Canadians debate danger caused by oilsands expansion.
October 13, 2010
(ChattahBox World News) – In Edmonton, Canada scientists and oil executives faced off on Tuesday to determine the fate of a new open pit mine expansion. The Total Josyln North mine near Fort McMurray is slated to produce 100,000 barrels a day. During the testimony in front of the Energy Resources Conservation Board scientists warned Canadians to beware of the “fools gold” that the energy company was offering.
Based upon the scientists calculations the fuel extracted from the site will be far more costly once they factor into the costs the damages that will happen to the environment. Read more
Google Named as Investor in $5 Billion Wind Project
October 12, 2010
(ChattahBox News) - Add a $5 billion, 350-mile backbone wind power transmission project to the long list of projects Google has recently been participating in. According to Venturebeat, the company announced that it will be among investors for the wind power project that will stretch from New Jersey to Virginia and have the ability to network 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind turbines. The energy line would run in shallow waters just offshore and would provide green energy for the surrounding areas. Read more
Fear and Loathing on Wall Street: Shareholders, Democrats in Crosshairs
October 12, 2010
(ChattahBox Op/Ed)—Like the rapacious appetite of a zombie, the greed of Wall Street can never be satisfied. Without regulatory safeguards to push back against Wall Street’s ravenous hunger for more, always more profits, at whatever the cost, even the destruction of our entire economy, greed takes over and infects our society like a disease. That’s what happened in the years leading up to one of the worst economic disasters, since the Great Depression. And it will happen again, if the financial industry has its way with the Republicans’ help. Read more
Obama Ends Moratorium on Deepwater Drilling, After ‘Reducing the Risks’
October 12, 2010
(ChattahBox US News)— Interior Secretary Ken Salazar just announced that the ban on deepwater oil drilling has been lifted by the White House, clearing the way for about 30 affected oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico to resume operations provided they can meet the new safety regulations issued by the Interior Department. The Obama administration has taken heat from the oil industry and the Gulf states, after the ban was imposed in the wake of the BP oil disaster. But new safety rules issued by the government two-weeks ago made it possible to lift the moratorium before the date originally set at the end of November. Read more
The Electorate is Dumb, but Republicans Lead the Way
October 12, 2010
(ChattahBox Op/Ed) – The electorate is rather dumb. And if I offend you along the way so be it because I know it’s time we had a real discussion about the blame game. Oh, I am not delusional. I know that those who vote have pea sized memories, and that is just such a sad reflection of the American mindset as it relates to politics, but I don’t want to get off track here. I want to be sure I target my words to those of you who vote, Republicans and Democrats alike.
ABC News and Yahoo released a Langer Research Poll yesterday showing that 85% of those queried are “angry” about the economy. I would be one of them, and I’m not sure what the other 15% are thinking, but I’m assuming they are either extremely wealthy Republicans and they are most assuredly Tea Party cheerleaders, of that I am certain.Among these numbers we find that 12% of Democrats are in the angry category. 30% of Independents are angry. And, no surprise here, 41% are Republicans. As we dig deeper in to these number, we also see that 54% of the respondents blame both parties, but here is where it gets interesting and requires a trip down memory lane. Read more
Beware the Robo-Signer! Banks under fire by 40 states for misconduct
October 12, 2010
(ChattahBox News) – Remember when you bought your house? Remember the pride of ownership and the comfort of having a house to call your own? Well that was all a myth. The truth is the Bank owns your home, and now they want it back.
A record number of homes were foreclosed on during the first three months of this year. Nearly one out of a hundred homes in neighborhoods throughout America have been or will be taken from the homeowners. Financial institutions attribute this to their increased efficiency as they wade through the backlog of paperwork. Read more
Nobel Prize Winning Economists Connect Flaws in the Market and Unemployment
October 11, 2010
(ChattahBox News) – Peter Diamond of MIT, Dale Mortensen of Northwestern University, and Christopher Pissarides of the London School of Economics have won the Nobel Prize in economics with their insight as to why the market doesn’t always run so smoothly. The original Market Watch article draws a firm connection to the nature of the market and how it is tied to the swelling rate of unemployment. Due to its relevance in our current state of affairs, it’s no surprise that their insight has warranted such praise. Read more
Jobs Report: Unemployment Holds at 9.6%, But 95,000 Jobs Lost
October 8, 2010
(ChattahBox Business News)—The jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was released this morning with a depressing thud. While the unemployment rate is holding steady at 9.6 percent, the economy lost 95,000 jobs last month, a figure higher than expected. The overall report povides little encouraging news, as the country approaches the holiday season that will offer little cheer this year. Read more
Corporations Flush With Cash Not Hiring, Buying Own Stock Instead
October 7, 2010
(ChattahBox Business News)—With the recession officially over, the economy is finally showing positive growth, albeit slowly, but the unemployment rate still hovers near 10 percent, weakening consumer demand and confidence. So, where are the jobs? They all can’t be overseas. U.S. corporations have enjoyed a healthy rebound in profits and are holding on to record amounts of cash, but they are not hiring workers, or even investing in research and development. Why? Good question. The corporations insist they are scared to invest in new workers, because of the uncertainty in the fragile economy. Whether you take that explanation at face value, is another issue. So, what are the corporations supposed to do with this pesky little problem of having piles and piles of cash and no place to spend it? They have decided to make record purchases of their own stock. It’s a win, win. Their balance sheets improve and stock prices rise, but Americans lose. Read more
Ex-Trader To Pay $6.8 Billion In Fraud Case
October 5, 2010
France (ChattahBox Crime News) – In a shocking case out of France, former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel has been sentenced to three years in prison, and given a bill for $6.8 billion dollars.