Mainstream News

Head of the IMF Christine Lagarde in court charged with embezzlement and fraud

"Lagarde faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail if found guilty of the very serious charges. It was when she was President Nicolas Sarkozy’s finance minister that she is said to have authorised a 270 million pounds payout to one of his prominent supporters, so abusing her government position. The money went to Bernard Tapie, a convicted football match fixer and tax dodger who supported Lagarde and Sarkozy’s UMP party. It came after Dominque Strauss-Kahn, another senior French politician, was sacked as IMF chief following allegations that he attempted to rape a chambermaid in a New York hotel." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHead of the IMF Christine Lagarde in court charged with embezzlement and fraud

Sam Zell says sell

"At least one notable investor thinks we may be in bubble trouble again. Sam Zell on Thursday at the SALT hedge fund conference in Las Vegas said stocks are due for a fall. The legendary real estate investor thinks the market is out of touch with what is really going on in the economy. 'Right now you are buying at an all-time high,' says Zell. 'And there are times when stocks hit a high, and then go higher, but that's when you have a good economy.' By contrast, Zell said the companies he runs and looks at are still struggling to increase sales. Zell said he was worried about problems in the Middle East and recent aggressive efforts by the Bank of Japan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSam Zell says sell

Is This the Best Time for Investors? Don’t Bet On It.

"The stock market is expecting a massive new economic boom, with accelerating growth, widening prosperity and expanding profit margins. Meanwhile, the bond market sees the economy remaining in a funk, with slow growth, widespread unemployment and low inflation. Obviously, they can't both be right. Ominously, though, they could both be wrong. For the first time in 50 years, U.S. investors in a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds face the near-certainty that they will lose money on a large chunk of their investments, after accounting for inflation—and a significant risk that they will lose money on all of them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs This the Best Time for Investors? Don’t Bet On It.

Swiss banks face massive fines over Americans’ untaxed bank accounts

"Swiss banks holding US citizens’ funds that are not declared to American tax authorities are set to have to pay a massive fine, under a deal between Switzerland and Washington, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung, quoting sources familiar with the talks, said that the fine could reach 40 percent of the funds in question. Swiss media have reported that under a compromise hammered out by negotiators, the 300 banks in Switzerland would be classed according to their level of alleged complicity in tax evasion. The dozen banks seen as the main perpetrators would reportedly be forced to make a case-by-case deal with the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss banks face massive fines over Americans’ untaxed bank accounts

Bio-engineered kidney offers new hope to patients suffering renal failure

"Researchers in the United States on Sunday said they had bio-engineered a kidney and transplanted it into rats, marking a step forward in a quest to help patients suffering from kidney failure. The prototype proves that a 'bio-kidney' can work, emulating breakthroughs elsewhere to build replacement structures for livers, hearts and lungs, they said. The team transplanted the organ into living rats from which a kidney had been removed. The new kidney started filtering blood and producing urine through the ureter as soon as the bloody supply was restored, and there was no evidence of bleeding or clots." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBio-engineered kidney offers new hope to patients suffering renal failure

Spiny parasitic worm helps doctors devise patch to keep skin grafts in place

"A parasitic worm that latches onto the intestines of fish by inflating its head has led to a remarkable invention for keeping skin grafts in place, even when the surface of the wound is wet. US researchers devised a patch studded with tiny cone-shaped needles as a replacement for surgical staples, a potential source of tissue damage and infection. The needles are made of a stiff core made of plastic and a tip that is rigid when dry but swells up on contact with water in surface tissue. Within 10 minutes, the tips are plumped up and secure the patch firmly on the skin, clamping grafts on burns and other injuries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpiny parasitic worm helps doctors devise patch to keep skin grafts in place

Scientists’ accidental find reveals Vitamin C kills tuberculosis bacteria

"Scientists said Tuesday they had managed to kill lab-grown tuberculosis (TB) bacteria with good old Vitamin C — an 'unexpected' discovery they hope will lead to better, cheaper drugs. A team from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made the accidental find while researching how TB bacteria become resistant to the TB drug isoniazid. The researchers added isoniazid and a 'reducing agent' known as cysteine to the TB in a test tube, expecting the bacteria to develop drug resistance. Instead, the team 'ended up killing off the culture'. In the lab tests, the bacteria never developed resistance to Vitamin C — 'almost like the dream drug', Jacobs said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists’ accidental find reveals Vitamin C kills tuberculosis bacteria

Vitamins That Cost Pennies a Day Seen Delaying Dementia

"Drugmakers including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) have spent billions of dollars on ineffective therapies in a so-far fruitless effort to come up with a treatment for dementia and Alzheimer’s. Now, in the latest of a steady drumbeat of research that suggests diet, exercise and socializing remain patients’ best hope, a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that vitamins B6 and B12 combined with folic acid slowed atrophy of gray matter in brain areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVitamins That Cost Pennies a Day Seen Delaying Dementia

Federal appeals court rules bin Laden death photos can remain classified

"A US appeals court ruled Tuesday that the federal government is not required to release photos that were taken of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden after he was killed by special forces. The Al-Qaeda leader was slain at his Pakistani compound in May 2011 by US Navy SEAL commandos, who took pictures of their target’s corpse in order to confirm the success of their mission. In a 14 page opinion, the judges wrote that The Central Intelligence Agency had refused to release the photos 'on the ground that the images were classified Top Secret. We affirm because the images were properly classified and hence are exempt from disclosure,' they ruled." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal appeals court rules bin Laden death photos can remain classified

Cannes Film Festival rocked as $1 million worth of red carpet ‘loaner’ jewels are stolen

"Jewellery worth more than $1 million due to be loaned to stars treading the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival was stolen in a pre-dawn heist on Friday but the coveted Palme d’Or trophy was safe, officials said. In a scenario itself worthy of a movie, thieves broke into the room of an American employee of Swiss bijoutier Chopard, ripped a safe off the wall and made off with the jewels, according to police reports. Last year, thieves made off with four watches worth 400,000 euros ($513,000) belonging to football stars Souleymane Diawara and Mamadou Niang who were in Cannes for the festival." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCannes Film Festival rocked as $1 million worth of red carpet ‘loaner’ jewels are stolen