Archive for November, 2011
Fed Now Largest Owner of U.S. Government Debt—Surpassing China
November 17th, 2011Via: CNSNews: At the close of business on Tuesday, the debt of the federal government exceeded $15 trillion for the first time–with the largest single owner of the publicly held portion of that debt being the Federal Reserve. Over the past year, as the Federal Reserve massively increased its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities and […]
Farmland Has Biggest 1-Year Value Jump Since 1980
November 17th, 2011Via: Denver Post: The average value of farmland in several Midwestern and Western states grew 25 percent over the past year in the biggest one-year jump in at least three decades. The increase reported Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Mo., reflects current low interest rates and a healthy farm economy. But […]
Australia Agrees to U.S. Marine Deployment Plan
November 16th, 2011Via: BBC: Australia has agreed to host a full US Marine task force in the coming years, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced at a news conference with US President Barack Obama in Canberra. She said about 250 US Marines would arrive next year, eventually being built up to 2,500 personnel. The deployment is being […]
Northwestern University Researchers Increase Capacity and Decrease Charge Time of Lithium Ion Batteries by Ten Times
November 16th, 2011Via: Northwestern University: Imagine a cellphone battery that stayed charged for more than a week and recharged in just 15 minutes. That dream battery could be closer to reality thanks to Northwestern University research. A team of engineers has created an electrode for lithium-ion batteries — rechargeable batteries such as those found in cellphones and […]
Prices of Rare Earth Metals Declining Sharply
November 16th, 2011Via: New York Times: After nearly three years of soaring prices for rare earth metals, with the cost per ton of some of these elements rising nearly thirtyfold, the market is rapidly coming back down. International prices for some light rare earths, like cerium and lanthanum, used in industries like the polishing of flat-screen televisions […]
Fannie, Freddie Execs Score $100 Million Payday
November 16th, 2011Via: CNN: Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received the biggest federal bailout of the financial crisis. And nearly $100 million of those tax dollars went to lucrative pay packages for top executives, filings show. The top five executives at Fannie Mae received $33.3 million in 2009 and 2010, while the top five […]
Gerald Celente Got Screwed Out of Gold Futures Positions with MF Global Wreck
November 16th, 2011Celente was just trying to buy the underlying metal via the futures and *poof* positions closed, money gone. Pookie sent this one from, Jesse’s Café Américain: Here is a white paper that suggests that JP Morgan and Bank of America are trying to subordinate the customers’ claims to their stolen funds and keep them in […]
Japan: Radioactive Contamination in Soil Will Severely Impair Food Production
November 15th, 2011Via: Telegraph: Farmland in parts of Japan is no longer safe because of high levels of radiation in the soil, scientists have warned, as the country struggles to recover from the Fukushima atomic disaster. A team of international researchers said food production would likely be “severely impaired” by the elevated levels of caesium found in […]
Britain: CCTV Taxi Plan ‘A Staggering Invasion of Privacy’
November 15th, 2011Via: Independent: Plans to fit all taxis operating in the city of Oxford with audio recording devices have been branded a “staggering invasion of privacy” prompting calls for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to investigate how widespread the use of microphones on public transport has become. Taxi drivers in the university town have been told […]
DARPA Developing Fast Running Robot
November 15th, 2011Via: Wired: Today’s robots move about as fast as your grandma’s morning mall-walking group. Tomorrow’s robots will move as fast as Usain Bolt — all thanks to limbs modeled on ostrich legs. That’s exactly the point, according to the Darpa-funded researchers behind a collaborative effort underway at MIT and the Florida Institute of Human and […]
