The Closer
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ROUND-UP US and European equities finished higher today with the glaring exception of Spain, where domestic bank Banesto set aside €475m against bad property loans and the...
Tory to UKIP switchers on the increase again.
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Another day, another YouGov poll that is bad news for the Conservative Party. Up from yesterday, 11% of 2010 Tory voters now say they'd vote for UKIP, including 12% of all British voters aged over 60. Whilst the emphasis at the moment seems to be on...
Google Control
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This is not the usual yada yada…– Google’s chief legal officer, in a footnote to the founders’ letter sent out with Google’s latest results. The company’s...
To Talk or Not To Talk
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It’s a basic principle of negotiations: know when to talk and when to walk away. Catherine Ashton would do well to bear this in mind when she meets her Iranian counterparts in Istanbul this weekend. The latest talks come over a year after the...
BIG NEWS: Bristol makes final shortlist for 2014 European Green Capital award
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In what is a tremendous piece of news: Bristol has been named among the three finalists in the competition to find Europe's Green Capital for 2014. The Danish capital Copenhagen and the German city of Frankfurt are now its final competition.The Europ...
What qualities do future leaders need to meet the challenges of the 21st century?
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“Members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Future Leaders team respond to the video below and tell us what they think makes a 21st century leader…” (Source The Guardian Sustainable Business Blog) A few wise w...
MMF investors are getting antsy
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Looks like some investors are getting nervous…Money market mutual funds saw a noticeable reduction of assets under management for the sixth week in a row (third consecutive...
Spain: Christ Dances to Brazilian Pop Hit in Religious Procession
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During the religious procession marking the end of the Christian Easter week in Alhama de Murcia, Spain, the image of the Resurrected Christ was struck by the Telomania, when the brotherhood carrying the image decided to play and dance to Michel Te...
Facebook Devours Instagram: Buying a Product
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Reporters can easily get carried away in characterizing mergers and acquisitions in business. For example, generalizing beyond Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, two reporters observe that “(y)oung hot technology companies are nothing if not aw...
Lessons from Atheist Bus for the Gay Bus dispute
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Stonewall has been running an excellent campaign on 1000 buses with the slogan “Some people are gay. Get over it!” So – surprise, surprise – some bigots decided to run a counter campaign on 25 buses with the slogan “Not...
Uppmuntrande för Nej till ACTA
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På ett seminarium i EU-parlamentet idag gjorde den Socialdemokratiska gruppen en tydlig markering för att säga Nej till ACTA. David Martin, som är Socialdemokrat och huvudrapportör för ACTA i parlamentet, sa att hans utkast till rapport kommer...
Uppmuntrande för Nej till ACTA
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På ett seminarium i EU-parlamentet idag gjorde den Socialdemokratiska gruppen en tydlig markering för att säga Nej till ACTA. David Martin, som är Socialdemokrat och huvudrapportör för ACTA i parlamentet, sa att hans utkast till rapport kommer...
Old European Cut Diamonds - What Are They and How Did They Get Their Name?
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Diamond purchasers often know exactly what they are looking for when it comes to shopping for this type of stone. They know whether they want something big or small, modern or antique. For those who are looking for an antique style of diamond, Old Eu...
EU fiscal compact would limit the options of governments “forever”, says Portugal’s radical left.
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The Left Bloc and Portuguese Communist Party said Thursday that the change to the Portuguese constitution implementing the new EU Fiscal Compact imposed ‘a rule of lead’ on the Portuguese economy and would limit the options of government...
The Swiss boson
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The Swiss boson is a hypothetical condition which is supposed to account for why the Swiss franc has ‘mass’ when all other neighbouring currencies don’t.A multi...
Banking, Mining And Energy Shares Rise In Front Of China Report
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Financial Market Report for April 11, 2012 China Financials, CHIX, Ireland, IRE, and UK Banking, BCS, LYG, RBS, led European Financials, EUFN, and India Earnings, EPI, higher in front of the China report. The most oversold banking shares, IRE, BCS, L...
SEC: Ephren Taylor II (double-)crossed it up
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Here’s a video of the charismatic, self-described ‘social capitalist’ Ephren Taylor II convincing a church congregation to “cross it up”…...
Ils n’ont rien vu
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Quand les candidats aux présidentielles sont entrés en campagne, l’un d’entre eux se targuait d’avoir sauvé l’euro. Le candidat qui sera élu va découvrir autour de lui une Europe qui n’est plus celle d’avant l...
Thursday thingies
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Harry Potter? No, Ivan Cotter! The IPKat recently made mention of another work in what he now regards as the important cultural category of "iplit" -- works of fiction written either by or about intellectual property practitioners. That work was Iva...
Huddle, huddle, toil and (legal) trouble
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From the SEC on Thursday:The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings be,...
French give thumbs up to Mélenchon’s plan to boost minimum wage
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One in two French back Jean Luc Mélenchon’s proposal to increase the minimum wage from €1,400 to €1,700 a month. A new poll found that 43% think the plan by the radical Left Front’s Presidential candidate is ‘justified’,...
EU überwarmist Hedegaard cannot stand the bright lights of Doha
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Connie Hedegaard does not like the bright lights of DohaQatar is the world´s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas. Oil and gas account for about 60...
King Philip’s War
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I have finished Philbrick’s Mayflower. It ends on a sombre and philosophical note, after chapters and chapters recounting the sad story of the conflict known as King Philip’s War. It was perhaps the bloodiest conflict ever in North Americ...
The bad news that didn’t come
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I got the first news of the two strong earthquakes in the Indian Ocean yesterday. The images of the 2004 disaster that caused huge destruction in the same area and killed more than 230,000 people jumped in my mind. Like observers world over, I prayed...
A Two-Tier Commission?
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Listening to the provocative (I guess that's the polite word) presentation of my former "God", Jean-Claude Piris, in Florence yesterday, I was reminded of a reform proposal of my own that I've never really gotten around to examining. So while I will...
To Talk or Not To Talk
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It’s a basic principle of negotiations: know when to talk and when to walk away. Catherine Ashton would do well to bear this in mind when she meets her Iranian counterparts in Istanbul this weekend. The latest talks come over Continue reading ͛...
WFC 2 evacuated [updated: all clear]
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Live feed via Fox NY of the downtown evacuation of World Financial Center 2 (‘cos of a suspect package) at pixel time. Click image for more:Update: CNBC says it was a...
Internet of Things
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The European Commission opened a new consultation procedures (not only for stakeholders, but also for the public at large) which is to help it envisage the future of internet technology ("The Internet is gearing up for the next technological rev...
And new in at Number One — It’s Cyprus (?!)
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As fickle as the singles charts, these CDS…All of a sudden, little Cyprus is the riskiest sovereign credit bet in the world.The operative accompanying note here is...
All the best tax breaks are Made in America
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While in some countries avoiding tax is a national pastime, in America the government offers all manner of mechanisms to reduce one’s bill.From deductions on mortgage payments,...
