.99 dollars or 99.99 dollars, depending on the seller.

 

Doctors on Steve Jobs’ hormone problem: Sounds like diabetes: CEO Steve Jobs may have symptoms that resemble Type 1 diabetes, a noted endocrinologist said today, and he could be treated with insulin. Earlier today, Jobs blamed a “hormone imbalance” for the weight loss that has sparked speculation about his health since last June, when he appeared at Apple’s annual developers conference looking gaunt. Much of the talk about his appearance, and concern by investors about his condition, centered around the possibility that he again had cancer. In August 2004, Jobs, who is 53, announced that he had had surgery to remove a cancerous neuroendocrine tumor in his pancreas. — Computer World

Reid Says Obama Suggests Stimulus as High as $1.3 Trillion: President-elect Barack Obama said economists are suggesting a US stimulus may have to be as large as $1.3 trillion, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. Obama “has indicated that there’s at least 20 economists that he’s talked with, and all but one of those believe it should be from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion or $1.3 trillion,” Reid said after meeting with Obama on Capitol Hill. — Bloomberg

2008 US Auto Sales Lowest in Decade: Vehicle sales in the United States were sharply lower for nearly all auto companies, and the two largest U.S. manufacturers reported the lowest number of sales in nearly five decades. General Motors reported Monday that its sales dropped 31 percent in December, and fell 23 percent for all of last year. It sold fewer vehicles in 2008 than any year since 1959. Ford says its U.S. sales plunged by almost one-third between November and December, and about 20 percent for all of 2008, the lowest number of sales in 47 years. — VOA News

Iceland in Meltdown: From “trust in cod” to meltdown, The Atlantic maps the tale of a nation’s economic downfall.