Mainstream News

India Central Bank Restricts Lending Against Gold Assets By Rural Banks

"The Reserve Bank of India's, or RBI, offensive against gold continued Tuesday when it imposed restrictions on the country's regional rural banks, or RRBs, for lending money against gold, in an attempt to discourage demand for the precious metal and reduce its imports. 'It is advised that while granting advance against the security of specially minted gold coins sold by banks, RRBs should ensure that the weight of the coin(s) does not exceed 50 grams per customer,' RBI said in a statement. The RBI, in recent months, has been hard at work trying to contain the appetite for gold, which is an integral part of India’s culture, lifestyle and festivals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia Central Bank Restricts Lending Against Gold Assets By Rural Banks

UK moves forward with three-parent IVF treatment

"The British government has said it will pursue a radical fertility technique that uses DNA from three parents to create an embryo. The IVF-based technique is designed to avoid serious mitochondrial diseases inherited on the maternal side, such as muscular dystrophy. Mitochondria are the structures within cells that convert energy from food into a form that the body can use. The technique would replace some of the unhealthy DNA with healthy DNA from the so-called 'third parent'. Politicians are due to debate the regulations in parliament next year, setting the stage for Britain to become the first country to offer the treatment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK moves forward with three-parent IVF treatment

‘Simplified’ IVF procedure could cost just $256

"A simplified lab can slash the cost of in-vitro fertilisation treatment to around 200 euros ($256), offering hope to millions of infertile couples in the developing world, a conference heard on Monday. The cost would be just 10 to 15 percent of western-style IVF programmes, according to the Belgian team behind the project. Their approach uses a scaled-down version of the typical IVF lab, using a simple two-tube system to replace special carbon dioxide (CO2) incubators, medical gas and air purification systems in which to culture the embryo in a lab dish. So far 12 healthy 'low-cost' babies have been born." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Simplified’ IVF procedure could cost just $256

Archaeologists excited by discovery of eight ‘startlingly well-preserved’ Bronze Age boats

"The vessels, all deliberately sunk more than 3,000 years ago, are the largest group of bronze age boats ever found in the same UK site and most are startlingly well preserved. One is covered inside and out with decorative carving described by conservator Ian Panter as looking 'as if they’d been playing noughts and crosses all over it'. Another has handles carved from the oak tree trunk for lifting it out of the water. One still floated after 3,000 years and one has traces of fires lit on the wide flat deck on which the catch was evidently cooked. They were preserved by the waterlogged silt in the bed of a long-dried-up creek which buried them deep below the ground." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArchaeologists excited by discovery of eight ‘startlingly well-preserved’ Bronze Age boats

Greek Stocks Fall After Failed Gas Company Sale

"Greek stocks fell sharply after the country failed to attract a single bid for Depa, a natural-gas company it is selling, a significant setback to its effort to raise billions of euros from the sale of state assets this year. A failure by Greece to meet its privatization targets would limit Athens's ability to meet its debt targets and could require the government to take additional austerity measures that would hurt the economy. Greece's bailout agreement requires the government to use additional spending cuts to cover 50% of any shortfall in raising funds via privatizations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreek Stocks Fall After Failed Gas Company Sale

Jim Rogers: Gold Mining Stocks Face Two Major Headwinds

"I've been in the investment world a long time and I know that things can stay below the cost of production for years. It takes a long time for people to believe they have to close their mines. It costs money to close a mine, it costs money to re-open a mine, so people are reluctant to close mines. So you can see any commodity staying below the cost of production for a while, especially if it's something like a mine which is expensive to close, and expensive to open. Some people are not going to be able to open mines because of what's happened. But then you're going to eventually have people close mines, and eventually, like I said it's going to work its way out." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rogers: Gold Mining Stocks Face Two Major Headwinds

Colorado Democrats fail to stave off recall efforts after supporting gun control

"Giron and Morse are being targeted for recalls because they both supported gun control measures. Gun-rights activists say Democrats went too far curbing gun rights with two of the measures — one to restrict ammunition magazines and another to expand required background checks. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper would ultimately set the recall election dates, but not before legal challenges are exhausted. If Morse and Giron face recall elections, they'd be the first state lawmakers to go to a recall vote since Colorado adopted the recall in 1912. Grueskin, the lawyer making both recall challenges, has said he'd appeal decisions to the Denver District Court." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Democrats fail to stave off recall efforts after supporting gun control

Proposed U.S. law could be a Snowbird tax timebomb

"The good news is that the JOLT Act, (Jobs Originated through Launching Travel), would allow Canadian retirees to spend up to eight months, or 240 days, each year in the U.S. without a visa. That’s almost two months longer than the current 182-day annual limit. The bad news is that snowbirds who spend that long in the U.S. may be required to pay U.S. taxes. 'It looks like a great deal. I can be in Palm Springs for 240 days., but they didn’t tell you that it comes with a very high tax cost,' Roy Berg, international tax lawyer at Moodys Gartner Tax Law in Calgary, said in an interview." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProposed U.S. law could be a Snowbird tax timebomb

Italian mayor turns into Mr. Fix-It to save money in town budget

"An Italian mayor and his council members have decided to fight the economic crisis proactively, picking up paintbrushes and re-painting the walls of their offices themselves to spare the town budget. They worked overtime and even chipped in for the material themselves. 'In a time of economic hardship, we managed to save 10,000 euros ($13,000). My colleagues, mayor Giovanni di Panegrazio and myself paid for the 470 euros of material necessary for the work,' he said. Families of the council employees and other local residents have contributed with food and drink to reward the town managers for their sense of civic duty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItalian mayor turns into Mr. Fix-It to save money in town budget

Washington state purges ‘sexist’ language from public laws

"40,000 words have been changed as part of an effort to rid state statutes of gender-biased language. The bill, signed into law earlier in the year, went into effect this week. And it was no small task. 'Fisherman' is now a 'fisher.' 'Penmanship' is called 'handwriting.' And 'manhole cover' is, well, still 'manhole cover.' 'His' is now 'his and hers.' 'Clergyman' is now 'clergy.' 'Journeyman plumber' is now 'journey-level plumber.' Washington is the fourth state to officially remove gender-biased language from the law. Others are Florida, North Carolina and Illinois. Nine other states are considering similar gender-neutral laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington state purges ‘sexist’ language from public laws