In early September three men were arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning a “massive” attack on US facilities in the country. Federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the three had trained at camps in Pakistan and procured some 700 kg of chemicals for explosives. She said the accused had sought to target facilities visited by …
Continue reading Terrorist plot in Germany foiled
Rise in US consumption for August could be misleading
Although Commerce Department data for August showed a rise in August and a moderation of core inflation, this data should be considered warily as they may be a result of unusual incentives. Consumer confidence and housing are still down. Consumer spending rose 0.6% in August, the largest increase since April and more than expected. The …
Continue reading Rise in US consumption for August could be misleading
Commodity prices underpin inflation
Many observers have noted the spike in food commodity prices, underpinned by interest in corn for ethanol in the US. There also appears to be a broader rise in prices of commodities which is bound to push up inflation. Last year the pressure on metal commodities from demand from China was observed. As the chart …
Continue reading Commodity prices underpin inflation
Catholics go green
At last the Pope has jumped on nature’s band-wagon. In early September, Pope Benedict joined about 300,000 young Roman Catholics for an eco-friendly festival at the shrine of Loreto, in Italy. Wearing green vestments, the pontiff told the crowd it was up to them to save the planet from development which often upset “nature’s delicate …
Continue reading Catholics go green
Where are the green taxes going?
In the UK, the Taxpayers’ Alliance has claimed that the government is raising billions of pounds more in green taxes than it needs to remove the UK’s “carbon footprint”. In a report they say that emissions in 2005 had done damage worth an estimated £11.7 billion (covering the “social cost” of climate change to the …
Continue reading Where are the green taxes going?
Hope is not the answer; living in reality is
By coincidence a number of comments received on last month’s musings (both News and Views and Review) drew attention to hope. Whether a quantitative or qualitative observer of life, people seem to want a hopeful sign that everything is going to be alright. It would be fantastic if that could be. But it is only …
Continue reading Hope is not the answer; living in reality is
Japanese leadership crisis – new PM
September has not been a good month for politics in Japan. At the beginning of September, Agriculture Minister Takehiko Endo resigned only a week after being appointed. He admitted that a private farm group he heads was involved in illegal dealings – it had been paid 1.15m Yen ($9,900) by the state after overstating crop …
Continue reading Japanese leadership crisis – new PM
Mobile phones as wallets
In the UK, the 5 big mobile phone service providers have launched, PayForIt, a payment system that turns handsets into digital wallets for buying goods and services with a value of up to £10 (€ 15). It is hoped to raise trust in using the handset as a payment tool and is expected to be …
Continue reading Mobile phones as wallets
Livestock endangered by industrial agriculture too
Its not just wild flora and fauna that are endangered by the human footprint, cattle breeds and other domesticated animals are having their genetic diversity whittled away exposing them to disease. (Note the rapid spread of BSE, foot and mouth, bird flu etc.) At a recent UN summit on animal genetic resources, researchers from the …
Continue reading Livestock endangered by industrial agriculture too
Cost of food rising fast, driving inflation and hurting the poor
The cost of food is rising fast. We had been expecting this because of variations in weather patterns which we feared would upset cultivation. However, the sudden interest in corn for ethanol, since the warnings last year by the Stern Review, An Inconvenient Truth and IPCC, has also contributed to an increase. The chart here …
Continue reading Cost of food rising fast, driving inflation and hurting the poor