Week ending 27 February 2008

News from 20/02/08 to 27/02/08

The new invasion of Iraq
Up to 10,000 Turkish troops launch an incursion which threatens to destabilise the country's only peaceful region


Global Cooling: Amazing pictures of countries joining Britain in the big freeze


Kenya election unrest toll above 1500


Economy.com: One in 10 Home Loans Under Water


Zimbabwe: IMF Estimates Inflation At 150 000 Percent


The three trillion dollar war
The cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have grown to staggering proportions


High food prices may force aid rationing

The WFP crisis talks come as the body sees the emergence of a “new area of hunger” in developing countries where even middle-class, urban people are being “priced out of the food market” because of rising food prices.

Depression drugs don’t work, finds data review

Millions of people taking commonly prescribed antidepressants such as Prozac and Seroxat might as well be taking a placebo, according to the first study to include unpublished evidence.

[Link to study cited in article above]



Former Fed chief Alan Greenspan says dollar peg 'needs to go'



Biggest brain drain from UK in 50 years

No other nation is losing so many qualified people, it points out. Britain has now lost more than one in 10 of its most skilled citizens, while overall only Mexico has had more people emigrate.

The Oil factor in Kosovo independence


--------------------------
Also of interest:
Mysteries of computer from 65BC are solved
How Believing Can Be Seeing: Context Dictates What We Believe We See
Beyond Wikipedia: 19 References You Can't Do Without

Week ending 19 February 2008

Iran Opens First Oil Products, Petrochemicals Bourse - AFP

Iran, OPEC's number two crude oil producer, Sunday inaugurated its first exchange for oil products and petrochemicals, in a bid to become a major player in the global downstream industry.

Kosovo MPs proclaim independence

Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in a historic session.

Kosovo Independence: "End of Europe"
Top political analysts on Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s Kosovo warning


Russia angry, warns West

Russia has warned that it is preparing measures to respond against the US and other Western countries that officially recognize Sunday's unilateral independence declaration by the former Serbian territory of Kosovo.

OPEC considers dumping US dollar


Wheat market gone wild


Pakistanis Deal Severe Defeat to Musharraf in Election

Pakistanis dealt a crushing defeat to President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections on Monday, in what government and opposition politicians said was a firm rejection of his policies since 2001 and those of his close ally, the United States.

Credit Default Swaps Are Next to Take the Crunch Test


Fidel Castro announces retirement


U.S. on the offensive in bid to secure energy supplies


David Walker, head of the US Government Accountability Office on US Government fiscal irresponsibility [YouTube]
Also note that David Walker has recently resigned.

---------------
Also of interest:
46 Best freeware utilities
Crowds 'pick leaders to follow'

Week ending 11 February 2008

News from 06/02/08 to 11/02/08

Why the price of 'peak oil' is famine


China’s Inflation Hits American Price Tags


The world's rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan


Declining coal reserves add to energy supply worries

In mid-2000, Australian thermal coal bound for the Asian market -- mostly China -- was selling for $24.59 a tonne. Last week, it broke $116.

Some analysts speculate the price in 2008 might exceed $200.

"Euros Accepted" signs pop up in New York City


Tajikistan 'facing food crisis'


Obesity becoming world crisis

By 2030, obesity will be the Number 1 killer of poor people around the world, the World Health Organization says.

Week ending 05 February 2008

News from 30/01/08 to 05/02/08

Fed delivers 50-point rate cut

The 50 basis point reduction in the Federal Funds rate came hot on the heels of last week’s emergency 75 basis point cut. The combined 125 basis point reduction represents the most abrupt easing of monetary policy by the US central bank since the early 1980s.

China snow leaves millions in cold and dark

Millions of Chinese faced a humanitarian crisis on Friday, as petrol and food reserves dwindled and yet more bad weather was forecast for a country paralysed by record-breaking cold and snow.

FBI opens subprime inquiry

The FBI said it was looking into possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other violations in connection with loans made to borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit.

Russia warns US, EU over Kosovo independence

Russia's Kosovo negotiator, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, declined to give any details about the steps, but said a recognition of Kosovo's independence by the West would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe in the province.

Ships did not cause Internet cable damage

Two cables were damaged earlier this week in the Mediterranean sea and another off the coast of Dubai, causing widespread disruption to Internet and international telephone services in Egypt, Gulf Arab states and South Asia.

A fourth cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday causing yet more disruptions, telecommunication provider Qtel said.

[Map of countries severely affected by cable damage]


Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt


ACCC to investigate fertiliser prices

Two years ago, it cost $400 a tonne, but now costs $1,000 a tonne.

The Trillion Dollar Secret


Biggs's Tips for Rich: Expect War, Study Blitz, Mind Markets

Barton Biggs has some offbeat advice for the rich: Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with ``seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.''...
Biggs is no paranoid survivalist. He was chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2003 to form hedge fund Traxis Partners.

U.S. slump spreading around the globe, IMF warns

Financial turbulence is carrying the U.S. slump to the rest of the world, and now the global economy is in the midst of a serious slowdown, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.

Greenback's days in Iran numbered

The Oil Bourse will serve as a place to trade oil products and crude oil.

The Ministry of Economy will be setting up the petrochemicals section by February 19.