White House Wants New Copyright Law Crackdown
March 16th, 2011Via: Cnet:
The White House today proposed sweeping revisions to U.S. copyright law, including making “illegal streaming” of audio or video a federal felony and allowing FBI agents to wiretap suspected infringers.
Housing Starts See Biggest Drop Since 1984
March 16th, 2011Via: Reuters:
Housing starts posted their biggest decline in 27 years in February while building permits dropped to their lowest level on record, suggesting the beleaguered real estate sector has yet to rebound from its deepest slump in modern history.
Long Natural Gas
March 16th, 2011WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument.
Just disclosing that I’m long natural gas (UNG) as of this morning.
‘Blood Money’ Frees CIA Contractor in Pakistan
March 16th, 2011Via: AP:
An American CIA contractor detained on suspicion of murder was released on Wednesday after families of the two Pakistanis he killed were given “blood money” and the case was dropped, Pakistani officials said.
The killings and detention of Raymond Allen Davis had strained ties between Pakistan and the United States and added to anti-America sentiment.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said Davis was charged with murder Wednesday but then immediately pardoned by the families of the victims in exchange for compensation or “blood money”, as is permitted under Pakistani law. Davis was arrested on Jan. 27 after killing two Pakistanis in what he said was self-defense.
Chaudhry Mushtaq, superintendent at Kot Lakhpat jail, said Davis left the jail with U.S. consulate officials after the hearing.
U.S. officials were not available for comment.
Research Credit: eo
Steepest Rise in Food Prices in 36 Years
March 16th, 2011Via: AP:
Wholesale prices jumped last month by the most in nearly two years due to higher energy costs and the steepest rise in food prices in 36 years. Excluding those volatile categories, inflation was tame.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the Producer Price Index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent in February — double the 0.8 percent rise in the previous month. Outside of food and energy costs, the core index ticked up 0.2 percent, less than January’s 0.5 percent rise.
Food prices soared 3.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since November 1974. Most of that increase was due to a sharp rise in vegetable costs, which increased nearly 50 percent. That was the most in almost a year. Meat and dairy products also rose.
JAPAN ESTABLISHES 10KM EVACUATION ZONE AROUND THE DAINI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
March 16th, 2011Via: CNN:
[3:07 a.m. ET Wednesday, 4:07 p.m. Wednesday in Tokyo] As a safety precaution, the Japanese government is now telling people living within a 10-kilometer radius of the Daini plant, the second nuclear power plant in Fukushima, to evacuate.
The Daini plant, which has four reactors, has reported fluctuating temperatures at its suppression pools. The Daini plant’s reactors have been stopped, and there has been no radioactivity leakage so far.
High Demand for Private Jets as Wealthy Flee Japan
March 16th, 2011Via: Reuters:
Thousands of people desperate to escape Japan’s deepening nuclear crisis have inundated private jet companies with requests for evacuation flights, sending prices surging as much as a quarter.
Some multinational companies are pulling international staff out of Tokyo and surrounding areas after low-level radiation reached the metropolis on Tuesday.
Workers are fleeing for Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and as far afield as Australia and the United States as power outages and shortages of basic supplies compound the misery after Friday’s 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
“I got a request yesterday to fly 14 people from Tokyo to Hong Kong, 5 hour 5 minutes trip. They did not care about price. The charge inflated by 26 percent to more than $160,000,” said Jackie Wu, COO of Hong Kong Jet, a newly established private jet subsidiary of China’s HNA Group.
“Yesterday, a charter plane from Tokyo to Australia one way, was quoted at $265,000, up 20 percent,” Wu added.
Shortages of jet fuel and airport closures were complicating matters in Japan.
Mike Walsh, the CEO of private jet and charter company Asia Jet, said they had run three evacuation flights to Hong Kong from Tokyo by early Wednesday.
“It is now ramping up over last night because of the deteriorating situation. More people are worrying and looking to evacuate from Tokyo,” Walsh told Reuters. “We are dealing with over 1,000 people wanting to evacuate from Tokyo this morning.”
Related: Foreign Bankers Flee Tokyo as Nuclear Crisis Deepens
France Says Japan Losing Control of Nuclear Emergency, French Should Leave, or Head South
March 16th, 2011Via: Reuters:
The French government said on Wednesday that Japan was losing control of the situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and urged its nationals in Tokyo to leave the country or head to southern Japan.
The government has asked national carrier Air France (AIRF.PA) to increase capacity on its flights between Tokyo and Paris to accommodate any additional demand from French citizens wanting to leave the Japanese capital.
Industry Minister Eric Besson said the situation at the Fukushima plant, some 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, appeared to be getting out of control.
“Let’s not beat about the bush. They have visibly lost the essential of control (of the situation). That is our analysis, in any case, it’s not what they are saying,” Besson told BFM television.
Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet branded the situation in Japan a “catastrophe” and said the latest information on Wednesday “does not lead to optimism”.
“We recommend that all French citizens who do not have a good reason to stay in Tokyo either take a plane or, if they absolutely insist on staying, head south,” Kosciusko-Morizet said. She noted there was no official evacuation order.
China Places Largest Non Military Ship Order Ever
March 16th, 2011Via: Dow Jones:
China ordered 50 to 100 new container, tanker and dry-bulk ships Monday under a deal financed by a private-equity consortium led by Carlyle Group. Valued at between $5 billion and $10 billion, it’s the biggest private-sector shipping deal ever, analysts said.
The new joint venture, which will lease the vessels to China, foreshadows a shipbuilding boom across Asia. Denmark’s A.P.-Moeller-Maersk A/S recently ordered a fleet of the 10 biggest container ships ever built, 400-meter behemoths each capable of carrying 18,000 20-foot containers, from a yard in South Korea.
Research Credit: dang
Fukushima Workers Withdraw After Radiation Spikes
March 16th, 2011Via: BBC:
A spike in radiation levels at Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has forced workers to suspend their operation, a government spokesman says.
He was speaking after smoke was seen rising from reactor three. Earlier, a blaze struck reactor four for the second time in two days.
Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which killed thousands, damaged the plant’s cooling functions.
The site has also been hit by four explosions, triggering radiation leaks.
‘On standby’
On Wednesday, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news briefing that workers at Fukushima had been withdrawn following the rise in radiation levels. It is believed that about 50 employees had been working at the plant to try to stabilise its four reactors.
Mr Edano also said that the radiation levels were now falling: from 1,000 millisieverts on Wednesday morning to 600-800.
But that was still more than average, Mr Edano said, adding that “the workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now. Because of the radiation risk, we are on standby.”
