– AIG warns staff to travel in pairs after death threats over bonuses (Guardian):
The embattled US insurance company AIG has warned its staff to travel in pairs after dark, not to wear company logos and to avoid discussing their work outside the office, as public outrage boils over at multimillion-dollar executive bonuses.
– British bankers on Merrill bonus list (Telegraph):
A clutch of senior London bankers are expected to be on a list of 200 of Merrill Lynch’s biggest bonus recipients demanded by the New York Attorney General.
– Banks Lost $32.1 Billion in Fourth Quarter (AOL Money):
WASHINGTON (March 20) – Federal regulators now say the nation’s banks lost $32.1 billion in the final quarter of last year, even worse than the $26.2 billion originally reported last month.
– Geithner’s Crappy Bank Plan Coming Monday (The Business Insider):
So what’s wrong with the plan? The same thing that has been wrong with every plan the Geithner-Paulson-Bernanke regime has rolled out since last September: The price the government is going to pay for the bad assets.
– Argentine farmers step up fight with government (Financial Times):
In an escalating conflict with the government over export tariffs, Argentine farmers on Friday announced a new week-long halt to sales of cereals, soya and beef, a move likely to spark fresh supply fears among importers.
– Hungary’s PM to quit amid tumbling popularity (AP):
BUDAPEST (AP) – Hungary’s prime minister stunned the country Saturday by announcing his resignation because he had become an “obstacle” to the reforms needed to pull the country out of its worse financial crisis since the end of communism nearly 20 years ago.
– Larry Silverstein asks for a bailout (The Raw Story)
– RBS traders hid toxic debt (Telegraph):
Billions of pounds of “toxic” sub-prime mortgages were bought by Royal Bank of Scotland traders in a spree that was not disclosed to the bank’s board.
– Toxic Asset Plan Foresees Big Subsidies for Investors (New York Times)
– U.S. seizes top credit union clearinghouse (Reuters):
WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) – Regulators seized the top clearinghouse for U.S. credit unions, citing a critical deterioration in the finances of the provider of services to thousands of retail credit unions.
– Threat of 100% bonus tax raises fears for future of US banks (Times Online)
– G20 summit: Gordon Brown’s G20 dream fades amid European hostility (Times Online):
Gordon Brown’s hopes of leading the world out of recession at next month’s pivotal summit in London were undermined yesterday when European leaders flatly rejected calls for a further massive stimulus package. (Gordon Brown, among others, is leading the world into depression.)
– US halts Madagascar aid over coup (BBC News):
The US has halted all non-humanitarian aid to Madagascar after the army forced out the elected president and installed the opposition leader in his place.
– Who allowed Google to put my big knickers online? (Telegraph)
– Accused French Ex-Official Says Jews Aided Nazi Deportations (The New York Times):
Maurice Papon, the former French official facing trial on charges of crimes against humanity in World War II, has broken a long silence and accused French Jews of helping to organize deportations to Nazi death camps. (… and guess who financed Hitler and also all other war parties before and during the war.)
– G20 protesters ‘will try to bring London to standstill’ (Independent):
Police fear anti-capitalist groups will seek violent confrontation on streets
– Diebold Admits Audit Logs in ALL Versions of Their Software Fail to Record Ballot Deletions:
Bales admitted that his company had “not yet” corrected the problem, which was first implemented in the company’s software more than a decade ago.
– Protectionism row flares as Renault brings production back to France (Guardian):
Renault and Peugeot, both running out of cash, were given billions in low-cost guarantees and loans provided they kept French plants open and saved as many jobs as possible
– Repayment begins sooner for new college loans (Los Angeles Times):
Students who borrow from Sallie Mae must make interest-only payments while still in school.
– 40,000 BRAIN TUMOUR PATIENTS ‘MISSING’ FROM OFFICIAL STATISTICS EACH YEAR (Community Newswire): (Using a mobile phone causes brain tumors.)
– Effects of Mobile Phone Radio Frequency on the Structure and Function of the Normal Human Hemoglobin
– One child in 60 ‘suffers from a form of autism’ (Daily Mail):
(In not vaccinated tribes there is no autism.)
– Monsanto’s Bt Cotton Kills the Soil as Well as Farmers:
In 3 years, Bt-cotton has reduced the population of Actinomycetes by 17%. Actinomycetes are vital for breaking down cellulose and creating humus. Bacteria were reduced by 14%. The total microbial biomass was reduced by 8.9%. Vital soil beneficial enzymes which make nutrients available to plants have also been drastically reduced. Acid Phosphatase which contributes to uptake of phosphates was reduced by 26.6%. Nitrogenase enzymes which help fix nitrogen were reduced by 22.6%. At this rate, in a decade of planting with GM cotton, or any GM crop with Bt genes in it, could lead to total destruction of soil organisms, leaving dead soil unable to produce food.
– Is Organic Farming Killer Rep. Rosa DeLauro Becoming the Most Hated Woman in America? (I Hope So)