Edward's Index

Antonio Damasio: This Time With Feeling

admin — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:06:19 +0000

FORA.tv – Antonio Damasio: This Time With Feeling.

Communication With 50 ICBMs Dropped

admin — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:52:40 +0000

For three-quarters of an hour Saturday morning, launch control officers at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming couldn’t reliably communicate or monitor the status of 50 Minuteman III nuclear missiles.

A single hardware failure appears to have been the root cause of the disruption, which snarled communications on the network that links the five launch control centers and 50 silos of the 319th Missile Squadron. Multiple error codes were reported, including “launch facility down.”

“This is 50 ICBMs dropping off at once. I never heard of anything like it.” said John Noonan, a former U.S. Air Force missile launch officer

via Communication With 50 Nuke Missiles Dropped in ICBM Snafu | Danger Room | Wired.com.

$80 Billion Arms Deal

admin — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:46:08 +0000

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), a retiring senior defense appropriator, was quick last week to point out the economic benefits to St. Louis if Saudi Arabia buys as many as 84 new F-15 fighter jets. The purchases would ensure that the F-15 production line remains open and would protect the more than 14,000 jobs in the state that are tied to the aircraft. Bond pressed the Obama administration to go through with the F-15 sale to Saudi Arabia. (80 billion total defense package)

Via: The Hill, October 25, 2010

Diverging realities on WTO ruling – U.S.-China

admin — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 20:26:33 +0000

U.S. Reaction

W.T.O. Rejects Chinese Claims in Dispute Over Duties – NYTimes.com – October 22, 2010

The United States claimed victory Friday in a trade dispute with China, after a World Trade Organization panel largely upheld tariffs that were imposed on an array of Chinese-made steel pipes, tires and other products during the Bush administration.

China had used a number of technical arguments in a September 2008 challenge to antidumping duties, which are supposed to compensate for unfair pricing and countervailing duties that are used to offset improper government subsidies. But a W.T.O. dispute settlement panel rejected most of those arguments.

The Bush administration announced levies on $200 million of steel pipe shipments from China, South Korea and Mexico in July 2008, a month after imposing similar countervailing duties involving a different kind of steel pipe. The Obama administration has defended those decisions.

“This is a significant win for American workers and businesses affected by unfairly traded imports,” said the United States trade representative, Ron Kirk. “This case makes clear that the Obama administration, including U.S.T.R. and our colleagues at the Department of Commerce, will vigorously defend the application of our trade remedy laws.”

via W.T.O. Rejects Chinese Claims in Dispute Over Duties – NYTimes.com.

CHINA’s Reaction

China welcomes WTO ruling on U.S. regulation breach in trade disputes – People’s Daily Online: October 24, 2010

China welcomed the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ruling that United States imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on four types of Chinese imports was inconsistent with WTO regulations, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Saturday.

The four categories of Chinese imports include standard steel pipe, rectangular steel pipe, laminated woven sacks, and off-road tires, according to an online statement posted on the MOC’s website.

In a report released Friday, the WTO’s dispute settlement body found that the U.S. department of Commerce had acted inconsistently with WTO rules on five elements of the case, which China filed to the WTO in 2008.

The U.S. should conduct trade remedy investigations strictly in accordance with the WTO regulations, an unnamed official from the MOC’s Department of Treaty and Law said in the statement.

However, China was also concerned over some views and rulings made by the WTO expert panel, and would handle issues such as complaints according to WTO disputes settlement procedures, said the official.

Source: Xinhua

via China welcomes WTO ruling on U.S. regulation breach in trade disputes – People’s Daily Online.

G20 Gyeongju Communique

admin — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 20:07:47 +0000

Pledges to: “move towards more market determined exchange rate systems that reflect underlying economic fundamentals and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies. Advanced economies, including those with reserve currencies, will be vigilant against excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates. These actions will help mitigate the risk of excessive volatility in capital flows facing some emerging countries.”

via G20 Gyeongju Communique. (The Korea Times)

China: local government sponsored rock shows burn Japanese flags

admin — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:57:11 +0000

The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia.

money market funds and corporate cash

admin — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 05:53:55 +0000

A 30-DAY TAXABLE MONEY-MARKET FUND OFFERS AN AVERAGE yield of 0.04%. Little wonder then that investors on balance have pulled $1 trillion out of them since the beginning of 2009.

The Federal Reserve this month reported that corporate cash was at record high levels of $1.84 trillion, almost identical to the previous quarter. The Fed also reported that total corporate borrowing rose by $50.4 billion in the second quaiier, but that was more than offset by $75.5 billion in new direct investment abroad.

via

Low Yields Are Just One of Money Funds’ Woes Tom Sullivan. Barron’s. New York, N.Y.: Oct 11, 2010. Vol. 90, Iss. 41; pg. L13,

Quantitative easing round 2 (QE2)

admin — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 05:27:05 +0000

Most market participants are projecting Fed buying will total $500 billion to $1 trillion, which would dwarf the $300 billion in Treasuries the Fed bought during its first large-scale quantitative easing program last year.

via

How to Play the Big Easing Deborah Lynn Blumberg. Barron’s. New York, N.Y.: Oct 11, 2010. Vol. 90, Iss. 41; pg. M14,

LightLine

admin — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:56:43 +0000

The LightLine of Gotham

Races to watch

admin — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:43:01 +0000

Leveraged Buyout funds

admin — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 08:03:51 +0000

At the middle of 2009, there were 260 buyout funds in the global market, aiming to raise US$205 billion

via Home Bias in Leveraged Buyouts* – Cornelius – 2009 – International Finance – Wiley Online Library.

Commercial mortgage crisis on the horizon?

admin — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:40:12 +0000

“one-third of the $3 trillion in US commercial mortgages will be up for renewal over the next three years. If banks are individually pressured to not renew many performing loans, the commercial real estate market would be flooded with unsold properties, undermining property values that collateralize mortgages.”

via COMMENTARY: International Lessons for Regulatory Reform1 – Fisher – 2010 – International Finance – Wiley Online Library.

Big Spenders

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:16:36 +0000

Big Spenders – TIME.

Andrew Jackson

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:09:18 +0000

In the 1824 Presidential election, Andrew Jackson won the majority of the popular vote, but a hung electoral college led to the awarding of the Presidency to John Quincy Adams by the House. Jackson came back four years later, on the ticket of his new Democratic party. He would win handily and serve as President till 1837.

via Andrew Jackson – Top 10 American Political Prodigies – TIME.

Jeannette Pickering Rankin

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:04:31 +0000

Jeannette Pickering Rankin of Montana made history in 1916 when at the age of 36 she became the first woman elected to Congress

via Jeannette Pickering Rankin – Top 10 American Political Prodigies – TIME.

JFK

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:02:58 +0000

JFK’s approval rating that reached an astonishing 83% in 1961.

via The Kennedy Brothers – Top 10 American Political Prodigies – TIME.

Race in America

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:01:04 +0000

The Supreme Court declared segregation on buses unconstitutional on November 13, 1956, close to a year after Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama

via Martin Luther King Jr. – Top 10 American Political Prodigies – TIME.

Thomas Jefferson

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:57:05 +0000

Thomas Jefferson was just 33 in 1776, when he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

via Thomas Jefferson – Top 10 American Political Prodigies – TIME.

deficit: $1.3 trillion

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:51:01 +0000

via FY2010 deficit: $1.3 trillion, Treasury says – Oct. 15, 2010.

Demand for US bonds

admin — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 07:12:18 +0000

Japan is poised to pass China as the largest U.S. creditor for the first time since August 2008 as growing demand for U.S. government debt reduces borrowing costs for President Barack Obama as the deficit swells.
Japan added $55.3 billion of Treasuries this year, swelling its holdings 7.2 percent to $821 billion, Treasury data show. China, which overtook Japan in September 2008, cut its stake by $48.1 billion, or 5.4 percent, to $846.7 billion. Japan made its biggest purchase in 10 months in July, just after China cut its position by the most on record.

Via: Bloomberg, Oct 12.