Austerity Axe: More Greek Jobs to Be Cut for International Lenders' Sake

The Greek government is pressing ahead with austerity - having approved more public-sector job cuts, struggling to please its international lenders. That's despite a massive general strike - and thousands-strong rallies, bringing public services to a standstill earlier this week. To secure its next bailout tranche, Athens will have to redeploy - or axe - 25 thousand civil servants. RT's Egor Piskunov has been on the streets of Athens, talking to the protesters.

Who Killed Detroit? Not Who You Think

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: The last person to leave Detroit won’t have to turn out the lights. The city has been in darkness for decades.

Forty per cent of the street lights are out because of broken bulbs, neglect and copper thieves. Last year, the mayor unveiled a plan to save money by cutting out lighting in less-populated areas. “We’re not going to light distressed areas like we light other areas,” said the city’s chief operating officer.

I’m old enough to remember when Detroit was a great American city. Today, it can’t deliver basic services. Firefighters can’t use the ladders on their trucks because they haven’t been inspected in years. Police take nearly an hour to respond to the most serious emergency calls. People know not to call 911 if they have a heart attack – they’ll probably be dead before the ambulance arrives.

People who could get out have already done so. The population has plunged from 1.8 million to 700,000 since the 1950s, and large parts of the city have reverted to the wild. Some houses are worth less than the cost of demolition, so some people who decide to leave simply walk away. “The city is past being a city now; it’s gone,” resident Kendrick Benguche told The New York Times.

Who or what killed Detroit? The conventional narrative is the collapse of the auto industry, exacerbated by white flight, which gutted the tax base and sent the city into a death spiral. But other cities’ economies have collapsed, and they’ve come back. The answer, in Detroit’s case, is decades of mismanagement, incompetence and looting that went ignored by anyone who could do anything about it. As commentator Walter Russell Mead, who has been brilliant on this subject, has written, the people who ran Detroit were largely indistinguishable from a criminal enterprise. » | Margaret Wente | The Globe and Mail | Saturday, July 20, 2013

Industrial Ghosts - USA

Detroit was once the symbol of America's industrial power; the birthplace of Ford, the assembly line and the home of GM. But now it feels more like a ghost town littered with abandoned buildings. ¶ In 1913 Detroit was booming but when the Great Depression hit, this abruptly ended. Between 2006 and 2008 four of GM's plants in Michigan closed, and more than 15,000 are homeless in the city. "There's no work in Michigan... all you see is vacant houses" explains one homeless resident. As industries move to areas with cheaper labour, former assembly line workers and buildings are left useless.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Detroit bankruptcy: survival the only goal in city that once epitomised the American dream: Even by the desolate standards of Detroit's inner city wastelands, the maze of potholed streets around the Obedient Missionary Baptist Church are a desperate sight. » | Philip Sherwell, Detroit | Friday, July 19, 2013

The One Percent

This 80-minute documentary focuses on the growing "wealth gap" in America, as seen through the eyes of filmmaker Jamie Johnson, a 27-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. Johnson, who cut his film teeth at NYU and made the Emmy®-nominated 2003 HBO documentary Born Rich, here sets his sights on exploring the political, moral and emotional rationale that enables a tiny percentage of Americans - the one percent - to control nearly half the wealth of the entire United States. The film Includes interviews with Nicole Buffett, Bill Gates Sr., Adnan Khashoggi, Milton Friedman, Robert Reich, Ralph Nader and other luminaries.

The Fabulous Life Of Filthy Rich Billionaires

Goldman Sachs und Co.: Warum US-Banken wieder Milliarden scheffeln

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Für die Top-Player der US-Finanzindustrie läuft es derzeit rund: Goldman Sachs hat seinen Gewinn verdoppelt, auch die anderen Großbanken machen Milliardengewinne. Die Geldhäuser setzen voll auf das riskante Investmentbanking.

Amerikaner gelten als weniger risikoscheu und als pragmatisch im Umgang mit Problemen. Von dieser Einstellung profitieren auch ihre Großbanken. Das zweite Quartal ist für sie glänzend gelaufen. Gewinntreiber war das riskante Geschäft im Investmentbanking, aber auch ein konsequenter Umbau in der Krise. Das lässt für die Ergebnisse der europäischen Banken hoffen, auch wenn der Jubel hier wohl nicht ganz so stark ausfallen wird. » | Von Madeleine Nissen, Wall Street Journal Deutschland | Freitag, 19. Juli 2013

La France perd son dernier «triple A»

LE FIGARO: Fitch retire le dernier «triple A» accordé à l'Hexagone par une grande agence de notation internationale. La France est sanctionnée par son niveau élevée de dette publique.

L'agence de notation Fitch Ratings a retiré, vendredi soir, après la clôture de la Bourse, sa note AAA à la France. Il s'agissait du dernier «triple A» accordé à l'Hexagone par une grande agence de notation internationale. La France est désormais noté AA +, avec une «perspective stable», par Fitch. » |Par Anne Cheyvialle, Cécile Crouzel | vendredi 12 juli 2013

BBC HARDtalk - Lord Lawson - Former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer | June 10, 2013

That Britain's Conservative Party is deeply sceptical about the European Union isn't news. What is novel is the readiness of some of the party's grandest grandees to call for a British exit. Stephen Sackur talks to Lord Lawson, Margaret Thatcher's former Chancellor, who recently labelled the EU a bureaucratic monstrosity, past its sell-by-date. His intervention embarrassed prime minister David Cameron and deepened the impression of a Tory party dangerously divided. So, why did he do it?

French Business Leaders Lash Out at François Hollande

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France’s business leaders have launched a blistering attack on President François Hollande, demanding drastic measures to halt the country’s industrial decline and shrink the ballooning public sector.

“The house is on fire. France is destroying 8,000 jobs a day,” said Pierre Gattaz, the new leader of business federation MEDEF.

Mr Gattaz said the avalanche of “very dogmatic” measures imposed by Mr Hollande during his first months in power have put companies under enormous stress, and little has been done yet to reverse the damage despite a change in tone. “The government must step up to its responsibilities. Companies can’t till a soil full of rocks and brambles. It is private enterprise that will save France. The public sphere can’t create jobs, only companies can do that, and they’re the heroes.”

The chief executives of top firms including Peugeot Citroën, EADS, Sanofi and Publicis signed a joint letter to Les Echos, complaining that France is being suffocated by high taxes and an over-regulated system that is no longer fit for purpose.

“Unemployment has reached record levels. The trade deficit is getting worse. Profit margins are the weakest in the eurozone. This calls for urgent measures. It is a bitter reality, more so because other countries touched deeply by the crisis such as the US or Ireland are recovering," the letter read.

The group called for a radical shake-up of labour markets to let each firm set its own working hours, and a “coherent” energy policy to bring down costs from current ruinous levels. Gas prices are three times as high as in the US. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Monday, July 08, 2013

Has Capitalism Failed the World?

Former financial regulator Lord Adair Turner discusses the role of banks, the politics behind austerity, and capitalism.

Pound Slumps to Four-month Low against Dollar

THE GUARDIAN: Sterling drops to $1.4991 and could slip further, affecting Britons' spending power at start of summer holiday season

The pound has tumbled below $1.50 against the dollar as traders continue to scale back bets of higher interest rates in the UK, following the Bank of England's surprise statement on Thursday.

Sterling slid to a four-month low of $1.4991, the weakest since mid-March, extending the sharp losses that followed the BoE's warning that markets had been wrong to price in rate hikes for the near future.

The pound could fall further still, analysts warned, denting Britons' spending power at the start of the summer holiday season. Sterling also weakened against the euro, though not as markedly.

The drop in sterling follows a statement from Mark Carney's first policy meeting that sought to quash investor expectations that the bank preparing to reduce monetary stimulus. » | Katie Allen | Friday, July 05, 2013

UK to Be First Non-Muslim Country to Host Islamic Economic Forum

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: London will host the ninth World Islamic Economic Forum in October, the first time that the event will be held outside of a Muslim country, as the British capital looks to become a global hub for Sharia finance.

More than 1,500 delegates, including government and business leaders, as well as scholars, will descend on London for the three-day event, which sets out to boost trade partnerships between Islamic and European markets.

"Hosting this prestigious conference... presents huge opportunities to promote London as a world beating business hub, highlighting our status as a major centre of Islamic finance and as a compelling destination for foreign investors," Mayor of London Boris Johnson said in comments posted on the event's website.

Britain has the largest Islamic banking sector outside the Middle East and Asia, the website said. Read on and comment » | Edited by Andrew Trotman | Thursday, July 04, 2013

Generalstreik in Portugal

Phoney Robin Hood: 'UK Austerity Diverts Money from Poor to Rich'
Britain's Chancellor George Osborne is announcing billions more in Government spending cuts. Austerity measures are already biting for many across the UK. ¶ Writer John Wight believes the fresh cuts will do nothing to right the sinking ship that is the British economy.

Million-strong Anti-government Protests Sweep Brazil, 1 killed
A hundred cities across Brazil have seen a fresh wave of mass protests while the first death has been reported among the demonstrators, in the state of Sao Paulo. Reports say the anti-government rally amassed a staggering one million people. Political analyst Adrian Salbuchi believes it's ultimately the colossal gap between the rich and the poor that's enraging the people.

Dolce and Gabbana Sentenced to Jail for Tax Evasion
BBC: Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been sentenced to jail in Italy for one year and eight months for tax evasion.

The pair were not at the trial and deny the charges.

They are accused of hiding millions of euros from Italian tax authorities.

Dolce and Gabbana have not yet given a public comment on the sentence and are likely to appeal the verdict. They are said to be unlikely to go to jail any time soon.

Their customers have included Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss and Bryan Ferry. » | Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Wealth Inequality in America
Infographics on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers. The reality is often not what we think it is.

Inside Story Americas: Are US Banks Untouchable?
We ask why no charges have been brought against US banking institutions for their part in the global financial crisis.


Read the article here | Saturday, May 25, 2013

IMF Admits Major Mistakes on Greek Bailout
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The International Monetary Fund conceded on Wednesday that it lowered its own standards on the Greek bailout, underestimating the effects of austerity and making overly optimistic projections for Greece's economy.

The International Monetary Fund acknowledges that it made "notable failures" on the first rescue package for Greece, setting overly optimistic expectations for the country's economy and underestimating the effects of the austerity measures it imposed. As such, the fund said in an unusually frank report released on Wednesday, it lowered its own standards on debt sustainability, setting lending levels too high for Greece while not pushing hard enough on Greek debt restructuring. » | chw -- with wires | Thursday, June 06, 2013

'Taxation Is Legalized Form of Robbery'
It's been said that in life two things are guaranteed - death and taxes. RT speaks with Dutch libertarian leader Toine Manders who has some issues with one of those.