Slatest
The numbers are out and things aren’t looking so good for the Chinese. Inflation in the country reached 2.7 percent in February, reaching a 16-month high. Analysts had anticipated a boost to 2.3 percent from the January rate of 1.5 percent. “UBS economist Tao Wang said China may now raise interest rates, which have been on hold since December 2007,” the BBC reported. “Others said inflation was simply lifted by the New Year celebrationg.” But the Chinese New Year fell in January, not February. Wang: “Our forecast is that a rate hike should happen relatively soon, if not this month then probably early in the second quarter.” Economist from Goldman Sachs also weighed in, saying it was critical for the government to take steps toward tightening the economy in order “to prevent overheating.”
Source: BBC
Parts of the country rejoiced Wednesday when the temperature warmed considerably and it seemed that winter storms were a thing of the past. With spring, though, comes spring weather. Three tornadoes hit Arkansas Wednesday night, destroying dozens of homes. Parts of the state are under a watch until early Thursday. Saline, White and Cleburne Counties were hit by the tornadoes that critically injured at least two people. “A woman in the area said she could hear the storm roaring as it approached the area,” CNN reported. “‘It was the awfulest roaring I ever heard in my life,’ the woman told CNN affiliate KTHV. ‘My house felt like it was fixing to crumble over me.’” The tornadoes hit between approximately 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. EST and officials are still working to determine the extent of the damage they and the golf ball-size hail that accompanied them caused. “‘The storm seems to be shifting to the east so the severe weather should be out of this area by [Thursday,]‘ said John Lewis, a senior forecaster with an Arkansas office of the National Weather Service,” CNN reported.
Source: CNN
BP, the largest oil and gas company in Europe, has finalized a deal to fork over $7 billion in cash for a chunk of Devon Energy Corp.’s assets. BP will buy U.S. deepwater sites in the Gulf of Mexico, sites in Azerbeijan and, most notably, 10 sites off the coast of Brazil, home to some of the largest deepwater oil fields in the world. “This strategic opportunity fits well with BP’s operating strengths and key interests around the world,” BP Chief Executive Offiver Tony Hayward told Bloomberg. “As well as giving us a broad portfolio of assets in the exciting Brazilian deepwater, it will strengthen out position in the Gulf of Mexico, enhance our interests in Azerbaijan and enable us to progress the development of Canadian assets.” As part of the deal, Devon will take a 50 percent stake in BP’s Kirby oil sands in Alberta, Canada. “Deepwater generally refers to oil fields in water 300 meters or deeper,” the BBC reported. “Oil companies around the world are exploring deeper and deeper areas around the world as technological developments make it possible to drill in areas previously considered too expensive.”
Source: Bloomberg
The Reds, or “Red Shirts,” supporters of Thailand’s former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, will begin demonstrations in Bangkok on Friday. (Thaksin has been living in exile in Dubai to avoid a prison sentence; officials confiscated $1.4 billion of his assets two weeks about ago.) The Reds have been holding regular demonstration for over a year, protesting what they call an undemocratic and elitist government. On Sunday, the Reds estimate 600,000 people will show up for their main rally; government officials believe that number will be closer to 100,000. Regardless, authorities began deploying 30,000 soldiers and an additional 20,000 police and civilian volunteer forces on the streets of Bangkok Thursday. “If protesters intrude into army bases or police stations, the government will use armed force to crack down immediately, as we consider them terrorists,” Deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban told reporters, according to AFP. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the main airport in the region, “which was besieged by protesters in 2008,” according to AFP, have made preparations so that services aren’t interrupted over the weekend.
Source: AFP
Rolling Stone‘s Tim Dickinson calls it a “matter of common sense versus corporate greed.” He’s referring to President Obama’s plan to end “corporate profiteering on government loans for college students,” something he’s been arguing for since the campaign trail as it would benefit both college students and the federal budget. But the fight to pass health care reform might derail Obama’s plans. Harry Reid needs every vote he can get in the Senate for reform to have even a chance of passing, putting the majority leader in a bind when senators unite to demand certain concessions. The senators uniting to kill education reform, it turns out, are Democrats: Tom Carper, Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Mark Warner and Jim Webb. “[T]he education bill is strongly opposed by some Senate Democrats, particularly those in states where for-profit student lenders are major employers,” the New York Times reported. “In a letter to the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, six Democrats said they disliked the president’s proposal.” The senators argued that reform, which would expand direct lending by the government and stop paying for-profit companies with taxpayer dollars to make risk-free loans, would put jobs at risk.
Source: Rolling Stone
Forbes has released it’s 2010 list of the richest people in the world. “For the third time in three years, the world has a new richest man,” the magazine reported. “Riding surging prices of his various telecom holdings, including giant mobile outfit America Movil, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has beaten out Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the wealthiest person on earth.” Slim, who is perhaps best known in the United States as a major investor in the New York Times, is now worth over $53 billion; Gates and Buffett are worth only slightly less. That’s considerably more than the $3.5 billion that the average billionaire in the world is worth, of which there are now 1,011. “U.S. billionaires still dominate the ranks — but their grip is slipping. Americans account for 40% of the world’s billionaires, down from 45% a year ago,” Forbesreported. Most of the list’s newest members are from Asia.
Source: Forbes
On Wednesday night, the Kansas City school board voted 5-4 to close 26 schools in the district in an effort to avoid bankruptcy. “The school closings will cut the number of district buildings by more than 40 percent and underpin [Superintendent John] Covington’s drive to cut $50 million from the shrunken district’s budget,” the Kansas City Star reported. “The plan will leave the district operating 33 schools.” The plan also calls for the district to sell off its headquarters. To consolidate all of the students in the region, many of the high schools in the area will absorb middle school kids and other similar schools will pack into fewer buildings: three Montessori schools will become two, for example.
Source: The Kansas City Star
The Senate passed a $149 billion package of tax breaks and aid for the jobless on Wednesday in a 62-36 vote. Now, the measure heads to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to be passed quickly and enthusiastically. “President Barack Obama said the vote would help small businesses and jobless workers, and expressed thanks for the bipartisan support that it attracted,” Reuters reported. “‘I am grateful to senators in both parties who took one step forward today in getting our nation back on a solid economic footing,’ he said in a statement.” The bill might help Democrats in the 2010 mid-term elections as any measures to improve the country’s economic standing tend to receive broad support. The bill passed Wednesday, if — or when — signed into law, will extend unemployment benefits through the end of 2010 and renew $25 billion in tax breaks for businesses that expired last year.
Source: Reuters
It’s another win for the team behind The Cove, the documentary about dolphins being killed in a Japanese fishing village that won an Academy Award this past weekend. An investigation “that was spurred by the team” has led authorities to charge Santa Monica’s Typhoon Restaurant Inc. and chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto “with the illegal sale of a marine mammal product for an unauthorized purpose,” CNN reported. The restaurant was caught selling whale meat, a delicacy in Japan that is illegal to eat in the U.S. because of its endangered status. “The misdemeanor charge carries a federal prison sentence of up to a year and a fine of up to $200,000 for the company, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” CNN reported.
Source: CNN
Six percent more households in the United States faced foreclosure in February 2010 than in February 2009, but that’s the smallest annual increase in four years. And it’s down 10 percent from the previous month. “It’s premature to declare victory just yet,” Rick Sharga, a RealtyTrac senior vice preisdent, told the Associated Press. Many fear that that hundreds of thousands of homeowners currently under evaluation for loan modification help will eventually lose their homes. But, “if this is the beginning of a slowdown in growth rates, that would be a good thing,” Sharga added. These numbers will be released Thursday in a new report from RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that specialized in foreclosure listings. The report also notes that “banks repossessed nearly 79,000 homes last month,” the Associated Press reported.
Source: The Associated Press
