Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Tesla to Deliver Prototype Electric Autos to Toyota
July 10th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: Tesla Motors Inc., an electric carmaker working with Toyota Motor Corp. on battery-powered autos, said it will deliver two rechargeable prototypes to Toyota this month as a first step in their alliance. Toyota, the world’s largest seller of hybrid autos, in May said it would invest $50 million in Palo Alto, California-based Tesla […]
Public Universities Face “Funding Cliff”
July 10th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: Many public universities face “dramatic declines” in funding and possible ratings downgrades as states cut and delay annual appropriations, Moody’s Investors Service said. States are reducing funding to public universities by as much as 6 percent this fiscal year compared with last, Moody’s analysts led by Dennis Gephardt wrote in a report dated […]
Thousands of Old Wells Possibly Leaking in Gulf of Mexico?
July 10th, 2010Via: AP / CBS: More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades. No one – not industry, not government – is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows. The oldest of […]
Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages Are the Rich
July 10th, 2010Via: New York Times: The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed to the suburban middle class is striking the upper class in privileged enclaves like this one in Silicon Valley. Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich […]
China Cuts Rare Earth Export Quota 72%
July 10th, 2010In other news: Afghan Mineral Deposits Actually Worth $3 Trillion, Not $1 Trillion. Via: Bloomberg: China, the world’s largest rare- earths producer, cut export quotas for the minerals needed to make hybrid cars and televisions by 72 percent for the second half, raising the possibility of a trade dispute with the U.S. Shipments will be […]
More Private Planes Are Being Repossessed
July 9th, 2010Via: USA Today: In the past few weeks, Ken Cage, who specializes in repossessing private planes, says he’s recovered two jets worth a combined $7.1 million. And while business has ebbed a bit compared with last year, it remains four times what Cage saw before the recession. “I think we picked up 15 (planes) that […]
‘Liar Loans’ Make a Comeback
July 9th, 2010As I was reading this, I kept thinking, “Who’s going to buy these loans?” The answer, at least according to this, is nobody. The companies are going to hold these loans on their books: The banks extending these loans are small community and regional outfits attracted to their relatively high interest rates (anything from 25 […]
The New “Convenient” Way to Buy Wine in Pennsylvania: Swipe Driver’s License, Look Into Camera, Blow Into Breath Sensor
July 9th, 2010Via: AP: Swipe your driver’s license, look into the camera, blow into the breath sensor and — voila! — you have permission to buy a bottle of wine from a vending machine. Pennsylvania, which has some of the most Byzantine liquor laws in the nation, recently introduced the country’s first wine “kiosks.” If the machines […]
Relief Payments Get Slashed if Fishermen Refuse to Work for BP
July 8th, 2010That’s life in a company town. Via: Raw Story: Any relief payment plan established in the wake of the worst environmental accident ever was bound to have its flaws, but this goes to a whole new level of wrong. According to Gulf resident Kindra Arnesen, who turned whistleblower and full-time activist when she saw how […]
Since 2007, at Least $3 Billion Has Left Afghanistan by Plane in Boxes and Suitcases
July 6th, 2010Via: Der Spiegel: Billions of dollars are being secreted out of Kabul to help well-connected Afghans buy luxury villas in Dubai. Amid concerns that the money could be the result of corruption, American politicians have temporarily cut off aid to the Afghan government. Brigadier General Mohammed Asif Jabarkhel sits with folded arms in his office, […]
