Saturday, August 29, 2009
Treas.gov | MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES
MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES
(in billions of dollars)
HOLDINGS 1/ AT END OF PERIOD
Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun
Country 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
China, Mainland 776.4 801.5 763.5 767.9 744.2 739.6 727.4 713.2 684.1 618.2 573.7 550.0 535.1
Japan 711.8 677.2 685.9 686.7 661.9 634.8 626.0 625.2 629.6 617.5 630.3 637.6 628.0
United Kingdom 2/ 214.0 163.8 152.8 128.2 129.1 123.9 130.9 132.4 133.2 112.8 82.5 66.1 55.0
Oil Exporters 3/ 191.0 192.9 189.5 192.0 181.7 186.6 186.2 187.2 176.7 171.2 169.6 162.9 159.5
Carib Bnkng Ctrs 4/ 189.7 194.8 204.7 213.6 189.1 176.6 197.5 205.0 203.5 169.3 132.9 117.6 106.6
Brazil 139.8 127.1 126.0 126.6 130.8 133.5 127.0 136.1 141.0 148.3 152.6 154.8 158.0
Russia 119.9 124.5 137.0 138.4 130.1 119.6 116.4 108.0 110.8 99.6 104.2 104.0 95.2
Luxembourg 104.2 96.3 97.5 106.1 92.3 87.2 97.4 94.4 100.8 104.7 90.4 89.7 102.6
Hong Kong 99.8 93.2 80.9 78.9 76.3 71.7 77.2 70.6 69.8 65.5 65.8 65.2 65.8
Taiwan 77.0 75.7 78.3 74.8 72.6 73.3 71.8 70.2 65.9 63.0 66.2 67.9 66.5
Switzerland 71.6 63.7 64.2 67.7 68.2 62.1 62.3 63.8 62.0 49.7 45.9 45.7 45.1
Germany 53.9 55.2 54.6 55.0 56.6 56.4 56.1 54.0 53.7 51.6 51.8 51.7 51.6
Ireland 46.3 50.6 49.7 54.7 54.5 50.0 54.3 41.3 35.1 32.9 18.9 16.9 19.9
Singapore 40.8 39.6 39.7 39.1 39.4 38.3 40.8 38.8 34.0 32.2 31.9 32.8 31.7
India 39.3 38.8 38.5 38.2 34.6 32.5 29.2 22.3 18.3 20.3 20.2 19.0 17.7
Korea 36.3 37.4 35.4 33.1 33.3 31.3 31.3 32.7 36.2 40.2 42.1 39.4 40.6
Thailand 29.7 26.8 28.5 26.0 39.7 37.2 32.4 33.9 33.6 27.4 30.4 30.6 31.2
Mexico 29.5 31.6 35.4 36.3 37.9 34.9 34.8 33.8 32.2 32.5 32.6 34.3 41.1
Norway 28.7 28.3 27.5 26.2 21.1 21.9 23.1 20.2 11.5 13.2 2.4 2.8 4.4
Turkey 27.5 28.8 27.2 30.2 32.4 31.3 30.8 29.0 27.9 31.5 34.3 32.7 30.5
France 26.0 25.9 30.6 27.1 16.8 17.9 16.8 18.4 20.5 19.3 21.2 17.1 15.4
Canada 19.0 11.5 13.1 11.9 10.9 9.0 8.2 12.7 14.0 16.0 23.5 22.3 23.8
Netherlands 18.9 16.3 16.5 17.6 16.1 16.8 15.4 15.6 15.7 15.6 16.9 17.8 17.8
Israel 18.1 19.0 19.1 19.4 17.4 16.9 18.8 13.8 12.4 8.7 7.6 8.1 9.8
Egypt 17.3 18.6 18.5 18.5 19.1 16.9 17.2 16.8 16.7 15.5 14.5 15.1 14.1
Italy 16.8 16.8 16.2 16.6 16.5 15.6 16.0 15.9 15.3 11.6 12.9 11.0 11.4
Sweden 16.5 13.0 12.7 12.5 12.7 12.4 12.7 13.1 13.5 13.6 14.7 14.4 14.4
Belgium 15.7 15.7 15.8 15.4 14.5 15.5 15.9 15.3 15.8 15.4 14.8 15.0 15.4
Chile 14.3 14.7 15.1 15.5 15.2 15.2 15.2 15.1 15.4 13.4 13.0 13.6 12.2
Colombia 11.8 11.9 11.4 11.2 11.4 11.3 11.1 11.5 11.3 9.9 9.0 9.3 9.2
Malaysia 11.7 12.3 11.6 10.6 8.4 8.0 8.4 8.8 8.6 9.4 10.1 10.5 10.4
Philippines 11.6 11.8 12.0 12.4 12.6 11.6 11.7 11.5 12.1 12.0 12.3 12.4 12.4
All Other 157.6 157.8 153.5 156.7 164.9 162.5 156.5 156.2 149.1 137.8 139.2 135.6 134.7
Grand Total 3382.4 3293.1 3262.6 3265.2 3162.0 3072.2 3076.9 3036.6 2980.3 2800.1 2688.4 2624.0 2587.2
Of which:
For. Official 2295.5 2287.5 2253.6 2248.6 2198.1 2165.8 2138.7 2104.1 2063.7 1981.0 1944.8 1926.9 1910.9
Treasury Bills 571.7 586.2 530.6 542.7 521.2 486.9 457.9 427.2 360.6 276.8 245.6 232.5 226.6
T-Bonds & Notes 1723.8 1701.3 1723.1 1705.9 1676.9 1678.9 1680.8 1676.9 1703.1 1704.2 1699.2 1694.4 1684.3
Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board
August 17, 2009
1/ Estimated foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury marketable and non-marketable bills, bonds, and notes
reported under the Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting system are based on annual
Surveys of Foreign Holdings of U.S. Securities and on monthly data.
2/ United Kingdom includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
3/ Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.
4/ Caribbean Banking Centers include Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Panama.
Beginning with new series for June 2006, also includes British Virgin Islands.
eham.net | Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1672:
Examiner.com | What does 'world hunger' really mean?
Millions facing famine in Ethiopia
Ghana News | Health Alert!: Will Ghana's Parliament succumb to US pressure?
By William Nyarko, Washington D.C, USA
Ghana’s Parliament and the US Congress are gearing up to pass bills that would introduce controversial foods from genetically modified organisms (GM foods) into Ghana’s food chain. GM foods, derived when genes from, for example, cows are inserted into corn to either increase yield or make them resistant to pests or weeds, have been dogged by controversies over their potential impact on human health, environment, intellectual property rights, and food security.
Ghana’s draft bill – the Biosafety Act will authorize the deployment of GM foods and will be the second GM foods-related bill that Parliament will pass after it had earlier passed the Legislative Instrument on Biosafety (LI 1887) which along with other existing legislation could be used to start field trials of GM crops in Ghana.
The US bill – the Global Food Security Act (SB 384) will amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and provide the resources - a whopping $7.7billion - to support research into GM foods and biotechnology in Ghana and other developing countries, a move which analysts from Food First - Annie Shattuck and Eric Holt-Giménez - say would make GM foods a condition for US agricultural assistance and increase markets for US agribusiness. The bill before the US Congress passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee March 31, 2009, despite protests from anti-GM food campaigners. Monsanto, Inc., a leading US producer of GM crops and biotechnology spent $2, 094,000 to lobby Congress to pass this, and other related bills, according to a lobbying report Monsanto filed to comply with the Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID-Ghana) will be responsible for implementing this new US policy in Ghana if the US bill passes. USAID–Ghana Mission Director, Robert Hellyer, did not return a call for comments on June 22, 2009.
A key controversy which critics raise to ding GM foods is the potential impact on human health, an issue which was echoed by Ms. Cheryl Agyepong, programme officer in charge of GM Foods at the Friends of the Earth - Ghana (FoE), a non-governmental organization that is opposed to the introduction of GM foods in Ghana. In response to questions posed by this reporter, Ms. Agyepong cited a number of studies, some conducted by manufacturers of GM crops which she alleged had been suppressed by them, which showed that GM foods are unsafe for human consumption. She also quoted several reports by the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS), [an NGO of scientists known for their opposition to GM foods] among them a report about how villagers in Southern Philippines suffered mysterious illnesses when another GM maize came into flower in a nearby field two years in a row. “Antibodies to the BT protein inserted into the GM maize were found in the villagers.”
But not everyone is convinced that the threats are real. While conceding that the concerns raised by critics of GM foods should cause Ghanaians to take a precautionary approach, Prof. Walter S. Alhassan, a supporter of GM foods and biotechnology, and a consultant to the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), an NGO, said that “there is no scientific evidence after 13 years of commercial GM crop production globally that GM crops pose specific risks to the environment and human health. ..The strict regulatory regime accompanying GM crop production makes these even safer than conventional crops.”
As the claims and counter claims about the impact of GM foods on human health continued, this reporter asked Dr. A.B. Salifu, Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to put the issue to rest but he declined to give a categorical answer saying, “The CSIR being a public institution cannot have a position [on the hazards GM foods pose to human health] per se, but can however advice government as part of its policy mandate.” He, however, indicated that the CSIR would trigger a series of national awareness campaigns on biotechnology and particularly GM crops towards arriving at a national consensus on deployment.
As Parliament mulls over passing the draft Biosafety Bill, there are fears that some imported products made from GM crops, including rice, soya oil, and tinned tomatoes are already on the Ghanaian market. According to Ms. Agyepong, a GM contaminated long grain rice - LLRice 601, imported from the US was found on the Ghanaian market in 2006. This rice, produced by Bayer, had been found by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to have contaminated rice meant for export. She said alarmed at the information, the FoE collected samples of the contaminated rice in Ghana and other West African countries and sent it over to an independent lab in the US: “On Friday 27th November 2006, FoE-Ghana confirmed the existence of LLRice 601 contamination in six different brands of American long grain rice found in Ghana as revealed by the laboratory results.”
GM foods watchers say Ghana could consider a number of options to deal with GM foods. One option is to delay the passage of the Biosafety Bill and continue field testing of GM crops to verify the authenticity of the claims and counter claims of the impact of GM foods on human health. Another option is to place a moratorium on the release of GM foods for about five or 10 years or accept or reject it altogether. Either way, it seems that supporters of GM foods, including heavyweight organizations like The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto, Inc, and USAID will continue to push for the adoption of GM foods in Ghana and developing countries.
For further reading:
Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms
WHO: 20 questions on genetically modified foods
Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?
(Coming up: Should GM foods be labeled? Do GM crops produce higher yields than conventional crops? How will GM foods affect the intellectual property rights of farmers?)
Credit: William Nyarko
Author’s e-mail : wnyarko@gmu.edu
Myjoyonline.com/Ghana
Examiner.com | Tea Party Patriots sound off in Sacramento (Part Two)
August 29, 9:28 AMSan Diego County Political Buzz Examiner Kimberly Dvorak
Kicking off the patriotic ceremony was a dramatic tribute to the veterans and those serving in the military –Americanism was in the air. Thousands of tea-party attendees stood at the steps of the California state capital, each with their own reasons for taking time from their day to listen and learn.
Key Note Speaker, Mark Meckler, national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots explained that this event was not about any single event, but a culmination of issues that threaten California’s very existence.
He explained that third generation families of truckers, loggers and farmers are going out of business because of California’s strangling regulations. “I’m very concerned and wanted to bring everyone together. There is just too much government and they need to get out of the way.”
It is clear the state is in trouble. California sits at the bottom of the list in education and cost of living remains the highest in the country. Unemployment is higher than the national average at nearly 12 percent.
“Every industry is under attack,” Meckler said. “The environmentalists are uses the divide and conquer strategy to put all industries out of business.”
Meckler also touched on the Tea Party successes. “We’ve shelved cap-and-trade, we’ve stalled health care and we solidly defeated a tax increase in California.” The crowd went nuts.
The speaker also made note of President Obama’s recent $10 billion loan for oil exploration in Brazil, sending more money and jobs overseas. This drew cheers from the angry protesters.
“It was like Woodstock without the drugs,” said Leslie Eastman, co-founder of the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition located in San Diego.
Some in attendance were afraid of giving out their name in fear of retaliation from Service Employee International Union (SEIU) leaders may find out. However, it didn’t stop a nurse who is trying to start a new Health Care Nurses Union to get out from under the SEIU.
Another sponsor of the event was Debra John, of Tea Party Express said, “Our Constitution says ‘we the people’ not we the Congress.”
While Americans are awakened throughout the month of August, some politicians aren’t getting the tea party news flash.
In an effort to combat everyday citizens who are hopping mad at the left showing up at town halls and tea party events across the nation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has written a letter to her supporters in order to raise $100,000 to fight the will of the people.
She says, “The fight for meaningful health insurance reform is too important to be sidetracked by misinformation and false attacks.”
“The real enemies are the radical environmentalists who have taken over our government,” said Devin Nunes, said a Californian Congressmen. “It has been 701 days since I’ve asked the politicians to stop this man-made drought in California.”
“We will hold the politicians accountable on how they vote,” Nunes said
“Here is a personal message to President Obama, ‘we don’t want your welfare, we want the water turned back on,’” He finished and the crowd responding boisterously.
Another California Republican Congressman, Tom McClintock, added his two cents when it comes to state and national issues plaguing everyday Americans.
“We need everyone to focus on the new media like, the internet, facebook and twitter. It’s a great way for voters to get connected,” McClintock noted.
He explained that it was important to not get news from the main stream media because often they are not in touch with the folks in small town USA.
What’s with the czars, says the Congressman. “The concept came from Russia and all they do is oppress the American people.”
“The American spirit is returning,” McClintock said. “The Obama Administration didn’t count on that.”
Moving along Water for All founder, Piebad Ayala had plenty to say about the Central California water crisis. “Nobody (politicians) is being effective with the water issue and we continue to receive about 10 percent of what our farms require.”
“The people have been great today. We are on the right side and will not stop until we get our water back,” Ayala said. “They (politicians) are blaming farmers for the problems, but we have video of sewage being dumped straight into the Delta.”
“It’s sad the government is siding with the fish over the humans. This is a human issue," he finished.
The attendees were a truly blended-crowd.
Loggers have also been on the chopping block in California. For example, Mike Anderson owns a logging business and would like to pass it on to his son one day, but with all the regulations coming down the pike he may not be able to pass anything to his son.
“The California, Air Resource Board (ARB) will force me to replace my diesel engines in the next couple of years. I wouldn’t even be able to sell the old parts because it would be illegal,” he says.
According to Anderson, the Fort Bragg logging industry would be wipe out completely, again generations of families would be left unemployed.
The Chairperson of ARB says, “There’s nothing that can’t be done without money.” This further illustrates how out of touch bureaucrats and politicians are with the everyday working Americans.
***
Up next is part three.
For more information on the water issues plaguing California visit; www.waterforall.com/
For more stories;www.examiner.com/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner
Again a shout out to my eyes and ears on this story Leslie Eastman
Omaha.com | Tens of thousands descended on Omaha's Offutt Air Force Base this morning for the base's annual open house and air show.
B-2 Spirit of America Stealth bomberOffutt AFB, Nebraska Offutt Air Force Base is home of the 55th Wing, the Fightin' Fifty-Fifth, and a variety of tenant units. Offutt's diverse missions and global responsibilities put it on the cutting edge of the Air Force's transformation. Each branch of the US military is represented among the approximately 10,000 military and federal employees assigned here. Offutt is a beautiful community situated near the Missouri River in the rolling hills of southeastern Nebraska.
In this August 24, 2009 handout photo released by Papa John's Pizza, John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John's pizza, is seen Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 outside his home in Louisville, Ky., with his beloved 1971 Z28 Camaro, which he sold in 1983 to keep his father's tavern afloat and ultimately launch Papa John's Pizza. Schnatter launched a nationwide contest this summer to find the car, and Jeff Robinson of Flatwoods, Ky. came forward with the car and was given a $250,000 reward. (AP Photo/Papa Johns Pizza)
Publica - Journalism in the public interest | Breaking on the Web
Alex Berenson, NYT
Topic: Health & Science
Tags: Cancer, Medical imaging tests, Radiation
Defense Department Advices Social Media as Publicity Platform
Aliya Sternstein, Nextgov
Topic: National Security, Government & Politics
Tags: Defense Department, Publicity, Social Media
Did a Mother Lose Her Child Because of a Lack of English?
Tim Padgett with Dolly Mascareñas, Time
Topic: Government & Politics
Tags: Human Rights, Immigration
U.S. Agents Recruiting Mexican Drug Figures
William Booth, Washington Post
Topic: Government & Politics
Tags: Drug Trafficking, Immigration, Mexico
For Lender, a Fast Fall From Audit to Collapse
James R. Hagerty and Nick Timiraos, WSJ
Topic: Business
Tags: Loan Servicers, Mortgage Lenders
Health Care Industry Contributes Heavily to Blue Dogs
Halimah Abdullah, McClatchy
Topic: Health & Science, Government & Politics
Tags: Blue Dogs, Health Care, health care
New Jersey Corruption Bust Had Deep Roots
Susanne Sataline, WSJ
Topic: Government & Politics
Tags: Corruption
NBA Scorekeeper Reveals How Statistics are Manipulated
Tommy Craggs, Deadspin
Topic:
Tags: Basketball, Manipulation, NBA, Scorekeeper, Sports, Statistics
Files Prove Pentagon is Profiling Reporters
Stars & Stripes
Topic: National Security, Government & Politics
Tags: Journalism, Pentagon
Army Report: Gaps in Training for Recovery Unit
Kevin Maurer, AP
Topic: National Security, Military
Tags: Military, military, Military Health System
Politics Can Drive Stimulus Priorities
Eileen Sullivan and Matt Apuzzo, AP
Topic: Government & Politics
Tags: Border Security, Stimulus Package, stimulus package
Rep. Rangel Failed to Report $660K in Assets in ‘07
John Bresnahan, Politico
Topic: Government & Politics
Tags: Charles Rangel, Financial Disclosure Forms, House Ethics Committee
Judge Rips SEC on BofA Pact
Jess Bravin, Wall Street Journal ($)
Topic: Business, Government & Politics, Justice
Tags: Bailout, Bank of America, Executive Compensation, Executive compensation, Merrill Lynch, SEC
Taxpayers Pay Subprime Lenders to Fix Loan Mess
John Dunbar, Center for Public Integrity
Topic: Government & Politics, Business
Tags: Bailout, Loan Modification, Making Home Affordable, Obama Administration, Subprime Mortgages
The Govt’s Foreclosure Rescue Mirage
Andy Kroll, Mother Jones
Topic: Business, Government & Politics
Tags: Bailout, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Making Home Affordable, Obama Administration
Report Shows Tight CIA Control on Interrogations
Scott Shane and Mark Mazzetti, New York Times
Topic: National Security
Tags: CIA, Detainee Detention, Detainees, Torture
Deaths, Missing Detainees Still Blacked Out in CIA Report
Matthew Cole and Brian Ross, ABC News
Topic: National Security
Tags: CIA, Detainee Detention, Detainees, Torture, Transparency
FAA Investigates Southwest Over Parts
Andy Pasztor and Mike Esterl, Wall Street Journal ($)
Topic: Regulators, Government & Politics
Tags: Aviation, Aviation Safety, FAA, Southwest Airlines
U.S. Inspects Boston Schools’ Neglect of English Learners
James Vaznis, Boston Globe
Topic: Education, Immigration, Government & Politics
Tags: Boston, Department of Justice, Public Schools
Residents of Marine Corps Base Blame Rare Cancer Cluster on Water
David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times
Topic: Health & Science, National Security, Military
Tags: Cancer, Marine Corps, Toxic Chemicals, Water
Southern California Public Radio | Southland fires rage, homes threatened, evacuations underway
Saturday Aug. 29th
city of La Canada Flintridge reports that power has gone out to at least 164 houses in the area near the La Canada Country Club, and the Southern California Edison crews cannot enter the area yet due to fire danger.Update at 2:27 p.m.:
At least one small radio service has gone off the air as a result of burned power lines from the Station Fire, authorities said today.
The National Weather Service's automated Los Angeles radio station, KWO 37, went off the air at midday. The station usually transmits at 162.55 on the VHF radio band and is primarily used by boaters.
A NWS spokeswoman said the station is dark as a result of lost powerline supplying Mount Lukens. Several Los Angeles FM radio stations transmit from Mount Lukens, but were still on the air at 2 p.m.
The bulk of Los Angeles FM stations, and nearly all TV stations, transmit from Mount Wilson and adjacent Mount Harvard, about five miles further back from the fire than Mount Lukens. Several powerlines from different directions feed Mount Wilson.
The five miles of ridges between Mount Lukens, Mount Wilson and nearby Mount Harvard are dotted with hundreds of two-way radio, microwave and broadcast radio installations.
The mountaintop facilities are also used by the city's TV news operations to collect live shots from other mountains across southern California, and relay them to TV studios in the city.
Links for Education | Obama's Organizing for America
http://www.barackobama.com/
Journey to Change America:
Organizing for America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Members | 13 million email addresses from Obama campaign, unknown membership |
| Country | United States |
| Affiliation | Democratic |
| Key people | Mitch Stewart, director |
| Office location | Washington, D.C. |
| Website | http://my.barackobama.com/ofa |
Mission
The mission as stated is to help the President pursue his agenda. Thus, many[who?] view the organization as primarily a political organization and not a social movement. However, given the unparalleled roots the organization has in human resources- literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of volunteer activists- many experts[who?] maintain that it can't be viewed as a mere political organization, rather somewhat of an omnibus organization - a huge mass of citizens fighting for further power of a political individual, in the hopes that this individual, with expanded power, can bring the change they want.
Political Activities
Organizing for America has been an active participant in pushing Obama's health insurance reform plan, using its members to persuade locals to support Obama and his three principles for health insurance reform. [4]
History
President-elect Barack Obama announced the creation of Organizing for America on January 17, 2009.[5]
The group officially began its activities on the third day after the Obama's inauguration, January 23, 2009.[6] On the same day, it was announced that Mitch Stewart would serve as the first Director. [7]
External links
Video of David Plouffe and Mitch Stewart announcing Organizing for America.[1]
References
- ^ "A project of the Democratic National Committee" http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
- ^ "DNC Announces Key Staff for Organizing for America" January 23, 2009 DNC press release http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dnc-announces-key-staff-organizing/story.aspx?guid={7E3D7A29-68BB-4D48-ACC5-CAFA4F6CD84C}
- ^ Sourcewatch.com http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Organizing_for_America
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-health-grassroots10-2009aug10,0,3292929.story
- ^ url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2009/01/obama_announces_organizing_for.html?hpid=topnews
- ^ url=http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-23-2009/0004959654&EDATE=
- ^ url=http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-23-2009/0004959654&EDATE
As Ted Kennedy is laid to rest, Democrats to hold massive ...
TheNational.ae | Banks join global money laundering battle
Last Updated: August 30. 2009 12:59AM UAE
Banks in the UAE have until Sunday to disclose details of accounts held by foreign officials and politicians as the Central Bank tightens regulations on money laundering.
The move, which brings the UAE into line with standards in other international financial centres, follows recent high-profile cases involving alleged fraud in the region and internationally.
International regulators are increasing pressure on banks to reduce their exposure to the risk of money laundering.
Claims by the troubled Saudi Arabian conglomerate Ahmad Hamad Al Gosaibi and Brothers against Dubai’s Mashreqbank and Maan al Sanea, the billionaire head of the Saudi Saad Group, for alleged fraud, and the case of jailed US financier Bernie Madoff, convicted of swindling $65 billion (Dh238.74bn) from investors, are among events that have heightened concerns about irregularities in global financial systems.
Reuters | Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on the US border - daylight murders & beheaded bodies the norm - most dangerous city in the world
August 28th, 2009
By Julian Cardona
With 130 murders for every 100,000 residents per year on average last year, the city of 1.6 million people is more violent than the Venezuelan capital Caracas, the U.S. city of New Orleans and Colombia’s Medellin. That is according to a study by the Mexican non-profit Citizen Council for Public Security and Justice, which presented its report to Mexico’s security minister at a conference this week.
The fight between rival drug cartels over Ciudad Juarez’s local drug market and smuggling routes into the United States broke out at the start of last year and continues to intensify.
Reliable global crime statistics are hard to pin down and a study last year by Foreign Policy Magazine placed Caracas as the world’s top murder capital, also with 130 murders per 100,000 residents. (The Mexican study disputes that and puts the Caracas figure at 96).
IMF.org | IMF Injecting $283 Billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) into Global Economy, Boosting Reserves
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) August 27, 2009
The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves. Its value is based on a basket of four key international currencies, and SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies. With a general SDR allocation taking effect on August 28 and a special allocation on September 9, 2009, the amount of SDRs will increase from SDR 21.4 billion to SDR 204.1 billion (currently equivalent to about $317 billion).
- SDR allocation details
- Factsheet: SDRs
- IMF and financial crisis
- Press release
- Special Drawing Rights Q&A
- IMF resources, G-20 summit
(in millions of SDRs)
| Member Country United States | General SDR Allocation1,3 27,539.1 | Special SDR Allocation2 2,877.0 | Total3 30,416. |
MercoPress.com | Union of South American Nations summit finally agrees on a diluted catch-all statement
Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 1:35 am UTCThe deliberate broad language, avoiding direct reference to the US military and Venezuela, permitted all twelve 12 presidents present to support the text, including Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, although two leaders, Uruguay’s Tabare Vazquez and Peru’s Alan Garcia left before the final “harmonious” picture.
Read more...
Eye on the Stimulus | DHS: No Political Influence in Stimulus Funding Decisions - August 28, 2009
Today’s roundup of stimulus coverage:
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano defended her department’s awarding of stimulus dollars [1] after the Associated Press reported [2] that political consideration influenced decisions over which border checkpoints got stimulus funding. Napolitano said the story “was just wrong and I’ll say that because there was no kind of political issues involved there.” The Department of Homeland Security reportedly keeps an internal priority list of border stations that need repairs or upgrading; according to the AP, stations higher on that list were passed over for stimulus funds in favor of lesser-used facilities because of political lobbying.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has opened an inquiry in Missouri [3] after the state chapter of the NAACP told Vice President Joe Biden that too few minority-owned businesses were involved in stimulus work there, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The NAACP claims the state Department of Transportation didn’t make “vigorous efforts” to maximize the involvement of minority- and women-owned businesses, as federal guidelines require. A spokesman for MoDOT said, according to the paper, that “most of the stimulus projects contracted so far have been in rural areas, where there are fewer minority contractors than in larger cities.”
The Commerce Department has received some 2,200 applications for stimulus funding for broadband projects [4], USA Today reports. The applications request a total of $28 billion, nearly four times the $7.2 billion available from the Recovery Act for bringing high-speed Internet access to underserved areas. The flood of applications is particularly noteworthy because, as ProPublica noted [5] earlier this month, major Internet providers AT&T, Verizon, Qwest and Comcast declined to apply for this round of grants, leaving the field to smaller players.
A construction company in Ohio is suing the administration of Gov. Ted Strickland [6] for failing to act quickly enough to secure stimulus dollars, reports The Columbus Dispatch. The company, National Building Resources Inc., says Strickland was slow to apply for stimulus dollars for road projects, keeping thousands of workers who might have been employed on stimulus-funded projects this summer out of work. A spokeswoman for the governor claims he is moving quickly.
