Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Austin Considers $50 a Year, Unlimited Electric Car Charging Service
February 14th, 2011Via: Austin Business Journal: Austin City Council members this week will consider charging Austin electric car drivers $50 a year to boot up their batteries from any Austin Energy plug-in. The proposed rate would apply to Austin Energy’s “Plug-in Everywhere” program — a network of public charging stations for electric vehicles. The city would offer […]
EGYPT: BANK HOLIDAY
February 14th, 2011Via: Reuters: Egypt declared Monday a bank holiday after workers emboldened by the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak and angered by low wages and poor working conditions disrupted operations at the country’s state banks. The Egyptian pound was little changed in slow trade on Sunday, the first day of trading since President Hosni Mubarak was […]
U.S. Diplomat Calls African Dictator a Good Guy
February 14th, 2011Via: AP: A U.S. diplomat called Equatorial Guinea’s dictator of 31 years one of “the good guys” in leaked diplomatic cables and urged Washington to engage with its third largest oil supplier or risk endangering energy security. In 2009 cables published by WikiLeaks, Anton K. Smith, the ranking U.S. diplomat at the time, described a […]
Produce Prices Skyrocket with Freeze in Mexico, Southwest
February 14th, 2011Via: KING5: Get ready to pay double or even triple the price for fresh produce in the coming weeks after the worst freeze in 60 years damaged and wiped out entire crops in northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S.
France Wants New Global Finance System
February 14th, 2011Via: RTE: France will help the transition to a global financial system based on ‘several international currencies’, the French Economy Minister said today. France, as current head of the Group of 20 countries, will help the transition to a global financial system based on ‘several international currencies’, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said today. Lagarde, […]
IMF Calls for Dollar Alternative
February 11th, 2011Mix the big confetti currencies together and what do you get? Confetti. Via: CNN: The International Monetary Fund issued a report Thursday on a possible replacement for the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The IMF said Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, could help stabilize the global financial system. SDRs represent potential claims on the […]
Deutsche Boerse-NYSE Euronext Merger
February 10th, 2011Via: Reuters: Deutsche Boerse is in advanced talks to buy NYSE Euronext in a deal that would create the world’s largest trading powerhouse and put a bastion of American capitalism into foreign hands. The discussions, announced on Wednesday, came only hours after the London Stock Exchange said it had agreed to buy Canadian market operator […]
When Wal-Mart Metastasizes, Neighborhoods Get Poorer
February 10th, 2011Old news, but worth repeating. Via: Reuters: Wal-Mart’s lengthy struggle to open in New York City has hit fresh problems — a controversial report that said America’s biggest discounter does not just sell cheap, it makes neighborhoods poorer. The report concludes that Wal-Mart, the biggest U.S. private employer, kills jobs rather than creates them, drives […]
Robotic Lettuce Production
February 10th, 2011Via: Singularity Hub: The steady march of industrial automation continues to envelop the world. Many of us have a quaint early 20th century vision of agriculture, but the truth is that the farmer of the 21st century is a machine. Case in point: lettuce. With new hydroponic techniques, companies are able to grow lettuce in […]
White House to Cut Energy Assistance for the Poor
February 10th, 2011In other news: U.S. Spends $20 Billion Per Year for Air Conditioning in Tents in Afghanistan. Oh sure, Obama is serious about budget discipline. Via: National Journal: President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget will cut several billion dollars from the government’s energy assistance fund for poor people, officials briefed on the subject told National Journal. It’s […]
