We like to think that when we deposit a dollar at the bank, it goes into a big vault and we can pull out that same dollar at any time. But that¿s not how the U.S. banking system works. Banks take that money and invest it to make money themselves, so cash gets spread around. This, naturally, leads to a big risk: What happens if those investments go sour? Well, you¿d be out of luck. You can¿t get your dollar back.

The Federal Reserve doesn¿t like that scenario, so it prohibits banks from putting all the cash it has on deposit on the line. In fact, the Fed forces banks to keep a portion of their assets at the Federal Reserve itself, to make sure that some of your assets won¿t get squandered if the bank¿s bets go south. These are called ¿reserves,¿ (hence, Federal Reserve. Got it? Good), and usually amount to 10% of the total cash kept in checking accounts.

These reserves are never exactly 10%, and banks like to keep a little extra in reserve ¿ not, as you might think, to make you more comfortable that they¿re in good financial shape, but rather so they can take that excess and lend it to other banks and make money off it. (They¿re banks, they can¿t help themselves.) The rate at which they make these loans is called the Federal Funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve¿s Federal Open Market Committee.

When you hear people chattering about how the Fed cut or hiked interest rates, this is what they¿re talking about: the interest rate banks can charge for lending money from their reserves. This begs the question: If these are essentially loans between banks, why is the Fed Funds rate so important for the rest of the economy?

Well, simply put, because loans make the financial world go round. Bank A lends Bank B $10,000 at a Fed Funds rate of 5%. Bank B then lends out $10,000 to a small business at 7%. The small business then takes that money and expands the business and hires new workers. Now someone is employed, Bank B has made interest off the loan, and Bank A is the richer for making it all happen. It¿s perhaps overly simplistic, but you get the idea. When you want the economy to thrive, you make lending cheaper.

Of course, sometimes you don¿t want the economy to thrive. In fact, you might want it to cool down, mostly to avoid money flooding the system and causing inflation. In that case, the Fed raises interest rates, making it difficult to lend or borrow.

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Friday, June 20, 2008

EarthFirst Technologies, Inc. Files Chapter 11

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Comtex

TAMPA, Fla., Jun 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----EarthFirst Technologies, Incorporated ("EarthFirst" or "the Company") (Pink Sheets:EFTI) today announced that EarthFirst and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 13, 2008 in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. The bankruptcy cases are being jointly administered under Case No. 8:08-bk-08639-MGW. The Company has secured DIP financing and plans to reorganize.

About EarthFirst

EarthFirst Technologies, www.earthfirsttech.com, is a specialized holding company engaged in researching, developing and commercializing technologies for the production of alternative fuel sources and the destruction and/or remediation of liquid and solid wastes. Through its subsidiary World Environmental Solutions Company (WESCO), the Company is focused on investments in companies developing and marketing its Catalytic Activated Vacuum Distillation (CAVD) process, a technology developed by EarthFirst to recycle rubber tires and other waste. Through its subsidiary, SolarDiesel Corporation, the Company is focused on investments in companies facilitating commercial scale production and distribution of biofuels.

Investors are cautioned that certain statements contained in this document as well as some statements in periodic press releases and some oral statements of EFTI officials are "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). Forward-looking statements include statements which are: predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, include words such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "expects," and similar expressions. In addition, any statements concerning future financial performance (including future revenues, earnings or growth rates), ongoing business strategies or prospects, and possible future EFTI actions, which may be provided by management, are also forward-looking statements as defined by the Act. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and to vary significantly from reporting period to reporting period. Although management believes that assumptions made and expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there is no assurance that the underlying assumptions will, in fact, prove to be correct or that actual future results will not be different from the expectations expressed in this report. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and EFTI has no specific intention to update these statements.

SOURCE: EarthFirst Technologies