BREAKING: French Nuke Plant Cattenom shut down after fire in generator !

The French nuclear power station Cattenom again resulted in an incident. A fire and a large column of smoke made ??for alarm. According to the operator was no danger for the people – but in Germany only a few kilometers away the worries grow.

Cattenom – A fire in the non-nuclear part of the French nuclear power station Cattenom has made ??on Friday on the German side again for unrest and violent protest. According to the [...]

Santelli Warns: Keep IRS Out of Obamacare!

CNBC’s Rick Santelli explains why he is disturbed by invasion of privacy issues, at the Fed, IRS and Bloomberg and his worries that when it comes to Obamacare, the IRS will use political tests to determine who gets health care.

Michelle Obama: Gun Violence has Children Fearing Death Every Day

Justin Sink
The Hill
May 5, 2013

 

First lady Michelle Obama said that students at a high school just five miles from her family’s Chicago home told her that “every day they wake up and wonder whether they’re going to make it out of school alive.”

 

In an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” that will air this weekend, the first lady said that when she met students after delivering a speech last month on [...]

CNN/Time/ORC poll: Four in 10 Americans say they’re willing to give up some civil liberties to fight terrorism

Washington (CNN) – Although worries about terrorism have edged up following the Boston Marathon bombings, a new national poll indicates only four in ten Americans say they are willing to give up some civil liberties to fight terrorism.

And according to a CNN/Time/ORC International survey, the public is particularly concerned about the government eavesdropping on their cell phones or reading their email.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/01/cnntime-poll-cutback-civil-liberties-to-fight-terror/

Four in 10 Americans say they would be willing to give up [...]

UN GOES FOR GUNS: U.N. passes sweeping international arms regulation viewed by some as Second Amendment override

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday signed off on a sweeping, first-of-its-kind treaty to regulate the international arms trade, brushing aside worries from U.S. gun rights advocates that the pact could lead to a national firearms registry and disrupt the American gun market.

The long-debated U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) requires countries to regulate and control the export of weaponry such as battle tanks, combat vehicles and aircraft and attack helicopters, as [...]

US warns al Qaeda planning cyber attack against vital infrastructure

Critics have disagreed, including several NSA whistleblowers who accused the agency of violating the law by intercepting Americans’ emails in the early 2000s as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program.

Mr. Black acknowledged that “public worries are real” and will impact NSA operations if legislation is used to prevent potential NSA “involvement in the public sector.”

That problem persists today as most U.S. infrastructure is held by the private sector, which remains wary of inviting NSA to help counter or disrupt foreign cyberattacks.

The NSA documents [...]

Ian Bremmer: Chávez death exposes flaws in China’s foreign policy

from FT:

 

“[Hugo] Chávez was an outstanding leader of Venezuela, and a good friend of the Chinese people,” noted China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday. Whatever personal sorrow might be felt in Beijing this week, China’s regret at the strongman’s passing is founded largely on worries over the future of economic relations with his government.

Those relations have grown considerably in recent years. According to Matt Ferchen, a scholar at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center [...]

Iran Reportedly Refuses Assad Request To Hit Back At Israel, ‘Take Care Of Your Business’… Syria Talks About Opening The Golan Front!

Tehran tells president to ‘take care of your business’ after Israeli air strike, Israeli TV says; analyst worries about new rash of Syrian TV interviews demanding attacks on the Golan.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-reportedly-refuses-assad-request-to-hit-back-at-israel/

Lebanese Professor:

If it does not act in response to Israeli aggression, it will be quite embarrassing for the regime to justify the use of fighter jets and helicopter gunships in its internal conflict (for purposes of regime preservation), but not for [...]

Problems Aren’t Going Away: EU Is Approaching The Danger Zone AGAIN As Spain And Italy Start To Tear Apart – The Economy Is Horrible And Governments Lost The Support of The Public – Yields In Spain And Italy Jump And Stock Markets Are Now Getting Smashed!

Suddenly, There Are Reasons To Worry About Europe Again…

Thanks to the ECB’s promise that it will backstop the government bond market, if necessary, the acute financial crisis from the past couple of years is basically over.

 

But there have always been risks.

For one thing, the economy is horrible, and people can only accept that before so long before society starts to tear apart.

And then there’s always been politics, and the worry [...]

Safety of Induced Stem Cells Gets a Boost

Monya Baker
Nature.com
January 9, 2013

A paper published in Nature today could dispel a cloud over the hopes of turning a patient’s own cells into perfectly matched replacement tissues.

Scientists first reported in 2007 that a person’s cells could be reprogrammed to an embryo-like state, and so could form any type of cell in the body. Medical researchers immediately imagined using these ‘induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells’ to create an endless supply of [...]

Markets stumble

upi.com
January 7, 2012

U.S. stock indexes turned lower Monday following a week of strong gains prompted by a tax deal that derailed a predicted economic downturn.

The tax code agreement on Tuesday that raised taxes for individuals earning $400,000 and families earning $450,000 per year or more settled worries about the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a combined $500 billion tax increase/spending cut adjustment that was would have kicked in Jan. 1 without the [...]

Councils refuse to reveal number of homes they give to foreigners: Authorities stop giving figures amid worries over impact of immigration

MPs have called for an inquiry into the suppression of council house information
Last year the Government acknowledged that nearly 800,000 public-owned houses are occupied by foreigners

 

Councils are trying to cover up the number of taxpayer-subsidised homes they are handing to foreigners, it was claimed yesterday.

Local authorities have stopped giving figures for how many houses and flats they have given to foreign citizens amid rising worries over the impacts of immigration, [...]

Clashes over Internet rules to mark Dubai meeting

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The U.N.’s top telecommunications overseer sought Monday to quell worries about greater Internet controls emerging from global talks in Dubai, but any attempts for major Web regulations will likely face stiff opposition from groups led by a high-powered U.S. delegation.

The 11-day conference, seeking to update codes last reviewed when the Web was virtually unknown, highlights the fundamental shift from tightly managed telecommunications networks to [...]

Asahi: Gov’t worried about highly radioactive fish — Why are radiation readings still 100s of times over official safe limits?

Worries over highly radioactive fish prompt study

Persistently high radioactivity in some fish caught close to the Fukushima nuclear plant has sparked a government investigation into the physiological basis for contamination and why radiation readings in some specimens remain hundreds of times over the official safe limit.

[...] The overall trend has been a decline in detected amounts of radioactive cesium.

However, in August, two greenlings caught 20 kilometers north of the Fukushima [...]

Stocks Plunge 200 Points At Open Despite Dollar Falls as Obama Win Paves Way for Monetary Easing

Stocks opened sharply lower Wednesday in the wake of President Barack Obama’s re-election, triggered by worries over the looming “fiscal cliff” and as fears over Europe resurfaced.

“I don’t think there’s a long-term market reaction to the presidential election itself—it’s now how quickly we can focus on the ‘fiscal cliff’ and coming up with a resolution,” said Art Hogan, managing director of Lazard Capital Markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly dropped more than [...]

APPLE: Making The US Dollar Too Strong Could Destroy APPLE

The language Apple uses in its 10-K is a bit obtuse – it’s very lawyer-ly – so we’ll translate it for you into English here.

So, here are few scenarios Apple worries could materially damage its entire business:

Terrorists could attack.

Nuclear power plants could blow up.

War could start.

Fire could wipe out offices, factories, or infrastructure.

Labor disputes could bring business to a halt.

Public health disasters could happen.

Apple could be hacked and its users [...]

Toshiba cuts forecast on global economy worries

Yoko Kubota
reuters.com
October 31, 2012

Japan’s Toshiba Corp cut its full-year operating profit forecast by 13 percent to 260 billion yen ($3.3 billion) on Wednesday, saying the uncertain global economy weighed on its prospects.

The company said the continuing European debt crisis, slowdowns in China and India, and a strong yen were combining to “increase uncertainty about the future.”

For the July-September period, Toshiba posted an operating profit of 57.5 billion yen, slightly better [...]

Moody’s downgrades world’s oldest bank to ‘junk’

france24.com
October 18, 2012

Moody’s credit rating agency on Thursday downgraded the world’s oldest bank, Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, to “junk” status on worries government recapitalisation plans will prove insufficient.

The lowering of BMPS’s rating by two notches to “Baaa3?, a non-investment grade, reflects Moody’s view that “there remains a material probability that the bank will need to seek further external support,” the agency said.

Critically exposed to the eurozone debt [...]

FORMER U.S. COMPTROLLER WORRIES ABOUT GREECE-LIKE DEBT CRISIS IN AMERICA

As we’ve stated repeatedly, the US is Greece X 100.

A former top federal monetary executive says the U.S. could be headed toward a Greece-like debt crisis and financial meltdown, and blames both political parties for the mess.

Former U.S. comptroller general and Government Accountability Office chief Dave Walker was in Phoenix this week as part of a national tour to talk about the federal deficit and debt, and its potential impacts [...]

JUST-IN: Iran pushes ahead in Building Plutonium-Producing Reactor – Will be Online Within the Year!!

Analysts say heavy-water reactor near the town of Arak, supervised by IAEA, could produce plutonium for nuclear arms if the spent fuel is reprocessed.

Iran appears to be making headway in building a research reactor that could yield potential nuclear weapon material, adding to Western concerns about Tehran’s atomic aims, experts and diplomats say.

The West’s worries about Iran are focused largely on underground uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow, but [...]

Chinese Navy Holds Live-Fire Drills as Protests Against Japan Ramps Up

 

Stronger Chinese Navy Worries Neighbors and US

China and the US seem to be on a collision course in the Pacific. Beijing is significantly bolstering its navy, and Washington is shifting its military focus to the Asia-Pacific Region. Many fear it could alter the balance of power in a region rich in oil and crucial for global trade.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/strengthening-of-chinese-navy-sparks-worries-in-region-and-beyond-a-855622.html

 

Japan’s new ambassador to China died this morning following an unspecified illness, the Foreign [...]

The EU’s sixth-biggest country, Poland, faces a hard choice over whether or not to adopt the euro

POLAND’S entry into the euro is imminent—in theory. With relatively healthy public finances, it should easily qualify. The economy is slowing but it is still the fastest-growing among big EU countries. Germany wants Poland in, at one time even talking of it joining in 2015. Yet Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform-led government has an opaque public line, promising only to join when the conditions are right.

The truth is that Poland faces [...]

Marc Faber shunning China, buying Europe: report

Bloomberg

China’s economy will slow “considerably,” said Marc Faber, the publisher of the Gloom Boom & Doom report, who is buying European stocks.

“The growth rate we had in the last 10 years, which was around 10 percent annually, is going to slow down considerably,” Faber told Tom Keene and Ken Prewitt in a “Bloomberg Surveillance” radio interview yesterday. “I would rather wait to buy Chinese stocks until we see the result [...]

Economy Losing Strength, Fed Stands Ready

In what is beginning to seem like an echo heard ‘round the world, the Federal Reserve announced the economy is losing strength. After a two-day meeting, the Fed will not take any new immediate actions, but they “will provide additional accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability.”

Though the statement seems rather vague, Dan Greenhaus, chief [...]

WORLD CENTRAL BANKS ON ‘RED ALERT’

From WSJ:

Ben Bernanke and Mario Draghi, with words but not yet actions, demonstrated this week that they are on red alert about the global economy.

Expectations are now high that Mr. Bernanke’s Federal Reserve and Mr. Draghi’s European Central Bank will act soon to address those worries. But both face immense tactical and political challenges and neither has a handbook to follow.

Click here to see the whole report >

Despite Global Crisis, One Class of Stocks is Thriving

Stocks around the world have been struggling lately, but one group of equities may ultimately benefit from all the fear and uncertainty: so-called megacaps.
Since the start of last year, the Russell Top 50 index of the largest-capitalization domestic stocks has climbed more than 14 percent, while the MSCI EAFE index of foreign equities has sunk more than 15 percent and the Russell 2000 index of small-company shares has gained just [...]

Four potential “positive surprises” that could boost stocks and the economy

From Pragmatic Capitalism:

I know it’s all the rage to talk about all the economic negatives these days, but what if things turn out “better than expected?”

Something to ponder via Print Turner:

“Amidst all the worries, what are some potentially positive surprises?

- Energy prices continue to moderate, putting more spending money in consumer pockets, reducing corporate operating costs, and boosting economic growth.

- U.S. economic data such as auto sales, business loans, and [...]

It’s ugly out there and it could get worse!! If the string of disappointing results continue as they are, we could be looking at the first quarterly drop in earnings since Q309.

Dismal U.S. corporate outlooks and worries about slower worldwide growth have pushed Q3 earnings estimates into negative territory, which, if they hold true, would mean that earnings for S&P 500 companies would fall 0.1% Y/Y, a sharp revision from earlier forecasts of 3.1% growth and the first decline in three years.

via CNBC:

It’s ugly out there and it could get worse.

Dismal U.S. corporate outlooksand worries about slower worldwide growth have pushed [...]

GOV’T MOTORS stock slides to new low

Washington - General Motors Co. stock fell 1.2 percent Wednesday, closing at $18.80, down $0.22, on worries about Europe — the first time the Detroit automaker’s stock has closed below $19 a share since its initial public offering.

The Detroit automaker has seen its share price tumble by more than 52 percent since it reached a high closing price in January 2011 of $38.90, just after going public in November 2010. The [...]

Spanish bond yields are soaring on default worries, and so are their CDS spreads

The spread for Spanish 10-year bonds has jumped to 627 from Friday’s 603, blowing past a June 18 record of 620. The compares with spreads of 548 and 897 bps, respectively, for Italian and Portuguese 10-year bonds.

via marketwatch:

The cost of insuring Spanish debt spiked to a record high on Monday on fears that one of the biggest euro-zone economies will have to seek a comprehensive bailout.

The spread on credit-default [...]

Euro Crisis Returns to Consciousness; Italian Shares Rocked; Short Selling Outlawed

As if outlawing short sales will do anything to help. In the end, it will only make the crash worse.

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Italian and Spanish stocks tanked with banks dropping sharply Monday, as sovereign bond yields skyrocketed amid renewed fears about the future of the euro zone and worries over debt problems in Spain’s regions and Greece.

Trading in major Italian banks was suspended for about an hour during the morning [...]

STOCKS PLUNGE

Stocks were down sharply across the board Monday, fueled by fears that Spain will need a full sovereign bailout and mounting worries that Greece may leave the euro.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 200 points. All 30 Dow components were in the red, led by Alcoa [AA  8.088    -0.172  (-2.08%)   ] andMicrosoft [MSFT  29.1399    -0.9751  (-3.24%)   ].

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also dropped sharply. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, surged almost 25 percent to trade [...]

Merkel on defensive amid worries Germany too generous to Spain

While the EU Commission is worrying the remains of the 100 billion euros ($122 billion) intended for recapitalizing Spanish banks will be used for other needs such as bond market intervention, Angela Merkel is having a tough time trying to persuade Germ

“The up to 100 billion euros, which the euro zone has undertaken to provide to Spanish banks is to do just that, it is only for that purpose and [...]

FBI warned Labor Department data might be leaked to financial institutions

Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:09pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Labor Department’s recent tightening of security around sensitive economic data came after the FBI and market regulators expressed worries that the data could be leaked, according to a report posted on a government website on Tuesday.

The report highlighted concerns that financial institutions had in effect gained access to the Labor Department’s press room to get an early glimpse of economic reports.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/11/us-usa-economy-data-idUSBRE86A01N20120711 [...]