Murdoch son: BBC threatens independent journalism

James Murdoch, the 36-year-old executive in charge of News Corp.'s businesses in Europe and Asia, spoke late Friday at the Edinburgh International Television Festival -- 20 years after his father delivered a keynote speech at the same event
In this all-media marketplace, the expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision, which are so important for our democracy," Murdoch said.
The BBC is subsidized by the British government and funded, in part, by television licenses that consumers must pay if they use a television.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. controls British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, one of the BBC's main competitors in Britain.
"As Orwell foretold, to let the state enjoy a near-monopoly of information is to guarantee manipulation and distortion," Murdoch said, referring to George Orwell's book, "1984."
He said broadcasting policy had failed to keep pace with changes, relying on regulation and intervention from the state rather than empowering consumers.
Greg Dyke, the BBC's former director general, said Murdoch's argument was "fundamentally flawed."
"Journalism is going through a very difficult time -- not only in this country but every country in the world because newspapers, radio and television in the commercial world are all having a very rough time," he said.
Dyke said it was not the fault of the BBC that the recession and loss of advertising revenues had hampered news organizations.
Last month, a journalist told a British parliamentary committee that James Murdoch approved an out-of-court payment to settle a controversial phone hacking case.
News of the World editor Colin Myler said that Murdoch was told that 700,000 pounds ($1.1 million) would be paid to settle a case against the company.
The suit was brought by Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers' Association, one of the targets of the hacking.
The allegations against the News of the World, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. empire, have been waged as part of a wider scandal concerning journalistic abuses.
Source:Yahoo News

EU signs trade pact with southeast African nations

The European Union signed a temporary trade pact on Saturday with South East African countries namely Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and Madagascar calling for abolishing tariffs on European goods over the period of next 15 years.
These four countries in southeast Africa have had full access to the EU consumer market -- the world's biggest -- since the start of 2008 for most goods. Trade barriers for rice and sugar, however, are being removed gradually.
Zambia and Comoros have indicated they will sign the EU pact at a later date, the EU said.
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritra, Malawi and Sudan, which have been negtiating a regional trade pact, may also join the EU accord. As poor developing nations ,they currently do not pay tariffs on exports to the EU.
EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said the new interim deal would help counties of eastern and southern Africa in creating a single regional trade pact with the EU that would eventually cover trade in services, investment and protection for emerging industries in Africa.
The European Union imported some euro3.2 billion ($4.6 billion) of goods from eastern and southern Africa last year, mostly textiles, clothes, sugar, fish products and copper. European exports -- mostly mechanical and electrical machinery and vehicles -- were worth euro4.3 billion ($6.18 billion). Source:Yahoo News
To sum it up, a game of quid-pro-quo

Oil prices hover above $72 in Asia because of concerns over slowing US demand

After reaching a 10 month high last thursday,the oil prices in Asia plummeted to a lower value of $72. This downfall was amid the concerns over slowing demand for oil in the US, the world's largest energy copnsumer.
Benchmark crude for October delivery was up by 43 cents at $72.48 a barrel by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The oil prices reached their 10 month peak, buoyed by new signals of rising U.S. consumer confidence but descended from that value to settle at $72.05 after a new report from Washington projected a cumulative $7 trillion U.S. deficit for the next decade.
Energy prices had risen sharply this year, riding on a rally in equity markets mostly on the belief that the global economy is improving and demand will rebound soon.

Whats your IQ?

IQ (Intelligent Quotient) is a numerical figure used to assess a person's mental capability. The term was coined by a German scientist and has now become a standard measure of mental acumen. According to most sourced, an IQ equal to or above 140 is regerded as a genius but this is controversial as many factors can affect the accuracy of the value including the credibility of the test administered, the conditions in which the test was taken, the age and sex of the test taker, among many other things.
I gave the test when I was 12 and I got a 180;so, according to the thresholds, I am a super genius but the test was taken by my aunt who was but a psychology student. Thus, the credibility of the IQ value is debatable.
Anyways, if anyone of you is interested, you can go to the follwing link.Fair warning though!folks. Since, I am about to take the test, I can not comment on the value of the test but nevertheless, if you got some time free, its worth a try, isn't it?

White House to project $2 trillion higher deficit over next decade

Obama administration expects the federal deficit to be $2 trillion bigger than the previous estimate. This predicition has been made due to a slower economic recovery. While a white house official told this on the account of anonymity, he also contended that this higher deficit could also lead to troubling waters ahead for the Obama administration who are already being panned for their Stimulus Plan. This also means that Obama's goal to cutting down America's deficit to to $512 billion in 2013.
In its earlier projections, the White House said the deficit would be manageable if it slides to 3 percent of gross domestic product. Earlier projections barely met that standard -- even after relying on optimistic assumptions like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan costing $50 billion a year instead of the $130 billion budgeted for 2010.
Now, the deficits could easily exceed 4 percent of GDP, even after cost-cutting efforts or new revenues claimed in Obama's budget.
Now, to keep true to their promise, Obama and his asministration may have to bend or even break the other promise of not raising any taxes on individuals who make less than $200,000 and we may see something similar to former President Bill Clinton's tax-heavy 1993 deficit reduction plan. (Source: Yahoo News)

Oil prices hit 10-month high as optimism grows

Oil prices jumped Friday to a new high for the year after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the U.S. economy is nearing a recovery and other economic data backed him up.
Benchmark crude for October delivery rose 98 cents to settle at $73.89. After Bernanke spoke at an annual Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., prices briefly neared $75.
The price for natural gas plummeted to a new seven-year low, which suggests some skepticism about an economic rebound. Natural gas is used by major industries, including utilities, for power.
Energy experts had a hard time explaining how natural gas can plunge while prices for other energy futures, including heating oil and gasoline, continue to rise.
"If there's a recovery, people would be using electricity first before they buy gasoline," said Peter Beutel at Cameron Hanover. "Yet oil prices are going up and natural gas prices are down."
Oil started climbing early in the morning after financial information company Markit said its composite purchasing managers' index showed the European economy was stabilizing.
"If Europe's coming out of recession, the euro could get even stronger," analyst Phil Flynn said. "That means more demand for oil."
And the dollar did fall against the euro to end the week, effectively making dollar-based oil cheaper across the globe. That created its own momentum and drew a lot of investor money into crude, meaning the price for gasoline and other fuels will likely move up as well.
Gasoline prices have flattened and few expect a major run on prices as the driving season winds down.
Retail gas prices were almost unchanged, rising a hundredth of a cent to a new national average of $2.625 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular unleaded is 16.4 cents more expensive than it was a month ago, but it's $1.077 cheaper than last year.
In addition to the falling dollar and other upward pressures on energy prices, new housing data showed that people are buying.
Just as Bernanke began to speak, the National Association of Realtors said that home resales posted the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years, which may have helped push energy prices higher.
Crude this year has tended to jump even marginally good economic news. It has been slightly more than a year since a barrel of crude soared close to $150 per barrel and few people believe that at some point, demand for energy will not rebound strongly.
The question is when.
Earlier this week, the U.S. government reported that crude in storage, which had been building for weeks, fell by a surprising 8.4 million barrels as refiners cut back on petroleum imports. Crude prices jumped sharply.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery added 1.34 cents to settle at $1.9956 a gallon and heating oil for September delivery added 1.97 cents to settle at $1.9049 a gallon. Natural gas for September delivery tumbled another 14.1 cents to settle at $2.804 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices rose 86 cents to settle at $74.19 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange

Large Texas bank shut down by federal regulators

Hi guys! school has started and I am sorry for becoming irregular in my posts but unfortunately, my first post after this break is not quite heartening, to be honest.
Guaranty Bank has become the second-largest U.S. bank to fail this year aftr the Texas lender was shut down by regulators and most of its operation sold at a loss of billions of dollars for the U.S. government to a major Spanish bank.
The bank failure, the 10th largest in U.S. history, is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $3 billion.
Guaranty Bank, with 162 branches in Texas and California, saw its investmens in real estate lending and mortgage-backed securities bought from other banks sour and had been teetering near collapse for weeks. Its parent, Guaranty Financial Group Inc., reaffirmed Monday in a regulatory filing that the company was critically short of capital and didn't believe it could stay in business.

Japan's economy rebounds in 2Q

After a long year in recession, Japan's economy emerges out of the murky waters with an annual growth rate of 3.7%. Thus, it joins the elite countries' list which appear to be emerging out of the financial crisis.

But economists and politicians sounded cautious, noting that the main driver of growth was exports and that domestic consumer spending remained fragile amid plunging incomes and rising unemployment.

The recovery in the April-June quarter was driven by robust demand for cars, video recorders and other electronics goods, according to government data. Shipments to China and other emerging markets were particularly strong, although exports to the U.S. and Europe also showed modest recoveries. Exports grew 6.3 percent from the previous quarter, the highest rate in seven years.

Although, the Japanese government warns that risk factors remain, including unemployment and production is still on a low level, if the economy goes on at this rate, the economy would grow 3.7 percent. (Source: Yahoo News)

Sorryyyyyy!!!! I forgot

I have been pretty busy lately and it seems my brain has gone into a state of hibernation. I mean, how could I forget to wish all my dear readers HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY?? May this independence day bring end to the civil war, betterment in educational facilities and improvement in our economic condition. Amen

Planning to go on a vacation to US? Read about which places not to visit

ecI found this quirky and, at the same time, informative article about places which should rather be avoided if somebody goes on a jaunt to The Land Of Oppurtunity. The author seems to be an avid tourist as he describes the worst tourist attrractions in abut terse way. Do stop by here if you plan to go sightseeing in the US
http://http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-29489009;_ylc=X3oDMTE1dDB2bmFrBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDMjcxOTQ4MQRzZWMDZnAtdG9kYXltb2Q-

Mexico's president supports idea of free trade deal with Brazil proposed by business sector

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said that he supported the idea of fomation of a free trade area between Mexico and Brazil, the two biggest economies of Latin America.
Calderon says that he's enthusiastic about the idea of a deal proposed by Brazilian business executives to push for a commercial accord for the two nations.
Calderon made the comments Saturday in Sao Paulo at the start of a three-day visit to Brazil. He will tour installations of Brazil's state-run oil company Sunday and will meet on Monday with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The Mexican leader says a free trade accord could help both nations because the economies of Brazil and Mexico generate more than 70 percent of all economic activity in Latin America.

Qatar acquire 17% Porsche stake

Qatar Holding has announced it will acquire a 17 percent stake in Volkswagen AG, which is merging with Porsche, in a deal that will exceed $10 billionhis comes after the Porsche and Piech families said it will sell a 10 percent stake of their shares to the Gulf company.
In a statement released late Friday, Qatar Holding said it will now be the third largest shareholder in VW, after Porsche and Lower Saxony.
The purchase follows the UAE's Aabar Investment acquisition in March of a 10 percent stake of Daimler AG, famed for its Mercedes-Benz brand, indicating continuing Gulf interest in the European automotive sector despite the economic downturn.
The statement says Porsche will also establish research facilities in Doha as part of the deal..

A SUPER COOL 52 INCH LCD FOR $9.99?

O man!!1 This is hillarious.Few if any of the deals retailers have offered online during the recession has been as good as Best Buy Inc.'s sale price of $9.99 for a 52-inch TV Wednesday. But it quickly turned out the offer was too good to be true.
he electronics retailer said it will not honor the $9.99 price posted Wednesday morning on its Web site for a 52-inch Samsung flat-screen TV. By early afternoon, the TV was listed at $1,799.99, almost half off the original $3,399.99 price.
Bloggers and Twitterers lit up the Internet with posts about the offer, some insisting Best Buy must honor it, others making jokes.
Best Buy, based in Richfield, Minn., said it has corrected an online pricing error and will not honor the incorrect price. Orders made Wednesday morning at the incorrect price will be canceled and customers will receive refunds, the company said.
Best Buy did not immediately return a call for additional comment.
Shares fell 27 cents to close at $36.50 Wednesday.Well ,of course,what else do you expect for such a small, little, tine, toony mistake?

GOOOOOD NEWS!! Hong Kong recession ends as economy grows 3.3 pct

HEYY PEOPLE!! I am so happy that after the previous not-so-good post, I get to post some good news. And here it is : Hong Kong's economy hasbroken out of a yearlong recession in the second quarter as the territory benefited from strong growth in mainland China andThe pickup adds to the list of economies in Asia and beyond to emerge from recession or shrink at a less-horrible pace since the banking crisis sent global production and demand plunging last year. Both Germany and France resumed growing last quarter. better conditions in the West, the government of Honk Kong said on Friday.
the southern Chinese territory's economy, slammed four straight quarters by free-falling world demand for exports, grew by 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis, the government said. The economy contracted 4.3 percent in the first quarter.
"While we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, I should warn that the outlook remain highly uncertain because the situations in the United States and Europe are still very weak," said government economist Helen Chan.(heyy!!! that is being a typical economist:) )
Exports dropped 12.4 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, the government said. That was tamer than the nearly 23 percent drop-off in the first quarter.
Hong Kongers were also more willing to spend. Private consumption was up 4 percent from the previous quarter, though still down 1 percent from the same period last year.
Hot money had been flooding Hong Kong over the last year, chasing equities, real estate and other assets, ever since central banks began freeing up funds and governments spent more to help their economies.
The southern Chinese trading and financial center, Merrill Lynch said in report, has become a " dumping ground for global liquidity" -- helped by China's hunger for non-dollar assets, lower U.S. interest rates and global demand from investors for all things that are made in China.

Consumer prices flat in July as energy retreats

U.S. consumer prices were flat in July as energy costs retreated following a big surge in June. Over the past 12 months, prices dropped the most in nearly six decades as the recession and lower energy costs kept a lid on inflation.
But hold on, people!! Is it even something to worry about? Well,Some economists have expressed concerns that the economy could be headed toward a dangerous period of falling prices, something the U.S. has not experienced since the Great Depression of the 1930s. However, most analysts believe the Federal Reserve has responded aggressively enough to battle the current downturn and prevent outright deflation.
n July, energy costs fell 0.4 percent after having surged 7.4 percent in June, which reflected a big rise in the cost of gasoline and other energy products.
Gas prices, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell 0.8 percent in July. The average price at the pump is $2.65 per gallon, up from $2.50 a month ago but well below the record high of $4.11 hit a year ago.
Food costs dropped 0.3 percent in July reflecting declines in a number of categories led by a 0.6 percent fall in the cost of dairy products.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday reported its first-ever drop in same-store sales for its overall U.S. business for the quarter. The world's largest retailer said a big factor was price deflation, primarily in grocery products like dairy.
Airline fares rose 2.1 percent in July, while clothing costs jumped 0.6 percent. (Source:Yahoo News)

Make money by driving YOUR OWN car

Can we really do that? I mean it sounds too good to be true, right? But yes, this is the truth. While perusing an article about trying to make money in the recession-stricken times, I found this idea. The article said that by allowing different companies to paste their own sticker on your car's body, you can earn up to $900. Well, to be honest, in my part of the world, I have never heard of such stuff except for a van fully painted in U-fone logo, which frequents my area but does not that sound a good idea?

Investors finally find good news on unemployment

The economy's most vexing problem, unemployment, is showing the first signs of easing. And Wall Street is celebrating.
Major stock indexes jumped more than 1 percent Friday after the government said the nation's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in July for the first time in 15 months and that employers cut fewer jobs. Bond prices fell, driving yields higher as investors left the safety of Treasurys.
The Labor Department report handed investors the best evidence yet that the economy could be climbing out of the recession. Analysts widely consider unemployment the biggest obstacle to a recovery in the economy, which is driven by consumer spending
The government said employers shed 247,000 jobs in July, the fewest in a year. Economists had expected 320,000 lost jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent from 9.5 percent in June, rather than rising to 9.6 percent as forecast.
"It really gave the market the proof that it needed to see," said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial in Boston.
JUST TO TELL YOU I COPY PASTED ALL THIS COZ I FEEL LAZY
I WILL PROVIDE LINK TO THE NEWS
http://http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Investors-finally-find-good-apf-2848453904.html?x=0

A SCHOOL'S INITIATIVE

I have studies all my primary classes at SLS School and it's name always brings to me an unsuppressable feeling of nostalgia. After all, it was my first ever school. But what sets my school really apart is their 'KEHAKSHAN'. What is KEHEKSHAN, you ask? Well, it is a initiative to educate the poverty stricken kids of the neighbourhood for free. When it was started, I ,to be honest, was skeptical about the quality of education that would be given. After all, I thought, it is a very harsh reality that beggars are never choosers but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was at par with the education given to the regular students who payed exorbitant fees and that says something because the school has stellar academic reputation. I ,always grumbling about the quality of education in my country, see this initiative as a paradigm for other schools to follow and thus help to alleviate the biggest problem we face today. GOOD GOING SLS

AMERICAN TAXPAYERS MONEY GOING TO PORN????

While the heading of today's post may raise some eyebrows but this is really the truth, at least partially. Many of you might be conversant with the futility of the Obama plan, but only some of you might be aware that the tax payers' money is also going to support thr highly controversial National Endowment for Arts which allegedly churns out porn. One of the organisation's projects is, apart from many other embarrasing things, a highly erotic movie which might give a porno run for its money. Although, the fine line between art and pornography has not only been debated in the past but also capriciously shifted from one end to the other, it is the idea that taxpayer money is being spent on something as contemptible as porn is what makes the issue highly scandalous. Do we have another political earthquake brewing for the Obama folks?

.....AND NOW SOMETHING TO LAUGH YOUR HEADS OFF

I have been going on rambling about some very grave news in the previous days but here is something to cheer you all up. I found this article while surfing around the net and it has to be one of the funniest articles I have read till date.If you want to have some goog laughs then go to http://http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107451/10-promotional-stunts-that-horribly-backfired.html?mod=career-leadership. It was such a pleasure to read the funny advertisment campaigns that such respectable and renowned firms have done. I will never forget Sandisk's naive attempt to earn a market share; it sure was FUNNY!!!

Stocks pull off lows following report on housing

Stocks are paring early losses as investors cheer a report showing more signs of healing in the housing market.
The National Association of Realtors says pending home sales rose for a fifth straight month in June. The results were far better than analysts expected.
Stocks pulled off their lows and traded mixed following the report. The market was slightly lower in early trading, following declines on overseas exchanges.
Still, the market's reaction to the report was generally muted, a sign that investors have come to expect the signs of slow improvement in housing.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 5 at 9,291. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 2 at 1,000, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 6 at 2,001.
*(Source:Yahoo News)

OIL SOARS TO $70

Oil prices soar to a $70 high after consumers have renewed confidence that economy is improving.The positive manufacturing industry research reports have helped boost investor confidence causing the the oil prices to rise.Many now believe that the worst part of recession is over and there might be recovery just round the corner.Now isnt that a good news?