Month: August 2012

Five Years Ago, The Credit Crunch Began; Today It’s Worse. How Long Will It Last?

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This is the ‘Greatest Depression’:

– 65 Signs That The Economic Collapse Is Already Happening

Prepare for collape.

There have been small bursts of growth and confidence, but the road to recovery still looks long

– Five years ago, the credit crunch began; today it’s worse. How long will it last? (The Observer, Aug 5, 2012):

Unhappy anniversary. Five years ago this week the world woke up to the fact that a credit crunch was definitely happening. On 9 August 2007, central bankers became so alarmed by banks’ reluctance to lend to each other that they took emergency action. The European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve injected a combined $90bn into financial markets.

For the ECB, it was its first intervention since the 9/11 terrorist attacks six years earlier. The central bank called it a piece of “fine tuning”, but investors knew it was far more serious. The FTSE lost 121 points that day, and in the US the Dow Jones average fell by 387. A squall that had appeared at two French investment funds exposed to US sub-prime loans was about to develop into a hurricane. Adam Applegarth, boss of Northern Rock, where queues would form the next month, later called 9 August “the day the world changed”.

Even so, at the time few would have predicted that half a decade later the world, or at least the western part, would still be struggling with the consequences.

Read moreFive Years Ago, The Credit Crunch Began; Today It’s Worse. How Long Will It Last?

CNN Ratings Drop 20 Percent Again

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– CNN ratings drop 20 percent again (RT, Aug 2, 2012):

Entertainers advise to always leave the stage on a high note. Just days after CNN President Jim Walton announced his departure from the network, though, the latest ratings suggest he never got the memo. CNN’s numbers are once again plummeting fast.

For the month of July 2012, CNN’s viewership was only around one-fifth of what they saw just a year earlier. Media Bistro has published the latest numbers for the cable news network, and across the board the station shows signs of struggling, even after some serious revamping in recent months.

Compared with statistics for July 2011, total viewership for CNN has sunk 20 percent, and in other categories the figures are ever worse. Among 24-54 year olds, CNN is seeing a drop of 23 percent this year, with the same decline in ratings down for its primetime broadcast. In terms of how often same age group tunes in during primetime hours, CNN’s statistics are down 26 percent from last year.

Walton, a 30-year veteran of CNN, announced last Friday that he’d be leaving the station after manning its helm for the last decade.

Read moreCNN Ratings Drop 20 Percent Again

20,000 Bq Detected In Fukushima Man’s Body!!!

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– 20,000 Bq/body from a man in Fukushima (Fukushima Diary, Aug 3, 2012):

The biggest health risk for Japanese is the accumulation of radiation because of contaminated food.
Official radiation measurement is not trust worthy, and they don’t measure all kinds of radionuclide.
This is one of the reasons why I evacuated Japan.

A hematological physician in Minamisoma general hospital (23km from Fukushima plant) wrote on his blog that he measured 20,000 Bq/body from a man in 70s living in Fukushima by WBC (Whole body counter) though it was already July.2012. This is the total of Cs-134 and Cs-137.

He measured 10,000 Bq/body from the wife as well. It’s about 300 Bq/Kg.

? The picture was taken by Pathological anatomist, Yury Bandazhevsky from Belarus below. [Video]

Histological myocardium composition of a 43-year-old Dobrush resident (sudden death case). Muscle fiber is severely damaged. 45.4 Bq/kg was measured from this organ. 300 Bq/kg is about 7 times higher than that.

? Below is the histology of normal cardiac muscles and Purkinje fibers as reference.

20,000 Bq/body is the highest reading he has ever measured in Japan.
This highly contaminated people were introduced to this doctor by another couple of his patients.
He measured 14,000 Bq/body from the husband, 8,000 Bq/body from the wife as well.

Read more20,000 Bq Detected In Fukushima Man’s Body!!!

Goldman Sachs To Invest Nearly $10 Million In New York City Jails Program

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– New York tests social impact bond investing with Goldman Sachs (Reuters, Aug 2, 2012):

Goldman Sachs will invest nearly $10 million in a New York City jails program, using an innovative financial instrument in which private investments fund public social services, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday.

Goldman will create one of the nation’s first “social service bonds” to help fund a New York City program that aims to lower the 50 percent recidivism rate among youthful offenders jailed at the Rikers Island correctional facility.

Unlike similar proposals being developed elsewhere, most of Goldman’s ‘Rikers bond’ will be guaranteed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the mayor’s philanthropic group, which will back $7.2 million of the $9.6 million investment the bank plans.

Read moreGoldman Sachs To Invest Nearly $10 Million In New York City Jails Program

CIA Given Carte Blanche To Supply Intelligence Information To Syrian Rebels

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– CIA authorised to offer intelligence support to Syrian rebels (Telegraph, Aug 2, 2012):

The CIA and other US agencies have been given carte blanche to supply intelligence information to the Syrian opposition, sources in the US have disclosed.

President Barack Obama signed a secret order authorising US support earlier this year allowing the sharing of intelligence information by American agencies to help oust Bashar al-Assad, sources told the Reuters news agency.

The Obama administration has stated publicly that it is providing some “non lethal” backing for Assad’s opponents – including $25 million set aside for assistance this week – but the sharing of intelligence had not been known.

Read moreCIA Given Carte Blanche To Supply Intelligence Information To Syrian Rebels

U.S. Court Demands TSA Explain Why It Is Defying Nude Body Scanner Order

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– Court Demands TSA Explain Why It Is Defying Nude Body Scanner Order (Wired, Aug 1, 2012):

A federal appeals court Wednesday ordered the Transportation Security Administration to explain why it hasn’t complied with the court’s year-old decision demanding the agency hold public hearings concerning the rules and regulations pertaining to the so-called nude body scanners installed in U.S. airport security checkpoints.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s brief order came in response to the third request by the Electronic Privacy Information Center for the court to enforce its order.

A year ago, the circuit court, in a lawsuit brought by EPIC, set aside a constitutional challenge trying to stop the government from using intrusive body scanners across U.S. airports. But the decision on July 15, 2011 also ordered TSA “to act promptly” and hold public hearings and publicly adopt rules and regulations about the scanners’ use, which it has not done.

Read moreU.S. Court Demands TSA Explain Why It Is Defying Nude Body Scanner Order

‘Recovery’ In The U.S.: Employment Rate Lower Than During Last Recession … ‘Despite’ Unprecedented Borrowing And Spending By Government And ‘Despite’ Reckless Money Printing By The Fed

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See also:

– HILARIOUS … Obama: ‘I Am Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited By Half By The End Of My First Term In Office’ (Video)

– The Employment Rate In The United States Is Lower Than It Was During The Last Recession (Economic Collapse, Aug 3, 2012):

Did you know that a smaller percentage of Americans are working today than when the last recession supposedly ended?  But you won’t hear about this on the mainstream news.  Instead, the mainstream media obsesses over the highly politicized and highly manipulated “unemployment rate”.  The media is buzzing about how “163,000 new jobs” were added in July but the unemployment rate went up to “8.254%“.  Sadly, those numbers are quite misleading.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in June 142,415,000 people had jobs in the United States. In July, that number declined to 142,220,000. That means that 195,000 fewer Americans were working in July than in June. But somehow that works out to “163,000 new jobs” in July.  I am not exactly sure how they get that math to add up.  Perhaps someone out there can explain it to me.  Personally, I find that the “employment rate” gives a much clearer picture of what is actually going on in the economy.  The employment to population ratio is a measure of the percentage of working age Americans that actually have jobs.  When it goes up that is good.  When it goes down, that is bad.  In July, the employment to population ratio dropped from 58.6 percent to 58.4 percent.  Overall, the percentage of working age Americans that have jobs has now been under 59 percent for 35 months in a row.

The following is a chart of the employment to population ratio in the United States over the past 10 years….

The gray shaded bar in the chart represents the last recession as defined by the Federal Reserve.  As you can see, the percentage of working age Americans with a job dropped sharply from nearly 63 percent at the start of 2008 to a little above 59 percent when the recession ended.

But the “employment rate” kept on dropping even further.

It finally bottomed out at 58.2 percent in December of 2009.

Since that time, it has stayed very steady.  It has not fallen below 58 percent and it has not risen back above 59 percent.

This is very odd, because after ever other recession since World War II this number has always bounced back strongly.

Read more‘Recovery’ In The U.S.: Employment Rate Lower Than During Last Recession … ‘Despite’ Unprecedented Borrowing And Spending By Government And ‘Despite’ Reckless Money Printing By The Fed

Japan Government: Water With 1 SIEVERT Per Hour Dose Rate Was Leaking Directly Into Ocean After 3/11

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– Water with 1 sievert per hour dose rate was leaking directly into ocean after 3/11 -Japan Gov’t (ENENews, Aug 4, 2012):

Title: April 4th, 2011 – Water with dose rate of more than 1000 mSv/hr confirmed leaking directly into the sea
Source: Enformable
Date: July 31, 2012

NISA press release from April 2, mentioned that water with dose rate of more than 1000 mSv/hr (100 rem/hr) was confirmed by TEPCO at around 3:20 UTC on April 2 inside the cable storage pit located next to Unit 2 discharge point. There exists a crack of approximately 20 cm on the sidewall of the pit closest to the sea and water inside the pit is confirmed and shown to be leaking directly to the sea. News reports indicate the flow of this water is approximately 2 L/sec.

Read moreJapan Government: Water With 1 SIEVERT Per Hour Dose Rate Was Leaking Directly Into Ocean After 3/11

Leaked Email: Nuclear Operator Warns Employees Not To Leak Documents To Fairewinds’ Arnie Gundersen

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Credit Google Images

Fairewinds Associates was sent a leaked Southern California Edison email informing San Onofre employees it is against company policy to leak documents to Fairewinds.

– Leaked Email: Nuclear operator warns against leaking documents, specifically mentions Fairewinds Associates (ENENews, Aug 3, 2012):

Title: Shhh… don’t tell!
Source: Fairewinds Energy Education
Author: Patrick’s Blog

Fairewinds Associates was sent a leaked Southern California Edison email informing San Onofre employees it is against company policy to leak documents to Fairewinds.

Subject: Fw: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUSSubject: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUS

To: All SONGS Employees and Contractors

Read moreLeaked Email: Nuclear Operator Warns Employees Not To Leak Documents To Fairewinds’ Arnie Gundersen

165,000 Bq/Kg From Fukushima River Soil

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– 165,000 Bq/Kg from Fukushima river soil (Fukushima Diary, Aug 2, 2012):

Rivers gone dead.
Ministry of the environment conducted radiation tests at 120 points of rivers in Fukushima prefecture. The test was done from 4/29 to 6/20/2012.
The highest reading was 165,000 Bq/Kg from the river bottom soil of Ukedogawa river in Namie machi, where is in Hazard area.

According to Ordinance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry No.112 [Link], radioactive material to contain more than 100 Bq/kg of Cs-134/137 must be properly stocked to not to cause public radiation hazard.
This is 1,650 times higher than the safety limit.

They also measured 2 Bq/L of cesium from Abukuma river, but this is lower than 2.7 Bq/Kg from well water in Chiba. It needs to be verified if Fukushima river is actually cleaner than well water in Tokyo area.(cf. 2.7 Bq/kg of cesium measured from well water at 25km from the center of Tokyo)

Source

Vermont Farmer Crushes 7 Police Cars With Tractor Over Pot Arrest (Video)

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YouTube Added: 02.08.2012

– Vermont farmer crushes 7 police cars with tractor over pot arrest (The Raw Story, Aug 2, 2012):

A Vermont farmer used his tractor to crush seven Orleans County Sheriff’s Department squad cars on Thursday because he was angry about being arrested on marijuana charges last month.

“It’s more than half our fleet,” Chief Deputy Sheriff Phil Brooks explained to the Burlington Free Press. “We have 11 cars.”

Read moreVermont Farmer Crushes 7 Police Cars With Tractor Over Pot Arrest (Video)

ECB Saves Greece From Certain Bankruptcy … AGAIN!

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– ECB Saves Greece From Certain Bankruptcy. Again (ZeroHedge, Aug 4, 2012):

A few days ago we wrote that “Greece Runs Out Of Money. Again” because it did. The country, which is permanently locked out of the bond markets, would be down to a negative cash balance as soon as its August bond payment to the ECB was made. The reason is that the Troika continues to delay its decision. whether or not to hand over Greece its next monthly allowance. So with the country threatening to once again be on the front page as math rears its ugly head, the ECB has decided to take the bold step and admit that in lieu of even remotely credible collateral pledged and repledged in the ponzi repo system, the ECB has no choice but to expand the universe of eligible “collateral” against which it will provide cash. From Reuters: “The ECB’s Governing Council agreed at its meeting on Thursday to increase the upper limit for the amount of Greek short-term loans the Bank of Greece can accept in exchange for emergency loans, the newspaper said in an advance copy of the article due to appear in its Saturday edition.”As a reminder, on July 20 the ECB pretended to act in a prudent fiduciary capacity and halted the acceptance of worthless Greek bonds as eligible ECB collateral. Naturally, this was merely an epic case of sweeping under the rug, because bonds eligible for traditional collateral had already ran out, even as the ECB greenlighted the continued provisioning of funding via the Emergency Liquidity Assistance, or ELA, in which the pathway of repledging a liability as a money good asset took on one extra step by using a national central bank as an unnecessary intermediary. The reason: merely to obfuscate the fact that actual money good collateral, and by implication, assets, no longer exist, allowing the Eurosystem to accept more and more worthless “assets” in exchange for frashly printed euros.

This is precisely what just happened:

Until now the Bank of Greece could only accept T-Bills up to a limit of 3 billion euros ($3.70 billion) as collateral for emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) but it has applied to have this limit increased to 7 billion euros, the daily said, citing central bank sources.

The ECB Governing Council gave this wish the green light, the paper said.

The move should enable the Greek government to access up to an extra 4 billion euros of funds, the paper said, adding that this should ensure the country keeps its head above water until the “troika” of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund decide on the disbursement of the next tranche of money from its aid program in September.

Read moreECB Saves Greece From Certain Bankruptcy … AGAIN!

S&P Downgrades 15 Italian Financial Institutions, Says Country Faces Deeper Recession Than Previously Thought

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– S&P Downgrades 15 Italian Financial Institutions, Says Country Faces Deeper Recession Than Previously Thought (ZeroHedge, Aug 3, 2012):

It is late in the afternoon on a Friday, which means one thing: it is time to dump all left over bad news under the rug. Sure enough, here comes S&P. From Bloomberg:

  • S&P CUTS RATINGS ON 15 ITALIAN FINL INSTITUTIONS
  • S&P TAKES RATING ACTIONS ON 32 ITALIAN FINL INSTITUTIONS
  • BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA SPA CUT TO BBB-/NEGATIVE/A-3
  • BANCA POPOLARE DI MILANO SCRL CUT TO BB+/NEGATIVE/B BY S&P
  • S&P SEES ITALIAN BANKS’ VULNERABILITY TO CREDIT RISK RISING
  • S&P SAYS ITALY FACES POTENTIAL DEEPER RECESSION THAN IT THOUGHT

Full release:

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today said it has taken rating actions on 32 Italian financial institutions.

Read moreS&P Downgrades 15 Italian Financial Institutions, Says Country Faces Deeper Recession Than Previously Thought

Radioactive Japan Tea At 196 Bq/Kg Surrendered To Hong Kong Authorities

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– Radioactive tea voluntarily surrendered to Hong Kong authorities — 196 Bq/kg of cesium, almost double Japan’s limit (ENENews, Aug 3, 2012):

Nuclear Event Daily Update
Hong Kong
August 2, 2012

Tea bag

  • Sampled on June 8, 2012
  • Cs134= 76 Bq/kg
  • Cs137 = 120 Bq/kg
  • Total Cesium = 196 Bq/kg
  • Not exceeding Codex guideline levels
  • Voluntary surrendered by importer for disposal. Not distributed for sale in local market.

Read moreRadioactive Japan Tea At 196 Bq/Kg Surrendered To Hong Kong Authorities

HILARIOUS … Obama: ‘I Am Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited By Half By The End Of My First Term In Office’ (Video)

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And now we have the choice between traitor Obama and traitor Romney.

Best of luck!

– Friday Humor: “I Am Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited By Half By The End Of My First Term In Office” (ZeroHedge, Aug 3, 2012):

President Obama, February 2009

“We can not and will not sustain deficits like these without end. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom in Washington these past few years, we can not simply spend as we please and defer the consequences to the next budget, the next administration or the next generation. We are paying the price for these deficits right now. In 2008 alone we paid $250 billion in interest on our debt, that is more than three times what we spent on education that year, more than seven times what we spent on VA healthcare. So if we confront this crisis without also confronting the deficits that helped cause it, we risk sinking into another crisis down the road as our interest payments rise, our obligations come due, confidence in our economy erodes and our children and grandchildren are unable to pursue their dreams because they are saddled with our debts. That’s why today I am pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office. This will not be easy – it will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we have long neglected but i refuse to leave our children with a debt they can not repay. And that means taking responsibility right now in this administration, for getting our spending under control.”

Less than archive footage:


YouTube

US deficit:

US debt:

Portland: FBI Raids Homes ‘Looking For Anti-Government Or Anarchist Literature Or Material’

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– Portland FBI raids targeted anarchists (KGW, Aug 3, 2012):

PORTLAND — Search warrants targeting three Portland homes last week were part of a federal effort to learn more about the anarchist movement and vandalism in downtown Seattle during a May Day rally, according to a report by KGW news partner The Oregonian.

The National Lawyers Guild in Seattle issued a statement Thursday condemning the raids, calling them “a pretext for harassing political activists. The Federal Bureau of Investigation served the subpoenas at the same time that heavily armed agents raided homes in the Portland area, reportedly seizing anarchist literature, black clothing, and computers.”

The newspaper reported that Dennison Williams, 33, and Leah Plante, 24, who lived in two of the homes, had been called to testify Thursday before a federal grand jury. Both said they would recite only their names and shield themselves from further questioning by invoking their constitutional rights, The Oregonian reported.

Left behind at one of the homes was a search warrant affidavit that said agents were looking for anti-government or anarchist literature or material; black clothing, backpacks, face coverings and shoes; green, red, black, grey or blue/purple paint; sticks and flags carried during the commission of the offenses and material for making flags; computers, cell phones and electronic storage media, and flares or similar incendiaries, the Oregonian reported.

Read morePortland: FBI Raids Homes ‘Looking For Anti-Government Or Anarchist Literature Or Material’

Texas And U.S. Facing Growing Threat Of Domestic IEDs … Afghanistan & Iraq Coming To A City Near You

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Be afraid, be very afraid. Terrorists everywhere!

Surrender what is left from your civil rights and you will be fine, … maybe.

Problem – reaction – solution.

– Texas and U.S. facing growing threat of domestic IEDs (Houston Chronicle, July 30, 2012):

Improvised explosive devices have claimed the lives and limbs of thousands of American soldiers across Iraq and Afghanistan.

And now officials say the devilish devices are posing a growing threat across Texas and the United States.

The accused shooter in the Aurora, Colo., movie theater massacre, James Holmes, allegedly deployed IEDs in his apartment, prompting federal law enforcement agencies to look into possible links to domestic or foreign-based terrorism.

The incident follows disrupted IED attacks in 2010 — a car bomb disarmed in New York City’s Times Square and explosives detected in ink cartridges aboard two U.S.-bound commercial cargo planes.

And with Mexican drug cartels using car bombs in cities bordering Texas, officials along the southwest border are increasingly concerned about ready-to-go devices being smuggled into the United States.

Read moreTexas And U.S. Facing Growing Threat Of Domestic IEDs … Afghanistan & Iraq Coming To A City Near You

What Do Swiss Bonds Know That Nobody Else Does?

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– What Do Swiss Bonds Know That Nobody Else Does? (ZeroHedge, Aug 3, 2012):

On the surface all is well, stocks are soaring, the EURUSD is up solidly, and euphoria is back, or that is at least what is being telegraphed. So why is the single biggest unmanipulated flight to safety flag (defined by us) currently available – the Swiss 2 Year – screaming to run for cover? The bond is currently at an all time nominal low, as none of the peripheral euphoria has had any impact on Europe’s true remaining risk free asset, and instead it just hit a new all time record low yield moments ago. Just what does it know that nobody else does, or wishes to acknowledge? Or is today merely the latest iteration of the Copperfield market: keep the algos distracted with flashing red headlines and bright green S&P numbers, which the real money is quietly running away into the safety of Geneva bank vaults…

Russia Sends Three Warships To Syria Carrying Hundreds Of Marines

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– Russia Sends Three Warships To Syria Carrying Hundreds Of Marines (ZeroHedge, Aug 3, 2012):

There have been various rumors floating around over the past 2 weeks that Russia would do everything in its power to establish its foothold in Syria once and for all, with the local regime closer to the edge with every passing day. There have also been rumors, however silly, that Russia is willing to give up its naval basis in the Syrian port city of Tartus, since denied. Today, we finally get the full story, courtesy of the BBC, which is that that “three large Russian landing ships carrying hundreds of marines will soon visit the port of Tartus in war-torn Syria, the Russian military says.” And who can blame them: this is only logical following the surge buildup of US naval assets in the region as we reported last week and the recently ‘leaked’ ‘secret‘ data that Obama was actively supporting Syrian rebels. End result: WTI soaring, and well over $90 at last check.

From BBC:

The ships, each with up to 120 marines on board, will spend a few days in the port, the general staff source said. They will take on fresh supplies of food and water. Russia has a small naval maintenance facility at Tartus.

It is not clear whether some marines will stay in Tartus. Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Read moreRussia Sends Three Warships To Syria Carrying Hundreds Of Marines

Stock Exchange Software Glitch Costs U.S. Trading Firm Knight Capital $440 Million In Just A Few Minutes, Shares Plunge 70 Percent

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– ??Stock exchange glitch cost U.S. trading firm $440m in just a few minutes and could lead to its bankruptcy (Daily Mail, Updated Aug 3, 2012):

The largest U.S. trader of equities on Wall Street, Knight Capital Group Inc was fighting for its survival on Thursday after a trading glitch wiped out $440 million of the firm’s capital, leaving it on the edge of bankruptcy.

The massive capital loss has forced the $1.5 billion firm to seek new funding as its shares plunged 70 percent in two days.

Read moreStock Exchange Software Glitch Costs U.S. Trading Firm Knight Capital $440 Million In Just A Few Minutes, Shares Plunge 70 Percent

Greece: Political Leaders Agree To €11.5 BILLION ‘Troika’ Cuts

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– Greece agrees to £9bn ‘troika’ cuts (Telegraph, Aug 2, 2012):

Greek political leaders have agreed to €11.5bn (£9bn) of austerity cuts demanded under its bailout terms, opening the way for a deal with foreign lenders within the month, Greek officials said.

The junior partners in the conservative-led coalition government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras set aside demands for an immediate renegotiation of the terms of the deal to ease talks with the troika of IMF and EU lenders.

With €3.2bn-worth of bond payments due in August, the clock is ticking for Greece to please visiting troika inspectors, who will rule on whether Athens gets more cash from its €130bn bailout.

Read moreGreece: Political Leaders Agree To €11.5 BILLION ‘Troika’ Cuts

Pentagon: More Bombers, Attack Submarines For Pacific

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– U.S. to mull more bombers, submarines for Pacific (Reuters, Aug. 1, 2012):

WASHINGTON — Pentagon planners will consider adding bombers and attack submarines as part of a growing U.S. focus on security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, a senior Defense Department official said on Wednesday.

Read morePentagon: More Bombers, Attack Submarines For Pacific