Precious metals climbing

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Syria:Aleppo Residents Celebrate the return of law and order as Army moves in

24/August/12 Hundreds took to the streets even though fighting in some part of Aleppo continues.

Egypt wouldn't fire on Iran ship

Aug. 27, 2012 at 11:01 AM CAIRO, Aug. 27 (UPI)

Egypt's Navy refused a U.S. request to fire on an Iranian weapons ship heading for violence-torn Syria through the Suez Canal, al-Arabiya reported. "The Suez Canal is a narrow waterway and it is impossible for military action to take place there," Mohab Mamish, recently appointed chairman of the Suez Canal Authority and former Egyptian Navy commander told al-Arabiya. The U.S. request was made recently, the report said. The Egypt Independent had a similar report, saying it was told by Mamish the Navy refused a United States request to "strike" the Iranian ship.

Greek national bank attacked

Reuters Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:37am EDT

A makeshift bomb exploded outside a National Bank of Greece branch in Athens early on Tuesday, causing minor damage but no injuries, police said.

Vietnam depositors nervous

Aug 24 (Reuters) -

A big bank hit by a widening scandal in Vietnam tried to convince customers that their money was safe on Friday after the resignation and arrest of its chief executive, while shares rose after a slide on the stock market this week.

City of Duarte,California heading toward bankruptcy

Duarte could become the latest municipality to be forced into formal bankruptcy

and many other cities could be facing the same fate. Citing the loss of the City’s 38-year old Redevelopment Agency, the Duarte City Council will be considering declaring a fiscal emergency on Tuesday night in order to place a sales tax measure on the upcoming November 6 ballot.

Greek islanders hold finance police hostage

[Aug 20, 2012 ]

According to Athens News the 55-year-old taverna owner fainted when the finance police attempted to arrest her,leaving them to arrest her 25-year-old son instead. Around 200 Hydriots, inflamed by the arrest, surrounded the police station where the young man was held, cutting off the water and electricity supplies and effectively holding the finance police hostage overnight. Riot police were called from Athens but islanders blocked the port fearing the arrested man would be taken off the island. Athenian police eventually secured the release of the finance police and escorted them on their rest of their checks.

Watch a video report here:[report starts at 4:23 in the video]

Watch live streaming video from stopcarteltvgr at livestream.com

Belize Nears Default After Missing $23 Million Bond Payment

Aug 20, 2012 2:49 PM PT

Belize neared default after the Central American country missed a payment today on about $544 million of bonds and Finance Secretary Joseph Waight said the government is unlikely to pay during a 30-day grace period. The government can’t make today’s $23 million bond payment, Waight said in a phone interview from Belmopan City. Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who won re-election in March, said a restructuring was needed after the coupon on the country’s so- called superbond climbed to 8.5 percent this year from 6 percent as part of an accord reached with investors in 2007. “We simply do not have the capacity to make the payment,” Waight said. “We are hoping to engage with creditors as quickly as possible.”

Assange or Corzine?

"The United States won’t prosecute[link] Corzine for raiding segregated customer accounts, but will happily convene a Grand Jury in preparation for prosecuting Julian Assange for exposing the truth about war crimes.

"...the issue at hand is the sense that we have entered a phase of exponential criminality and corruption. A slavering crook like Corzine who stole $200 million of clients’ funds can walk free. Meanwhile, a man who exposed evidence of serious war crimes is for that act so keenly wanted by US authorities that Britain has threatened to throw hundreds of years of diplomatic protocol and treaties into the trash and raid the embassy of another sovereign state to deliver him to a power that seems intent not only to criminalise him, but perhaps even to summarily execute him. The Obama administration, of course, has made a habit of summary extrajudicial executions of those that it suspects of terrorism, and the detention and prosecution of whistleblowers. And the ooze of large-scale financial corruption, rate-rigging, theft and fraud goes on unpunished."

Italy retailers struggling

Saldi !

I found this news story at Mish's blog

Summer of gloom for crisis-hit Rome shops By Mathilde Auvillain | AFP – Tue, 14 Aug, 2012

It is not just stifling summer heat that is keeping shoppers at bay on Rome's Via del Corso: as the economic crisis hits locals and tourists alike, many shops have little choice but to close for good. The few people around seem to ziz zag from shop to shop, seeking relief from the heat in air-conditioned outlets and leaving behind frustrated shop assistants who struggle to sell anything despite discounts of up to 80 percent. "The crisis has hit everyone," sighed one empty-handed customer, while shopkeepers up and down the street whiled away their time folding and re-folding piles of brightly coloured T-shirts and stylish outfits. "The sales have not gone well," said clothes shop manager Fabio Anticoli. While the eternal city usually draws tourists from all over the world who spend their cash on Italian designs, "this year, it's an impoverished tourism." The sales have gone "very badly" compared with 2011 according to the shopkeepers' association Confesercenti, which reports a 20 percent drop in turnover in central Rome, a figure that rises to 40 percent in outer suburbs.

African countries converting commerce to local currencies

Zambia bans dollar transactions

African Nations Chase Away US Dollar

CEO of GE says nuclear power “really hard” to defend financially — “At some point, really, economics rule”

Not so long ago, it used to be the opponents of nuclear generation who argued that the economics did not add up. Nowadays, at least one of the industry’s more influential proponents seems to agree.

Mexico moves to regulate drugs, reducing big money and violence

President-elect Pena:

I'm in favor of opening a new debate in the strategy in the way we fight drug trafficking. It is quite clear that after several years of this fight against drug trafficking, we have more drug consumption, drug use and drug trafficking. That means we are not moving in the right direction. Things are not working.

War on Drugs:Fail

The following article is critical of Pena, but the quote is right on.

Game Over

Spain 10-year over 7%

Spanish 10s at 7.08% Thu, Aug 02 2012, 14:04 GMT | Forex Live

Where is Prince Bandar?

Investigative journalist Pepe Escobar:

Was Prince Bandar "Bush," 63, son of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz (perennial Saudi Defense Minister,1963-2001), semi-perennial ambassador to Washington (1983-2005), and secretive jihad financier, killed by a Syrian intelligence death squad? Thunderous silence prevails on Syrian, Iranian and Arab media (most of it controlled by the Saudis). The same applies for al-Jazeera. This is DEBKA's somewhat fanciful take. Dates are crucial. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud may have pulled off operation "Damascus Volcano" on July 18. He was definitely promoted to head of Saudi intelligence on July 19. And he might have been killed in a bomb attack on the Saudi General Intelligence HQ in Riyadh on July 22. One Syrian rumor mill version rules that "Damascus Volcano" came from Saudi intel -- with logistics provided by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This is highly unlikely; the CIA is clueless on how to penetrate Assad's inner sanctum. The predominant version circulating in the Syrian capital is this was a white coup. "Damascus Volcano," by the way, was a flop; the swarm of mercenaries -- infiltrated via Jordan -- who were supposed to take over the capital had to retreat up north. Now the news cycle is fixated on another faux game-changer -- the "Battle of Aleppo."

Prince Bandar Bin Sultan: Is The Saudi Spy Chief Dead Or Alive?

Where in the World Is Prince Bandar bin Sultan?

San Bernardino files for municipal bankruptcy

San Bernardino, California, Files Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Petition - Aug 1, 2012 9:13 PM PT

San Bernardino, California, after disclosing a $46 million shortfall in the city’s budget, filed for municipal bankruptcy. San Bernardino listed assets and debt of more than $1 billion in a filing yesterday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside, California. It’s the third California city to seek court protection from creditors since June 28.