Australia Estate Agents Withholding Price Information from Buyers

Agents withhold house price data

Real estate agents and vendors have been accused of deliberately omitting auction information to conceal poor results and create a more positive perception of Melbourne's ailing property market.

From the comments:

So the state government has no plans to intervene, and believes the onus is on the real estate agents to self regulate. Since when did real estate agents have potential cleints' interests in mind? Deliberately misleading the public and selectively reporting their own data surely has to be stamped out. For all the rhetoric of wanting to help first home buyers, such a head-in-the-sand attitude by the state government is ridiculous.
Since when were real estate agents able to self regulate? - July 10, 2011, 9:20AM

Self-regulate = poor excuse for 'do nothing'.
FC | OZ - July 10, 2011, 9:29AM

State Budget Costing Central Coast Cities Millions

From the article:
Sacramento, Calif.-Since Governor Jerry Brown signed a state budget into law, cities across the Central Coast are losing millions of dollars.

Monterey's Assistant City Manager Fred Cohn says the city lost $3.5 million when the state eliminated redevelopment funds.

Now projects like revamping Cannery Row aren't going to happen.

The city of Seaside says it's set to lose $9 annually, which could lead to layoffs.

Salinas will also lose at least $3 million and for now projects in Oldtown Salinas are stalled.

Santa Cruz expects to be out $4.6 million, which will hurt efforts to bring in new businesses through financial incentives.

Finally, Watsonville is missing out on $3.6 million because of the loss of redevelopment funds.

Swiss Parliament to discuss gold franc

Switzerland, which in 2000 became one of the last countries to decouple its currency from gold, is not the only place to contemplate a change in the precious metal’s role amid controversy over government involvement in the economy. In March, Utah became the first state in the U.S. to legalize gold and silver coins as currency, while similar legislation was considered in Montana, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho and Indiana.

“I want Swiss people to have the freedom to choose a completely different currency,” said Thomas Jacob, the man behind the gold franc concept. ”Today’s monetary system is all backed by debt — all backed by nothing — and I want people to realize this.”

Gaddafi speech 17 June 2011

Why am I posting this? Because it has not been reported in the U.S.

Wall Street braces for new layoffs as profits wane

Bankster layoffs

Faced with weak markets and uncertainty over regulations, many of the biggest firms are preparing for deep cuts in jobs and other costs.

African Union calls for ceasefire in Libya

Tanzania and other African Union (AU) members have called for
immediate cease fire and resumption of peace talks between the Libyan government and rebels.
The minister said that the AU members formed a committee of officials from five countries to meet and hold talks with the Libyan government and rebels. “They passed a declaration for the international community to end the no-fly zone rule to Libya to enable easy travel to the country,” he noted.Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Bernard Membe revealed this before journalists yesterday in Dar es Salaam when briefing on the heads of state summit held in Equatorial Guinea between June 30 and July 1, this year.

Rally in Tripoli 1 July 2011