Mainstream News

Google challenges Apple with high-end laptop

"Google unveiled a touchscreen notebook computer on Thursday designed for high-end users, throwing down the gauntlet to Apple and its MacBooks. Google said its Chromebook Pixel computers blending tablet and laptop technology, boasting heavyweight Intel chips and screens tailored for rich graphics, were released in the United States and Britain, starting at $1,299. Google is hoping enthusiasts will forego price comparisons with competitors such as MacBooks or laptops built on Windows 8 software and focus instead on the Pixel's touchscreen feature and the massive terabyte of Google Drive online data storage included." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle challenges Apple with high-end laptop

Google Glass Orders: How You Can Get Your Hands On An Early Set Of The Futuristic Glasses

"Are you one of those people who absolutely love the idea of Google Glass -- those far-out, futuristic glasses that Google has been taunting us with for almost a year now? Well, you might be able to snatch up a pair earlier than expected. All you have to do is impress a few Google employees, and you could be one of the first 8,000 folks in America with your very own Google Glass. In order to win, all you have to do is tell Google, on either Twitter or Google+, what you would do if you had your own Google Glass hardware." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle Glass Orders: How You Can Get Your Hands On An Early Set Of The Futuristic Glasses

‘Ragtime’: NSA’s Secret Domestic Intelligence Program Revealed

"More than a decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a set of extraordinary and secretive surveillance programs conducted by the National Security Agency has been institutionalized, and they have grown, reports Shane Harris at the Washingtonian. These special programs are conducted under the codename 'Ragtime,' and they are divided into several subcomponents, according to the new book Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry, by Marc Ambinder and D.B. Grady." Continue reading →

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Banks Fear Court Ruling in Argentina Bond Debt

"A fierce battle between the government of Argentina and investors led by a group of hedge funds has already led to the seizure of a naval ship and dragged in the United States Treasury. Now a federal appeals court is hearing the dispute, and how it rules could have a major impact on world debt markets. The investors — including the hedge fund tycoon Paul E. Singer — sued Argentina seeking payment for $1.3 billion relating to bonds that the country defaulted on in 2001. On Wednesday, the case comes before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which has already sided with the hedge funds on their main arguments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanks Fear Court Ruling in Argentina Bond Debt

Bernanke says Fed stimulus benefits clear, budget cuts a risk

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke strongly defended the U.S. central bank's bond-buying stimulus before Congress on Tuesday, easing worries monetary policymakers might be getting cold feet. The Fed chairman also urged lawmakers to avoid sharp spending cuts, which he warned could [..] create a 'significant headwind' for the economic recovery. Bernanke said Fed policymakers are cognizant of potential risks from their extraordinary support for the economy, including the possibility the public loses confidence in the central bank's ability to unwind its stimulus smoothly or the potentially destabilizing effect of low rates on key markets." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBernanke says Fed stimulus benefits clear, budget cuts a risk

FED paper warns it might not be able to undo QE

"A new paper for the US Monetary Policy Forum and published by the Fed warns that the institution's capital base could be wiped out 'several times' once borrowing costs start to rise in earnest. A mere whiff of inflation or more likely stagflation would cause a bond market rout, leaving the Fed nursing escalating losses on its $2.9 trillion holdings. This portfolio is rising by $85bn each month under QE3. The longer it goes on, the greater the risk. Exit will become much harder by 2014. What is new is that these worries are surfacing openly in Fed circles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFED paper warns it might not be able to undo QE

Debt crisis: France puts brakes on austerity

"Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Friday that France would ask its EU partners and the European Commission for an extra year to cut its public deficit below a targeted 3 percent of GDP, and would outline new savings measures soon. Mr Hollande said his government had brought down the deficit to 4.5 percent in 2012. The European Commission expects a French 2013 deficit of 3.7 percent of GDP. Spending cuts in 2014 would be made in the state budget, local budgets and the social security budget, Hollande said. Mr Hollande said France would continue to try and boost growth through public investment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDebt crisis: France puts brakes on austerity

Italy’s anti-austerity ‘rebellion’ promises to spread

"Any doubts that Italians were fed up with tax hikes and economic reform vanished in an election that awarded more than half of the votes to anti-austerity parties. As Italian voters supported the anti-austerity parties, they also punished the centrist, pro-austerity alliance led by Mario Monti, the technocrat prime minister who replaced Mr. Berlusconi at the height of the Italian financial crisis in late 2011. Mr. Monti rolled out a series of tax hikes, including a hated property tax that Mr. Berlusconi vowed to kill, and attempted economic reforms that met with partial success. For that, his alliance got 10 per cent or less of the votes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly’s anti-austerity ‘rebellion’ promises to spread

ECB bailout plan in jeopardy as Italy’s voters reject conditions

"'The result touches us all,' said Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. 'It is a jump into the void that bodes well for nobody, neither for Italy, nor for the rest of Europe.' Almost 57pc of the Italian vote went to parties that have vowed to tear up the EU austerity script. Together they control a majority of senate seats. The Five Star movement of comedian Beppe Grillo, which won 25pc of the vote, has called for a euro referendum and has a return to the lira as one of its manifesto pledges, while ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi has threatened to pull Italy out of the currency bloc unless the EU switches to a reflation strategy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingECB bailout plan in jeopardy as Italy’s voters reject conditions

Bank of England’s Tucker Says He’s Open to QE as BOE Stresses Flexibility

"Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said he’s open to adding to asset purchases as policy makers stressed the central bank has the flexibility to expand stimulus if needed. Tucker was testifying alongside policy makers David Miles, Charlie Bean and Ian McCafferty at a Parliament hearing in London today on the BOE’s latest quarterly forecasts. The BOE has said it will 'look through' a period of above-target inflation to keep nurturing growth, which Bean said 'made sense' in the current environment. Tucker also raised the prospect of negative interest rates at the hearing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of England’s Tucker Says He’s Open to QE as BOE Stresses Flexibility