Monthly Archives: October 2012

The Debt Transfer Game; Slovakia Needs EUR 264M for ESM

"Slovakia has less than 10 days left to find the EUR 264 million as the first two payments to the the European Stability Mechanism, the EU bailout system. Ironic as it is, Slovakia will have to put itself in debt in order to cover its commitment to the EUR 700 billion ESM, which has been set up to deal with debts of countries in trouble, but can now also be used to bail out banks. The government plans to issue government bonds to raise the required finances at a time when it is also trying to reduce the public finance deficit by introducing a whole series of new taxes and levies." Continue reading →

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Europe Puts Squeeze on Iran Regime

"The European Union reached a preliminary deal Friday on a broad package of new sanctions on Iran in a fresh push to force Tehran to the negotiating table over its nuclear activities, EU diplomats said. They are set to be signed off Monday when foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg. The new round of sanctions is among the toughest yet adopted against Iran and comes as diplomatic efforts to negotiate a solution to Iran's nuclear program have stalled. The stepped-up European sanctions pressure comes as the U.S. Congress looks to further tighten the economic pressure on Iran." Continue reading →

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European Union wins Nobel Peace Prize

"While welcomed by European leaders, the award will have little practical effect on the debt crisis afflicting the single currency zone, which has brought economic instability and social unrest to several states, with rioting in Athens and Madrid. On the streets of the Greek capital, where demonstrators have burned Nazi flags to protest against German demands for austerity, the award was greeted with disbelief. The prize, worth $1.2 million, will be presented in Oslo on December 10. It was not immediately clear who from the EU would be there to collect the check and what it would be spent on." Continue reading →

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Switzerland: the world’s gold hub

"Most of the gold produced in the world transits physically through Switzerland. Four of the world’s major refineries of gold are located on Swiss soil. In 2011, over 2,600 metric tons of raw gold were imported into the country, to a total value of SFr96 billion ($103 billion). This was a record, the quantity having more than doubled over the last ten years, not including the gold that transits through Swiss free ports. What keeps the Swiss refineries going at full pace right now is not so much the demand for semi-finished products for jewellery and watchmaking, but the demand for gold bars." Continue reading →

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Greece’s biggest company Coca-Cola Hellenic moves abroad

"Greece's largest company is to move its headquarters to Switzerland and list its shares in London, in a further blow to the struggling eurozone country. Shareholders, most of whom are abroad, will exchange their stock for shares in Coca Cola HBC AG, based in Switzerland. Most investors have already accepted the plan after long complaining about Greek taxes, according to Reuters. The company, in which The Coca-Cola Co of the US has a 23pc stake, bottles drinks in 28 countries from Russia to Nigeria." Continue reading →

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Will Paul Ryan confront the Administration over Fast and Furious?

Will Paul Ryan Smack Down the Administration over Fast & Furious? Just recently, Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan -- “A” rated by Gun Owners of America -- became the 131st Representative to call for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resigna...

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Texas Attorney General Missing the Mark on Medicare

Clint Stutts formerly WeTexans.com originally http://wetexans.com/texas-attorney-general-missing-the-mark-on-medicare/ ====================================================================== Last month, I attended the second annual Texas Tribune Festival on behalf of We Texans and spent the entire day in the Health & Human Services track. The opening session was entitled Texas vs. Obamacare, a discussion with Attorney General Greg Abbott.  Greg Abbott has been a thorn in the side of the federal government on several issues lately and I find that highly commendable. In general, I have a lot of respect for anyone … Continue reading →

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