Syntagma Media is now relaunching Moneyizor.com as a tracker of the hottest topic of the moment in U.S financial circles : macroeconomics. Think “credit crunch”, “global financial meltdown”, “economy falling off a cliff”, “new Great Depression”, and your adrenalin may just kick in.

The financial news from Wall Street and Main Street has been so alarming since last summer, Moneyizor has been changed from a magazine-type portal to become a vehicle for this crucial topic.

“On the day when the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax, reported a staggering 2.5pc drop in house prices in March alone, the IMF warns governments, central banks and regulators that they now face a test of their mettle unique in modern times.”

Make sure you keep up to date on Credit Crunch technicalities with Moneyizor.

For those who don’t know, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are chartered finanicial institutions that guarantee 60 percent of the U.S. home loan market. Both are in serious trouble because of the meltdown in the housing market.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank

They dominate the top-tier of lenders that control $6 trillion of mortgage lending. A collapse would trigger an unprecedented crisis across the world’s largest economy and swift knock-on effects around the globe.

The Fed is pulling every lever available to it to neutralize the toxic effects of the subprime disaster. It’s predicted to lower rates by another 75 basis points within days, and is now offering Treasury bonds in exchange for mortgage debt. By soaking up some of the poison, the central bank hopes to take the sting out of the troubled banking crisis.

Like the British mortgage bank, Northern Rock, Freddie and Fannie may have to be nationalized to shore up the economy.

Bernard Connolly, Global Strategist at Banque AIG, believes Fed action won’t solve the problem of eroded of bank capital. “There is the risk of a very damaging credit contraction. We face the most serious global crisis since the Great Depression. But this time at least the North American central banks are doing their best to stop it spreading to the real economy. We should be thankful that we have people in charge who appreciate the gravity of the situation.”

The United States’ Federal Reserve has intervened dramatically to cut base rates by a huge 75 basis points or 0.75 percent, indicating that it regards recession as more likely than not. This is the single biggest cut by the Fed in 20 years.

The markets are less than impressed, however, regarding it as a panic measure. The White House has also weighed in with the President saying he is considering an even bigger fiscal stimulus than the recently announced $150billion.

America means business.

Syntagma has an in-depth analysis of the upcoming recession. Here’s a taster :

As we’ve been saying here in Syntagma for some months, a long, deep worldwide recession now looks more likely than not. Opinions are hardening among key players, principally in America and Britain.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal proclaimed : “U.S. warning signs point toward deep recession”.

Now even the insurance companies, or Monolines, that underwrite possible defaults, are also in trouble, with two of the biggest in the U.S. said to be close to Chapter 11 status (a form of bankruptcy protection against creditors).

There have been some high-profile security breaches and data losses in the news: banks and other financial institutions losing customer data, stores and retailers suffering data loss through hackers and in some cases, customer data just being thrown away.

Although it isn’t clear if this is a hoax or film of some janitors exhibiting an actual find, a video posted on YouTube has garnered a lot of attention in the news.

In the video, loan applications, account data and personal information on customers are found unshredded in the trash outside a J.P. Morgan Chase bank branch. Last year, Chase was in the news for accidentally throwing out tapes of sensitive data on 2.6 million customers who held Circuit City credit cards issued through Chase.

While the film is being called a hoax and a set-up by the SEIU (Service Employees’ International Union) which is currently trying to unionize security workers, the lesson about safe-guarding personal data is well-taken. Too often consumers themselves will dispose of sensitive bank receipts and credit card statements without first ensuring that they are shredded so that no personal information can be gleaned from them.

Americans continue to lose money to identity fraud and more victims lose more money each year.