– Britain ‘headed’ for deepest slump in 60 years (Times Online):
The sharpest plunge in consumer spending since the Second World War will drive Britain this year into its deepest economic slump for 60 years, according to the country’s leading economic research institute.
– Cheney Warns Of New Attacks (CBS News):
Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.
– Dick Cheney Is A Liar (The Washington Independent)
– President Obama to water down ‘Buy American’ plan after EU trade war threat (Times Online):
The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war.
– Europe and Canada warn US over ‘Buy America’ clause (Telegraph)
– EU issues warning over Buy American plan (Financial Times):
The European Union has warned of possible trade litigation against the US if Washington presses ahead with a Buy American provision in its forthcoming economic stimulus bill.
– Senate Republicans Slam Obama Stimulus (CBS News)
– PM slams economic protection (Scotsman):
AUSTRALIA’S prime minister Kevin Rudd warned that nations using protectionist policies to stimulate economies would throw “a spear at the heart” of his country’s economy.
– Japan slams Buy American plan (Financial Times)
– ADP index shows 522000 jobs lost in January (MarketWatch)
– Kazakhstan devalues currency (Financial Times):
Kazakhstan allowed its currency, the tenge, to drop by almost one-fifth in a move it blamed on falling world oil prices and the sharp depreciation of the Russian rouble.
— Russia and Belarus sign air defence pact (Telegraph)
– Japan’s Panasonic to cut 15000 jobs, shut plants (AP)
– Abu Dhabi injects liquidity (Financial Times)
– Obama caps executive pay tied to bailout money (AP):
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed $500,000 caps on senior executive pay for the most distressed financial institutions receiving federal bailout money, saying Americans are upset with “executives being rewarded for failure.”
– Treasury reveals record US debt sale plans (Financial Times):
The US Treasury on Wednesday opened the floodgates of government bond issuance, revealing plans for a record debt sale in February and more frequent auctions in the months to come.
– Foreclosures Now One in Five Home Sales (NewsMax)
– Wells Fargo defends, then cancels Vegas junket (AP):
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a tradition for Wells Fargo & Co. to reward top employees with a lavish junket. In previous years, though, the company hadn’t just received a $25 billion bailout from taxpayers.
– Chinese earthquake may have been man-made, say scientists (Telegraph):
An earthquake that killed at least 80,000 people in Sichuan last year may have been triggered by an enormous dam just miles from the epicentre
– Time seen running out for attack on Iran (Reuters):
HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) – Israel has a year in which to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities preemptively, an Israeli legislator and weapons expert said Wednesday.
– UK and US put Iran at heart of the agenda (Independent)
– State pension funds tally their losses (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
– Editorial: Judges Sentenced (Philadelphia Inquirer):
Kids for cash – The setting is Pennsylvania coal country, but it’s a story right out of Dickens’ grim 19th-century landscape: Two of Luzerne County’s most senior judges on Monday were accused of sending children to jail in return for kickbacks.
– British colonel ‘passed Afghan casualty secrets to female friend’ (Times Online)
– Lovells hired to trace Bernard Madoff’s UK assets (Times Online)
– Exploding mobile phone kills man in China (Telegraph)
– The Army’s Remote-Controlled Beetle (MIT Technology Review):
A giant flower beetle with implanted electrodes and a radio receiver on its back can be wirelessly controlled, according to research presented this week. Scientists at the University of California developed a tiny rig that receives control signals from a nearby computer. Electrical signals delivered via the electrodes command the insect to take off, turn left or right, or hover in midflight. The research, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), could one day be used for surveillance purposes or for search-and-rescue missions.