WISCONSIN, USA - In response to protests against test drilling for a controversial proposed $1.5 billion open-pit iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin by Gogebic Taconite, the mining company has hired masked, camouflaged, assault-rifle-toting guards from a self-described “no compromise” security force that boasts of “rigorous tactical firearms training” and “professional operators” who combine “logistics with tactical support” to “instinctively and smoothly manage surrounding threats.”
DENVER, USA - Pork prices may be on the rise in the next few months because of a new virus that has migrated to the US, killing piglets in 15 states at an alarming rate in facilities where it has been reported.
UK - Most children will be born out of wedlock within three years because of the decline in marriage, according to official figures. The proportion of children born to unmarried mothers hit a record 47.5 per cent last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
EUROPE - The European Commission has today proposed a Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) for the Banking Union. The mechanism would complement the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) (IP/12/953) which, once operational in late 2014, will see the European Central Bank (ECB) directly supervise banks in the euro area and in other Member States which decide to join the Banking Union.
EUROPE - Europe’s rich Baby Boomers are behaving like the nobility in the Peasants’ Revolt, and could face an uprising by the younger generation if the situation doesn’t change, HSBC’s chief economist has warned.
EUROPE - It was discovered a while back that the European Commission (EC) withheld information about the EU-India talks from the public, even though it had already shared the information with corporate lobby groups.
EUROPE - Europe’s debt-crisis strategy is near collapse. The long-awaited recovery has failed to take wing. Debt ratios across southern Europe are rising at an accelerating pace. Political consent for extreme austerity is breaking down in almost every EMU crisis state. And now the US Federal Reserve has inflicted a full-blown credit shock for good measure.
SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Arabia is targeting both Israel and Iran with powerful ballistic missiles, new satellite photography shown by military experts to The Telegraph suggests.
ISRAEL - Israel may allow Russian soldiers to join the United Nations peacekeeping forces on the Golan Heights, and in return Moscow will halt the transfer of advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, the London-based Arabic-language daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported Wednesday.
USA - US markets were volatile on Wednesday as investors weighed signs that the Federal Reserve could suddenly taper its fiscal stimulus package, against the news that many of its members want to see a sustainable improvement in jobs first.
GERMANY - The American data snooping scandal has been a hot topic in Germany of late. Even though Germans haven't taken to the streets, they are outraged about the findings as they remind many of their country's dark past.
USA - As the number of good jobs continues to decline, the number of Americans that cannot take care of themselves without government assistance continues to explode. On Friday, we learned that the US economy added "195,000 jobs" last month.
USA - Over a decade ago, it was discovered that the NSA embedded backdoor access into Windows 95, and likely into virtually all other subsequent internet connected, desktop-based operating systems.
USA - Another week, another Wall Street scandal, and another opportunity for pundits to bemoan the incompetence and venality of America’s financial professionals. Last Wednesday’s near collapse of Knight Capital Partners – in which a bug in one of its high-frequency trading algorithms caused the firm to lose $440 million – has raised concerns about high frequency trading and what the practice means for the safety and trustworthiness of our financial markets. But what is high-frequency trading, and is it really all that dangerous?
ITALY - Italy's credit worthiness has been downgraded by the ratings agency S&P. It said the continued weakness of the Italian economy was behind the cut, which saw the rating of government debt lowered to BBB from BBB+.