Hump Day Headlines - March 3, 2010
By Twisted Sifter on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 filed under CURRENT EVENTS.
Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.
Chile steps up aid to desperate quake victims [Reuters]
- Constitucion, with a population of nearly 40,000, accounts for nearly half of the official death toll, which Bachelet said had risen to 795. Surrounded by three hills, the city was turned into a ruin of flattened homes and toppled buildings. Wooden homes perched atop the hillsides were among the only buildings left standing
- Both the human and economic cost could have been a lot worse given the size of the quake, one of the world’s biggest in the past century. Chile’s rigid building codes left it much more prepared for a quake than Haiti, where more than 200,000 were killed in January in a 7.0-magnitude quake
- Chile has the most stable economy in Latin America but the huge quake and tsunamis have hit its efforts to climb out of a recession triggered by the global economic downturn. Some analysts estimate the damage could cost Chile up to $30 billion, or about 15% of its GDP. The disaster also hands billionaire businessman Sebastian Pinera a mammoth challenge days before he is sworn in as Chile’s new president
GM recalls 1.3m cars over power steering fault [BBC]
- General Motors (GM) is recalling 1.3 million small cars in North America because of a power steering problem that has been linked to 14 crashes. The firm said four models were affected - the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Pontiac Pursuit and Pontiac 4
- GM blamed the fault on a supplier partially owned by Toyota. GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz said the supplier had not met “all requirements for reliability and durability”. “So we will have to see who takes financial responsibility,” he said. “But this is a risk you sometimes take when you buy a complete system from a supplier.”
- The GM recall comes as Toyota is continuing to call back more than eight million cars around the world following accelerator and braking problems. The Japanese carmaker also said on Tuesday that it is repairing another 1.6 million vehicles in the US and Japan over leaky oil hoses
Ukraine coalition collapses, no-confidence vote due [Reuters]
- Ukraine’s ruling coalition collapsed on Tuesday as newly elected President Viktor Yanukovich moved to oust Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and consolidate his power. Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said leaders of parliamentary factions had met and the coalition partners had failed to submit enough signatures to demonstrate they maintained a majority
- His victory over Tymoshenko in an acrimonious and tightly-fought February 7 run-off election is expected to tilt the country of 46 million people back toward Russia after years of infighting between the Orange revolutionaries
- Ukraine desperately needs political stability to tackle a debilitating economic crisis that saw GDP contract by 15% in 2009, and to restart talks with the International Monetary Fund on a $16.4 billion bailout package
Greece Approves Plan for New Taxes and Pay Cuts [New York Times]
- The Greek government Wednesday approved additional tax hikes and a 30% cut in holiday bonuses for public employees as part of a new raft of austerity measures aimed at narrowing its gaping budget deficit. The measures aim to generate at least $5.5 billion in revenue and savings this year
- They come on top of tax increases and a public sector wage freeze announced a month ago, worth €5 billion. But European Union officials have demanded that Greece cut deeper before they would consider extending any financial support to avert a debt crisis
- Greece has been under mounting pressure to rein in spending after the new government late last year revealed its budget deficit was nearly 13% of gross domestic product. Greece has promised to reduce that by four percentage points this year, to 8.7% of G.D.P. as a first step to getting under the E.U. cap of 3%
Telecom Italia Delays Results Because of Money-Laundering Scandal [New York Times]
- Telecom Italia has delayed the release of its 2009 results after the authorities seized 300 million euros from its Sparkle subsidiary in connection with a money-laundering scandal that has rocked the Italian business establishment
- The Italian authorities this week issued arrest warrants for 56 people in connection with a 2 billion euro, or $2.7 billion, tax fraud and money-laundering investigation linked to the ’Ndrangheta, or the Calabrian Mafia. In addition to Telecom Italia’s Sparkle unit, prosecutors are looking into the accounts of Fastweb, a broadband provider four-fifths owned by Swisscom
- Among those sought by the authorities are a founder of Fastweb, the billionaire Silvio Scaglia, and Nicola Di Girolamo, a senator in Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right coalition. Both Mr. Scaglia and Mr. Di Girolamo deny any wrongdoing
Georgia and Russia re-open land border crossing [Reuters]
- Georgia and Russia reopened their only direct border crossing on Monday, more than three years after it was closed amid rising tension that erupted into war in 2008. The Verkhny Lars pass is the only land crossing linking Russia with Georgian government-controlled territory. Other routes from Russia through the Caucasus Mountains lead to the Moscow-backed rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
- Russia closed the crossing in mid-2006 as relations with Georgia’s pro-Western government soured. In August 2008, Russian forces crushed a Georgian assault on South Ossetia and drove deep into the U.S. ally’s territory in a five-day war. The new U.N Secretary General’s special envoy to Georgia, Antti Turunen, said the opening was a step in the right direction
- Analysts said the decision to reopen it was more economic than political, and would mostly benefit traders from Russia’s landlocked economic ally Armenia. Visas will not be issued at the border crossing. Russians visiting Georgia can only receive visas at the airport, while Georgians have to apply in advance to visit Russia through the Russian interests section of the Swiss embassy in Tbilisi
4 Charged in Concert Ticket Resale Scheme [New York Times]
- Federal prosecutors in New Jersey said on Monday that four men operating under the name Wiseguy Tickets had broken into online sites, buying more than one million tickets to some of the country’s most popular musical and sporting events and then reselling them for more than $25 million in profit
- In its 43-count indictment, the prosecutors say the men built a computer network that created thousands of fake accounts and built a program that could outsmart the ticketing software that creates oddly shaped letters intended to require human verification
- Three of the indicted men, Kenneth Lowson, 40, Kristofer Kirsch, 37, and Joel Stevenson, 37, surrendered on Monday. The fourth man, Faisal Nahdi, 36, is out of the country and arrangements are being made for his surrender
Minor Miracle on Ice: A Stunning Audience [New York Times]
- The Canadian men’s hockey team’s 3-2 overtime victory game was seen by 27.6 million viewers — in the afternoon — a figure exceeded at these Games by just two prime-time Olympic broadcasts on NBC. Only the opening ceremony and the night NBC showed six medal-winning performances, including those of Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White, generated more viewers
- At its peak when the American team tied the score, 34.8 million people were watching. The game was seen by nearly 9% of the United States population. In Canada, the game was seen on nine networks by an average of 16.6 million viewers — a shade less than half the nation’s population. The game stands as the Canada’s most-viewed television program ever
- In the United States, hockey had not been seen by as many as 27.6 million viewers since the 1980 Winter Games and the ‘Miracle on Ice’. In 2002, the United States-Canada gold medal game, also shown in the afternoon, yielded 17.1 million viewers in Salt Lake City. Last year, the Pittsburgh-Detroit final averaged 4.5 million viewers on NBC and Versus, with a peak of 7.9 million for Game 7
- Apple sues HTC over phones with Google software [Retuers]
- US plans ‘dramatic reductions’ in nuclear weapons [BBC]
- Network News at Crossroads [New York Times]
- Coke to buy top bottler’s North America operations [Reuters]
- Nissan to recall 540,000 vehicles globally [Reuters]
- Microsoft shuts down global spam network [BBC]
Photograph by REUTERS/Marco Fredes
via The Big Picture: Earthquake in Chile
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Hump Day Headlines - February 24, 2010
By Twisted Sifter on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 filed under CURRENT EVENTS.
Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.
Saudi women to be allowed to argue cases in court [BBC]
- Saudi Arabia is planning to bring in a new law to allow women lawyers to argue cases in court for the first time. Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa said the law was part of King Abdullah’s plan to develop the legal system
- The law - to be issued “in the coming days” - would allow women to appear in court on family-related cases, including divorce and child custody. At the moment, they can only work behind the scenes in government and court offices
- Under a system of male guardianship, Saudi Arabian women are required to be kept separate from men they are not related to. All are veiled to a greater or lesser degree in public, they are not allowed to drive, and women under 45 must receive permission from a male when they travel. Opportunities for education and employment are also dependent on male guardianship
Pakistani Reports Capture of a Taliban Leader [New York Times]
- In another blow to the Taliban senior leadership, Pakistani authorities have captured Mullah Abdul Kabir. Mullah Kabir is a member of the Quetta Shura, the small group of leaders who direct the Taliban’s operations and who report to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the group’s founder. The group is named for the Pakistani city where many of the Taliban’s leaders are thought to be hiding
- Mullah Kabir is the second member of the Quetta Shura to be captured in Pakistan in recent weeks. Last month, American and Pakistani intelligence agents captured Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s top military commander and the head of the Quetta Shura. He was hiding in Karachi
- The capture of Mullah Kabir appeared to be a strictly Pakistani operation, and Pakistani officials appeared to be keeping Mullah Kabir’s arrest a closely held secret, even from their American allies. Mullah Kabir is a longtime associate of Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s founder. He was the governor of Nangarhar Province, in eastern Afghanistan, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Since then, he has overseen military operations in eastern Afghanistan
Greece paralysed by strike against austerity plan [BBC]
- Hundreds of thousands of Greeks are on strike to protest at the imposition of austerity measures to save the economy. Greece’s airspace will be closed to all flights, trains and ferries will stand idle, and archaeological sites shut. It is the second general strike in two weeks and coincides with growing anger at the EU’s response to the crisis
- The action is set to be the biggest since Greece’s socialist government introduced cuts to bring the country’s debt and deficit under control. Greece currently has a spiralling public deficit of 12.7%, more than four times higher than eurozone rules allow
- The government has pledged to cut this to 8.7% this year, and also reduce the 300bn-euro national debt, by freezing public sector salaries, raising the average retirement age to 63 by 2015, and increasing taxes on petrol, alcohol and tobacco. It also wants to crack down on tax avoidance. Greece’s black economy is estimated at 30% of official gross domestic product
Buffett-backed BYD eyes big overseas drive [Reuters]
- BYD Co Ltd, a Chinese car and battery maker founded by China’s wealthiest man and backed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, aims to boost its car exports this year as it feeds what it hopes will be improving demand in a recovering global economy. BYD (slogan: Build Your Dreams) aims to export 5-10% of the 800,000 vehicles it should produce this year, up sharply from last year when its overseas sales were just 2.2% of its 450,000 vehicles
- BYD, which employs 130,000, has said it aims to be a major global player by 2025, with vehicle sales of 8-9 million. Its F3 sedan was the best-selling car in China last year, beating popular domestic and foreign models, such as Hyundai Motor’s (005380.KS) Elantra and Chery Automobile’s QQ. The company has exported to more than 70 countries, mainly in emerging markets such as Egypt, Russia, Iran and Southeast Asia
- Founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Wang Chuanfu, BYD has enjoyed a rapid rise, first as a mobile phone battery maker for Nokia (NOK1V.HE) and Motorola (MOT.N) and, more recently, making cars. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) bought a 10 percent stake in 2008. BYD shares rose more than five-fold last year, propelling Wang to the top of Forbes 2009 list of China’s wealthiest
Wal-Mart buys Vudu in move into Web movies [Reuters]
- Wal-Mart Stores Inc will buy the fledgling Vudu online movie on-demand service, in a deal expected to close within weeks and pit the world’s largest retailer against the likes of Netflix Inc. Santa Clara, California-based start-up Vudu, which operates a library of 16,000 movies, is already built into a growing number of televisions from LG Electronics Inc and Mitsubishi Electric Corp
- Wal-Mart is getting into a market that is attracting high-powered entrants. In November, Best Buy Co Inc reached a deal with Sonic Solutions to license its Roxio CinemaNow movie download service. They had hoped to compete with companies with already established footprints in the market, including Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc’s iTunes store
- Movie rental chains such as Blockbuster Inc have stagnated as consumers increasingly choose convenience, interactive capacity and the instant gratification of on-demand video over a trip to the store. Netflix, which offers Web streaming of about 12,000 titles through its “Watch Instantly” service, has benefited from that trend and now hosts some 12 million subscribers. But most of its offerings are older Hollywood titles, because major studios have been reluctant to make new releases available for digital streaming
Army to run Niger until election [Reuters]
- Niger’s military plans to run the uranium-exporting country until politicians agree on a new constitution and are ready for fresh elections, West Africa’s regional mediator said after meeting the junta on Sunday. No timeframe has been set for the transition back to civilian rule but a spokesman for the junta said on Sunday that elections would be held “as soon as possible” and the situation was similar to a coup in 1999 that led to transparent elections
- Niger’s military ousted President Mamadou Tandja in a swift coup last week, putting an end to months of political wrangling between him and the opposition. The seizure was formally condemned but it is also widely seen at home and abroad as a chance to end a political impasse
- It was the third coup in West Africa in the last 18 months, in what some observers say is an alarming shift away from democracy in a region seeking stability and investment. But a spokesman for the military junta, known as the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, said the 1999 coup, when the army ousted the president but held elections soon afterwards, should allay concerns about the military’s plans
Dutch government falls over Afghan troop mission [Reuters]
- Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s coalition government collapsed on Saturday when the two largest parties failed to agree on whether to withdraw troops from Afghanistan this year as planned. The fall of the government in the EU country, just two days short of the coalition’s third anniversary, all but guarantees that the 2,000 Dutch troops will be brought home this year
- That would be the first major a crack in the coalition of some 40 nations battling a steadily increasing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. The collapse, the fourth for a cabinet led by Balkenende in eight years, throws into doubt the scope and timing of planned budget cuts for next year as well
- This week, the Dutch government’s main think-tank raised its 2010 budget deficit forecast to 6.1 percent of gross domestic product but called for a 2011 deficit of 4.7 percent, implying that steep spending cuts will be needed. That could crimp the Dutch economy, which just entered a recovery after four quarters of contraction
Pakistan receives $349.3 million from U.S. [Reuters]
- Pakistan received on Wednesday $349.3 million from the United States as part of a fund to help the U.S. ally sustain efforts to fight Islamist militancy. Last month, President Asif Ali Zardari told U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke that the war on militancy had cost Pakistan $35 billion in the last eight years
- According to official figures, the United States has given Pakistan $15.4 billion since 2002, about two-thirds security-related and the rest economic aid. That figure does not include the $349.3 million received on Wednesday
- Pakistan has been struggling to get its economy back since 2008 when the government agreed to an International Monetary Fund loan of $7.6 billion. The loan was increased to $11.3 billion in July last year. The rupee hit a record low of 85.15 this month and dealers said the inflow from the United States was likely to help keep the rupee firm in the short-term but the medium-term outlook remained weak
- NY says Wall St bonuses up 17 percent to $20.3 billion [Reuters]
- Billionaires begin court fight for Trump casinos [Reuters]
- How long can the U.S. dollar defy gravity? [Reuters]
- U.S. Afghan death toll hits 1,000 [Reuters]
- Pilots ground Lufthansa in its longest ever strike [Reuters]
- NATO airstrike kills 27 civilians in Afghanistan[Reuters]
Photograph by Pier Paolo Cito/AP
U.S. soldiers and one Afghan soldier exchange fire with insurgents during a patrol in the Badula Qulp area, West of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 14. In the fight, one soldier was wounded and at least one insurgent was killed. The soldiers are operating in support of a U.S. Marine offensive against the Taliban in Marjah area. AP / Pier Paolo Cito
via The Frame: Afghanistan - Six Days of the NATO Offensive
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Hump Day Headlines - February 17, 2010
By Twisted Sifter on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 filed under CURRENT EVENTS.
Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.
India Worries as China Builds Ports in South Asia [New York Times]
- As trade in the region grows more lucrative, China has been developing port facilities in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and it is planning to build railroad lines in Nepal. These projects, analysts say, are part of a concerted effort by Chinese leaders and companies to open and expand markets for their goods and services in a part of Asia that has lagged behind the rest of the continent in trade and economic development
- India and China, the world’s two fastest-growing economies, have a history of tense relations. They share a contested Himalayan border over which they fought a war in 1962. India has given shelter to the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet as China exerted control over it. And China has close military ties with Pakistan, with which India has fought three wars
- China recently became India’s largest trading partner, and both have worked together to advance similar positions in global trade and climate change negotiations. As recently as the 1990s, China’s and India’s trade with four South Asian nations — Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan — was roughly equal. But over the last decade, China has outpaced India in deepening ties
Economy dogs North Korea’s “brilliant” Kim on birthday [Reuters]
- North Korea celebrated leader Kim Jong-il’s birthday on Tuesday, glorifying the “kind-hearted father” while it made overtures for dialogue with its foe the United States. Kim, in questionable health as he turned 68 and trying to pave the way for succession in Asia’s only communist dynasty, was facing one of the most difficult periods of his rule due to economic measures that sparked a rare public backlash
- Kim Jong-il’s nearly 16-year rule has survived a famine that killed an estimated 1 million of the North’s 22 million people and isolation caused by its nuclear brinkmanship, but a currency revaluation implemented late last year has shown cracks in his leadership. It sped up inflation, made it tougher for an impoverished people to buy the necessities that keep them alive, and sparked civil unrest in one of the world’s most entrenched authoritarian states
- Persistent energy shortages mean that two-thirds of its factories are idle and even with a bumper harvest, its food production still falls about 20% short of what is needed. In signs the North may be ready to return to nuclear talks, this month it hosted high-profile envoys from the United Nations and its biggest benefactor, China, with reports saying it was going to dispatch its top nuclear envoy to the United States next month
Taliban chief’s capture seen as start, more needed [Reuters]
- The capture of the Taliban’s top military commander in Pakistan followed months of behind-the-scenes prodding by U.S. officials who saw inaction by Islamabad as a major threat to their Afghan war strategy. But officials and analysts said it was too soon to tell whether Pakistan’s cooperation against Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar — captured earlier this month in a joint raid in Karachi by Pakistani and U.S. intelligence agencies — would be extended to other top militants on the U.S. hit list
- Mullah Baradar has been described as one of the Afghan Taliban’s top strategic leaders, and U.S. officials said interrogations now under way could produce significant intelligence about the group’s leadership, capabilities and military operations at a critical time of stepped-up U.S. operations in neighboring Afghanistan
- ISI cooperation with the CIA is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment is high and conspiracy theories abound over what American spies and Special Operations forces are doing there and whether it infringes on the country’s sovereignty
Greece told to make more spending cuts [BBC]
- Greece has been warned by European finance ministers that it must make further cuts to spending and public sector wages or face more sanctions. Last week, the European Union vowed to help Greece if needed. But the idea of bailing out a euro nation has been badly received, prompting a harsher stance
- Greece’s woes have sent the value of the euro down to a nine-month low recently. Now the country has been told that further measures will be imposed if its debt reduction plans are not on target by March 16th. Germany’s deputy finance minister, Joerg Asmussen, said Greece should follow the actions of Ireland and Latvia - both of which are making major cuts to spending and wages
- Greece is trying to reduce its public deficit from 12.7% - more than four times the level that single currency rules allow. It has pledged to reduce this to 8.7% during 2010 under an austerity plan that involves major cuts in public spending. But those plans are hugely unpopular with the Greek public and strikes have already been scheduled. Greek bank shares fell again on Tuesday on the continuing concerns. The country’s main stock index is down 14.6% so far this year
Asia may have edge in top accounting job [Reuters]
- The hunt for a new chairman of the world’s top accounting standard setter is sparking discrete jostling for a job Asian candidates are seen having the edge as economic influence shifts east. International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Chairman David Tweedie stands down in June 2011 after a decade spent transforming an obscure committee into a board whose rules are effectively law in over 120 countries, including the European Union
- Japan, Canada, India, Korea and Brazil are also adopting IASB rules, with China bringing its domestic standards in line too. The United States is left increasingly isolated as it decides how to join the club and when. The Asian crisis of the 1990s sparked the need for a global approach to accounting but the credit crunch politicized standard setting as policymakers changes after blaming accounting for amplifying fallout from the financial crisis
- The growing power of the IASB has sparked concern in some countries with U.S. Congress also leery of adopting its rules which would involve ceding regulatory sovereignty. The EU gave the critical mass which helped launch the IASB’s rules on the road to becoming the global benchmark by mid-2011 and feels the board still owes the bloc a debt of gratitude. But with several Asian countries, Brazil and Canada coming on board, there is discrete lobbying for Asia in particular to have a stronger say to counter EU clout
Demand for Oil Set to Rise Anew [New York Times]
- Chinese oil demand is once more growing fast, rebel militants are threatening to attack pipelines in Nigeria, and tensions are again rising in the Gulf. Recent headlines are increasingly making it seem like 2003 all over again. In recent times, oil has taken a back seat while the world has focused on the recession. What happens next in China and Iraq will shape the direction of oil markets well into the next decade
- Thanks to the slowdown in energy consumption, OPEC producers now hold an estimated six million barrels a day of spare capacity, equal to roughly 7% of current demand, much of it in Saudi Arabia alone. Such a cushion should shield the market from the wild excesses of the 2003-8 period, when prices rose as demand expanded, supplies fell, and spare capacity dwindled to a precariously slim level of well under two million barrels per day
- More than ever, what happens in the next few years to China will be central to the direction of the oil markets. From 2003 to 2008, more than half the growth in oil demand came from China, according to analysts at Raymond James. Even last year, when demand in most of the world shrank, China was the only major economy to see strong growth, with its oil consumption rising 5.7%. This year, analysts expect Chinese oil demand to grow at an even faster pace
- The opening of Iraq’s oil fields to foreign investors could provide a watershed moment for the industry. Most international oil companies, who were initially skeptical of the terms on offer, have flocked to Iraq. For companies like Shell and Exxon, no other country now offers such a chance to expand reserves
- Haiti reconstruction cost may near $14 billion: IADB [Reuters]
- Barclays profit tops $18 billion [Reuters]
- Dubai Hamas killing suspects’ passports ‘fraudulent’ [BBC]
- Toyota Announces Steps to Restore Confidence on Safety [New York Times]
- U.N. Rejects ‘Militarization’ of Afghan Aid [New York Times]
- Elders of Wall St. Favor More Regulation [New York Times]
- Energy Company Mergers Are Expected to Rise [New York Times]
A snowboarder flies through the olympic rings at the start of the opening ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, February 12, 2010. (REUTERS/David Gray)
via The Big Picture: Opening Ceremonies for Vancouver 2010
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Hump Day Headlines - February 10, 2010
By Twisted Sifter on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 filed under CURRENT EVENTS.
Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.
Toyota recalls new Prius in latest safety fix [Reuters]
- The spiraling crisis at Toyota Motor Corp deepened on Tuesday as the automaker said it would recall thousands of Camry sedans as well as nearly half a million new Prius and other hybrid cars to fix steering and braking problems.
- News of the recalls, the latest in a string of embarrassing Toyota product problems that have affected more than 8.5 million vehicles globally, came as a U.S. congressional committee postponed a hearing scheduled for Wednesday to examine the recalls and Toyota’s response to reports of safety problems with top-selling cars
- Toyota also faces potential litigation over 19 deaths and numerous injuries in crashes linked to the acceleration problems as well as class-action lawsuits over the brake problems with the Prius. Shares of Toyota, which lost about a fifth of their value since late January, is likely to lose more than 10,000 sales for both January and February
Super Bowl XLIV breaks ratings record [BBC]
- The New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts has become the most-watched programme in US TV history, early figures show. A record 106.5 million people, watched the game last weekend, according to Nielsen media
- The figure tops the 1983 finale of medical drama M*A*S*H which drew 105.97 million viewers. The previous Super Bowl record was last year’s game between Pittsburgh and Arizona, watched by 98.7 million
- Sunday’s Super Bowl was viewed by more than double the 48 million Americans who watched President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address last year. An average 26.8 million people have tuned in to the latest series of American Idol, which is currently the most-watched series on US television
Philippine campaign starts as race tightens [Reuters]
- Philippine politicians begin campaigning on Tuesday in a wide open race for the presidency, with voters looking for a clean face after the scandal-plagued administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In office since 2001, Arroyo is barred from running again. Allegations that she stole the 2004 presidential elections, and that her husband profited from a multi-million-dollar telecoms contract and other deals have marred her nine-year rule
- Party affiliations have historically counted for little in the Philippines, and policies have mattered less than personalities. Presidential campaigns are expensive and rely on rich families and companies — who would expect quid pro quos. But the start of the official poll campaign on Tuesday may level the playing field for rich and not-so-well-oiled candidates alike due to an election law putting a campaign spending cap of about 500 million pesos ($11 million) for presidential candidates, or 10 pesos per voter
- More than 50 million Filipinos are choosing a new president, vice president, about 300 lawmakers in the two-chamber Congress and more than 17,600 local government positions in the country’s first nationwide automated elections on May 10
Healthy Jump in Chinese Exports Points to Recovery in World Trade [New York Times]
- China said Wednesday that its exports climbed 21% in January from a year earlier, while imports surged 85.5%, the latest sign that world trade is starting to recover from the global financial crisis. The healthy jump last month could fuel further calls from the United States and the European Union for China to break the peg of its currency, the renminbi, to the U.S. dollar and allow the renminbi to appreciate
- The China trade surplus was $14.17 billion last month, compared with $18.43 billion in December and $39.1 billion in January of last year, according to figures released Wednesday by China’s General Administration of Customs. The trade statistics are the latest sign of China’s robust economic health, even as most of the rest of the world struggles to recover from the financial crisis
- The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced Tuesday that auto sales in China had surged 143% from the level of a year earlier and production had leaped 124%. China’s snapshot of its January trade data Wednesday came the morning after Germany released official data confirming that it had lost its status as the world’s leading exporter, as China overtook it. Chinese exports amounted to $1.2 trillion in 2009, while German exports totaled $1.1 trillion
With Buzz, Google Plunges Into Social Networking [New York Times]
- Google and Facebook are on a collision course in the increasingly competitive market for social networking services. On Tuesday, Google introduced a new service called Google Buzz, a way for users of its Gmail service to share updates, photos and videos. The service will compete with sites like Facebook and Twitter, which are capturing an increasing percentage of the time people spend online
- The links shared on those social networks are also sending a growing amount of traffic to sites across the Web, potentially weakening Google’s position as the prime navigation tool on the Internet. Buzz is Google’s boldest attempt to build a social network that can compete with Facebook and Twitter. The service is built into Gmail, which already has 176 million users
- Still, Buzz faces a struggle against Facebook, which recently announced, on the occasion of its sixth birthday, that it had 400 million users. Buzz also risks further overwhelming people who are struggling with Web services that generate ever-increasing amounts of information
Study toasts beer as being good for your bones [Reuters]
- Researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, have found beer is a rich source of silicon and may help prevent osteoporosis, as dietary silicon is a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density
- The study, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, found the beers’ silicon content ranged from 6.4 milligrams per liter to 56.5 mg per liter. The average person’s silicon intake each day is between 20 and 50 mgs
- The researchers found there was little change in the silicon content of barley during the malting process as most of the silicon in barley is in the husk, which is not affected greatly during malting. They found pale ales showed the highest silicon content while non-alcoholic beers, light lagers and wheat beers had the least silicon
- Haiti quake death toll rises to 230,000 [BBC]
- Inside Toyota’s epic breakdown [Reuters]
- Somali rebels ‘pour into Mogadishu’ [BBC]
- Asia-Pacific airlines wobble over fuel hedging [Reuters]
- Global mobile broadband spending seen up to $72 billion [Reuters]
- Honda Adds 437, 000 Cars to Recall [New York Times]
- Afghanistan avalanches kill 150 in Salang Pass [BBC]
- Ukraine election: Yanukovych urges Tymoshenko to quit [BBC]
Photograph by REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Models pose in their underwear to celebrate the fourth edition of “Brazilian Underwear Day” at a bus station in Brasilia, February 9, 2010 (REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes)
via Reuters Editor’s Choice Slideshow
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Hump Day Headlines - February 3, 2010
By Twisted Sifter on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 filed under CURRENT EVENTS.
Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.
Chaos Eases in Effort to Help Feed the Hungry in Haiti [New York Times]
- Four days into a new food distribution program from the United Nations that aims to repair a faltering aid effort, paper coupons that can be redeemed for 55 pounds of rice have become more valuable than Haitian money. For three weeks since the international effort to feed millions of Haitians has been dogged by confusion, transportation snags, security problems and a lack of coordination. Before the coupon program started on Saturday, food giveaways had become a Darwinian sport
- Many are still hungry. As of Sunday, 639,200 people had received a meal from the United Nations’ World Food Program, 32% of the two million estimated to be in need. Aid groups say that they have been knocked back on their heels by a catastrophe they describe as more difficult to manage than famine in Africa or the tsunami in Asia
- The new system for food distribution, devised to address these problems, has two major changes: coupons and a focus on women, who are supposed to be the only ones collecting rice. The process also shifts power from Haiti’s government to foreign aid groups; and from men throwing food from trucks to local leaders giving out coupons
Exxon Grew as Oil Industry Contracted [New York Times]
- While much of the oil industry contracted last year, Exxon Mobil expanded its oil and gas operations in the United States and around the world. Exxon, the top Western oil company, took advantage of the weak climate to bolster its operations, buying smaller rivals and attractive assets as it sought to lay the foundation for growth once the economy rebounds
- In December, it announced the $31 billion purchase of XTO Energy, a leader in natural gas production in the United States. It gained a major foothold in Iraq, the holder of the third-biggest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iran. In Africa, it bid $4 billion for a major field off Ghana. It approved a multibillion-dollar project in Papua New Guinea to export gas to China and Japan
- In 2008, Exxon became the world’s most profitable corporation with earnings over $45 billion as oil averaged $100 a barrel. Last year, its profit dropped 57 percent, to $19.28 billion. The company was also displaced by PetroChina as the world’s largest publicly traded company by market value
Toyota U.S. sales hit by recall [Reuters]
- Toyota Motor Corp suffered a sharp drop in U.S. sales last month as its massive recall and unprecedented sales halt allowed rivals to grab market share from the world’s largest automaker. In the latest blow to its once gold-plated quality image, Toyota said on Wednesday dealers in both the United States and Japan had reported complaints from buyers over the brakes in its new model Prius hybrid. Toyota pulled eight of its most popular models including the Camry, Corolla and Rav4 from U.S. showrooms in the last week of January following complaints over sticking accelerator pedals
- Toyota’s monthly sales fell 16 percent and its U.S. market share fell to its lowest level since January 2006 as rivals Ford Motor Co and General Motors Corp surged past. Its monthly U.S. sales dropped below 100,000 vehicles for the first time in more than a decade
- As Toyota sales fell, Ford and Hyundai Motor Co emerged as the big winners, each posting 24% sales gains. Honda’s adjusted sales rose 2.9%. The stock has fallen in eight of the past nine sessions and lost more than $25 billion in value since its initial U.S. accelerator pedal recall on January 21
Deficits May Alter U.S. Politics and Global Power [New York Times]
- In the federal budget two numbers stand out as particularly stunning, for the way they may change American politics and power. The first is the projected deficit in the coming year, nearly 11% of the country’s entire economic output. But the second number, is the one that really commands attention: By President Obama’s own optimistic projections, American deficits will not return to what are widely considered sustainable levels over the next 10 years.
- Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political compromises, creates some unforeseen change over the next decade, there is virtually no room for new domestic initiatives for Mr. Obama or his successors. Beyond that lies the possibility that the US could begin to suffer the same disease that has afflicted Japan over the past decade. As debt grew more rapidly than income, that country’s influence around the world eroded
- As Mr. Obama’s chief economic adviser, Lawrence H. Summers, used to ask before he entered government a year ago, “How long can the world’s biggest borrower remain the world’s biggest power?” The Chinese leadership, which is lending much of the money to finance the American government’s spending, says it thinks the long-term answer to Mr. Summers’s question is self-evident. The Europeans will also tell you that this is a big worry about the next decade
U.S. seeks calm as China fumes over Taiwan arms [Reuters]
- Chinese state media blasted the United States on Monday for a planned $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan. The arms sales, the latest by the United States but the first by the Obama administration, has added to a litany of strains between the world’s biggest and third-biggest economies, including the value of China’s currency, trade protectionism, Internet freedoms and Tibet
- The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, recognizing “one China,” and says it wants the two sides to settle their differences peacefully. The United States remains Taiwan’s biggest backer and is obliged by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to help in the island’s defense
- The Pentagon’s 2010 Ballistic Missile Defense Review Report to Congress, published on Monday, said the United States was concerned and closely monitoring China’s missile buildup and increasingly advanced capabilities in the Pacific region. “One regional trend that particularly concerns the United States is the growing imbalance of power across the Taiwan Strait in China’s favor,” the report said.
Oil demand has peaked in developed world: IEA [Reuters]
- Oil use in rich industrialized countries will never return to 2006 and 2007 levels because of more fuel efficiency and the use of alternatives, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency said on Thursday. The bold prediction, while made previously by some analysts, is significant because the IEA advises 28 countries on energy policy and its oil demand forecasts are closely watched by traders and policymakers
- Flat or declining OECD demand may ease any strain on oil prices caused by ever-growing consumption in emerging economies. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries will account for 53% of world demand in 2010, according to the IEA. In its Jan. 15 monthly Oil Market Report, the IEA forecast OECD demand would average 45.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, unchanged from 2009. World demand is forecast at 86.33 million bpd, up from 84.89 million in 2009
- Interest in peak demand has grown following the surge in oil prices to a record high near $150 a barrel in 2008, a decline in world demand because of the economic crisis and efforts to combat climate change. While non-OECD demand is expected to keep world oil use on a growing trend, some believe global consumption could reach a high point in the coming decades
- Experience in Sports Optional for New Leaders [New York Times]
- Families blame Mexico’s Calderon over massacre [Reuters]
- Are You a C.E.O. of Something? [New York Times]
- Hacking for Fun and Profit in China’s Underworld [New York Times]
- Russia’s Evolution, Seen Through Golden Arches [New York Times]
- North Koreans starving after currency move: reports [Reuters]
- Obama firm on Dalai Lama meeting despite China warning [BBC]
- Feng Shui Master Is Denied Billionaire’s Estate [New York Times]
- Hamas says top commander killed by Israel in Dubai [Reuters]
- J. D. Salinger, Literary Recluse, Dies at 91 [New York Times]
Photograph by Mario Tama
Firefighters battle one of several suspicious blazes in the Iron Market area January 29, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
via The Big Picture: Haiti Three Weeks Later
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