The US Fed cut again from 2.25% to 2%. Now is the time to be reducing rates. But they’ve already come down so much in the past 2-3 quarters, while behaviour of policy makers and fiduciaries remains behind the game. I’m sure Ben would like to have additional room to reduce rates in case stimulation …
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Author:astraea
BT Notes April – Food and consumption …
April started off in a glorious mood – the first bluebells blossomed in the woods and by mid-April the first rhododendron was out. But the warmth didn’t last; and maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. A couple of cold, dry weeks in the middle of the month meant that the grass and weeds didn’t …
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Beware of greenwash … The Toxic 100
The irony of the Toxic 100 released by Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, is that DuPont is at the top of the list but has been one of the stalwarts of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The WBCSD is very useful – it offers alot of useful research …
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A chance for peace between Syria and Israel
There are reports that Israel is considering returning the Golan Heights to Syria in return for peace. The occupation of teh Golan Heights by Israel is the principal reason that peace talks broke down. It would be a milestone in Middle East diplomacy if Israel were to follow through on this idea and would raise …
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Lifestyle at conception determines gender.
According to research reported by the BBC, a female’s diet around the time of conception may influence the gender of her baby. The study, by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford, appears in the Royal Society journal Biological Sciences, suggests a high calorie diet at the time of conception, especially proper breakfasts, might increase the …
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Instructables – how to do anything
Check out this great site www.instructables.com. It offers instructions on how to do or build useful things. It’ll be enjoyed by “boys”, but also craftspeople, DIYers, people on a budget, people who can’t get cool stuff in their neighbourhood and people who are trying to reuse and recycle or just live with less. Examples include …
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China now has more internet users than the US
China has jumped past the U.S. in terms of total Internet users. In March 2008, China had more than 230 million people online according to the Beijing based research firm BDA China; that’s only 17% of the population and its growing at about 50% a year. The U.S. by comparison had 216 million users at …
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Charles Darwin on-line
Some of the notes of Charles Darwin were first put on-line in October 2006. Today they become more complete with the addition of the first draft of the book which changed the world’s attitude to evolution. The draft notes are among 20,000 archive items created by the 19th Century naturalist during his lifetime, which include …
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IMF World Economic Outlook
IMF Predicts Slower World Growth Amid Serious Market Crisis. Global growth will decelerate in 2008, led by a sharp slowdown in the United States, amid a housing correction and a financial crisis that has quickly spread from the U.S. subprime sector to core parts of the financial system, the IMF says in its latest World …
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The uncomfortable view from the top
Today’s BBC article Thailand’s Wealthy Untouchables touched a nerve. It describes the chasm between rich and poor and the failure of the rich to take responsibility for themselves. It is interesting to see the emotions of the downtrodden becoming visible. And it illustrates the motivation for changing my career a decade ago. When I looked …
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