Rhondda Records Home Page

Figures released by The Office for National Statistics
(ONS) reveal that UK pensioners are 4th worst off....
out of all of the countries in the European Union.

_______________________________________

Survey Finds UK
Failing on Childcare

September 13th, 11:13am (FNA)

Tens of thousands of working parents said the government

is failing them with inadequate childcare policies that leave

them financially crippled, stymied in their careers and

desperate for radical change, according to a

major survey.

The survey of more than 20,000 working parents, which was

shared with the Guardian and involved more than a dozen

organisations, found that 96% believed ministers were

not doing enough to support parents with the cost

and availability of childcare while 97% said

childcare in the UK was too expensive.

One-third of parents said they paid more for childcare than

their rent or mortgage. This proportion rose to 38% for

both those in full-time work or were single parents,

and to 47% of respondents from a black ethnic

background.

The survey comes before a debate on childcare in parliament

on Monday that was triggered after over 100,000 parents

signed a petition calling for an independent review of

childcare funding and affordability.

According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development, the UK has the third most

expensive childcare system in the world, behind only

Slovakia and Switzerland; a full-time place costs

£12,376 a year on average.

Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that

between 2008 and 2016 the cost of a one-year-old child’s

nursery provision grew four times faster than wages in

England. In London, it was more than 7 times faster.

Warnings that the early years sector is at risk of collapse have

been largely ignored and morale is low: research by Nursery

World, found that one in 10 childcare workers, is living

in poverty.

Justine Roberts, the chief executive of the online forum Mumsnet,

said, “This is a problem that’s been hiding in plain sight for years,

and parents know exactly how badly they’re being failed. The

government must not ignore the misery and stress this

issue causes for parents across the whole country.”

The survey found that people who were struggling the most were

on the lowest incomes, on universal credit, were single parents,

had disabilities or had a black ethnic background. One in three

parents with a household income of less than £20,000 has had

to cut back on essential food or housing as a direct result of

childcare bills, while four in 10 single parents have had to

use credit cards to pay for essential items.

Ninety-two percent of parents said the cost of childcare had

affected their standard of living, while 50% said the cost was

completely unaffordable or had resulted in a substantial

impact. Ninety-four percent of parents who changed their

working patterns after having children... said childcare

costs were a factor in the decision.

The survey also revealed how heavily parents relied on family

for childcare – while 75% used private nurseries for childcare,

56% of parents said they relied on grandparents for help.

Overall, the survey found 99% of all respondents agreed

that childcare should be recognised as a vital part of the

UK’s economic and social infrastructure.

Joeli Brearley, the founder of the charity Pregnant Then Screwed,

said, “All we want from the government is transparency. The cost

of childcare continues to increase, forcing more parents out of

their jobs, and the quality of our early years settings decrease,

which will have serious long-term consequences for all of us.

We don’t believe the government has a grasp of how big the

issue is... and the impact it is having on families and

the economy.”

The survey was produced and distributed by.. Mumsnet, Pregnant

Then Screwed, the TUC, the Fawcett Society, the Women’s Budget

Group, Gingerbread, Working Families, the Fatherhood Institute,

Maternity Action, Music Football Fatherhood, Mother Pukka,

Tova Leigh, Black Mums Upfront, the Young Women’s Trust

and Cathy Reay (That Single Mum).

The data, which was not weighted, was collected from 20,046 parents

in the UK with at least one child aged 18 or under, carried out

between 20 July and 31 August 2021 – with 97% of the

respondents being women.

It presented compelling evidence, that lack of access to childcare

was preventing progress on gender equality. Only 16% of women

said childcare had not affected their seniority or income at work,

compared with 42% of men. Of the female respondents, 83%

said childcare costs and availability affected mothers more

than fathers; 41% of male respondents said it affected

parents equally. Two-thirds of female respondents

reduced their hours after having a baby,

compared with 26% of men.

Felicia Willow, the chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said,

“Our government cannot drop the ball on this – it’s clear that

a lack of access to childcare is stopping women both going

to work and progressing at work.”

The survey also suggested the government’s flagship shared

parental leave policy was a particular failure; only 17% of

respondents said it was useful for their family.

Ros Bragg, the director of Maternity Action, said, “The deeply

flawed shared parental leave has been about as helpful to

working parents as a chocolate teapot. Take-up rate

among eligible families is now less than 4% in its

fifth year of operation. It’s clear that we need to

start again.”

Elliott Rae, the founder of Music Football Fatherhood, said...

“Extortionate childcare costs reinforce traditional gendered

parenting roles and make it difficult for dads to have

flexibility in their work and be fully active and

engaged fathers.”

The survey suggested that respondents wanted to see a radical

overhaul of the childcare system: 90% of all parents supported

at least three months of “use-it-or-lose-it” parental leave for

fathers, paid at at least minimum wage level, while 94%

believed subsidised childcare should start from the

end of paid maternity leave.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC secretary general, said, “We don’t

want tinkering around the edges. Our broken parental leave

system is in need of a complete overhaul.”

The Department for Education said parents’ ability to claim 30

“free” hours a week during term time for three- and four-year

-olds could save them up to £5,000 a year and the number of

childcare places offered by providers was stable.

A spokesperson said early years providers had been given

financial support during the pandemic, and the government

had invested £3.5bln yearly in childcare since 2018, adding,

“We’re making millions more available through our

recovery fund to level up children’s early

outcomes, raising the quality of early

education even further.”

_____________________________________

Watchdog Finds UK Police

Tasering Children and
Mentally ill People

August 25th, 1:37pm (FNA)

Police must be trained to use Tasers only when “absolutely

necessary”, a watchdog said, after a review found the

weapons were being used against children and

mentally ill people.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) reviewed

around 100 of the most serious cases involving Tasers in

England and Wales, including 16 where people died, The

Independent reported.

Inquests found that the use of Taser contributed to four

of those deaths, and inquiries are ongoing in others,

including the killing of former footballer, Dalian

Atkinson, by PC Benjamin Monk.

Last year, a coroner who examined the death of 30-year-old

father Marc Cole, warned that “future deaths will occur,

unless action is taken”, but the Home Office rejected

his call for a review of the physical effects of Tasers.

The IOPC said they had been used on people with underlying

health problems, including epilepsy and heart conditions,

and that, in some cases – including three where people

died – officers had suspected they were “feigning

being unwell”.

A report published on Wednesday also raised concerns about

the “increasing use of Tasers on children and vulnerable

people with mental health, drug and alcohol issues”.

The review warned that police had used the weapons in

unsafe locations, and had not always considered the

“risk of injury”, properly.

In a quarter of the cases examined, Tasers had been wrongly

used to make people “comply with instructions”, and in a

third, officers had missed opportunities to de-escalate

situations.

The IOPC said that current Taser use was threatening public

trust in the police, especially over the disproportionate use

against Black men.

IOPC director general Michael Lockwood stated, “Tasers are

available to more officers than ever before, but engagement

with communities has highlighted a stark difference

between their expectations about when a Taser

should be used, and the situations in which a

Taser can be used, under current national

guidance, particularly on those who

are vulnerable.

“Police forces must be able to explain this clearly, or risk

further eroding public confidence,” Lockwood added.

Lockwood said that although Tasers were a valuable tool

for protecting both the public and police officers...

independent scrutiny must ensure that they
are used appropriately.

“Clearer national guidance on the circumstances in which Tasers

should and should not be used - and better training - will improve

officer safety, as well as give the public reassurance that Tasers

are being used, only when absolutely necessary,” he added.

“Police forces must be able to justify to the public the

circumstances in which a Taser is deployed,

particularly when children and vulnerable

people are involved. Forces must also

respond to the disproportionate use

of Tasers against Black people,”

he said.

The IOPC made 17 recommendations, including improvements

to police guidance and training, the scrutiny and monitoring

of Taser use and data and research.

The Inquest charity said they do not go far enough and called for

“systemic change”, saying Tasers were dangerous weapons,

that had resulted in serious injury and death.

“They are increasingly used, as a first, not last resort,” added

Director Deborah Coles, adding, “Ultimately to prevent further

deaths and harm, we must look beyond policing and redirect

resources into community, health, welfare and

specialist services.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of

Policing announced research on racial disproportionality in

police use of Tasers last year.

A National Taser Stakeholder Advisory Group in this area has

also been set up, and there are new conflict management

guidelines and training proposals.

The NPCC said the IOPC’s review only covered 0.1 percent of

all Taser use, because so few cases had been referred to

the watchdog.

Home Office figures record Taser use if the weapons are

drawn, used to plant a red target dot on a suspect, or

fired. In 86 percent of recorded Taser incidents,

they are not fired.

Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, the national police lead on

Tasers, said work was already underway... to make

improvements.

“Focusing on these smaller number of cases missed an

opportunity to consider Taser use more broadly and,

unfortunately, has resulted in recommendations

which are mostly out of date and not based
on the realities of policing,” she added.

“Policing is not easy and in many violent situations I believe

Taser is a viable, less lethal option for officers, between

using a baton and the lethal force of a gun. Taser has

a critical place in protecting the public and our

officers,” she said.

The IOPC said it could only investigate “the most serious

and sensitive cases” because of its remit, and aimed to

contribute to the growing evidence base around

Taser use.

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said
it would act as a bridge between police forces and the
public, to ensure concerns were addressed.

The watchdog also uncovered evidence that some officers made

inappropriate comments, including derogatory remarks, during

these incidents, in an analysis of 101 investigations involving

Tasers, between 2015 and 2020.

Some 60 percent of Black people involved in Taser discharges

were subjected to continuous discharges of more than five

seconds, compared with 29 percent of White people.

The longest length of continuous use, was 67 seconds.

_________________________________

Watchdog Finds UK Police

Failing to Impose Orders

on Men Accused of Abuse

August 24th, 12:05pm (FNA)

Police are failing to impose restraining orders
or bail conditions on men accused of rape,

domestic abuse, harassment and

stalking, a watchdog found ---

placing women and girls at

increased risk of harm.

A police super-complaint, submitted by the Centre

for Women’s Justice (CWJ), raised concerns that

police were failing to use protective measures
in cases involving violence against women
and girls, The Guardian reported.

A joint investigation between HM Inspectorate of

Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, the

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC),

and the College of Policing found there was
a lack of understanding in police forces of
how and/or when to use such protective

measures, which could lead to women
and girls being harmed, or victims

being less likely to report crime

in the future.

However, the CWJ expressed disappointment that

the recommendations did not go far enough.

Nogah Ofer, a solicitor at the CWJ, stated, “The super-

complaint recommendations are welcome. However,

they do not get to grips with the severity of the

problem, or go far enough to ensure that

police forces make real changes

in practice."

“Some recommendations, require improved data-gathering,

and tell chief constables in general terms to prioritise and

monitor use of orders, but there is a lack of specifics and

no discussion of under-resourcing, which is the elephant

in the room. We fear that in five years’ time the situation

will not be much different to today,” Ofer added.

The report made several recommendations, including that

chief constables should ensure their officers understand

all the protective measures available & the Home Office

and Ministry of Justice should intensify and accelerate

their consideration of creating a bespoke offence, of

breaching pre-charge bail.

The director general of the IOPC, Michael Lockwood, said:

“Police have a key role in protecting vulnerable people

and this super-complaint has highlighted clear gaps

where improvements must be made in protecting

vulnerable women and girls."

“The right training, support, guidance... and leadership, is

critical to police using protective measures to help keep

women and girls safe from harm," Lockwood added.

“However, this is a community-wide issue and one that

needs not just a policing response, but a response

from the whole criminal justice sector, non-

government organisations and others,"

he said.

“More than ever, we need a consistent approach to

stopping appalling crimes of violence against

women and girls, from occurring in the
first place,” Lockwood added.

[Rhondda Records adds:

Damned if you do, and damned if you
don't... think, change, and improve!!!]

________________________________

UK head teacher prompts outrage,

heated debate -- after revealing her

school ban on ‘sexist’ expressions

like ‘boys and girls’

April 29th, (RT)

UK head teacher prompts outrage, heated debate

after revealing her school ban on ‘sexist’

expressions like ‘boys and girls’.

A UK primary school headmistress has kicked off a storm

after revealing that she has instructed her teachers not to

use a number of “sexist” phrases, including ‘let’s go,

guys’ and ‘boys and girls’.

Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, who heads the Anderton Park

primary school in Birmingham, told the Good Morning

Britain show on Thursday that students as young as

three are taught to reject the use of the banned

expressions by holding up posters.

The program – which has stoked fierce debate among

parents – rewards the two students who flag the ‘best’

instances of such usage with certificates at the end

of the week.

“If our boys and girls grow up and in school we don’t

challenge this sexist language and boys are told,

‘man up’, ‘grow a pair’ and ‘boys don’t cry’, it’s

very damaging for them...abusers later on

potentially, or bullies, will also use this

fear,” Hewitt-Clarkson said.

“Fear is the biggest weapon that abusers have and if

boys are told, ‘boys don't get scared’, ‘boys don’t talk

about their feelings’, then where are they going to go

when they are afraid and they are frightened?”

she added.

“Fast forward a little bit to when the children are older

just to see why this is so important because it’s a tiny

part of a huge jigsaw,” said Hewitt-Clarkson, who had

previously said that there was a thread tying tragic

outcomes like the murder of Sarah Everard to

casual ‘banter’ and the examples adults set.

When asked how the school handled the resulting issues

in addressing students in a classroom setting, Hewitt-

Clarkson said that the preferred greeting should be

“good morning everyone” since that does not

create a gender divide and includes people

who might not identify as either sex.

Journalist Nana Akua, who was also part of the show,

called the move “absolutely ridiculous” and warned

that “we’re creating a generation of wallflower kids

who are listening for an offence.”

Noting that the “context of language” was important,

Akua told Hewitt-Clarkson her “energy is in the

wrong place.”

Social media users were divided on the school’s emphasis

on gender identity and inclusion with as many supporters

defending the program as important as there were critics

who called it unnecessary.

Describing it as “absolutely ridiculous”, one person, a p

rimary school teacher, tweeted, “Let kids be kids. They

grow up too fast as it is.”

Another user, identifying herself as an academic, said

Hewitt-Clarkson was right since “we do segment”

others based on lessons learned early on.

A number of users suggested she stick to teaching

students “reading, writing, arithmetic and also how

to be kind” instead of “any of this other stuff.”

The majority of users agreed with the need to “phase

out” some phrases like ‘man up’ and ‘grow a pair’ but

called for “balance and some common sense”. Some

also expressed concern about the long-term effects

of the program.

But some denounced the program as evidence

of “brainwashing” and “stifling freedom of

speech” in schools, while others said the

problem lay with the English language,

which doesn't use gender.

Tweeter: The problem is English Language.

Only English and Turkish do not assign
gendered pronoun & cases in discourse.
English denotes everything as Male with
few satisfactory gender neutral alternatives,

Learning non-gendered language early is

the best solution and avoids confusion

If you like this story, share it with a friend!

_____________________________________

UN hits out at UK decision
to cut family planning aid
from £154 million to £23m

April 29th, 2:39pm (PressTV)

The UK faces criticism from a UN agency, over
the government's decision to cut aid for family

planning by 85 percent.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has

launched a scathing attack on the UK’s decision
to cut family planning aid from £154 million to

£23m this year, warning that women and

girls around the world, will suffer as

a result.

The aid cut, which indicates a reduction by 85%

could have helped prevent “250,000 maternal

and child deaths.”

Prior to this decision, Britain was the biggest

donor to the initiative, run by the UNFPA.

UNFPA provides contraception and maternal health

medicine to millions of women in some of the world's

poorest nations, as well as training maternal health

staff and promoting efforts to prevent child

marriage, unintended pregnancies and

unsafe abortions.

Natalia Kanem, UNFPA executive director, accused

Britain of “stepping away from its commitments at

a time when inequalities are deepening and

international solidarity is needed more

than ever.”

She branded UK government’s decision as “devastating”

& said that "with the now-withdrawn £130m, the UNFPA

Supplies Partnership would have helped prevent around

250,000 maternal and child deaths, 14.6 million

unintended pregnancies and 4.3 million

unsafe abortions.”

Kanem said the UN agency “deeply regrets” the UK’s

decision, before adding that - upon slashing funds -

“women and girls suffer, especially the poor, those

living in remote, underserved communities and

those living through humanitarian crises.”

In response to a UN statement on Thursday, Liz Sugg,

the former Foreign Office minister, who resigned in

protest of the cuts, said that Britain's withdrawal

of financial funding for the women's health

organization was a "double hit on the

world's poorest."

“This is money the UK committed to in the UN chamber,

signed an agreement and now we’re walking away from

it – it’s pretty unheard of," Sugg told the BBC Radio 4

Today program on Thursday.

The UK declared this year that it would reduce its total

foreign aid budget from 0.7 percent to 0.5 percent of

national income, a £4 billion cut.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he did

not recognize the figures, but admitted no area was

immune to cuts.

The move has triggered an outcry from charities and aid

organizations that argue it will harm poor communities

already reeling from COVID-19 and could also hamper

efforts to curb climate change.

UKAid has long been a cover for the government’s foreign

policy deployment in the poorer countries and its drastic

aid cuts happen, even as the British military and

intelligence services step up their activities in

the subject countries.

The UK’s retreatment from its financial commitments

comes after other world powers’ increase their aid

spending to the poorest, because their need is

increasing, given the global health crisis.

__________________________

UK: Domestic Abuse Victims

‘Forced to Sell Homes or Rack

Up Debt to Get Justice’

April 28th 5:08pm (FNA)

Domestic abuse victims who can’t get legal aid

are being forced to sell their homes or rack up

debts, to bring perpetrators to justice,

campaigners warned.

New legislation introduced in January eradicated

the cap -- previously used -- when determining

eligibility, but charities say domestic abuse

survivors are still being refused help, due

to owning their home, The Independent

reported.

Experts say victims who cannot afford legal representation

are being forced to face their abusive former partners

alone in court, due to the changes not being
properly rolled out.

The warning flies in the face of a December 2020 High Court

ruling that stopped a legal loophole that blocked a domestic

abuse survivor who was a single mother from obtaining

legal aid, despite her only having £28 in her bank

account. Legal aid helps people pay for legal

advice and representation in court.

Lola, a domestic abuse survivor, said she reapplied for legal

aid twice after learning the law had changed but has been

rejected both times, due to owning her home.

The 36-year-old, who is unemployed and struggling for money,

added, “I was also rejected before the law change. I meet all

the criteria, except for the fact I own my house."

“They asked: ‘Why haven’t you got a loan out? and ‘Why haven’t

you asked friends and family?’ The process is re-traumatising.

But my ex has got full legal aid," she added.

“He manipulated a professional by saying he had suffered

domestic abuse from me and got them to write this down

in a letter, which he then used to apply for legal aid. You

don’t need any proof for this. He’s taking me to court

for nothing,” she said.

Lola, who has had two restraining orders against her ex-

partner, said she qualifies for free school meal vouchers.

“I have to represent myself alone in court,” she said, adding,

“I’m not legally trained. It's the most triggering, traumatising

experience. He has a barrister. They talk to me like I’m the

lowest form of humanity. Like I’m scum. He’s got an

endless pit of my money to keep taking me to

court. It’s like I’m his plaything.”

Lola criticised the legal aid agency which gave her ex money

for not even checking if there were legal proceedings or a

restraining order against him - adding it should be

standard practice.

She warned the “injustice” of the situation was “so huge” it

means she is “consumed by anger” every day, and warned

an individual as dangerous as her ex-partner, who refuses

to pay child maintenance, should not be granted “all that

power” in the courts.

Lola, who is being supported by domestic abuse charity

Women’s Aid, recalled the abuse suffered during her

relationship.

“It was never physical,” she said, adding, “But it was getting

to that point. It was emotional and financial abuse. He

starting reading up on conspiracy theories and

taking an interest in flat earth theories. He

completely lost his grip on reality.”

Lola said he would regularly scream at her in front of their son

for trivial issues such as leaving lights on and constantly

ringing her when she was at home due to his

“possessive nature”.

She said her son is keen to do school activities but she has

had to request grants from charities to afford them —

adding she is terrified she won’t be able to “afford

to let him pursue his passions”. Money set aside

for her son’s future is being spent on solicitors

and barristers, she said.

“I’m in a horror film,” Lola said, adding, “This man has got all

his support. He is hunting me down. I’m going from room to

room and there is no escape. He was bad enough but now

the legal aid is abetting him to do this to me.”

Refuge found 1,780 women seeking help – more than a third of

the total – had faced economic abuse from their partner. On

average, the mistreatment, which includes being denied

access to money or a bank account, as well as having

debt placed in their name, lasted more than six years.

Charlotte Proudman, a family law barrister, told The Independent

she had referred domestic abuse survivors to solicitors since

the changes were in introduced but they had nevertheless

not been eligible for legal aid.

Dr Proudman added, “Solicitors have said it hasn't come into

force. On the ground, it is not happening. The legal aid

agency might be refusing because they own

properties, which defies logic and law."

“There is one woman in particular, who because she owns half

of the family home, they have said she is not eligible for legal

aid even though she is on benefits. She is a domestic abuse

victim. It is awful," Dr Proudman said.

“If victims haven't got any money to seek protection through

courts, it leaves them in a vulnerable situation, unable to

escape abusive partners and seek court protection.

Such as, orders which block the abusers

contacting them or approaching them

in person,” she said.

Dr Proudman warned women who are not legally trained do

not know how to “navigate” the legal system - with victims

of domestic abuse being particularly scared to face their

abuser in court alone.

“It is a process of them being re-traumatised without the

protection of a lawyer to speak on their behalf,” she said,

adding, “An abuser can continue abuse by taking them

back to court as a way of continuing harassment and

stalking them.”

Legal aid for domestic abuse victims needs to be non-means

tested and universally available for all irrespective of their

finances with no delays, she added.

“Sometimes it can take weeks to get a legal aid agency to

decide if they are going to get funding,” Proudman said,

adding, “In that time serious physical or psychological

harm could have been caused.”

Olive Craig, senior legal officer at Rights of Women, a

leading women’s legal rights charity, told The

Independent recent changes to legal aid are

“applied inconsistently and do not go far

enough to address the many problems

presented by the legal aid means test”.

She added, “We expect the government’s long overdue review

of the means test to address those deficiencies and ensure

access to justice for all.”

While Lucy Hadley, of Women's Aid, said they have been

“disappointed” to learn domestic abuse victims who

own their own homes are still being blocked from

getting legal aid, in spite of the High Court’s

key ruling.

She demanded the legal aid means test to be completely

axed for domestic abuse survivors to make sure “no

woman who needs to access legal advice and

representation when escaping an abuser

is barred from justice“.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

____________________________

UK breakup? Welsh
independence

more popular
than ever

April 8th, 8:56pm (Press TV)

New polls suggest that support for Welsh independence

from the UK is at an all time high. This has created fear

in Downing Street, over the real threat of a Kingdom

breakup, with the Welsh parliament elections on

the way.

The idea of a Welsh breakaway from the United

Kingdom is high on the agenda, ahead of this

year's Welsh elections.

With the country’s biggest pro-independence party

Plaid Cymru, pledging to secure a vote on Welsh

independence within the next five years.

The idea of Wales going alone has traditionally been

an obscure viewpoint, however, since Brexit, public

support for an independence vote has skyrocketed.

One poll conducted this year actually suggested that

Welsh support for independence, could be as high

as 39 percent, that would be the highest level

ever recorded.

No.10 has reportedly become very aware of the growing

anti-Westminster sentiment outside of England, and are

drawing up plans to counter the trend.

The Welsh elections are taking place in May. Plaid Cymru

have been recording great successes in past votes, and

hopes are high of major gains.

Although support for independence is not yet near a

majority view, Westminster’s poor handling of the

coronavirus crisis, and the negative effects

Brexit has had for Wales, appears to have

created greater belief in the virtues of

self-government. With Scotland also

pushing hard for a UK divorce...

No.10’s concerns are growing

as fast as Welsh patriotism.

____________________________

Hello darkness my old friend
...Peter Mandelson is back

advising Labour, why not

just go the whole hog &
bring back Tony Blair?

by Chris Sweeney

February 15th (RT)

Chris Sweeney is an author and columnist who has written

for newspapers such as The Times, Daily Express, The

Sun and Daily Record, along with several international-

selling magazines. Follow him on Twitter
@Writes_Sweeney

Keir Starmer is so devoid of original ideas he is bringing back

the Prince of Darkness to help him crowbar his way into

Number 10, but if the plan is Blair 2.0, why settle for an

impersonator when the original is still available?

Lord Peter Mandelson is not a name that will resonate beyond

the UK, but he is one of Britain’s most infamous spin doctors.

The type of character who has seemingly exerted an extended

sphere of influence without it ever being clear exactly what he

does. He arrived into the Labour Party in 1985 and it’s now

been revealed he is still pulling strings today, 36 years later.

Tony Blair adored his style but some of the left-wing union

devotees had no time for the man who became known as

‘The Prince of Darkness’. So, to appease them, and to

keep his involvement in Blair’s leadership campaign

secret, he was issued a code name – 'Bobby'.

Since then, he’s inhabited a range of roles; minister without

portfolio, secretary of state for Northern Ireland, European

commissioner, business secretary --- and then Baron

Mandelson as he entered the House of Lords. After

Blair left - and was replaced by Gordon Brown -

Mandelson retained an iron-grip on the levers

of power. In that period, he was a member of

35 cabinet committees, and some referred

to him as the “unelected prime minister.”

Mandelson likes a frontman, a lead singer to shield him while

he writes the lyrics. So it’s business as usual now that’s he

back in alongside current Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

There is only a decade or so in age between the two, but

the level of experience in the dark arts of politics, is

heavily tipped in Mandelson’s favour. The notoriety

is why he chooses to remain in the shadows, as a

lot of voters detest him. He represents the back-

room dealmaking and media manipulation that

turns so many off politics.

Mandelson is like a lightning rod, he takes the surge and

allows his ‘stooge’ to carry on. He ended up in the public

court of shame, for spending a New Year’s Eve, on Paul

Allen’s yacht, while Microsoft was at the centre of an

EU investigation.

Another yacht trip got him in hot water, this time,
with oligarch Oleg Deripaska, as Mandelson had
been part of a decision to cut aluminium tariffs.
At the time, Deripaska owned United Company
Rusal, one of the world’s biggest producers of
the metal.

Mandelson was also friendly with Jeffery Epstein,

and has been pictured with the disgraced financier.

So for Keir Starmer to bring in a man with that amount of

baggage, proves how desperate he must be. Starmer

replaced Jeremy Corbyn - the most socialist main-

stream figure seen in British politics for decades -

but has as yet done nothing of substance. He's a

more centrist figure, but Boris has that sewn up:

he won the last election, with an affirming 80-

seat majority. The so-called Red Wall, fell to

the Conservatives, proving that the working

class heartlands, no longer had faith in

their old ally Labour. And still there’s

no spark or idea from Labour, to

turn that around.

Since Blair left office, the party hasn’t won an election. Their

last victory was in 2005 and before Blair led them to victory

in 1997 they hadn’t won an election since 1974. Blair is the

only person who has led the Labour Party to victory in the

last 47 years, and it seems they’ve simply decided to

revert to what worked then and hope it does now.

So welcome back Mandelson, who is right in his sweet spot,

without an official position but is there to “broaden the party’s

appeal.” It seems a redundant mission, as you’re asking

Mandelson to recreate the old magic. For that, he needs

his protege and the man who brought those ideas to life

– Blair. Why bother trying to copy him, when he is still

out there, sitting around not doing very much? Blair

has been quite vocal and made quite a few public

interjections into the Covid-19 effort. It was his

idea to stagger the two vaccine doses, which

Britain and other countries are now

actually doing.

If Labour's desperation is so great they need to face facts.

Starmer is keen to paint himself as a paragon of the good

and just. He created a big spectacle over the investigation

into anti-Semitism within Labour and also fired a member

of his shadow cabinet for making a remark that was

judged to slight the Jewish faith.

Starmer’s previous profession was as a barrister where he

worked on human rights cases before becoming a QC and

the Director of Public Prosecutions. He also spoke out

and protested against the Iraq war.

Yes, the same war that Blair led Britain into, after years of

working with Mandelson. So if Starmer is so willing to

embrace Mandelson, is he really as principled and

motivated by integrity as he’d like to have us think?

All of this also reflects an extremely depressing facet to

British politics. The country has suffered the most

deaths in Europe due to incompetent leadership.

The list of ludicrous decisions has been recounted many

times and if the opposition cannot muster up a feasible

counter after all these months, they really are

beyond hope.

The vaccination rollout is the only thing Boris has handled

well, but it won’t erase the number of families left to rue the

unnecessary loss of loved ones. There is also the much-

covered resurgence in support for independence in

Scotland and a growing movement in Wales. Brexit

was another shambles, with a deal agreed days

before everything went into meltdown. How is it

possible that an allegedly well-run, professional,

perceptive political party ,can’t muster up a

credible opposition?

Winding the clock back 20 years and hoping that the same

things will work is, in my view, a fantasy. Society and

attitudes have changed, there was no social media

in 1997 and simply looking plausible and playing

'Things Can Only Get Better' on a loop isn’t

going to win you 80+ seats. But let us

suppose, for a minute, that it might,

if the Labour party & it’s leadership

really believe that’s their greatest

hope and the best plan they have

for the British people is New

Labour 2.0, then why isn’t

Blair involved?

Starmer talks a bit like him, has a similar presence, they were

even both barristers before entering politics, but trying to

‘out Blair’ Blair is futile. If Starmer isn't able to lead and

create his own vision, then why did he put himself
up for the job? Trying to get Peter Mandelson to

Svengali you into some sort of Blair tribute act
is never going to work. As Queen fans know,
Adam Lambert, is no substitute for

Freddie Mercury.

Step up or step aside, don’t be a down-
market copy of your predecessor.

Think your friends would be interested?

Share this story!

_________________________________

Boris Defends Bully Patel
but Not Pensioners – His
Govt is Morally Repugnant

by Tommy Sheridan

22/11/2020 (Source - Sputnik)

Anyone surprised by BoJo’s decision to condone shameful bullying at

the heart of his government and order a “square” of defence be formed

“around the prittster” after he decided to keep Priti Patel in his cabinet

despite her being found guilty of breaching the Ministerial Code and

bullying, has plainly been sleeping over the past eleven months.

That period has exposed the rancid hypocrisy, corruption, cronyism,

and lack of integrity which characterises Johnson and the Tories

under his leadership.

Priti Patel was accused of disgraceful conduct and bullying while an

employment Minister under Theresa May in 2015, behaviour which

drove a female civil servant to attempt suicide on at least two

occasions and ended with a Department of Work & Pensions

pay-out of £25,000 in April 2017 to avoid the scrutiny of an

Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal, harassment,

discrimination, and victimisation.

Patel the Bully Became Patel the Liar

Patel was then moved to the role of International Secretary only to be

found out as a devious liar whom May had to sack after her deliberate

misleading of the PM and Parliament over secret meetings with Israeli

officials, business representatives and lobbyists was exposed. She

lied and was caught. She had to go.

Being a dishonest bully presented no barrier to Boris Johnson’s

cabinet however and he appointed Patel as his Home Secretary

in July 2019 after he became Tory leader.

Within weeks the top civil servant in the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam,

felt compelled to warn her about her conduct and lack of respect for

staff before eventually resigning from his post at the end of February

this year in a move which caused shock waves in the civil service

and government. He accused Patel of lying about a “vicious”

campaign orchestrated against him and creating a climate

of fear in her department.

Patel Investigation Handicapped from the Outset

A high-level investigation was reluctantly ordered into the allegations

made by Rutnam, and he vowed to pursue a constructive dismissal

claim against the government which is yet to be concluded. It is

increasingly clear that the investigation has been less than

rigorous as the senior civil servant appointed to conduct

it was refused access to Rutnman despite him being the

best equipped to inform the investigation.

However the report that was compiled was laid on Johnson’s desk

in April and he refused to act on it for months before recently

contacting the author, Sir Alex Allan, and leaning on him to

water down the conclusions. Despite the limited access to

witnesses the investigation still found Priti Patel "shouted

and swore" at staff in actions "that can be described

as bullying" and that she had indeed breached the

Ministerial Code which is normally an automatic

resignation offence.

The fact Sir Alex Allan, former chair of the prestigious Joint

Intelligence Committee, chose to resign rather than alter his

report to save Patel’s reputation is admirable, but the full

report is being kept secret. It must be revealed in full and

the fact it was severely handicapped by the barring of

access to Rutman’s input must also be highlighted.

Johnson Willing to Protect Patel
but not Pensioners in Care Homes

Patel was ordered to issue an apology on camera on Friday but all

it did was rub salt in the wounds of the campaign against bullying

as she smugly smirked and smiled when she claimed to have no

knowledge of bullying but apologised anyway. Please watch and

remember - her conduct drove a lowly paid civil servant to

attempt suicide on two occasions and compelled a very

senior civil servant to resign. The lack of contrition for

her actions and empathy for her victims is truly

frightening.

If Johnson and his Tory gang of millionaires and spivs showed an iota

of the concern and commitment to defend elderly care residents as

they have shown to defend lying bully Patel at least 20,000 lives

could have been saved. A shocking report compiled by Amnesty

International last month received very little media attention but

condemned the Tory Covid19 response as a dereliction of duty

and care towards elderly citizens.

Read the document and understand just how complicit this Tory

government is in the deaths of thousands of senior citizens. It

presents evidence that the government’s policy of herd immunity

was responsible for mass murder. The government was entirely

aware of the probable outcome of their policy and went ahead

regardless of the risk to thousands of lives.

The report, “As if expendable: The UK government’s failure to protect

older people in care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic”, details

how, between March 2 and June 12, 18,562 residents of care homes

in England died with COVID-19. The vast majority (18,168) were

aged 65 and over, representing almost 40 percent of all deaths

involving the virus in England during this time frame. Of these,

76 percent (13,844 deaths) occurred within care homes for

the elderly.

During this brief period, 28,186 “excess deaths” were recorded

in English care homes, a 46 percent increase in comparison

with the same period over previous years.

Amnesty conclude that the Tory government together with its

agencies at national and local level have “taken decisions and

adopted policies during the Covid-19 pandemic that have directly

violated the human rights of older residents of care homes in

England—notably their right to life, their right to health, and

their right to non-discrimination”.

The report argues that the decisions and policies of the Tory

government “impacted the rights of care home residents to

private and family life, and may have violated their right not

to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment”.

Johnson was determined to “form a square around the prittster”

to defend his lying bully Patel at the Home Office but didn’t lift a

finger to defend thousands of pensioners in care homes. That is

the warped and putrid priorities which define this government.

A Litany of Government Failures but No Resignations

Their top advisor broke lockdown rules but there was no resignation.

They have been caught awarding contracts worth over £20 billion of

public money without proper scrutiny or tendering processes to

friends of senior Tories and companies known to donate to the

Tory party and no one has resigned.

The UK government’s late response to Covid-19 and failure to

impose lockdown measures caused the unnecessary deaths

of 20,000 --- but no one resigned from government.

International law will be broken because of the government’s

Internal Market Bill --- but no one resigns.

The Johnson government backs bullies, liars, public contract

cheats and international law breaking. It is morally repugnant

and thoroughly incompetent. No wonder Scotland is so keen

to break away as soon as possible.

_________________________________________________

Report: Patients Discharged from

UK Hospitals without COVID Test
Results

October 28th, 2020 (FNA)

Almost half of hospital patients have been discharged

without receiving the results of their coronavirus test

– including some patients who were sent to care

homes, new research revealed.

Independent national patient body Healthwatch England

said it had learned many patients were discharged from

hospitals between March and August this year without

proper assessments with many vulnerable people sent

home without medication, equipment or the care they

needed, The Independent reported.

At the start of the pandemic thousands of patients were

discharged to care homes as NHS England instructed

hospitals to free up 15,000 beds ahead of the first

wave of coronavirus.

Approximately 25,000 patients were sent to care homes

with some not tested, sparking fears this helped seed

care homes with the virus. There have been around

16,000 care home deaths linked to COVID-19.

According to a survey of almost 600 discharged patients

and interviews with 60 NHS staff, Healthwatch England

said it had found serious flaws with the way hospitals

had followed NHS England’s instructions.

In joint research with the British Red Cross, shared with

The Independent, it found that 44 percent of patients were

discharged without knowing the result of their corona-

virus test - including some to care homes.

It said, “Despite the policy stating that all patients

discharged to a care home should be tested for

COVID-19, we found that 26 percent of our

survey respondents who were discharged

to a care home were not tested.”

While the numbers involved were small, only 13 out of 50

patients, the report added that this was “still a significant

proportion of people who were required to be tested

but did not receive one”.

Healthwatch added that while patients going to care homes

must have the results available and shared with the home

it was still not national policy to test everyone being

discharged. It argued this should now be an

''ambition'' for the government.

Its report also raises concerns about the wider care

of vulnerable patients sent home from hospital.

88 percent of patients reported having care needs

after being discharged that have still not been met.

82 per cent did not receive a visit or any

assessment from a health professional

Almost one in five of those who did not

receive a visit, reported unmet needs.

In total 45 percent of people with a disability and

20 percent of people with a long-term condition

had support needs that were not being met,

following their discharge.

Healthwatch England criticised the national discharge

policy put in place by NHS bosses, as “confusing” in

places which it said may have contributed to some

patients missing out on the care they needed.

Robert Francis QC, chair of Healthwatch England, said,

“In March, hospitals were asked to discharge patients

with little or no notice and the speed with which this

took place was important, but led to mistakes."

“We do not want to detract from the heroic efforts of
those on the frontline, who often put themselves at

great risk to care for their patients, but services

and system leaders have now had more time

to prepare," he said.

“It’s essential that we learn from what people have

shared with us about the impact that a poorly

handled discharge can have on them and

their loved ones. Taking action now will

not only reduce the risk to patients but

will also help improve the way people

leave hospital in the future,” he added.

The British Red Cross and Healthwatch England said

assessments for patients needed to be prioritised.

They also called for discharge checklists to make

sure patients were asked if they needed help with

transport and equipment.

Other recommendations included making sure carers

and patients had a single contact for support, which

was already national policy but still not fully adopted.

The report also said community services needed

to be boosted, to cope with increased demands.

British Red Cross Chief Executive Mike Adamson said,

“We’ve seen first-hand the huge efforts made to

improve the discharge process for patients and

their families. However, we also know, despite

good intentions and hard work, there are still

barriers to making the ideals of discharge

policy a reality."

“The Red Cross has been bearing witness to these

issues for years, and we hope that the increased

urgency of the situation will bring lasting change.

Many of the people we support are older or more

vulnerable, & fall into the higher-risk categories

for COVID-19," Adamson said.

“Simple interventions, like getting equipment and

medicine delivered, or follow-up visits, can make

the difference between a good recovery or some-

one regressing to the point of readmission -

precisely at the time we want people to

stay well, and stay at home,” he said.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director,

said, “There has long been a wide consensus about the

benefits for patients of being able to return home as

soon as their specialist hospital care is complete,

and it is good that delays have been reduced in

recent times. While this is a very small snap-

shot survey, local hospitals will want* (sic)

to take account of the points it makes.”

(*No they won't!)

_________________________________________

By backing housing charity’s
‘Jewish only’ rule, UK court drops
the ball. Aren’t we all equal in Britain?

by Chris Sweeney October 17th, 2020 (Source: RT)

A small legal challenge has turned into a precedent-

setting case about whether someone in today’s

Britain can be prioritised or denied housing on

the basis of their religion.The law isn’t always

right and it’s not just people who can be

taken hostage.

In a disgraceful decision deemed legitimate by the UK’s

highest court, a single mother with four children was

refused social housing – because she wasn’t a Jew.

It’s that simple.

The charity Agudas Israel Housing Association (AIHA)

owns 470 houses in the London borough of Hackney.

Local authorities promised, in October 2017, the

next available home to the woman and her kids,

two of whom are autistic.

AIHA refused to hand over the keys to any

of its SIX four-bedroom, unoccupied flats.

Their argument was it makes offers “only to members

of the Orthodox Jewish community.” As Britain is a

secular nation, the woman’s legal team found this

claim astonishing and argued it had the same

sentiment as the ‘No Dogs, No Blacks, No Irish’

signs that were once displayed in some pubs.

Lord Sales stated the charity’s use of positive discrimination

was lawful, under the Equality Act 2010, in order to correct

the disadvantage faced by the community. The issue

apparently was not racism, but discrimination on

the grounds of religious observance. The court

considered the “widespread and increasing

overt antisemitism in our society.”

Intolerance or hate speech of any form is unacceptable.

But it’s hard to believe the courts and public reaction

would have been the same, if this had been Islam or

a group of Pashtuns from the Iranian border region.

Jewish affairs are treated differently. There's a 'kid gloves'

approach and they’re deemed to be culturally valuable,

while other communities are sometimes dismissed as

interlopers. AIHA’s founder Ita Cymerman-Symons,

speaking last year about the legal action, offered

the view: “Which non-Jewish person, honestly

speaking, wants to live in the midst of a

building full of Haredi men with all the

beards, and all the chanting on a

Friday night and all the children?”

A homeless single mother with four children

for one, along with many others.

Plenty of people in social housing endure noisy neighbours,

potent cooking smells and screaming kids. But isn’t that

wonderful? Diversity and living cheek by jowl with

people who see, think and believe different
things to you.

That’s a rich learning experience for anyone.

The fallacy of the AIHA’s superiority complex of viewing

Orthodox Jews above others is, every public service is

available to their members. And, of the charity’s 2019

income of £105,710, the sum of £39,716 came from

British government grants. They won’t be stone-

walled at hospital or refused entry on a bus, so

why should they be allowed to create their

small-minded kingdom with impunity?

These Jewish community leaders seem to be shutting out

anyone who doesn’t align with their beliefs. It’s unhealthy

and depressing, especially in a multicultural metropolis

like London.

The judgement also referenced issues that Orthodox Jews

don’t like to live outside of the Stamford Hill area and they

tend to be poorer than the wider Jewish community. Many

of us would prefer not to live outside of the millionaire’s

playgrounds of Kensington, Knightsbridge and Mayfair –

but we tend to be poorer, so can’t afford it. That doesn’t

mean the courts would support us founding the

Republic of Poverty Housing Association, and

letting us administer who can move in.

Even if we concede that Orthodox Jews appear to support

AIHA’s ghetto-isation, aren’t the courts supposed to rule

for the greater good? It makes no sense to encourage

people to live in self-imposed enclaves. How are they

going to progress in life, or do they never plan to

leave the streets around their homes?

There’s also a wider impact of the judgement. It raises the

hackles of the population. It hacks away at the concept of

respecting every other citizen. The far-right will jump on

this and sadly there’s no defence. It will birth more

discontentment and raise tensions.

The law lords have dropped the ball, because they are the

highest court in the land, they had the chance to set a

precedent. They seem to have been influenced by

Jewish sensitivity, that labels anyone who

disagrees with the faith an anti-Semite.

It’s hard to see how justice, fairness,

compassion and understanding are

applicable. But superiority, tokenism

and favouritism have been advanced.

Why?

Well one of the court’s final points was AIHA was "a small

housing provider, but similar discrimination by a larger one

might not be allowed.”

We’re all equal, right?

Chris Sweeney is an author and columnist who has

written for newspapers such as The Times, Daily

Express, The Sun and Daily Record, along with

several international-selling magazines. Follow

him on Twitter @Writes_Sweeney

______________________________________

Brits should be ashamed of the casual cruelty

we show towards over-60s, and shrugging it

off as ‘banter’, does nothing to excuse it.

by Damian Wilson

9th October, 2020

Two-thirds of UK over-60s say they have been abused in

public because of their age, with a fifth saying insults

come from within their own families. It seems the

idea that we should ‘respect our elders’, is no

longer in fashion.

We live in a society where everyone just loves to talk

about ‘respect.’ Even primary school children are

indoctrinated with the concept, told they are due

it by right and can demand it from others, if it’s

not forthcoming. It’s all one-way traffic.

That’s why, as they grow older, and insist on enforcing

their entitlement, it becomes increasingly evident that

while they assume that right is a given for them, they

actually don’t give a toss about it applying to

anyone else.

Every now and then, research will put this into sharp relief,

as is shown in the results of a survey undertaken by the

University of the Third Age (u3a). The study found that

the more senior members of society, basically those

aged 60 and over, are frequently insulted by younger

people, and they don’t like it.

Clueless Millennials, Zoomers and even Gen X’ers told the

u3a pollsters that they don’t mean anything by slinging

ageist insults, they were simply being “friendly” and

the name-calling was just “banter.” Everyone

does it.

The growing tendency of young people to airily dismiss their

elders as over the hill old fogeys, and to even insult them in

public because of their age, is not ‘banter,’ it’s insulting

and rude.

The misuse of ‘bants’ as a term is one of modern life’s

great irritations, because while young people have

co-opted the word to (mis)represent the sort of

behaviour that borders on bullying, with a thin

coating of vicious humour, they are

deeply mistaken.

Banter, in its traditional form, is an exchange between

two people, a battle of wits, a game of intellectual

ping-pong, like those nerdy folk on Channel 4 panel

shows. Usually, those engaging in banter finish

their jousting with a smug, self-congratulatory

smile. It’s showing off, it’s proving how clever

you are. It’s not calling someone an old fart

and shoving them out of the way.

Where’s the give and take, or clever verbal sparring, in

a teenager shouting at an elderly woman in the street,

“You dozy old biddy, move it!”. Or standing behind a

chap of a certain age at a shop checkout, as he

searches for his wallet and complaining,
“C’mon grandpa, hurry up!”?

That’s not banter. That’s something completely different.

A new sort of passive-aggressive behaviour combined

with name-calling, is increasingly common among

young Brits these days, thinking that getting one

over another person is some sort of achievement

proving their superiority, particularly if it
belittles their victim as a result.

Of those surveyed, 63 per cent of over 60s said they

had been verbally abused in public, with an ageist

insult, while others had also noticed an increase

in insults on television (65 per cent) social media

(33 per cent) and even from their own family

(21 per cent).

My 11-year-old thinks it’s funny to call me a ”boomer”

when I can’t find the TV remote. She has a very clear

idea of what the insult suggests, even if she’s

actually out of range by a few years. I’m 56 --

so borderline Gen X’er, thank you very much.

Unfortunately for me, British families in general

are not the sort of multi-generational dynasties,

such as in Italy or India, in which patriarchs

& matriarchs, are given lifelong roles at the

head of their family and afforded a respect

that other members ignore at their peril.

Break the rules in one of these families, cause offence

to an elder, and you will bring down the wrath of

generations upon your head, face humiliation

and even ostracisation. There is a sense of

honour woven into the fabric of the family.

These families are, sadly, not common

amongst the British.

So most kids and young adults have no hesitation

in freely hurling abuse at someone they consider

a geriatric, past it, a fuddy duddy, over the hill, a

fogey, a crone, an old dear, a codger, a biddy or

a fossil, which by the way, are those insults

most frequently employed, according to u3a.

This sort of casual cruelty, and the disregard

it displays towards our seniors, is hugely

disrespectful & we should be ashamed

that it’s so widely accepted as nothing

out of the ordinary.

We’re all guilty here. Causing offence like this should

provoke more concern than it does, because it is an

unwelcome sign of a breakdown in social and family

hierarchies. Ignoring the concepts of seniority and

wisdom --- we treat human beings like any other

consumable, in our consumer-driven world ---

with a finite shelf-life & built-in obsolescence.

Many people feel no qualms about calling out an older

person, in public, to remind them their time is up as a

useful contributor to society and they need to shift

it or risk being steamrolled by those behind them.

While maybe not articulated quite like that as a

traffic queue forms behind an elderly motorist

showing excessive caution at a road junction,

that, sadly, is often the underlying sentiment

and we should be ashamed.

But most often, we’re not. We’re just annoyed at

the inconvenience that someone older than us,

is causing to ourselves. Nearly 10 years ago,

Age UK made a study of ageism & identified

it as the most widely experienced form of

discrimination across Europe, affecting

164 million senior citizens at that time.

Nothing much has changed in the UK in this regard

since 2011, it seems. And if the latest study is

anything to go by, things have become

even worse.

Damian Wilson is a UK journalist, ex-Fleet Street

editor, financial industry consultant and political

communications special advisor in the UK & EU.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in

this column are solely those of the author and do

not necessarily represent those of RT.

__________________________________________

Figures Reveal 17,000 Elderly People in UK

Forced to Sell Home to Pay for Care Costs

in Just One Year

October 5th, 2020 (Fars news agency)

More than 17,000 pensioners were forced to sell their homes

to pay for social care last year, research by Money Mail reveals.

The shocking figure means that 330 elderly residents each

week are taking the desperate step despite Prime Minister

Boris Johnson’s promise to fix the social care funding crisis.

The calculations reveal the scale of the emergency, showing

that the numbers forced to sell their hard-won homes have

soared 45 percent since 2000.

Last night campaigners called for urgent action and

demanded a "national fund" to pay for social care.

Morgan Vine, of charity Independent Age, said, "The

pandemic is not a reason not to act – it is the reason

why action has never been more vital."

On his first day in No 10 in July 2019, Johnson vowed to

make social care a priority and end the crisis "once and

for all".

But he has since admitted action would be delayed and

the coronavirus crisis has made immediate reform a

remote possibility.

The cost of residential care has risen dramatically

and now stands at more than £33,000 a year.

Anyone with more than £23,250 in funds, including their

house value, is denied state help, leaving thousands

having to sell their homes to pay soaring care bills.

The Daily Mail has campaigned to end this injustice

for the families of those with dementia, as well as

other patients.

MoneyMail’s calculations, verified by Independent Age,

are based on Department of Health data indicating that

30 percent of those who pay for their residential care

have to sell their homes.

The total was produced by comparing the numbers of

self-funders in care provided by analysts Laing Buisson.

The research assumes the average stay is two-and-a-half

years, as concluded in a study by the Personal Social

Services Research Unit and Bupa.

It means around 350,000 elderly people are estimated to

have sold their homes to pay for residential care since 1999.

Caroline Abrahams, director at charity Age UK, said, "When

the threat from coronavirus finally recedes, Age UK will

certainly be holding the Government to account on its

promise to fix social care. The obvious solution is for

us all to pay into a national fund, like we do with

the NHS."

She added" |Most people dread the idea of having to sell

the family home to pay their care bills and the fact that

this is the reality for substantial numbers is very sad."

Vine, head of policy at Independent Age, said, "These latest

figures are a timely reminder of the need to fix the funding

crisis that has plagued the social care system for decades,

long before COVID-19.

"When taking office, the Prime Minister promised to solve

the crisis, including preventing people from having to sell

their homes to pay for care," Vine said, adding, ‘Although

he couldn’t have predicted the challenges we now face,

we can all predict the long-term consequences of failing

to keep his promise."

Liz Kendall, Labour’s social care spokesman, said, "The

Prime Minister said, on the steps to Downing Street, that

he has a plan to fix the crisis in social care and that no

one should have to sell their homes to pay for their care."

"Yet we have seen neither sight nor sound of

any long-term plan for reform," Kendall said.

"This must be an absolute top priority for the Government.

People who have worked hard and saved all their life have

seen their savings wiped out," Kendall added.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said,

"We have committed to end the injustice that some people

have to sell their homes to finance care whilst others don’t.

We know there is a need for a long-term solution and are

looking at proposals."

_____________________________________________________

UK’s chief scientific adviser has
£600,000 of shares in vaccine
maker contracted by govt
– reports

UK Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance reportedly

holds a bonus of tens of thousands of shares in a pharma

giant developing a Covid-19 vaccine for the government.

Yet, London says there is no conflict of interest.

Vallance, who also chairs the government’s expert advisory

panel on vaccines, appears to have retained over 43,000

shares in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – a UK-based

multinational pharmaceutical company –

worth £600,000, The Telegraph reports.

The shareholding appears to be the legacy of his previous

job as the head of research and development at the very

same company. Over his tenure from 2012 to 2018,

Vallance accumulated a total of 404,201 GSK

shares worth a whopping £6.1 million in his

hands, according to the British media.

However, he sold more than £5 million worth of shares

after being appointed to the government. GSK, mean-

while, has entered the global race to provide the world

with a vaccine against coronavirus – alongside some

20 other drug manufacturers and research centres.

The endeavour might prove quite lucrative, should

the company succeed.

The pharma giant working together with another drug

manufacturer – Sanofi – has already struck deals with

the UK and the US governments to supply them with

a Covid-19 vaccine in case its efforts are fruitful.

The contract would see GSK providing as many

as 60 million doses to the UK and 100 million

doses to the US. Washington has already

reportedly paid the two companies

£1.65 million to accelerate

their efforts.

Since it received the government contracts, GSK’s

share price rose by some two percent. Vallance

has meanwhile been busy ensuring that the UK

would get enough vaccine doses - if GSK is

successful and contributing to the vaccine

development efforts.

Earlier this week, he said that the first doses could

be ready as early as by the end of this year,

warning, however, that the first half of 2021

would be a more realistic prospect.The

revelations sparked suspicions of a

potential conflict of interest.

However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock denied the

possibility of this. “No, there are rules around these

kinds of things and I'm sure that Sir Patrick has

been fully advised by them,” he told LBC Radio.

“If you know Sir Patrick Vallance as I do, any

suggestion that he is doing anything other

than his level best to try and tackle this

virus is wrong,” he added.

A government spokesman confirmed that Vallance holds

a deferred share bonus that would mature in April 2021

without revealing its exact value. The spokesman also

said that “appropriate steps were taken to manage the

government chief scientific adviser’s (GCSA) interests

in line with advice provided at the time.”

He added that the chief scientific adviser also has “no input”

into the commercial decisions on vaccine procurement,

which are taken by the government following a “robust”

approval regime.

The developments come as the UK braces for a second wave

of coronavirus. The number of new cases is on the rise once

again and some places in the UK witness it increasing at a

pace not seen since the peak of the epidemic in spring.

More than 6,100 people were confirmed to have contracted

the disease overnight and Hancock said that up to 10,000

people might get ill a day. The situation prompted London

to introduce a new set of restrictions, which according to

Prime Minister Boris Johnson might stay in place for up
to six months.

Some companies, including the British-Swedish AstraZeneca

are, meanwhile, seeking emergency approval for their

vaccines from the relevant regulators.

(originally appeared in RT.)

________________________________________________________

Xinhua - The BRICS bloc grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa serves as "a testbed" for a "sharing governance" of
global affairs, a leading US expert said.

"BRICS makes that kind of contribution to the world governance
by providing diversity," said Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chair of the
Kuhn Foundation, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"I think it would be a mistake, given the nature of humanity, to
have only one organization like the United Nations... " he said,
adding that a diversity of structures seems to be what makes
the most sense over time in global governance, since there is
no perfection.

"It engages them (BRICS nations) to be a sort of hub for broader
global interaction," Kuhn said, "So Brazil is in South America.
South Africa is obviously in southern Africa. These become
vehicles to engage more of the world, so that's all positive."

The longtime China observer noted that a greater participation
of the five major emerging economies with "very different
characteristics" also strengthens momentum for a multi-
polar world, which is crucial for promoting world stability.

"I am all for the key countries, whether judged economically,
or through other mechanisms, to have greater participation
in (global) organizations," Kuhn said.

The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), which is intended
to focus on infrastructure and sustainable development
projects, stands as a good example, showing "what a
new kind of world governance would look like," he said.

"Everybody has equal voting power. So that's a good sign,"
he added, referring to the NDB'S distinctive feature -- the
absolutely just distribution of votes between members,
different from the quota system of other international
financial institutions, based on the role of a certain
member.

Although with the overwhelmingly largest economy in BRICS,
China "does not use that power in an aggressive way to take
control" of the NDB, he noted, "I think that's a good signal.
And China's doing it because it wants this greater
participation in international affairs."

All BRICS countries should have "a greater say" in the
international financial activity of the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said.

In the World Bank, the BRICS countries, home to 42.6 percent
of the global population and nearly half of the world's foreign
exchange reserves, have a total of only 13% of voting rights,
while the United States alone, holds 15 percent.

The IMF agreed in 2010 to give emerging economies a greater
vote in decision-making, but the reform has been blocked by
the United States, despite the fact that more than 140
countries have approved it.

"These should be adjusted... that's just not aligned
with today's world, in the same way," he said.

Since the first foreign ministers' meeting in 2006, BRICS countries
have seen ten years of rapid expansion in trade and economies.

They currently account for nearly a quarter of the world economy
and contributed more than half of global economic growth in 2016.

The 9th annual summit of the bloc, scheduled for Sept. 3rd-5th, in
Xiamen City of southeast China's Fujian Province, is expected to
produce a declaration that lays out both the progress BRICS has
made so far and its vision of future cooperation.

A "BRICS Plus" mode, is expected to expand the bloc's partnership
-- especially with developing countries -- providing opportunities for
other economies and injecting impetus into economic globalization,
and will help make it a leading platform for South-South cooperation.

_____________________________________________________

West shocked at success
of Russian economy
- despite sanctions
August 14th, 2017
Fort Russ News - KtovKurse
translated by Inessa Sinchougova

Despite the sanctions and the fall in oil prices,
the Russian economy has grown at its fastest
pace since the third quarter of 2012, German
'paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung states.

According to Rosstat, the growth rate of economic
development in the second quarter of this year by
2.5%, exceeded similar indicators in 2016. Since
the end of last year, the country's GDP has
increased again, which wasn't observed
for seven quarters, before.

According to analysts interviewed, monthly indicators
of economic activity, suggest a recovery of Russia's
economy on a broad basis. "There was a sharp rise
in construction and industry," commented Rosstat's
data to Capital Economics research company.

Growth was also observed in the sphere of trade. At the
same time, it was noted that agriculture is the only
sector of the economy that has not yet fully
recovered. This area in the 2nd quarter,
showed a decline.

In general, however, GDP growth during the second quarter
was lower than the government's forecast (2.7%), the news-
paper stated.

Sanctions taught Russia to count "on oneself", in the
development of its own industries, small, & medium-
sized businesses.

The representative of the Institute of Contemporary
Development, Nikita Maslenikov, agrees that Russia's
economy has already adapted to the imposed external
constraints and the latest US sanctions will not have
a significant impact. In his opinion, because of these
sanctions, Russia will lose only "a few tenths" of
the annual rate of its GDP growth.

_________________________________________

Donetsk revives local bus
manufacturing industry
August 11th, 2017
Fort Russ News - DNR News
by Inessa Sinchougova

The Head of the Donetsk Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko,
paid a working visit to the state enterprise Donetskgormash,
where the first Donbass buses have been assembled. The
plant was also visited by the Deputy Chair of the Council of
Ministers of the DPR, Alexander Timofeev, and the Acting
President. Minister of Industry & Trade, Alexey Granovsky.

The managers of the enterprise conducted a tour of the
plant, where Zakharchenko got acquainted with the
technological characteristics of the "Donbass" bus
- and the stages of its assembly. The Republic's
demand for city and suburban needs for 2017,
is about 400 units, due to a lack of transport
options because of the conflict.

_______________________________________________

Russia plans to abolish preferences
to foreign aircraft makers from
2019 - deputy PM
August 6th

Dmitry Rogozin said that a plan of replacing all
foreign aircraft by Russian-made analogues
has already been drafted and submitted
to President Vladimir Putin

TASS - Russia plans to begin abolishing preferences to
foreign aircraft manufacturers from 2019, to regain
control over the domestic civil aircraft market,
Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin said
on Sunday.

"Today, we produce 30 planes a year, which is 25 less
than Airbus or Boeing but by 2025 we plan to already
manufacture 110 planes a year," he said in an
interview with the Sunday evening news
roundup on Rossiya-1 tv channel.

"As production of domestic aircraft increases - we
will abolish the privileges foreign aircraft-makers
are enjoying, say, from 2019."

According to official statistics cited by Rogpzin, Russia
strongly depends on foreign aircraft manufacturers.
Thus, in his words, it has bought 367 foreign-made
planes since 2013. Apart from that, he noted that
big funds are spent to lease foreign planes.

"Being dependent on foreign aircraft makers, we spend
and pay abroad some 470 billion rubles (7.83 billion US
dollars) a year. It is an insult to the nation, an insult to
our aviation power and we couldn't stand such a state
of things any longer," he said, adding that it was the
reason to encourage the development and
production of new Russian aircraft,
including the MC-21 and Sukhoi
Superjet 100 planes.

The deputy prime minister said that a plan of replacing
all foreign aircraft by Russian-made analogues, has
already been drafted and submitted to President
Vladimir Putin.

"We will regain this market. If we did it in the defense
sector, we can do it in the civil sector as well," he
stressed.

___________________________________________

BRICS countries strike fatal
blow on US dollar supremacy
August 4th 2017

The United States has declared a war of sanctions
on Russia and continues putting trade pressure on
China. It is not ruled out that the USA will restrict
supplies of steel products from China. In return,
Moscow and Beijing intend to abolish the US
dollar in settlements within the scope of
the BRICS organization. The move will
mark the end of the era of undivided
financial domination of the United
States of America, in the world.

As soon as the US Congress adopted a package of
new sanctions against Russia, the Deputy Foreign
Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov
issued a formidable warning to Washington.

"US sanctions against Russia will only encourage
Russia to create an alternative economic system,
in which dollars will not be needed," the Russian
diplomat said.

Interestingly, the statement was made on the eve
of the two-day summit of BRICS trade ministers,
which opened on August 1, 2017 in Shanghai.
This organization, which includes Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa,
becomes a powerful counterweight
to the Group of Seven.

Today, the BRICS countries account for 26% of the
Earth's territory, 42% of its population (almost
three billion people) and 27% of world GDP.

According to experts' forecasts, the share
of BRICS countries will account for more
than 40% of world GDP, by 2050.

However, BRICS trade ministers chose
not to put the horse before the cart.

Russia's Minister for Economic Development Maxim
Oreshkin stated that BRICS countries, in particular
Russia and China, may switch to settlements in
national currencies already in the near future.
The minister also said that trade turnover
between Russia and China may reach
$200 billion by 2020.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the Shanghai summit,
the ministers discussed opportunities for creating a
new monetary system to exclude the use of the US
dollar. In 2015, President Vladimir Putin said that
Russia was opting for settlements in national
currencies and has created currency pools
with several countries.

Today, not only does Russia need to abjure the dollar -
the country needs to ensure financial independence
from the West. BRICS countries have coordinated
basic principles of the New Development Bank's
work, which is seen as a counterbalance to the
World Bank, in which it is the US who sets the
rules of the game.

In addition, Russia considers the possibility of
setting up a separate payment system similar
to SWIFT.

More than 300 Russian banks have switched to an
alternative to SWIFT - the system known as SPFS
(System for Transfer of Financial Messages).

Elvira Nabiullina, Chairwoman of the Central Bank of
Russia, said: "Threats were voiced that Russia could
be cut off from SWIFT. We have completed the work
on our own payment system, and --- if something
happens --- all operations in SWIFT format will
work inside the country."

One of the main conditions for switching to settlements
in national currencies, is the stability of the national
currencies of the BRICS members. The Russian
ruble exchange rate may decrease due to
relatively low world oil prices (within
$52 per barrel).

The unstable exchange rates of national currencies, is
not the only obstacle to abjure the US dollar in mutual
settlements. BRICS countries account for only 10%
of global trade. Therefore, the alliance needs to
increase its indicators of mutual trade.

Moscow and Beijing have already introduced mutual
settlements in yuans. Russia's Central Bank has
opened its first foreign office in Beijing.

Thus, the war of sanctions against Russia consolidates
and boosts relations between Russia, China and other
BRICS members.

Aydin Mehtiyev

Pravda.Ru

__________________________________________________

China to continue to be key
driver of global growth -
IMF chief economist
July 24th, 2017

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday,
revised upwards, China's growth forecast for 2017
and 2018... to 6.7% and 6.4%, respectively.

China's growth will continue to be a key driver for a
(firming) recovery of the world economy, the chief
economist of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) said on Monday.

The updated World Economic Outlook report published
by the IMF on Monday, which came days after China
posted a stronger-than-expected second quarterly
performance, Is a reflection of a solid first quarter,
underpinned by previous policy easing and supply
-side reforms, including efforts to reduce excess
capacity in the industrial sector, according to
the IMF.

"We have seen very strong growth and, especially
beyond our update, the second quarter's figure of
6.9& is also above expectation. So clearly growth
is proceeding at pace," Obstfeld said.

"Strong Chinese growth drives growth, particularly
in the Asia region, but also throughout the world,"
Obstfeld added, noting that China is a big
contributor to overall growth, and has
a very large spillover effect, on the
world's economy.

(Source - Xinhua)

____________________________________________

EU warns US of ‘unintended
consequences’ over fresh
anti-Russia sanctions
Saturday July 22nd, at 10:34pm

The EU has warned the US over “unintended consequences”
which may result from imposing more sanctions on Russia.

The European Commission released a statement on Saturday,
warning that imposing new sanctions against Russia without
coordination with the G7 countries, may have "wide and
indiscriminate" "unintended consequences."

The statement was released after Republicans & Democrats
in the US Congress, reached a deal which could result in
further anti-Russia sanctions.

Germany has already announced that it may engage in
retaliatory moves, if the US sanctions German firms
involved in the construction of a new Baltic pipe-
line for Russian gas.

"We understand that the Russia/Iran sanctions bill is
driven primarily by domestic considerations," read
the statement, in reference to last month's bill
passed by the US Senate.

"As we have said repeatedly, it is important that any
possible new measures are coordinated between
international partners to maintain unity among
partners on the sanctions that have been
# underpinning the efforts for a full
implementation of the Minsk
Agreements," it added.

The economic sanctions against Moscow were
originally introduced in March 2014, after the
strategic Black Sea peninsula of Crimea
rejoined Russia after a referendum.

Since then, the EU, the US and some other Western
countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions
against Russia over accusations that Moscow has
been involved in the deadly crisis in Ukraine,
which has so far killed over 10,000 people.
The Kremlin has, however, strongly
rejected the accusations.

Ukraine’s armed conflict broke out when Kiev
launched military operations to crack down
on pro-Russia anti-US coup forces in the
eastern sector of the country.

In September 2014, the government in Kiev and the
pro-Russia anti-US coup forces signed a ceasefire
agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, in a
bid to halt the clashes in Ukraine’s eastern regions.

The warring sides also inked another truce deal,
dubbed Minsk II, in February 2015, under the
supervision of Russia, Germany and France.

"Sanctions are at their most effective when they are
coordinated. Currently our sanctions regimes are
coordinated. As a result their impact on the ground
is increased and through coordination we are able
to avoid surprises, manage any potential impact
on our own economic operators, and address
collectively, efforts to circumvent such
measures. Unilateral measures would
undermine this," it notes.

(Source - PressTv)

________________________________________________

Africa has potential to have e-commerce
bigger than EU and US: stresses Jack Ma
July 22nd 2017

Chinese billionaire entrepreneur Jack Ma on Friday
advised African youth entrepreneurs to think out
of the box and create a bigger e-commerce on
the continent.

He made the remarks while delivering his keynote
address at the inauguration of the YouthConnekt
Africa Summit, in the Rwandan capital Kigali,
which focuses on promoting job creation
through entrepreneurship and skills
development with Africa's youth.

"Africa is the home & solution for the inclusive economy
the world needs. Think big, and think about the future.
You have great potential: the future of e-commerce
in Africa, is bigger than for Europe & the US," said
Ma, founder of China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba.

"Think big for the future. It took me 18 years to build
e-commerce, but it could take you 5 to 8 years to
build e-commerce in Africa, since the continent
has already laid a conducive environment for
you to thrive," said the special advisor of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD).

He said that African entrepreneurs should learn from
failure. "Africa has to get used to failure. If you can't,
then how can you succeed?"

The three-day summit is organized by the government
of Rwanda, the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD) and UNDP. The summit,
from July the 19th to the 21st, is dubbed:
"Realizing Africa's Youth Potential."

It has attracted more than 3,000 participants including
top executives from multinational companies, leaders
of civil society organizations, Africa's development
partners, members of the academia, and youth
entrepreneurs from 90 countries across Africa
and beyond, to interact & discuss enhancing
the potential of youth in Africa, according
to the organizers.

At the summit, Ma announced four projects to support
African entrepreneurs, African young people and the
efforts of conservation in Africa.

The four projects are:

supporting 200 African entrepreneurs
over the next five years;

working with universities and governments
to develop training programs for African
young people on e-commerce and
cloud computing;

setting up a conservation award
for conservation rangers;

and donating 10 million US dollars to establish
a young entrepreneurs development fund.

(Source: Xinhua)

_________________________________________

EU trying to solve its problems
by targeting Iran and others'
steel exports with huge
law-breaking duties
July 19th, 2017

The European Union is targeting Iran’s hot-rolled
steel --- planning to hit imports from the country
with punitive trade tariffs.

According to a document cited in the European
media, the European Commission is proposing
duties of up to 23 percent for steel from Iran's
Mobarakeh Steel Co.

European steel lobby group Eurofer is at the centre
of the campaign and has forced Europe’s trade
policy oversight European Commission,
to intervene and check imports.

Brazil, Russia & Ukraine, are the other countries
the Commission is planning to target with duties
of up to 33%.

There is no immediate reaction to the plan from
the countries being targeted. In June, China
reacted furiously after the European Union
set duties of up to 35.9 percent on
Chinese hot-rolled steel.

Eurofer says Iranian exports to Europe have leapt
to more than 1 million tonnes annually, accusing
Mobarakeh of "trade distorting measures."

Mobarakeh Steel Co is Iran’s largest steel
producer with 7.2 million tonnes per year.

Europe’s tough stance, including its more than 40
restrictive measures, aimed at aiding European
steel producers --- has sparked accusations of
protectionism by international steel exporters.

The bloc’s steel producers have been pressuring
the European leaders to copy the US’s draconian
regulations, including levies of more than 500%
on steel imports, in some cases.

Steelmakers across Europe are faced with mass
redundancies because of their high energy costs.
Their leaders say 320,000 jobs in the European
steel industry, are ''at risk from imports''.

Steel is the second biggest industry in the world
after oil and gas. The commodity was Iran's
largest export item after oil, gas and petro-
chemicals last year, partly because of
the slump in domestic construction.

The country has been boosting steel production,
targeting an output plateau of 55 million tonnes
per year by 2015.

Iran enjoys an advantage because production
costs at the majority of its steelworks are
internationally competitive, because of
low energy prices in the country.

It exported 4 million tonnes of steel last year,
according to director of the Iranian Mines and
Mining Industries Development & Renovation
Organization (IMIDRO), Mehdi Karbasian.

Currently, the nation produces 16 million tonnes,
which is 1% of the world total. A statement on
IMIDRO’s website says exports are expected
to hit 20-25 million tonnes by 2025.

Steel is a strategic commodity for the country of
80 million, which has the Middle East’s biggest
carmaker. It is also key to Iran's massive oil
and gas industry, transportation network,
water supply, urban centres and
mammoth construction sector.

Last month, Austria said it had allocated a credit
line of 1 billion euros for a major steel production
project in southern Iran.

(Source - PressTv)

_____________________________________________

Russia China Trade B(l)ooming
July 1st, 2017

China's General Administration of Customs states that
China-Russia trade grew 33.7% in the first five months
of this year, to 223.1 billion yuan ($32.8 billion).

(Source - Xinhua)

______________________________________________

AIIB approves membership of
Argentina, Madagascar, Tonga
June 17th 2017

Xinhua - The China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB) on Friday approved the memberships of
Argentina, the Republic of Madagascar and the
Kingdom of Tonga at its second annual
meeting of governors.

The AIIB's board of governors adopted resolutions approving
the three applicants to join the bank at the second annual
meeting, which kicked off earlier in the day in South
Korea's southern resort island of Jeju.

The first meeting was held in Beijing last year.

The approved applicants included one regional prospective
member, Tonga, and two non-regional members, Argentina
and Madagascar.

"Well-integrated infrastructure and enhanced connectivity
between Asia and the rest of the world has far-reaching
benefits for the global economy," said AIIB President
Jin Liqun.

Tonga was well known as the friendly islands in the South
Pacific, while Argentina and Madagascar are important
economies in South America and Africa each, said Jin.

The AIIB chief expressed his anticipation of the role the
3 new members will play, once they fully join the bank.

The three prospective members will officially join the AIIB
once they complete the required domestic processes and
deposit the first installment of capital with the bank.

Shares allocated to the new prospective members come
from the bank's existing pool of unallocated shares.

"Since launching only 18 months ago, the bank has
welcomed 23 new members from around the
world," said Sir Danny Alexander, vice
president and corporate secretary
at the AIIB.

The vice chief said interest in the AIIB remained high and
that the bank's door remained open to the new members
that will be joining later this year.

Officially launched in January 2016, the Beijing-based AIIB
is a multilateral development bank initiated by China and
supported by a wide range of countries and regions,
which will provide financing for infrastructure
improvement in Asia.

The international infrastructure bank owned about 100 billion
US dollars of subscribed capital, including some 20 billion
dollars in paid-in capital.

This year's annual meeting gathered about 2,000
participants, including delegations of founding
members and the new members, international
organizations and academia... as well as
businessmen, financiers and journalists.

The attendees included over 20 finance ministers
of approved AIIB members, according to South
Korea's finance ministry.

The second annual meeting was held under the theme of
"Sustainable Infrastructure," seeking strategic directions
of the international infrastructure bank and making
major decisions on the bank's management.

________________________________________________

Israel’s economy heading
for disaster, experts warn
May 29th, 2017

A report released by the Taub Center for Social Policy
Studies in Israel shows the country has the highest
poverty rates among OECD countries --- and faces
“worrisome trends” that could have disastrous
effects on its growing population.

According to the Picture of the Nation 2017 report,
with Israel’s aging population and rising costs
across the board, its “current sources of
economic growth are not sustainable.”

The country ranks 22nd out of 34 of the OECD
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development) regarding GDP and takes 24th
spot within the market income poverty rate.

Among developed countries, Israel has the highest
percentage of its population below the poverty line.

“The past year has seen a decline in unemployment
and a large rise in GDP,” however, “unfortunately, it
appears that this positive trend will not continue
and new sources of growth must be found,”
said the report.

The Taub Center described Israel’s 4% GDP
growth as an “outlier and not a trend.”

A separate report which was released earlier this month
by the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research
looked at economic trends in the whole 69-year history
of the country. It concluded the economy shows deep-
seated and long-term shortcomings that threaten to
weaken the army and constitute an “existential
threat” to the country’s future.

In terms of GDP, Israel has been falling further and further
behind the G7 average since the mid-1970s, with a more
than threefold increase having developed in the gap
between them. This, says the report, “reflects a
steadily widening disparity between what an
employed person living in Israel can attain
and what that person could attain in the
countries that are pulling away
from Israel.”

Professor Dan Ben-David, founder and chair of the
Shoresh Institution and co-author of the report,
warned if Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu
“continues to ignore the future” the
country could face a catastrophe
of massive proportions.

Netanyahu has recently held some meetings with Israeli
media outlets, claiming the reports do not reflect “what
the public feels.”

“It's an industry of despair. Where they see unemployment,
I see full employment. Where they see an economy in ruin,
I see a flourishing economy. Where they see traffic jams,
I see junctions, trains, and bridges. Where they see a
crumbling state nearing collapse, I see Israel as a
rising global power,” he was cited as saying
by the Times of Israel.

(Source - RT)

________________________________________

'Finance Curse' Scheduled to Tighten
Its Grip on UK Significantly by 2022
May 2nd 2017, at 8:01pm

The UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) has published projections
suggesting the UK economy will be highly unbalanced by 2022
– economic activity heavily skewed towards London, and the
wider economy dependent on finance. The Tax Justice
Network (TJN) has said such a development would be
a symptom of the UK's "Finance Curse."

In all, the TUC forecasts S. East England will produce 40.1 percent
of the UK's gross domestic product by 2022, of which London will
provide 25 percent (or 62.5 percent of the South East's total
economic share). This represents a rise of 2.5 percentage
points from 2015, and over seven percent from 1997.

The Congress projects the most significant falls in the share of the
economy come in 2022 and will be suffered in Yorkshire (dropping
0.5 percentage points to just 6.1 percent), the North West (down 0.4
to nine percent%) and Scotland (falling 0.4 to 7.2 percent).

Given the importance of the City of London's offshore financial centre
to the region, the Tax Justice Network believes the TUC's forecasts
are a vivid demonstration of the "Finance Curse" in action —
organization directors John Christensen and Nicholas Shaxson
argue the City of London has been a major contributing factor
to the dramatic decline in British manufacturing since the
1970s, and the impoverishment of non-South East
regions of the country.

The emphasis on finance in the UK has, they believe, resulted in flows
of foreign capital into the UK going straight to the City, for the purpose
of mergers and acquisitions and real estate purchases rather than
investment. Moreover, it has produced a "brain drain" effect in
many industries, with upper tier university graduates being
enticed by finance, and eschewing other valuable sectors
of the economy.

The UK's bloated financial sector has also helped to disguise the
damage the industry itself has caused, by smoothing over
declining wages and falling levels of employment, via
borrowing. When downturns and recessions occur,
the long-term damage inflicted on other sectors
of the economy by a myopic national focus on
finance are revealed — but those sectors are
harder to resuscitate than finance, and may
end up being irrecoverable.

(source - Sputnik)

_________________________________________

European Union demands
UK must repay Fraud cash
March 8th 2017

The European Office of Struggle against Fraud (OLAF)
demanded today that the United Kingdom pay for two
billion euros of customs fraud.

An official report adds that the claim is due to the fact
that London ignored, for years, this type of practice,
above all, in the importation of textiles and Chinese
shoes, thereby affecting the community budget.

The text says this protest is regardless of Brexit
or a British exit from the European Union (EU),
scheduled to become a reality this month.

Research carried out from 2013 to 2016, revealed
a customs fraud of expanded reach --- carried out
by a group of criminal gangs, who systematically
declared lower values for the imported products.

According to OLAF, the United Kingdom was the main
centre of that fraudulent trade. Other countries of the
European Union fought against that problem, while
the illegal business grew in the British isles.

In that period, that practice inflicted losses on the EU
of one billion 987 million euros, concludes the probe.
The customs tariffs are one of the main sources of
financing the EU budget.

OLAF launches severe accusations against the United
Kingdom and assures that, for years, authorities were
alerted about the losses, without doing anything to
prevent them, or open investigations on this issue.

(source - Prensa Latina)

__________________________________

China Usurps US As Germany’s
Biggest Trade Partner
25/2/2017 at 03:36

China has taken another step in global economic
dominance: becoming Germany’s most significant
international trading partner: a place the US had.

Germany sent and received with China, goods and
services worth approximately $180 billion in 2016,
according to recent Federal Statistics Office data.
France was Germany’s second-largest trade ally,
while the US ranked third.

In 2015, the US enjoyed a brief stint as Germany’s
top trade partner, a spot occupied by France, for
the previous half-century.

Optimism among exporters in China, the world’s
third-largest economy, is “rising further,” says
Clemens Faust, of Ifo Institute for Economic
Research, a Munich-based think tank.

(source - Sputnik)

_____________________________

Politician: European-style reforms
to degrade Ukraine’s economy
January 23rd

Ukraine’s economy has been degrading as its
dependence on commodity exports grows as
a result of "European-style reforms", leader
of the Ukrainian Choice public movement,
Viktor Medvedchuk said Monday, in
a LiveJournal post.

"Rather than developing innovations to achieve
a technological breakthrough, we have been
witnessing destruction of the country’s high
tech industries. In 2013, the share of various
machines, equipment and transport vehicles
in our exports was 16.3%, but, in 2014, it
dropped to 13.2% and to 12.1% in 2015.
During the first 11 months of 2016, this
share fell to 11.6%," he elaborated.

At the same time, Medvedchuk stressed that
agricultural exports had grown, reaching 41.6%
during the January to November period of 2016.

"However, there is nothing to celebrate: we
export only agricultural commodities while
'ready-to-use' food products’ share is 6.6%.
Where agriculture is concerned, structural
problems have been growing: it would be
enough to say that livestock population
has been decreasing, which may create
serious problems in the next few years,"
he added.

The politician also pointed to the planned
education reforms, bound to "contribute to
the process of turning Ukraine into a banana
republic." The country’s education ministry...
"has decided that children in 10th and 11th
grades do not need that many physics,
chemistry, mathematics & informatics
classes so it is better to declare
those subjects, as optional."

"Really --- why build nuclear power plants and
produce machines? This reformed education
will be enough to grow sunflowers and
rapeseeds," Medvedchuk concluded.

(source - TASS)

____________________________________

Russian, Armenian PMs to discuss
integration cooperation within EAEU
January 24th, 2017

Integration cooperation between Russia & Armenia
within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will be
the focus of talks between Russian Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart,
Karen Karapetyan, who arrives in Moscow on
Tuesday, at the invitation of the Russian
government.

The agenda of the talks will include issues of
Russian-Armenian cooperation in the area of
trade-and-economic relations, and in such
sectors as energy, transport, and the
humanities.

The 2 prime ministers will also discuss the
implementation of joint investment projects
Russia's government's press service said.

The talks are expected to yield a number
of intergovernmental & inter-ministerial
documents.

(source - TASS)

________________________________

All countries observing oil output cuts
agreement — Russian energy minister
January 22, 17:04

TASS - All countries are observing the agreement
on cutting output, Russia's Minister of Energy
Alexander Novak told media on Sunday.

The IMF expects oil prices to grow
by almost 20% in 2017.

"On the agreement's fulfilment - I can
say, we see with satisfaction, the
successful implementation of the
agreement & joint action of OPEC
& non-cartel countries, stabilizing
the situation on the oil market,"
he said.

"We have seen the statement made by Saudi
Arabia’s minister claiming the country cut
output by more than the agreement
reads," he said.

"Russia observes its obligations faster - and
cuts are almost twice faster than planned.
The ministers' committee will be meeting
every other month and, prior to the next
(in May) OPEC summit, it will have two
meetings," the minister said.

"Today, we have noted that the situation on
the market is approaching balance, stock is
lowering already. Most importantly", he said
"we can see stability and lower volatility.".

"I think the statistics data for January will show
cuts of over 1.7 million barrels a day," he said.

"The potential for price growth is exhausted.
In general, the situation can be viewed as
follows: oil prices are going to be from
$50 to $60 per barrel," he said.

__________________________________

Goldman Sachs evacuates UK
19th of January, 2017.

US bank Goldman Sachs will move 1,000 staff from
London to Frankfurt as a post-Brexit reorganisation
that will reduce its City headcount by half, German
business daily Handelsblatt reports on 19 January.

“The bank is weighing transferring up to 1,000 employees
to Frankfurt, including traders as well as top bankers,”
the paper reports, citing financial industry sources.

In total, Goldman Sachs will cut its head-
count in London, from 6,000... to 3,000.

(source - Katehon)

_______________________

Moldova's New President Hopes to
Cancel EU Association Agreement
January 17th, 2017

Moldova’s President said on Tuesday that he
hopes the country’s association agreement
with the European Union will be cancelled..
if his party obtains a parliamentary majority,
paving the way for an alliance with Moscow.

“I don’t exclude that, after the next parliament
polls, this agreement will be annulled,” if the
socialist party wins the majority of seats in
the next election, Igor Dodon noted on his
first foreign trip to Moscow, after meeting
with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(source - Al Manar)

________________________________

Hughes Metallurgical Plant
- relaunched in spring 2017
January 12th, 2017

One of the biggest industrial enterprises of the
Donetsk People’s Republic, founded by a Welsh
entrepeneur in the 19th century, was relaunched
in the spring of 2017, the press-service of the
DPR's Ministry of Industry and Trade, reports.

Also, DPR's industrial enterprises, Donfrost
and Nord, are now producing 51,000 fridges.

It's necessary to point out that the production
of fridges in Nord factory stopped completely
in August 2016, and the Donfrost plant was
established at that time. Now this plant is
working with FSR states (Former Soviet
Republics) and in Asia, where 70% of
DPR's production, is imported.

_______________________

World Economic Forum director calls
on EU: to reset relations with Russia
December 31st, 2016

"A reset in the complicated situation of the kind
could be a very important step" - Philipp Rosler

The World Economic Forum’s Managing Board
Member and Director, Philipp Rosler, calls on
the EU to improve relations with Russia. The
former German chancellor's statement came
in an interview with the Neuer Osnabrucker
Zeitung newspaper, published on Saturday.

"A reset in the complicated situation of the kind
could be a very important step," he said, adding
both sides now, should offer respective signals.

"Achieving mutual understanding on the European
continent is necessary and is, first of all, the affair
of Europeans, not Americans," Rosler said. "Using
these approaches, we should structure policies."

The official said the issue of how to behave with
Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed, has not
been cleared up, and "today, we can see what
conflicts have arisen from this negligence,"
he added.

(Source - TASS)

_____________________________________

WEALTHY GAZPROM
TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

TASS - Gazprom sees some risks for gas transit
through Ukraine to Europe, and in the case of
unsanctioned gas tapping by Ukraine, it may
cut off supplies to the EU, Gazprom's CEO,
Alexei Miller, told reporters.

"Indeed there are risks for gas transit to Europe (via
Ukraine). In the contract, which was signed in 2009,
we clearly fix all cases of force majeure. If Ukraine
starts gas tapping, then we can either cut supply
by the volume of illegally taken gas, or can carry
out a disproportionate reduction. But we may
stop deliveries all together, even after a
single unauthorized tapping of gas,"
Miller said.

More:
http://tass.com/economy/920492

_____________________________________________________

IMF Data Shows China’s GDP
Outpaces US's --------- in 2016

In purchasing power parity, China’s gross domestic
product (GDP) will exceed that of the US by some
$2.7 trillion, in 2016.

The figures come from a recent International
Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate, and serve to
shift the canon that the US is the world’s
primary economic superpower.

Economists forecast that US GDP will measure
some $18.5 trillion, while China is expected to
net $21.2 trillion in GDP, as per IMF data.

______________________________________

Russia's 'Syria countersanctions'
will hit the West below the belt

The West and Russia are entering the third year
of a war of sanctions. Washington threatens to
impose new sanctions against Russia, this time
for Syria. Russia will take "painful measures" in
response, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister,
Sergei Ryabkov, says.

Pravda.Ru offers a list of counter sanctions that
we compiled on the basis of experts' opinions.

1. Russia's first answer would be the abolition of
neo-liberal economic policies and a transition to
a new economic development strategy. This can
block Western influence channels on our country
& thus become the most asymmetric, but tough
answer, to any new Western sanctions, noted
Ruslan Dzarasov, Doctor of Economics, head
of the department of political economy, at
Russia's 'Plekhanov' Economic University.

The expert noted that "we continue to adhere to the
export growth model, taking capital to the West and
forming a budget on the basis of financial interests
of capital rather than domestic consumers." Russia,
the expert said, should introduce a combination of
state planning and a market sector, "similar to
what the USSR was doing during the 1920s."

"The state should ensure the financial transparency
of corporations, expand the rights of trade unions
and workers, strengthen social control over big
business, & show influence on the formation of
prices in the economy, to stop price disparities
in favour of the mining export sector, and to
the detriment of manufacturing industry,"
Ruslan Dzarasov told Pravda.Ru.

2. Russia could refuse to save its reserves in US
dollars. Russia doesn't take first place in terms
of dollar savings in the world - but it could still
give a serious blow to the Western financial
system, Dr Valentin Katasonov, Economics
Professor at the Moscow State Institute of
International Finance, and head of Russia's
Sharapov Economic Society, told Pravda.Ru.

"A lot of Russia's liabilities in national gold
and currency reserves, are denominated
in US dollars. Should they be put on the
market --- the dollar will suffer greatly,"
leading expert at the Union of Oil and
Gas Industrialists, Rustam Tankan said.

Noteworthy: some private Russian companies
have already abandoned the US dollar in their
activities. Megafon, one of Russia's 3 leading
cellular providers, converted about 40% of its
dollar deposits to euros & Hong Kong dollars.
The company transferred the funds to major
Chinese bank accounts. Norilsk Nickel took
similar measures. The Hong Kong dollar is a
Chinese foreign clone of the dollar, and the
US is unable to impose any sanctions on
this currency.

Russia has started abandoning the US dollar as
a reserve currency, by opening a Raw Materials
Exchange in St. Petersburg, where Russian
energy carriers are traded in rubles.

3. Russia could freeze US investors' assets in
the Russian economy. "Foreign citizens are
the ultimate beneficiaries of our shadow
holdings. There are 'tricky' financial
mechanisms in the timber industry,
for instance," Igor Gerasimov, a
member of the Committee for
Business Security at the
Chamber of Commerce,
and security expert,
told Pravda.Ru.

The shadow mechanism works as follows...
A wood-working firm does most of the work,
while most of the profit goes to a "general
contractor." The latter pays the company a
relative price for production, & a minimum
profit. Most of the profit goes to specific
individuals, to the accounts of foreign
companies. Therefore, Russia could
adopt laws over the nationalization
of natural resources & city-forming
enterprises, said Igor Gerasimov.

4. The State Duma of the Russian Federation
has already discussed a draft law to relieve
both state-run and privately-owned Russian
companies of $700 billion of debts... which
are held by Western banks in countries
now threatening sanctions on Russia.

5. Sanctions in the field of high technology, will
be no less sensitive. "Russian titanium will stop
arriving at European companies, and this will
certainly be a very significant act of pressure
on our partners," Alexei Mukhin, general
director of the Centre for Political
Information, told Pravda.Ru.

Boeing & United Technologies, as well as Europe's
Airbus Group, purchase most of their titanium from
Avisma, a Russian company, which happens to be
the world's largest titanium producer. Yet this
covers only about 30% of their needs. The US,
however, is entirely dependent on Russia for
its rocket engines. RD-180 is a 6-ton liquid
rocket engine, with a thrust of 400+ tons.
The US has used Russian rocket engines
since 2000. The US Congress passed a
budget which provides for the allocation
of 100s of millions of dollars... to buy an
"unlimited" number of RD-180 engines.

6. Russia's sanctions against Western airlines
would lead to their elimination. A great deal
of airlines fly across the territory of Russia
and save a lot of money on this, chair of
the Federation Council Committee on
International Affairs, Andrei Klimov,
told Pravda.Ru.

"If all of a sudden, the Russian authorities try
to do something in this field, it will generate
huge profits to companies from such states
as the United Arab Emirates, & at the same
time, it will cause serious financial damage
to German, French and other air carriers,"
said the expert.

7. Many large companies in the West have strong
lobbies in legislative authorities. Therefore, the
input of targeted sanctions... under the pretext
of rules and regulations violations, would be a
very strong response. Starting from 1 Nov 2016
Russia banned imports of salt from the EU, the
US, Canada, Australia, Iceland, Liechtenstein,
Montenegro, Albania and Ukraine.

On 15 February 2016, Russia banned imports
of soybeans and corn from the US, including
through third countries. Russia still imports
various US food products, spending millions
of US dollars a year (PepsiCo, Starbucks,
Cargill, McDonald's), pharmaceuticals
(Pfizer), cosmetic products (Procter &
Gamble, Johnson & Johnson), plastics,
machinery, textiles, footwear, auto-
mobiles (Ford, General Motors), as
well as products under a "secret
code" worth $554 million --- in
the first half of 2016, alone.

Lyuba Lulko
Pravda.Ru

_______________________________________

World Central banks get
rid of US securities
Thursday, 20th of October, 2016.

The number of US bonds shrank dramatically
last month (27.5 billion dollars). This decline
is the biggest this year. As a result, the
value of US securities, has fallen.

Now their total cost is about $3 trillion.
This is the lowest level in five years.

China & Saudi Arabia are the leaders among
those countries which are selling US bonds.

____________________________________________

IMF heralds catastrophe for
major banks of EU and US
Source: REX

The International Monetary Fund said in a report
published on October 5th 2016, that a significant
number of major banks in the wealthiest states
of the world, are so weak, that neither growth
in the world economy, nor an increase in
interest rates, will help them solve
their problems.

The problematic credit organizations include one-
third of Europe's banks with assets totaling $8.5
trillion and a quarter of US banks with assets
worth $3.2 trillion.

According to the IMF, financial stability now
depends, on how well financial institutions
can adapt themselves to the new era with
tougher regulation and supervision,
restrained growth and low
interest rates.

Experts note that despite an improvement in the
structure of bank assets and equity indices, low
profitability remains a significant problem, that
can not be solved through cycles of economic
recovery.

The report, in particular, draws attention to the
euro-zone banks, profits of which, have halved,
since the average levels of 2003-2006.

Experts believe that Europe lags behind the US
in terms of the disposal of bad loans. Both the
IMF and the European Central Bank see loose
monetary policy as the main cause of bank
problems.

IMF experts also remained concerned about
the financial stability of Japan and China. At
the same time, experts point out decreasing
pressure on emerging markets, against the
backdrop of higher prices on raw materials
and a certain stabilization of the Chinese
economy.

_______________________________

Vietnam joins Russia-led
free trade zone

A free trade agreement between the Russian-led
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Vietnam
takes effect now with its ratification. The
deal opens the EEU's market of 181
million people to Vietnam.

The EEU countries – Russia, Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan – get the opportunity
to sell goods in Vietnam on a preferential basis.

The free trade deal covers more than 90 percent
of all goods traded between the EEU & Vietnam.
It will save exporters from the EEU about $40-60
million in the first year. Vietnamese companies
can expect savings of up to $5-$10 million a year.

With the deal Hanoi expects to significantly raise
its foreign trade. Trade with Russia is expected
to more than double to $10 billion by 2020.

"Specific conditions will be created for Russia in
order to increase the supply of its products on
the Vietnamese market. It concerns not only
high value-added products, but also agricultural
produce, consumer goods and so on," said the
Russian Trade Mission in Vietnam.

Russia’s exports to Vietnam, include, nuclear
reactors, mineral fuels, oil and its distillation
products and fertilizers. Imports from Vietnam
include electrical machinery, boilers & knitwear.

In terms of the agreement, Russian automotive
companies GAZ, Kamaz & Sollers will be able
to create joint ventures to produce buses,
trucks, special vehicles, and passenger cars.
The localization of production is expected to
reach 40 to 50 percent over the next decade.

Vietnam signed the free trade zone agreement
with the EEU in 2015, becoming the first non-
regional country to join the bloc.

More than 40 countries and international
organizations, including China, Indonesia,
Israel and Iran, have expressed interest
in a free trade deal with the bloc.

Establishment of the EEU was signed by the
presidents of Russia, Belarus & Kazakhstan
in 2014. Armenia & Kyrgyzstan, joined later.

The bloc was designed to ensure the free
movement of goods, services, capital and
workforces, between member countries.

________________________________________

WESTERN BANKS
CRACKING

4 of the biggest banks are reported as going down:
HSBC, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Wells
Fargo, are all reported by eminent experts as
"about to fail."

_______________________________________

Chinese yuan becomes IMF reserve
currency, first new addition since 1999

The Chinese yuan is now added to the IMF reserve
basket, becoming the first currency to be added to
the list, since the emergence of the euro, in 1999.

The official entry brings to a close, at least partly,
Beijing’s years-long struggle for international
acceptance on the sort of level enjoyed by
the US dollar. The currency now joins the
big four: the US dollar, the euro,
the yen, and the UK's pound.

The decision means the Chinese yuan will now be
used as one of the International Monetary Fund’s
lending currencies, in emergency bailouts. This
sort of internationalization is in line with
China’s wish for an increase in the
legitimacy of its currency.

The move also evidences China’s growing role
as a power to challenge the global economic
dominance of the United States.

The IMF has fixed the relative amounts of
the five main currencies in its basket for
five years, based on the exchange rate
of each, over the last three months.

__________________________________________

Deutsche Bank to fight
US $14bn claim

Deutsche Bank says it will challenge a $14 billion
claim by the US Department of Justice on alleged
mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities during
the 2008 financial crisis.

“Deutsche Bank has no intent to settle these
potential civil claims anywhere near the number
cited. The negotiations are only just beginning.
The bank expects that they will lead to an out-
come similar to those of peer banks which
have settled at materially lower amounts,”
Deutsche Bank says in its statement.

No details on the case have been publicized.
Yet reports say sales of mortgage securities
before the 2008 financial crisis, lie at the
heart of the case.

The claim against Deutsche Bank far exceeds
its expectations that the DoJ would look for
a figure of only up to 3 billion euros ($3.4
billion), Reuters reported.

European stocks wrapped up in negative territory
on Friday in reaction to the case against Deutsche
Bank. Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays both
fell over 5%, while Credit Suisse and UBS fell
over 3%. French lenders BNP Paripas and
Societe Generale both fell over 2%.

Deutsche Bank’s shares stumbled 8.5%, wiping
off roughly €1.5 billion from the German lenders’
market capitalization.

Other big banks have reached deals in recent
years with US authorities over their mortgage
activities in the run-up to the financial crisis.
Earlier in 2016, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay
$5.1 billion to settle claims on its dealings.

________________________________

Banking giants reverse predictions
of post-Brexit ‘Brecession’, proving
it was the Remain Camp, who lied:

Two of the City’s biggest powerhouses have
scrapped their predictions: of a post-Brexit
recession which would see the UK economy
collapse, following the EU referendum - and
now envisage better-than-expected results
in the third financial quarter.

But investor Jim Rogers warns that the US
policy of printing money will soon hurt us:

"You should be very worried. There's going to be a
serious economic crisis --- in the next year or two.
We all are going to pay a horrible price for the
artificial money coming out of America, and
other central banks. We’re all going to have
a huge problem. Be worried, be worried."

______________________________________

China welcomes Canada's decision
to apply for AIIB membership: Xi

Xinhua - Meeting Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, Xi
says China is willing to improve communication
and coordination with Canada, protect an open
& inclusive multilateral trade system with the
country and deepen cooperation in areas
such as climate change, peacekeeping
and marine protection.

This is the first official visit by Trudeau since
taking office in November 2015. His father,
former Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau, was
the first Canadian PM to visit China, after
the establishment of diplomatic relations.

After his stay in Beijing, Trudeau flew
to Hangzhou, to attend the G20 summit.

____________________________________________

World seeing ‘greatest monetary policy
experiment in history’ - Rothschild

Low interest rates, negative yields on government
debt & quantitative easing, are part of the biggest
financial experiment in world history, and the
consequences are as yet, unknown, says RIT
Capital Partners Chair, Lord Rothschild.

“The six months under review have seen central
bankers continuing what is surely the greatest
experiment in monetary policy in the history of
the world. We're therefore in uncharted waters
and it is impossible to predict the unintended
consequences of very low interest rates, with
30% of global government debt --- at negative
yields, combined with quantitative easing on
a massive scale,” Rothschild writes, in the
company's semi-annual financial report.

The banker says this policy has led to a rapid
growth of stock markets --- US stocks have
grown 3-fold since 2008 - with investments
growing and volatility remaining low.

However, the real sector of the economy didn’t
enjoy such profits, as “growth remains anemic,
with weak demand and deflation in many parts
of the developed world,” says Rothschild.

The billionaire stresses that many risks remain
for the global economy, with the deteriorating
geopolitical situation. Among those risks, he
includes the UK's vote to leave the EU, the
US' presidential election & China's slowing
economic growth. Another risk is global
terrorism, which Rothschild says is a
consequence of continuing 'conflict'
in the Middle East.

A Bank of America Merrill Lynch report in June,
shows interest rates in developed countries,
in particular America’s 0.5%, are now at
their lowest level in 5,000 years.

In their battle with deflation, countries such
as Sweden, Switzerland or Japan, have even
turned to negative key lending rates.

Another woe is negative yields on government
bonds. In June, 10-year German government
bonds dipped below 0% for the first time in
history.

Janus Capital estimates that global yields
are the lowest in 500 years, and the total
amount of such bonds, is $10 trillion.

The investment group’s lead portfolio manager,
Bill Gross, is calling it a “supernova, that will
explode one day.”

___________________________________

GOOD "POST BREXIT" NEWS !?!

EU mulls abolishing "non-market economy" list

Xinhua - The European Union (EU) is mulling
abolishing its "non-market economy" list, on
which China & 14 other states are included,
to set up a new, "country-neutral" method,
& reform its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy
legislation, it announced, on July 29th.

The decision was made after the EU Commission
held another orientation debate on the treatment
of China, in anti-dumping investigations, as a 15-
year-old EU "surrogate system" is set to expire,
in December, 2016.

"Colleagues have agreed to propose changes to
EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy legislation --
with the introduction of a new anti-dumping
methodology," said EU Trade Commissioner
Cecilia Malmstrom in a press briefing.

"We're eliminating the existing list of non-
market economy countries," Malmstrom
told reporters. "This is a new method, it
will be country-neutral, and applied to
all WTO member countries, equally."

"This new methodology, would lead to
approximately the same level of anti-
dumping duties as the EU has now"
-- the commissioner said.

EU officials say... the new method will mark
a "huge change" to the bloc's anti-dumping
& anti-subsidy laws, & the EU Commission
will have to shoulder the burden, & prove
there is "market distortion" in its future
investigations, on a case-by-case basis.

Besides China, other countries on the
EU "non-market economies" list, are:

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Georgia, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and, last but
not least, Vietnam.

_____________________________

Deficit in UK's Current Account
Remains Unaltered

The deficit in the current account of the United
Kingdom -- after all this austerity -- remains at
an historic maximum.

The need to finance the country from abroad, was
high before the yes for Brexit. The British National
Office of Statistics shows no change in its initial
growth estimate for the first quarter -- but shows
that the economy still depends mostly on home
expenditure and services, for any expansion.

On the other hand, the growth of foreign trade,
investment and manufacturing, slowed down.

In global terms, the UK economy grew 0.4 %
in the first three months of 2016, in line with
forecasts, and was 2% higher than last year.

_________________________________

Americans and Europeans Divided
Over Sanctions Against Russia

Prensa Latina - Almost half of Europeans (47%)
--- believe that sanctions against Russia should
be lifted --- according to a recent Sputnik Poll.

The poll found that 51% of Italians, 48% of Germans,
& 43% of French respondents, said they agree with
the lifting of sanctions; according to the consultant
firms, Ifop and UK Populus.

In contrast, when asked about the same topic, only
29% of US people, said that they would like to see
sanctions against Russia lifted.

The poll was conducted by the French opinion and
marketing research company, Ifop, and UK polling
agency Populus, for Sputnik News Agency & Radio.

The poll also found that respondents in the US,
are most likely to support extending sanctions.

When asked if sanctions against Russia should
be lifted or extended : 42% of US citizens said
they support extending them.

However, only 31% of respondents in Germany,
29 per cent in France, and 27 per cent in Italy
agreed with extending sanctions.

The EU's economic sanctions against Russia
were imposed in 2014.

Analists say that, since the sanctions were
applied, the EU has had to pay 10 times
more than the US.

_______________________________

“The Most Corrupt Country
in the World”.

Journalist & world-renowned expert on the
Italian mafia Roberto Saviano calls the UK
“the most corrupt country in the world”.

“If I asked, what's the most corrupt place on
Earth, you might well tell me it’s Afghanistan
or maybe Greece, Nigeria, the South of Italy:
and I will tell you --- it’s the UK,” Saviano told
the audience at Wales’ Hay Literary Festival.

“It’s not the bureaucracy, it’s not the police,
& it’s not the politics, but what is corrupt is
the financial capital. Ninety percent of the
owners of capital in London, have their
headquarters offshore,” he added.

The UK is Europe’s “criminal capital” when it
comes to allowing corruption, the journalist
thinks, with trust funds in Jersey and British
Overseas Territory the Cayman Islands,
being its “access gates.”

“That is why it is important, why it is so crucial
for me to be here today & talk to you;- because
I want to tell you, this is about you, this is about
your life, this is about your government,” the
36-year-old journalist told the audience.

_____________________________

Surprise! US Should Be Considered
as a Tax Haven, EU Report Suggests

New research by the Green/EFA group in the
European Parliament calls for the USA to be
considered as a tax haven, following claims
that it has fallen behind in tax transparency.

The research — which was published ahead
of a special visit to the US by the European
Parliament's special committee, looking at
tax avoidance this week, could also cast a
shadow on the ongoing TTIP negotiations
-- which aim to secure closer trade agree-
ments between Europe and the US.

The report is critical of what it sees as inaction
on the part of the US ---- in tackling the issue of
transparency of company ownership and bank
account info' between tax administrations
--- arguing that, whilst the EU has made
progress, the US has not.

The report, 'The Role of the US as a Tax
Haven — Implications for Europe' says:

"The US is a major financial centre. It holds almost
20% of the financial services' world market share
for non-residents. Foreign assets amounted to
US $16,745 billion in 2013, and foreign direct
investment reached US$2.9 billion in 2014.

However, its transparency legal framework
is not consistent with the responsibility
involved in being a major financial hub."

The German Green MEP Sven Giegold comments
on the report -- claiming the US has failed to live
up to standards it requires of other countries:

"The US has made bold moves on the exchange of
financial information but it is just a one-way street:
its exchange of tax information with other states,
is more limited and full of loopholes," Giegold says.

Molly Scott Cato - a Green MEP for the UK - argues
that the US is becoming increasingly attractive --
as a "tax haven" for the world's most wealthy.

Responding to the recent report, she argues for
greater scrutiny of the US tax regime by the EU:

"The EU should carefully scrutinize the US, in the
upcoming process of creating a common blacklist
of tax havens. We should introduce a withholding
tax on US banks not exchanging information -- as
the US has done with European banks. We need
the US to sign up to the highest international
standards of transparency."

A fact-finding delegation visited the US between
17-19 May, as part of the European Parliament's
special committee investigating tax avoidance
in the US.

__________________________________

Worst is Yet to Come? US Billionaire
Warns of Crisis Worse Than 2008

The current situation in the global economy
is similar to the situation on the eve of the
crisis of 2008, billionaire trader Stanley
Druckenmiller says.

According to the businessperson,
the main risk stems from actions
by the US Federal Reserve.

He criticizes the Federal Reserve for a
"myopic policy" of low interest rates,
which has led to fast-growing
bullish sentiments, in
the market.

"The bull market is exhausting itself,"
he said, at the Ira Sohn Investment
Conference, in New York.

The Fed’s easy monetary policy has
resulted in companies taking on big
debt loads... which they then use to
buy back their shares -- instead of
increasing capital spending.

By keeping interest rates low, the Fed is
'raising the odds of an economic tail risk
they are trying to avoid', Druckenmiller
points out.

A big concern, is the uncontrollable growth
of US debt, the investor adds. According to
him, US corporations are "stuck in the mud,
forlorn of growth, unwilling to invest, and
addicted to share buybacks, to gin up
their stocks."

"The Fed has borrowed from future
consumption more than ever before.
It is the least data-dependent Fed
in history. This is the longest
deviation from historical norms
in terms of Fed dovishness that
I have ever seen in my career,"
Druckenmiller is quoted as
saying, by CNBC.

"This kind of myopia causes
reckless behaviour."

According to media reports, Druckenmiller -
whose net worth is estimated at $4.4 billion
- is making long-term investments in gold...
while holding short positions on US
companies’ shares.

At the same time, some economists believe
that the current state of the global economy
indicates that it may be facing a structural
adjustment - and isn't just the downward
part of an economic cycle.

In April, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) announced that the global economy
was expecting growth at 3.2 percent, in
2016, & a further growth of 3.5% in 2017.

"Maybe it is not just an economic cycle
we are facing, but a kind of structural
adjustment of the world economy that
we do not understand, yet: what the
consequences are, and how to deal
with this," European Commission
Europe-Aid head, Jose Correia
Nunes, notes.

____________________________

Bankers in Prison
--- New Rule?

In October 2015, courts in Iceland handed down
sentences against 5 bankers who helped usher
in the country’s 2008 financial crisis. Among
the convicted were 3 senior managers from
Landsbanki Íslands and 2 senior managers
from Kaupthing Bank. Then suddenly, with
no big hooha, sentences were pronounced
against more bankers working in Iceland.

A total of 26 have been convicted. This is
the world’s first ruling against the bankers
who oversaw the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Is the jig up yet?

On Jan. 11 eleven former employees of Deutsche
Bank, Barclays, and Société Générale, appeared
in a London court, accused of manipulating the
Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), which
sets interest rates on many financial
products, including mortgages.

The Libor and Euribor interbank rates, which
determine the cost at which banks lend to one
another, are used to price over $450 trillion of
financial products. Over three years since the
UK bank Barclays, admitted, in 2012, that its
traders had tried to manipulate the Libor &
Euribor rates, between 2005 and 2009,
legal proceedings have begun.

For many bankers the start of the trial
in London --- was a genuine shock.

In the banking world, where the London law-
suit's currently a hot topic, there're those who
point out, that only the managers of European
banks are in the dock and they hope that Wall
Street banks are not next. Others claim that
the trial in London... is just the beginning.

And, finally, a third group is suggesting that it is
not that hard to figure out which bank managers
and employees are responsible for misbehaving.

The long silence on the part of the banks and
regulators, can only be explained by the well-
established bonds of corruption:- financial
regulators are always guided by 2 unwritten
rules in their work. One rule applies to the
banks as legal entities: Too big to fail.

The other applies to the managers
of large banks: Too big to jail.

The lawsuits in Iceland and London are
the first exceptions to the second rule.

______________________________________

62 billionaires now control
half of world’s wealth

The 44-page report, ‘An Economy for the 1%’,
published by Oxfam GB for Oxfam International
(ISBN 978-1-78077-993-5, Jan. 2016, Oxford,
UK) says:

“The gap between rich and poor is reaching new
extremes: Credit Suisse has recently revealed that
the richest 1% have now accumulated more wealth
than the rest of the world put together. Meanwhile,
the wealth owned by the bottom half of humanity,
has fallen by a trillion dollars in the past 5 years.
This is just the latest evidence that today we live
in a world with levels of inequality we may not
have seen for over a century.”

The poorest 50% of the world’s population is now
worth an estimated $1.76 trillion --- which is also
the estimated net worth of the richest 62 people.

In 2010, it required the richest 388 persons to
make up the wealth of the bottom 50%. Since
then, the world’s richest 62 persons have added
44% to their cash and assets -- while the wealth
of the bottom half has dropped by 41%, despite
the rise in the global population by 400 million.

In the same period, the wealth of the richest 62
persons increased by $500 billion to $1.76 trillion.

Within 5 years, the majority of the world’s wealth
has been consolidated into the hands of less than
one-sixth of the number of persons who used to
control it.

Nine out of 10 World Economic Forum corporate
partners had a presence in at least 1 tax haven.

It's estimated that tax dodging by multinational
corporations costs developing countries at least
$100 billion every year. Corporate investment in
tax havens almost quadrupled from 2000 to 2014.

The report cited estimates that billionaires have
$7.6 trillion in offshore accounts. This amount
is more than the joint GDP of the UK & Germany.

It is said that, if tax were paid on the income this
wealth generates, an extra $190 billion would be
available to governments --- every year.

_________________________________

EU Tries ending Tax
Evasion by Multinationals

Prensa Latina - The European Union loses up to
70 billion euros a year --- due to tax evasion by
multinationals --- estimates the regional bloc,
and it announces measures to contain this.

According to the Economic Affairs Commissioner,
Pierre Moscovici, the transnationals' aggressive
fiscal engineering, reduces the public coffers of
the 28 member countries of the EU, by amounts
fluctuating between 50 - 70 billion euros a year.

In remarks to journalists, Moscovici says these
practices generate a competitive disadvantage
for local businesses -- and increase the fiscal
burden for all other tax payers.

Moscovici says the Commission's plan needs
the approval of the 28 member countries and
considers that the negotiations, as is usual
over fiscal matters, will not be easy.

Under the proposal, 6 tax practices linked
to aggressive fiscal engineering, would be
banned - including the transfer of benefits
to subsidiaries placed in countries where
lower taxes are paid.

The initiative also tries to prevent dividends
or profits arriving to the EU from third states
from enjoying tax exemption, when it hasn't
been charged in the nations of origin.

Under the package, multinationals will
have to give specific information to the
fiscal authorities of the country where
the headquarters are based and, if it is
outside the EU, the responsibility will
fall on the subsidiary.

_________________________________

Europe Bank Rout
Erases $434 Billion,
Twice Greek Economy.

The plunge in European bank stocks over the past
six months, has wiped out about 400 billion euros
($434 billion) in market value --- over twice the
annual output of Greece at current prices.

The STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index, grouping
46 lenders, has dropped twice as much as the
region’s benchmark share index since late July.

Banking stocks have fallen 14% in January alone,
heading for their worst monthly performance since
the depths of Europe’s 2011 sovereign-debt crisis.

Deutsche Bank AG and Standard Chartered Plc
are each down by over 40 percent, since July.

______________________________________

US Companies Led the World in
Debt Defaults in 2015, S&P Says

More US companies defaulted on their debt in 2015
than issuers from any other country or region, S&P
analysts say, in their December reports.

111 companies worldwide defaulted on their
obligations, the highest tally since 2009 when
the figure hit 242 for the same period.

About 60 percent of last year’s global defaults
came from US borrowers, up from 55 percent in
2014, when 33 of 60 defaulters, were US ones.

After the US, companies from emerging markets
were the second-largest defaulters, accounting
for 23 percent of the pool, which was a smaller
share than in 2014, according to S&P's data.

Plummeting oil prices and speculation about
how the Federal Reserve’s plan to tighten
monetary policy would affect corporate
borrowing costs has made companies
more vulnerable, expert Vazza says.

“The current crop of US speculative-grade
issuers appears fragile, and particularly
susceptible to sudden, or unanticipated
shocks,” she wrote, on December 24th.

Arch Coal Inc. was the most recent,
with its credit rating downgraded to
“speculative default” by Standard &
Poor’s last week -- after the coal
producer missed about $90 million
in interest payments, & exercised
a 30-day grace period, with the
holders of some of its notes.

Bloomberg.com reports that shale is now
running out of survival tricks, as OPEC
ramps up the pressure.

Looking ahead, S&P expects the US corporate
default rate to rise to 3.3 percent by September
2016 from 2.5 percent a year earlier.

The bulk of the failures to come from companies
in the oil and gas sector, which accounted for
about a quarter of 2015’s defaults.

____________________________

A CRISIS WORSE THAN ISIS?
BAIL-INS BEGIN

While the mainstream media focus on ISIS
extremists, a threat that has gone virtually
unreported is that your life savings could be
wiped out in a massive derivatives collapse.

Bank bail-ins have begun in Europe, and the
infrastructure is in place in the US. Poverty
also kills. At the end of November, an Italian
pensioner hanged himself after his entire
€100,000 savings were confiscated, in a
bank “rescue” scheme.

He left a suicide note blaming the bank,
where he'd been a customer for 50 years
and had invested in bank-issued bonds.

But he might better have blamed the EU
and the G20’s Financial Stability Board,
which imposed an “Orderly Resolution”
regime, to keep insolvent banks afloat
--- by confiscating the savings
of investors and depositors.

Some 130,000 shareholders and junior
bond holders suffered losses by “rescue.”

http://www.blacklistednews.com
/January_1%2C_2016%3A_The_New_
Bank_Bail-In_System_Goes_Into_Effect_
In_Europe/48057/0/38/38/Y/M.html

_______________________________________

Obama agrees - signs IMF Reform

A special communique of the G20 on the subject
of the IMF adopted at the G20 summit in Turkey
--- and signed by US President Obama --- urges
the US to ratify IMF reforms agreed in 2010.

This reform implies that the US will have to give
up its blocking stake of votes in the IMF and the
fund itself, will cease to depend on Washington
politicians.

___________________________________

US saddled with
debts of $65 trillion:
Former US comptroller

When all the US's unfunded liabilities are added up,
the national debt is 3 times more than the oft-cited
figure of $18 trillion, states Dave Walker, former
US' Comptroller General.

The real US national debt is about $65 trillion,
says Mr Walker, who headed the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) --- under former
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

“If you end up adding to that $18.5 trillion -- the
unfunded civilian & military pensions & retiree
healthcare, the additional underfunding for Social
Security, the additional underfunding for Medicare,
and the various commitments and contingencies
that the federal government has, the real number
is about $65 trillion rather than $18 trillion, and it’s
growing automatically --- absent reforms,” Walker
tells John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable”
on New York’s AM-970.

Walker, in charge of ensuring federal spending is
fiscally responsible, says a large national debt
hinders the US government’s ability to conduct
both domestic and foreign policy initiatives.

“If you don’t keep your economy strong, and
that means to be able to generate more jobs
and opportunities, you are not going to be
strong internationally, with regard to
foreign policy,” he notes.

He adds that such a problem prevents
the country from investing “in national
defense and homeland security.”

Walker goes on to say that US citizens
have “lost touch with reality”, when
it comes to spending.

He calls on Democrats and Republicans
to set aside partisan politics in order to
band together to tackle the problem.

“You can be a Democrat or a Republican,
you can be unaffiliated, you can be what-
ever you want, but your duty of loyalty
needs to be to country, rather than to
party, & we need to solve some of the
large, known, and growing problems
that we have,” he says.

___________________________________

IMF warns: Saudi Arabia
may go bankrupt by 2020

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns in a
report, that Saudi Arabia may run out of financial
assets within 5 years, if the government keeps to
its current policies.

Saudi Arabia is expected to run a budget deficit
of 21.6% in 2015 and 19.4% in 2016, according to
the IMF’s latest regional economic outlook. The
state needs to adjust its spending, the IMF urges.

The IMF says the region’s outlook is currently
being shaped by several key factors ---- the
most important of which include deepening
regional conflicts, and slumping oil prices.

The conflicts have given rise to large numbers
of displaced people and refugees, on a scale
not seen since the early 1990s, according
to the report.

“Achieving fiscal sustainability over the
medium-term will be especially challenging
-- given the need to create jobs for the over
10 million people anticipated to be looking
for work by 2020 in the region’s oil exporting
countries,” IMF Middle East and Central Asia
Department Director, Masood Ahmed, told
media, after unveiling the report in Dubai.

“For the region’s oil exporters, the fall in
prices has led to a large fall in revenue,
amounting to a staggering $360 billion
this year alone,” Masood Ahmed said.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq,
Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Algeria and Libya
have all seen revenues drop sharply,
as a result of a decline in oil prices.

Saudi Arabia is currently facing a
budget deficit for the first time
since 2009.

Oil sales account for 80% of revenues.
It has prompted the government to cut
spending, delay projects and sell bonds.

The country’s net foreign assets fell by
about $82 billion from Jan. to August.

The government sold state bonds worth
$15 billion (55 billion riyals) this year.

The budget deficit has caused project
layoffs in Saudi Arabia.

Firms working on infrastructure projects
haven’t been paid for 6 months, or more.
Payment delays increased lately, as the
government wants to cut prices on
contracts, in order to preserve cash.

______________________________

Growth momentum still huge in
Chinese economy: People's Daily

China's economy still has huge momentum,
"as structural readjustment will transform
challenges into strengths in the long run,"
says a commentary in the People's Daily,
the flagship newspaper of the Communist
Party of China.

China's GDP last year posted its weakest
annual expansion in 24 years, mainly
resulting from a housing slowdown,
weakening domestic demand and
unsteady exports.

Economic growth slowed further,
to 7% in the first half of this year.

A 7% rise is not an easy achievement in
a slowing world economy, & the rate is
among the highest in major economies,
Premier Li Keqiang says, at the Summer
Davos forum in northeast China's Dalian.

"China is the source of global growth," Li says,
adding the country has sufficient policy tools
to reform the macro-economy, and will keep
rolling out targeted & innovative measures
to counter downward pressure.

China contributed roughly 30 percent of world
economic growth, in the first half of this year.

______________________________

UN Principles Against Vulture Funds,
Victory for Argentina

It was worth the fight, said president Cristina
Fernández on TV, after the UN voted by a big
majority, to approve a resolution with the
principles that create a legal framework
to protect the process of exchange in
paying off debts.

The UN principles of sovereignty are:

good faith, transparency, impartiality,
equitable treatment, sovereign immunity,
legitimacy, sustainability, & restructuring
of the majority.

Cristina Fernández --- over the year it took ---
defended the need to establish a legal frame-
work that protects restructuring of sovereign
debts --- from speculation by financial groups
known as 'vulture' funds.

The proposal was received and sponsored by the
Group of 77 plus China, which upheld it until now.

Argentinean Minister of Economy, Axel Kicillof
said this approval not only favors his country,
but all the rest, including developed countries
going through a process of crisis.

Although the resolution by the General Assembly
isn't obligatory, it constitutes a fundamental step
against the attacks of vulture funds, like those
Argentina is suffering today and other countries
too, affirmed Kicillof.

Cristina Fernandez thanked the 136 nations who
voted 'yes' and the 41 states which abstained,
"as we know of the pressures they're against."
She also congratulated the diplomatic and
economic teams that made it possible.

__________________________

The World Bank, using PPP calculations,
has Russia's economy above Germany's.

Its top five -- in order -- are:
China, the US, India, Japan
and Russia.

It puts BRICS GDP at 96% of the G7's.

The world is changing.

___________________________________

'Largest-ever' Mediterranean
gas field discovered

Italian energy company Eni says it's discovered the
Mediterranean Sea's "largest-ever" gas reservoir ---
off Egypt.

_______________________

Justice Ministry drafts bill proposing
legalizing seizure of foreign state assets

Kommersant business daily writes that Russia's
Justice Ministry has developed a bill, according
to which, any state’s property in Russia can be
seized, in proportion to the amount of Russian
assets frozen in that country. Presently, the
bill is approved by a designated committee.

"The number of lawsuits against Russia in
foreign courts is steadily rising," says the
Justice Ministry, "and no one is asking
Russia to agree to participate."

The ministry notes that in several countries
Russian property now has "limited juridical
immunity," which is why a special law is
needed to guarantee a "balance" on the
basis of the "reciprocity principle."

"Currently, it is possible to seize foreign
government assets when there is a court
order," says Dmitry Matveyev, executive
partner of Dmitry Matveyev & Partners
Law Firm.

He does not see a special law as necessary,
but notes that if the law is passed, it will not
contradict international law.

"Any court or arbitration institute can ‘deprive’
a foreign government of immunity if it is guided
by the applicable law," says Marat Davletbayev,
partner from Nektorov, Saveliev and Partners
Law Firm.

But Davletbayev also warns that the court of
the country whose property was deprived of
immunity, can refuse to recognize this, and
implement the decision of the Russian court.

_________________________________

Transit Gas Through Ukraine
Politically Motivated by EU

Sputnik – The EU is trying to maintain the transit
of Russian gas via Ukraine, for political reasons,
Russia's Envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, says.

"I think they have the ultimate goal of keeping
Ukrainian transit, as a purely political stance.
It doesn't have any economic basis," he says,
answering questions in an interview with RIA
Novosti, on why Brussels is not seeking to
enhance co-operation with Russia on the
Turkish Stream gas pipeline project, via the
Black Sea and Greece, bypassing Ukraine.

The European Union won't be able to continue
giving Kiev financial support, if Ukraine now
announces a default, due to the EU's own
legislation, Vladimir Chizhov says.

"Yes, if a default is announced, they cannot
continue financial support according to the
EU's legislation," he says, in the interview.

The EU is -- to a certain extent -- standing on
the sidelines in Ukraine's conflict settlement
process, Russia's Envoy to the EU, says.

"Two EU members are participating in the
Normandy format negotiations on the
settlement of the situation in Ukraine,
and they are both operating in their
national capacity.

"The European structures, as well as US
representatives -- for obvious reasons --
are not engaged [in the talks]," he says.

The EU is supporting the Kiev authorities,
who have repeatedly violated the Minsk
agreements, instead of putting pressure
on them, Russia's Envoy to the EU says.

“It's not the first time Kiev has violated the
Minsk agreements. I think this is obvious
to every unbiased observer, but here [in
the European Union] they do not even
think about it. Instead [of imposing
sanctions on Ukraine], they just repeat
their support for the authorities in Kiev,”
he says, in an interview with RIA Novosti.

___________________________________

‘No mandate or moral right tosay yes’:
Greece rejects ‘generous’ EU bailout

It’s up to the Greek people, Tsipras says,
to make a fateful decision on Greece’s
sovereignty, independence and future.

_________________________________

If Anti-Russia Sanctions Stay...

According to WIFO’s assessment, Germany will
shoulder the main burden. 500,000 jobs now are
under the threat of liquidation in Germany. The
German economy will lose €27 billion and its
GDP will contract by 1% in the coming years,
according to experts’ estimates.

Italy will lose over 200,000 jobs and 0.9% of GDP
while France’s losses will amount to 150,000 jobs
and 0.5% of GDP. Poland, Estonia and Spain will
suffer too. Germany has already lost 175,000
working places with 290,000 more to be lost,
if the sanctions war continues.

The unemployment rate may rise by 185,000
in Poland, 135,000 in Italy, 115,000 in Spain,
95,000 in France, 80,000 in the UK & 75,000
in Estonia. If we include Switzerland, the EU
has already lost 950,000 working places.
With the sanctions in force, unemployment
will rise by 1,460,000.

____________________________________

Anti-Russian Sanctions Can Cost EU
Up to $114 Billion - Austrian Study

Sputnik - The European Union could lose up to
€100 billion ($114 billion) over its anti-Russian
sanctions if things remain unchanged, a study
by Austria's Institute of Economic Research,
reveals.

Die Welt newspaper reports that the research,
conducted exclusively for the Leading European
Newspaper Alliance (LENA), considers a worst-
case scenario, if the sanctions remain in place.

“If the situation does not change fundamentally,
our most pessimistic scenario will come true,”
one of the research authors, Oliver Fritz, is
quoted as saying, by Die Welt.

According to their calculations, the current
political situation could also affect over 2
million EU jobs, through declining exports.

In contrast to the analysts’ forecast, the
European Commission says the losses of
the European Union are “relatively small
and manageable,” the newspaper says.

Since March 2014, the US, EU, and other
western countries have sanctioned Russia’s
banking, defense & energy sectors, over its
alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis. Moscow
has repeatedly denied those allegations.

In August, Moscow imposed a year-long food
embargo on the countries that sanctioned it.

The decision on the extension of anti-Russian
sanctions is due to be made next week at the
meeting of EU foreign ministers. Moscow vows
new countermeasures -- if sanctions are kept.

_______________________________________

Two Can Play This Game: Russia Warns:
Belgium Asset Freeze Works Both Ways

Sputnik - Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned
the Belgian ambassador, informing him that
Russia may adopt reciprocal measures --- if
the recent asset seizures are not reversed.

A Belgian court instructed Wednesday, that
47 Belgian & Russian companies be stripped
of assets of 1.65 billion euros ($1.87 billion),
in connection with a settlement awarded to
exYukos shareholders by a Dutch arbitration
court. Russia's Justice Minister, Alexander
Konovalov, says Belgium's legal arguments
for seizing Russian property are unclear, &
Russia has requested information on this,
through diplomatic channels.

"Belgium's ambassador was informed that
the Russian side considers such acts by
competent authorities of the Kingdom of
Belgium, as openly unfriendly acts and
flagrant violations of the universally
recognized norms of international
law," the ministry statement says.

The ministry calls on Belgium to take
immediate acts to restore the property
of Russian organizations. The seizures
appear to be made under the auspices
of the European Energy Charter Treaty,
which Russia signed, but did not ratify.

"Otherwise, the Russian side will be
forced to consider adopting appropriate
response measures, regarding assets
of the Kingdom of Belgium," it adds.

French authorities also began seizing
Russian state-owned property earlier
on Thursday. France seized the bank
accounts of Rossiya Segodnya news
agency, of which, Sputnik is a part.

The organization's real estate wasn't seized,
as the organization does not own any real
estate in France, & employees continue to
access rented buildings without hindrance.

French economist and professor at Moscow
School of Economics, Jacques Sapir, says
the French government's decision threatens
to create a "cold war" climate between the
two countries, and the attacks show how
the West intends to deal with the rise in
influence of Russia's alternative media.

_________________________

India confirms bid to
join Russia-led bloc

India has confirmed that it will sign a free trade
agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union
(EEU) -- a Russia-led bloc which is attracting
more emerging powers.

TASS news agency quotes a senior diplomat at
the Indian embassy in Russia, saying that New
Delhi will be “definitely signing this agreement".

Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and
Kyrgyzstan are members of the EEU which
started operation on January 1st, with the
aim of regional economic integration.

China, Vietnam, Iran, Egypt & Israel, have
also indicated their interest in joining the
EEU free trade zone which guarantees the
free transit of goods, services, capital and
workers, among its members.

Last month, the union gave the initial go-
ahead to signing a free trade agreement
with Iran, a senior EEU official says.

Russia's representative on the Eurasian
Economic Commission board, Andrey
Slepnev, says the Iran proposal was
approved by all the panel members,
at an expert-level meeting, held
in Armenia's capital, Yerevan.

He adds that discussions with China
on joining the union will begin soon,
Xinhua news agency says.

Currently the EEU has a combined population
of 170 million people, and a gross domestic
product of $2.7 trillion, and is being tipped
as a major economic force to challenge the
might of the European Union and the US.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is also
calling for a regional currency union, as
it will make it "easier to react to external
financial & economic threats, & protect
our joint market".

___________________________

Australia, China sign landmark
free trade agreement

Xinhua - The Australian & Chinese governments
signed a long-awaited, "monumental" free trade
agreement in Canberra, last month, lifting most
of the import tariffs between the two countries.

The landmark signing by Australia's Trade Minister
Andrew Robb and China's Commerce Minister Gao
Hucheng finalized negotiations that began 10 years
ago and follows the Declaration of Intent signed in
November by the countries' leaders, Tony Abbott
and Xi Jinping.

PM Abbott says the "unprecedented" and
"monumental" pact is the "next chapter"
in strong relations between the countries.

On full implementation of the wide-ranging
agreement, tariffs are to be lifted on 95%
of Australian exports, hurdles for Chinese
businesses to invest in Australia will be
lowered, and more visas for Chinese
holidaymakers will be granted.

China is Australia's largest trading partner,
with trade in goods and services last year
exceeding 135 billion U.S. dollars - almost
a quarter of Australia's total world trade.

Australia FTA to spur more regional deals

China and Australia's landmark free trade
agreement, with a recent deal with South
Korea, is expected to serve as a positive
example --- and help advance economic
integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

Under the deal, 85.4% of bilateral exports will
be tariff-free immediately after it takes effect.

When ChAFTA is fully implemented, 97%
of Australian products to China and all
Chinese products to Australia, will
enjoy tariff-free entry.

China has been Australia's largest trade
partner since 2010, and Australia was
China's eighth largest trade partner in
2014, says MOFCOM's statement.

Compared with other free trade agreements
with China, ChAFTA has a broader tariff-free
coverage, Tu Xinquan, executive director of
the China Institute of WTO Studies, tells the
Global Times.

China & South Korea signed a free trade
agreement on June 1 which will remove
tariffs on about 90% of products traded
between the two countries, in 20 years.

Australia & China have complementary
industries, so removing tariffs won't put
undue pressure on China's enterprises,
Chen Fengying, research fellow, China
Institute of Contemporary International
Relations, tells the Global Times.

China mainly imports minerals, such as iron
ore, from Australia & exports manufacturing
products like clothing & telecommunications
equipment to the country, according to the
website of the Australian Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade.

As for agriculture, Tu says Australian products
can meet the needs of China's growing middle
class and spur domestic producers to improve.

China's dairy industry, for example, is expected
to work harder for survival as it faces Australian
competition, when tariffs gradually reduce.

Australia first country to open service
sector to China.

In addition to the removal of tariffs, Australia is
the first country in the world to open its service
sector to China, with a negative list.

The two countries have mutually granted most-
favored-nation status, and reduced the review
threshold for corporate investments.

"ChAFTA is a comprehensive and high-level
free trade agreement," Chen says.

Most free trade agreements mainly focus on goods
and services, yet ChAFTA includes lowering review
thresholds for investments, & in some other areas
such as e-commerce, & government procurement,
she says.

China's FTAs with Australia & South Korea, are
expected to persuade more in the Asia-Pacific
region to join the trend, observers say.

China, South Korea and Japan have discussed
a trilateral free trade agreement since 2013...
but have not reached a final agreement.

If bilateral ties between China and Japan can
be improved, it is possible to have a trilateral
free trade zone, Chen says, noting that the
China-South Korea FTA, has placed some
pressure on Japan.

Also on Wednesday, the Japanese Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) released its
2015 Japanese Business in China White Paper,
which says the JCCI expects China, Japan &
S. Korea to OK a free trade agreement 'soon'.

Japan has been involved in talks on the US-led
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), but
this trade initiative has not progressed much,
in recent years.

________________________________

NZ to invest $87m in
Asian infrastructure bank

New Zealand's government announces that
the country will invest NZ$125 million ($87.27
million) in the Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB), over five years.

________________________________

Hungary becomes 1st EU country
to join China’s Silk Road project

Hungary has become the first European country
to join the Chinese 'Silk Road’ project, aimed at
strengthening ties between Asia and Europe &
developing trade & infrastructure in the region.

The foreign ministers of China and Hungary
have signed a memorandum of understanding
on the New Silk Road, also known as the"One
Belt, One Road" project in Budapest, the
Chinese Foreign Ministry states on its
web-site, Reuters reports.

In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping said
trade among the project’s participants would
he hoped, exceed $2.5 trillion in one decade.

Hungary hopes to intensify cooperation with
China that can speed up the construction of
the Hungarian-Serbia railway & other projects,
says the country’s President Janos Ader, as
quoted by the Chinese foreign ministry.

China is financing and constructing a rail-
way between Hungary and Serbia.

The Chinese government is to inject dozens of
billions of dollars to support the project via the
building of railways, highways, power grids, oil
& gas pipelines, maritime & infrastructure links
across Central, West and South Asia to Europe,
increasing the connection between the East
and the West.

________________________

US to Lose Its Ground
Under BRICS Pressure
© Sputnik/ Alexei Druzhinin

Blind adherence to US policies & introducing
anti-Russia sanctions, was fatal for Europe,
as the Russia-China-BRICS axis is about to
overturn the global economic system, and
prevail over US' hegemony, states the chief
economist of Germany's Bremer Landesbank.

The real damage to EU countries caused by
the launch of anti-Russian sanctions is much
more comprehensive than that estimated by
statistics, Folker Hellmeyer, chief economist
of Germany's Bremer Landesbank says, in
an interview with the German publication,
Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.

“The slump in German export volumes of 18% in
2014 and by 34% for the first two months of 2015
is just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “There are
many more side-effects.”

“European countries, like Finland and Austria,
with strong developing businesses in Russia,
are placing fewer orders within Germany.
Moreover, Europe's corporations are evading
these sanctions and creating high-efficiency
production facilities in Russia. We, therefore,
lose this potential capital stock -- the basis
of our prosperity -- and Russia wins.”

The relationship of trust between Russia and
Germany and the EU is somewhat broken. And
it will take years to rebuild it. As a result, such
companies as Siemens and Alstom have lost
major Russian projects, he says. The potential
damage -- not only for Germany but the whole
EU -- therefore, is much more comprehensive
than what's being shown by current figures.

Meanwhile, Moscow, Beijing and other BRICS
countries, are looking forward to building the
largest project in modern history: construction
of new Eurasian infrastructure, from Moscow
to Vladivostok, in South China, and in India.

Participation by Western countries in these
mega-projects looks quite uncertain, he says.

“For me, the conflict has already been set,” he says.

“The Moscow-Beijing-BRICS axis, has won......
The West has had enough. In 1990, the BRICS
countries were 25% of the world's economic
output. Now, they are 56% of world economic
output, and 85% of the world's population.

“They control about 70% of the world's foreign
exchange reserves. They grow annually, by
an average of 4% to 5%. Since the US hasn't
been prepared to share power, worldwide,
nor build the emerging market sector on
its own financial system --- it has lost.”

Neither problem in the world, now,
can be solved, without Moscow
or Beijing, says the economist.

The lack of its own agenda, makes
the EU & Germany look like losers.

“The longer we pursue this policy in the EU,
the higher the price and the less anyone will
take us seriously as interlocutors,” he adds.

_______________________

BREAKING US

The rating agencies, like Moodys and S&P, are very
powerful, because practically all lawmakers around
the world have made it a national law -- that certain
investment groups must follow the agencies' ratings.

Example: Life Insurance (huge investors) in the EU
must, by law, invest in Class A Investments (those
with the lowest risk). This requires a rating of no
lower than AA+, otherwise money from such funds
can't be invested by law. If an insurance company
does it, it will be fined and the whole Board sacked.

The Rating Agencies are all US controlled. They're
a typical power multiplier. There's no need for the
US Government to come out into the open. They
just tell their Rating Agency Puppets what to do,
and a large part of the investment world will act
as per the law, fully automatically and without a
single brain cell as to why, being set in motion.

It's for this reason that each country needs to de-link
the legal link between US controlled Rating Agencies
and its own legal structure regulating the investment
companies. This would be way more important than
a separate currency or a separate investment bank.

China has done it and Russia is preparing for it. The
EU has been talking about it, but has not acted on it.

________________________

Japanese and US
"Difficulties"

China will always welcome the US & Japan
joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB), and has kept them informed on
all relevant information, China's Finance
Minister Lou Jiwei says.

"The United States and Japan have not been
able to join AIIB due to their own difficulties,"
Lou tells Xinhua on the sidelines of the World
Bank-IMF Spring Meeting, without elaborating.

The United States and Japan decided to stay
out of China's initiative by the March 31 dead-
line, as both countries worry that the AIIB may
challenge the Japan-led Asian Development
Bank (ADB) & the US-dominated World Bank.

However, China has underlined that the AIIB
will take an open and inclusive attitude and,
as complementary to existing development
banks, able to strengthen the whole region's
communications plus its social & economic
development.

______________________________

German Media Reveals
Mass Layoffs by the World Bank

German media say now that over 3.4 million people
worldwide, have been displaced over the last years,
or lost their livelihoods, due to World Bank policies.

According to research by public TV networks NDR
and WDR, and the journal Sueddeutsche Zeitung,
many of the people affected by 972 World Bank
projects, were laid off, or suffered other kinds of
human rights violations.

The media analyzed over 6,000 documents of
the WB, in collaboration with the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development, reacts with "great concern"
to the reports and demands a change in policy
by the international financial institution.

However, the media also finds that the German
government, through its development policy, is
involved in some of the controversial projects.

Since the end of 2013, German representatives
on the top Board of Directors at the World Bank
have voted just once against a project, out of
its 600 initiatives each year.

______________________________

The new Chinese rating agency set up
to counter US agencies' obvious bias:

They give Russia - an A rating = stable.

But the US gets - an A rating negative
(because of its gigantic debt and deficit)

_____________________________________

CHINA SIDE-STEPS
DOLLAR -- AGAIN

China's central bank signs a currency swap
agreement -- valued at 30 billion yuan ($4.9
billion) -- with South Africa's central bank.

The agreement lasts for three years and can
be extended upon agreement, by both sides,
says a spokesperson for the People's Bank
of China (PBOC).

The deal aims to facilitate bilateral trade and
investment and to maintain regional financial
stability, Xinhua news agency reports.

South Africa's Reserve Bank (SARB) states
the agreement's purpose is to support trade
and investment between South Africa and
China, and act as a mitigating resource for
short term balance of payment pressures.

The PBOC also signed swap agreements
with Armenia & the Republic of Suriname
in March.

To promote international use of the yuan,
China has currency swap agreements now
with over 20 countries & regions since the
start of a global financial crisis in late 2008.

_______________________

AIIB having tremendous influence
on shift of power from West to East.

The popularity of the China-proposed Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) shows
that Asia in general, and China in particular,
are leading the world in another -- and more
relevant -- direction, a Dutch expert says.

Rien T. Segers, a Dutch expert on the political
economy of east Asia, believes that the world
is undergoing a transition from "the financial,
economic and political dominance of the US,
towards the dominance of a number of Asian
countries, led by China."

"If dominance is a politically incorrect word,
leadership is not nice either. I would prefer
'cooperative influence'", says Segers.

"The rich and old economies have no other
choice, but to go for a development which
is a reflection of the cooperative influence
of Asian countries on the West - and vice
versa", he adds.

Over 40 countries, so far, have shown an
interest in becoming members of the AIIB.

European countries, including France, Italy,
the UK, Germany, Spain & the Netherlands,
have all stated that they want to become
founding members of the new bank.

The Netherlands has now applied to join
the AIIB as a founding member.

__________________________________________

WEST's MONOPOLY
WEAKENING FASTER

Russia, Australia, the Netherlands and Brazil
have all announced that they plan to join the
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Despite US criticism, more countries from
the heart of Washington’s camp, say they
too, are considering joining. They include
diehard allies like Turkey & South Korea.

China says it has already accepted the
application of Brazil, its largest trading
partner, to the AIIB, adding that Austria
has also applied to join.

The AIIB is a multinational lender. It has
30 founding members with applications
still coming in.

Other nations will still be able to join
the bank, but as common members.

__________________________________

US SEES EUROPE
SHIFT TO CHINA

France, Germany and Italy have all joined
the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- and the UK joined it the week before.

Their choice is a vote of confidence in China,
which has achieved 3 decades of economic
success and readied itself to make greater
contributions to world development. How-
ever, what makes the AIIB so popular,
does not end there...

Unlike existing world lending bodies like
the World Bank, in which the US has the
dominant role and a veto, the AIIB gives
China no such privileges.

Instead, all members participate in the
decision-making process, in order to
achieve win-win results.

The AIIB doesn't seek to weaken present
institutions, but to strengthen them, and
vigorously push forward the global
economy.

The World Bank welcomes the AIIB, says
World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani
Indrawati, adding: "the WB will cooperate
closely" with the AIIB.

The US may be embarrassed that so many
allies braved its warnings, and embraced
the AIIB, but as a NYT editorial says: "this
is a problem of America's own making."

The US has been too sluggish in reforming
global financial institutions it controls, as
their power distribution no longer reflects
reality in the global economic landscape.

Decision-makers in the United States truly
do have to be reminded - that if they don't
jump on the bandwagon of change in time,
they'll soon be overrun by the bandwagon.

Meanwhile, South Korea and Australia
are also applying for membership, but
Japan, wishing to keep its relationship
exclusively with the US, has said 'no'.

AIIB --- launched last year --- is a China-led
international development bank, targeting
investment in Asian infrastructure such as
transport, energy and telecommunications.

Analysts consider the new institution as a
rival to the Western-controlled World Bank
and the (US-led) Asian Development Bank.

________________________

Money Pouring into Russia
despite Sanctions

The net inflow of money into funds investing in
Russian shares continued its six-week streak,
$40.7 million between 26 February – 4 March,
the Emerging Portfolio Fund Research shows.

The leader among BRICS countries is India,
whose inflows totaled .55% ($678.1 million)
over the course of the week (the 12 month
total was 7.4%, or $7.4 billion).

China had comparatively weak results—
an outflow of .12% ($341.1 million) in the
week, or 3.8% ($11.1 billion) over the year.

Investors continued to withdraw assets
from Latin America--.75% ($216.3 million)
in the week, reports Vesti Ekonomika.

Russia is in 2nd place among the BRICS.
Its total capital influx over the year
reached 1.1% ($525.2 million).

Therefore Russia is continuing to outpace
developing markets, concludes Sberbank
Investment Research.

Most are funds oriented toward Russia
(inflow of .11%, $34.3 million). Passive
funds attracted .47% ($54.2 million),
active funds lost .02% of assets ($4.6
million). In the week ending March 4th,
RTS index increased by .1% and Brent
crude rose by 3.2%.

J.Hawk:

'To put it in plain English, Russia is
considered to have an attractive
investment climate, no mean feat
after a decade of sanctions, credit
rating downgrades, threats of more
sanctions, even threats of military
action and provocative NATO
exercises on its border.'

'All of these measures were intended,
not to hurt Russia’s economy directly,
but to create the impression Russia
is surrounded, isolated, starved of
capital, and with its economy “in
tatters”, to quote Barack Obama.

International investors know
when they see a winner.

_______________________

US Frenzy at Chinese ad of yuan
as new world reserve currency

In Thailand, China has recently erected a
curious billboard. The words on the billboard
announce a new "world currency" called the
Renminbi. The US dollar is nearing the end
of its global power and dominance.

Renminbi's trading hubs have appeared all
over the world, from Singapore to London
to Luxembourg to Frankfurt and Toronto.

Transnational corporations like McDonald's
issue bonds in renminbi. Sovereign states,
including the UK, issue debt in renminbi.

The renminbi is the official currency of the
People's Republic of China. Renminbi literally
means "people's currency." The yuan is the
basic unit of the renminbi, but is also used
to refer to the Chinese currency generally,
especially in international contexts.

A historic look at dominant reserve currencies
shows that reserve currencies run in cycles
that last somewhere between 80 and 110
years per cycle.

The US Dollar has held its status as a reserve
currency since 1921, bringing it to a 94 year
long streak, indicating that the US Dollar has
almost run its course.

The US prints money in an attempt to postpone
the crisis, creating currency wars with nearly
all major central banks in the world. As history
shows, money printing will only aggravate the
problem, making the transition more painful
and costly.

Many international experts in finance believe
that the US Dollar is on its last legs. Central
banks simply manipulate events to help the
dollar maintain its status for a little longer.
However, the time when the US Dollar
crashes is not too far away.

China and other countries, including Russia,
have been calling for the US Dollar to be
replaced by another world reserve currency.

More and more countries are deciding to
do without the dollar in their settlements.

________________________

Rothschild warns of 'chaos, extremism'
and 'horrendous' problems in Europe

Jacob Rothschild, 78-year-old banker & chair of
RIT Capital Partners, warns of global instability
and the fragility of any hope for future incomes,
Richard Dyson writes, in The Telegraph.

In his statement on the economic year 2014,
Rothschild expresses his concern about the
complicated economic background investors
will face in the future.

According to Jacob Rothschild, the current
geopolitical situation is perhaps even more
dangerous than it was during the Second
World War, Pravda.Ru reports.

He stresses that the current state of affairs
exists, as a result of the rampant chaos and
extremism in the Middle East, the crisis in
Ukraine and a general weakening of Europe
-- which faces horrendous unemployment --
against the backdrop of the EU's inability
to conduct necessary reforms.

_________________________________

The US is Completely Bankrupt.

Some time ago, a summary of a report by the
authoritative Washington-based Cato Institute
was published. According to this institute, US
government debt in 2014, was not USD 18
trillion, but was in fact, USD 91 trillion.

The huge difference arises from the fact that
official estimates do not include “unfunded
liabilities of programs like Social Security
and Medicare.”

“While those liabilities don’t show up on official
balance sheets, they nonetheless, represent
the legal obligations of the US government.”

“The expected shortfall from these programs
brings the true debt to an unfathomable
USD 90.6 trillion,” notes the Cato Institute’s
brief summary. The full version of the report
-- including all calculations -- was in March.

_______________________

US Investment Advisor, Ron Holland:

"Americans should take advantage of the
recent dollar strength to diversify into gold,
investments, real estate and safe havens
outside the US dollar & the United States.

"Better to be early than too late, because
eventually the consequences of aggressive
military actions, central bank manipulation,
uncontrolled government debt & unfunded
liabilities, will come home to the American
people.

"Neither the guilt of our political and banking
leadership nor the innocence of our citizenry
will protect you, your assets or your family."

________________________________

China outstrips
US foreign investment

More foreign direct investment flowed into
China than the US in 2014, bumping the US
off its top spot for investment in the world,
a position it has held since 2003.

China's $127.6 billion in foreign investment
in 2014, was far more than the $86 billion
flowing into the US, according to figures
published by the UN Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD).

The difference between 2013 is staggering,
when $123.9 billion poured into China and
$230.8 billion into the US.

The US saw foreign direct investment (FDI)
falling to its lowest since 2009, when the
market was wiped out by a financial crisis.

The US ‘lost’ so much investment because
of Verizon’s $130 billion purchase of Voda-
fone in the UK, which counted against it in
the UNCTAD tally.

China, the 2nd largest economy, has been
steadily gaining ground in FDI, which has
accelerated since the yuan's exchange
rate became flexible, and other reforms
made it easier for Western businesses
to operate in main-land China.

“There were structural changes in inflows
to China, from manufacturing, to services,
& from labour-intensive to tech-intensive,”
according to the Director of Investment
and Enterprise at UNCTAD, James Zahn.

After China, Hong Kong too, passed the US
--- into second spot, followed by Singapore
and Brazil. The US is the only developed,
and not developing, nation in the top five.

The UN survey notes a major shift favoring
investment in the developing economies ---
which saw investment rise 4% in 2014 ---
while developed economies fell by 14%.

The biggest losers are the EU --- and the
former Soviet bloc.

(Russia lost 70% of its foreign investment,
and Ukraine lost out on $200 million. Both
as a result of the conflict in E. Ukraine.)

Another title China took from the US in
October 2014, was the world’s biggest
economy in terms of purchasing power.

“China's been steady with modest growth
over the past few years -- & it's expected
to continue,” Zhan tells the WSJ.

__________________________________

Iran stops using dollar
in international settlements

Iran is stopping the use of the US dollar in
settlements with foreign countries, Iran's
Central Bank said, on Saturday (24th of
January, 2015).

“In foreign trade from now on, we'll be
using other currencies, including the
yan, euro, Turkish lira, Russian rouble
and South Korean won,” the Central
Bank’s deputy head, Gholam Ali
Kamyab, tells Tasnim News Agency.

He says Iran is presently considering
bilateral currency agreements with
several countries on the use of other
currencies. The agreements favour
trade and economic operations, he
says, and are planned for in the
"near future".

__________________________________

GERMANY FALLING

Economists say the Ukrainian conflict and
Western sanctions imposed against Russia
have contributed to the geopolitical crisis,
limiting growth.

_______________________________

S&P cuts Ukraine’s rating to
triple C-, spurring default fears

Standard & Poor (S&P) has lowered Ukraine’s
credit rating from CCC to CCC-, 9 rungs
below investment grade.

S&P warns that Ukraine, which is in dire need of
international financial assistance, may be on the
brink of default, as Central Bank reserves shrink
and bailout funds are delayed.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that
- despite productive talks with Kiev - the parties
failed to reach an agreement.

Though the country has received billions in aid
from the IMF, the US and the EU, a tumultuous
year has left Ukraine’s economy in ruins.

The IMF estimates that Ukraine would need
$15 billion in the short term to avoid a full-
blown financial crisis.

_______________________________

UNASUR Rejects IMF Criticism
of Regional Pro-Integration Processes

The Secretary General of the Union of South
American Nations (Unasur), ex Colombian
president Ernesto Samper, says that the
International Monetary Fund lacks the
moral authority to make recommendations
about regional pro-integration processes.

"The IMF has no moral authority to come and
give us any recommendations, after we were
- for many years - subjected to its terms that
hindered any possibility of progress. It is
like Dracula running a blood bank," said
Samper, at a press conference in Quito.

In remarks in Santiago de Chile, the IMF's
Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, said
pro-integration mechanisms like Unasur,
the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of
Our America (ALBA), the Southern Common
Market (Mercosur) & the Central American
Integration System (SICA) --- should be
rejuvenated, and compared them to
a big plate of spaghetti.

Mrs. Lagarde should rather worry about what is
happening in Europe, says Samper, who, in turn,
compared the current economic crisis in Europe
to a lasagne: with only two countries eating the
cheese and meat and leaving pasta to the rest.

Samper recalls that all the difficulties Unasur
countries, and Latin America in general, have
suffered, to curb poverty and have economic
growth, have all been caused by the IMF's
"poisonous demands" which have hindered
any chance of progress in the region.

It's like Methuselah giving lessons on youth,
says the secretary general of the regional
bloc which includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,
Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay,
Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

_____________________________________

Greece: All Time High
Long term Unemployment

Long term unemployment grew over the last year
in Greece reaching an all-time high, the quarterly
report on employment issued by the EC shows.

Data shows that during the second quarter of
2014, unemployed people seeking jobs for one
year or more, reached 19.6% of the financially
active population , that is, over two thirds of
the total number unemployed in the country.

The report confirmed that despite the relative
stability of the unemployment rate, about 27%
for over a year, the rate of unemployed people
still shows a long term an upward trend, with
an increase of 1.9% during the last year.

The CE also reports a decreasing Gross Domestic
Product, now back at its 2000 rate, plus increased
inequality among the population, due to the total
elimination of social assistance and the collapse
of household incomes.

_________________________________

Russia's MDM Bank
joins China’s Union Pay

MDM Bank, one of Russia’s top 30 banks,
has joined the Chinese payment system,
Union Pay, the bank says.

“After the project’s technical implementation,
the owners of Union Pay cards will be able to
receive cash in MDM Bank’s ATMs and pay in
those stores and malls serviced by the bank,”
the bank says.

Union Pay’s representative in Russia, Fan
Zhiguang, says the number of the system’s
cards in Russia will be 2 million within 3 yrs.

The Chinese system and Japan’s JCB will work on
co-branding with the operator of Russia's national
payment system - whose founding was ordered by
President Vladimir Putin, when Visa/MasterCard
stopped processing cards by some Russian banks
--- due to sanctions imposed on Russia by the US.

__________________

Russia bans all US agricultural products,
EU fruit & vegetable imports - watchdog

Moscow bans all US agricultural products,
including poultry, plus EU fruit & vegetable
imports, in response to Western sanctions
imposed on Russia over Ukraine's crisis,
says Russia’s agricultural watchdog.

EU fruit & vegetables fall under the ban,
Alekseyenko says, adding that all dairy
products from the EU, are on the list.

“The list includes milk powder, butter & cheese,”
a source says, adding that this also includes all
mass production cheeses.

Russia's sanctions on US and EU food imports
will be “quite substantial,” Alekseyenko says.

The restrictions are to affect those countries
which initiated sanctions against Russia.

By the end of 2013, the major importers of dairy
products to Russia were:- Finland, with 17,8000
tons worth US$19.6 million dollars; Estonia, with
8,300 tons worth $19.4 million; Poland, with 3.8
tons worth $8 million; and Lithuania, with 3 tons
worth $7.3 million, according to Russia’s Federal
Customs Service.

Alekseyenko states that many countries that
didn't sanction Moscow, are ready to increase
their exports of similar products to Russia.

Russian officials have already held
consultations with representatives from
Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, on
expanding food imports from them, says
Rosselkhoznadzor.

Russia’s agricultural watchdog is permitting
imports from over 90 Brazilian suppliers of
animal origin products.

The list comprises 31 suppliers of beef
by-products, 27 suppliers of poultry, 27
suppliers of beef, 4 suppliers of pork and
pork by-products, and 3 suppliers of milk
and dairy products.

This is a retaliatory measure for the several
rounds of sanctions imposed by the US and
EU on Moscow, over the crisis in Ukraine.

The month before, the EU chose the harshest
restrictions ever, targeting the finance, energy
and defense sectors of the Russian economy.

They hit 5 Russian banks, including the biggest,
Sberbank. The EU also introduced an embargo
on the import and export of arms and related
material, to and from Russia.

___________________________

Sanctions against Russia already
taking toll on Western businesses — FT

According to the Financial Times, shares in Adidas,
the world’s 2nd largest sportswear group, fell 15%
after the company issued a profit warning & said it
would accelerate a closure of its stores in Russia.

“These warnings come as the EU directs its toughest
sanctions against Russia since the end of the cold
war, targeting Russia’s energy, financial & defense
sectors,” the newspaper’s online article says.

According to the newspaper, shares in Adidas, the
world’s second-largest sportswear group, dropped
15% after the company issued a profit warning and
said it would accelerate the closure of stores in
Russia because of increasing risks to consumer
spending in the region.

Joe Kaeser, chief executive of Siemens, warns
that geopolitical tensions, including those in
Ukraine, pose “serious risks” for Europe's
growth, both this year, and the next.

Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive, Ben van
Beurden, says that, along with other western
oil majors, he is assessing the impact of the
tighter sanctions on Russia’s energy sector
imposed by the US and EU.

“It’s a bit early to say how it will play out, what
the consequences might be or how we'll react,”
he says. Last month the oil company suspended
operations in the Yuzivska field in east Ukraine,
amid mounting clashes between separatist and
government forces, the newspaper says.

Erste Group, the third-largest lender in emerging
Europe, warns the turmoil could impact banks in
Eastern Europe:

“I can’t exclude any nasty surprises in the region
due to political decisions or developments,” says
Erste chief executive, Andreas Treichl. “If the
crisis accelerates, of course, we will have to
revise our forecast for all of Europe in 2015
and in 2016,” he adds.

_____________________

"Inclusive growth and
sustainable solutions."

The day after 2014's World Cup final in Brazil,
the 6th BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India,
China and S. Africa) Summit started there.

Fortaleza and Brasilia were the host cities from
June 14 -16, to finally establish a new financial
framework under the title, "Inclusive growth
and sustainable solutions."

The countries of the BRICS group are
setting the foundations for a new
global financial framework.

A monetary stabilization fund - the Contingency
Reserve Agreement (CRA) & a development bank,
known as BRICS Bank, are going to operate as a
multilateral support mechanism for balance of
payments, and a fund to finance investments.

BRICS is to distance itself from the IMF and the
World Bank, institutions created 70 years ago,
by the US Treasury Department.

This financial cooperation in the face of
the dollar's volatility, offers alternatives
without 'structural adjustment programs'
or "economic restructuring".

As a consequence of the growing global
economic slow down, it has become more
difficult for the BRICS countries to attain
growth rates above 5%.

The continued fall in prices of primary materials
for industrial use, due to a reduced demand from
Asia and the return of short-term capital flows to
Wall Street, has negatively impacted most foreign
trade and exchange rates.

With the exception of the slight improvement of
the yuan, the currencies of the BRICS countries
have fallen from 8.80 percentage points (Indian
ruppee) to 16 (South African rand), compared to
the dollar, between May 2013 and June 2014.

The CRA will reduce volatility in trade and
investment, between BRICS members.

The CRA won't need the support of the IMF
to make its own loans, affording it greater
political autonomy from Washington.

The currency war of the central economies
against the economies of the capitalist
periphery, demands the implementation
of the CRA --- as soon as possible.

The Contingency Reserve Agreement and
the BRICS Bank will be valuable financial
instruments beyond the reach of the US,
the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank.

The BRICS Bank begins with 50 billion dollars
of capital, rising to 100 billion in 2 years and
200 billion in five years.

It will be able to finance up to 350 billion dollars
for infrastructure, education, health, science,
technology and environmental projects.

In South America, the BRICS Bank could reduce
financing costs and strengthen the Development
Bank of Latin America's role in smoothing trade
cycle instability, by increasing credits in times
of crisis, and thus rule out loans from both the
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB),
and the World Bank.

On the other hand, as a credit provider, the
BRICS Bank will compete with other financial
entities which hold considerable influence in
the region, such as the Brazilian National
Bank of Economic and Social Development
(BNDES), CAF, China Development Bank and
Exim Bank of China – the Chinese banks
with the greatest number of credits.

If BRICS Bank loans are issued in yuans,
the currency's internationalization will
gradually strengthen its position as a
means of payment & reserve currency,
to the detriment of other currencies.

Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, the five
most dynamic emerging economies on the planet,
make up the BRICS group, a powerful association
which represents 43% of the world's population,
30% of the earth’s surface, 18% of the world's
GDP and 35% of the world's currency reserves.

BRICS members’ industries produced over 50%
of global economic growth over the last decade.

Goldman Sachs states that by 2035 the BRICS
could become an economic bloc greater than
G-7, composed of the major industrial powers.

Goldman Sachs also argues that Brazil, Russia,
India and China’s economic potential is such,
that they could become the world’s dominant
4 economies --- by 2050.

They constitute an enormous territory (39.7
million square kilometers), which gives them
strategic continental dimensions and a huge
quantity of natural resources.

___________________________________

US appetite for European market
responsible for Ukrainian crisis
- experts

The Ukrainian crisis broke out, because of USA
wishes to devour European markets, by ousting
its competitors --- Russia and China --- says the
President of Neokon consultants, Mikhail Khazin.

The European Union market is optimal for the US,
and the US won't yield it to Russia or China, or to
the EU's powerhouse, Germany, the economist
told the 'Free Thought' intellectual club.

“It's no accident that the US proposal to the
EU, makes Europe a free trade zone. Then,
the EU countries will be deindustrialized,
as production costs are higher in
Europe, than

“Over time, the European market, according
to Washington’s designs, should become a
market for US goods.”

The US “has revised its energy strategy and is
going to export shale gas to Europe,” the expert
added. “Since it is more expensive than Russian
natural gas, the US seeks to limit or completely
stop, Russian gas supplies to Europe,” he said.

This, Khazin believes, is the reason for Kiev’s
stubbornness in the gas conflict with Russia,
-- forcing Gazprom to cut supplies to Ukraine
on June 16th, until Ukraine pays for already
supplied gas.

US shale gas plans also explain the interference
of certain US politicians, including Ambassador
to Bulgaria Marcie Ries & Senator John McCain,
into talks on the South Stream pipeline's future,
between Russia and the EU, he added.

“Washington’s global economic aim is to destroy
& devour the European Union consumer market
to harm Russia and China, as the latter is set to
become world leader this year, and challenge
the US,” Khazin said.

The economist recalls ex Ukrainian President
Viktor Yanukovych’s visit to Beijing --- straight
after his trip to Vilnius for the EU Association
Agreement signing last November...

Yanukovych had agreed with China on a deep-
water port construction in Crimea in advance.
The project would attract about $12 billion of
investment & about 2 million Chinese workers.

This was Beijing’s plan on how to lay a new Silk
Road to Europe, and it has faced persistent US
resistance, Khazin says.

“Washington does not want to see China taking
the EU sales market, or Russia’s strengthening
position as energy supplier to Europe, via the
South Stream pipeline.

Hence the US politicians’ eagerness in Kiev &
their numerous visits to the Maidan at the time
of protests by EU integration supporters.

It's the US that deprived Yanukovych of the
presidential post, to sweep into power pro-
American politicians,” the expert believes.

The US is keen to take a tight grip on Ukraine's
energy sector, & the new government in Kiev
is eager to help it. Ukrainian Prime Minister
Arseniy Yatsenyuk has already announced
that the country’s gas transportation system
is being handed over to its US & EU partners.

Moreover, US Vice-President Joe Biden’s son
is now a board director of Ukraine's private
oil and gas company, Burisma.

Professor Daisuke Kotegawa, former executive
Japan director at the IMF, shares Khazin’s view:

“As a specialist in the settlement of major
financial crises, I can say that the political
crisis in Ukraine is hugely influenced by
global financial instability & uncertainty
about the US establishment patronizing
Ukraine over its position in the world.”

Mikhail Delyagin, director of the Institute
for Globalization Problems, says “the US
purposefully destabilized the situation in
the Middle East during the Arab Spring”.

“This time, the US has provoked a political
crisis in Ukraine. Russia could be its next
target. The chief US strategic goal in the
context of these destructive actions, is
to instill fear and drive global financial
speculators’ money into US securities,
to keep the US's national economy
afloat,” the expert says.

_________________________________

US TREASURY BONDS SCAM
HIDES PRECIPICE

From November 2013 to January 2014, Belgium,
with a GDP of $480 billion, bought $141.2 billion
of US Treasury bonds.

Somehow, Belgium came up with enough money
to allocate during a 3-month period, 29% of its
annual GDP, to purchase US Treasury bonds.

Certainly Belgium did not have a budget surplus
of $141.2 billion. Was Belgium running a trade
surplus during a 3-month period equal to 29 %
of Belgium's GDP?

No, Belgium’s trade and current accounts are
in deficit.

Did Belgium’s central bank print $141.2 billion
worth of euros in order to make the purchase?

No, Belgium is a member of the euro system.
Its central bank can't increase money supply.

So where did the $141.2 billion come from?

There is only one source. The money came
from the US Federal Reserve, & the purchase
was laundered, through Belgium, in order to
hide the fact that actual Federal Reserve bond
purchases during November 2013, through to
January 2014, were $112 billion per month.

____________________________________

GERMANY CAN SEE US POWER PLAY

Economic sanctions against Russia, demanded
by the US, will hurt the economy of Germany's
eastern states first, says Herman Winkler, a
German European Parliament deputy, from
the centre-right Christian Democratic Union.

“Sanctions will only damage ourselves and
affect, first of all, the economy of eastern
Germany,” Winkler says.

US' calls for more rigorous sanctions against
Moscow suggest that Washington is pursuing
its own economic objectives, he states.

“After the fracking boom, the United States
is on its way to becoming the largest gas
exporter in the world,” Winkler says, “and
Russia is now an unwelcome competitor.”

“We should stop being the Americans' servants,”
he says, adding that the Ukrainian crisis can be
settled, only by co-operating with Moscow.

A policy of confrontation is “blind to history
and deaf to the other side,” Winkler says.

__________________________

QUANTATIVE EASING (PRINTING MONEY)
OBSCURES US' COLLAPSE

In a leaked memo to clients, financial expert
David John Marotta, calculates the actual
number of Americans out of work to be
an astronomic 37.2%, as opposed to
the 6.7%, claimed by the
Federal Reserve.

“The unemployment rate only describes people
who are currently working or looking for work,”
he says.

“Unemployment in its truest definition, meaning
the portion of people who do not have any job,
is 37.2 percent.

This number obviously includes some people who
are not or never plan to seek employment. But it
does describe how many people are not able to,
do not want to, or cannot find, a way to work,”
he and colleague Megan Russell reveal in their
client report --- leaked to the Washington
Examiner.

Contrary to expectations, a drop in the
unemployment rate, Marotta argues, is
presently a sign -- that the unemployed
are just dropping out of the job market.

“Officially-reported unemployment numbers
shrink as time passes, as the unemployed
become discouraged enough to stop look-
ing for work,” say Marotta and Russel.

“A decrease is not necessarily beneficial;
an increase is clearly detrimental.”

They also criticise the so-called Misery Index,
based on official unemployment and inflation.

The Wall Street advisers say the Index is 14
plus and not the 8 advertised by Washington,
as it totally ignores how the US economy is
being hugely subsidized by Q.I. schemes ---
including monthly bond purchases by the
Federal Reserve.

“Today, the Misery Index would be 7.54, using
official numbers,” analysts write.... But, if the
true unemployment picture, including workers
who've given up the job search, is placed with
the historical method of calculating inflation,
‘the current misery index is closer to 14.7.”

___________________________________

Youth Unemployment Marks Opening
of World Economic Forum

Persistent labour difficulties in the world,
especially high youth unemployment levels,
started the discussions on the first day of
the World Economic Forum, in Davos.

According to experts and executives attending
the meeting --- high youth unemployment is the
main obstacle to economic recovery in Europe.

That situation is one of the main problems on
the continent where an entire generation with
neither present nor future, will be wasted.

In addition to that, is what experts describe
as a rampant aging population, high energy
costs and high debt levels.

Axel Weber, president of Germany's Central Bank
(Bundesbank), says that optimism about Europe's
recovery is not entirely justified, as a 1% average
growth rate isn't enough to create jobs and
attract investment.

Financial markets have improved, but not
the real economy, he says.

Data from the International Labour Organization
shows that the youth sector is still one of the
most affected, with over 74 million men and
women under 24, unemployed.

The 44th World Economic Forum, gathers
economic, political and global top figures
and is attended by 2,500 top people,
including heads of state and Government.

Specialists draw attention to many criticisms of
the meeting including "the lack of humility and
unselfishness of the richest" who talk annually
but don't generate concrete actions in a world
of growing inequalities.

______________________

NETHERLANDS DEGRADED

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ratings agency
has downgraded the Netherlands’ credit
rating from AAA to AA+, citing growing
concerns over its "performance".

The Netherlands has been following
"austerity" cuts for several years, and
now has inflated house prices, mass
unemployment, rising inequality and
an ever-increasing national debt.

The Netherlands is the latest eurozone
country to be downgraded, leaving only
Germany, Luxembourg and Finland with
AAA+ from all 3 main credit agencies;
that is, S&P, Fitch and, Moody’s.

_________________________________

CHINA TO AVOID
FED's "TAPERING"

China’s central bank says that it no longer sees
any benefit at all, in increasing its $3.66 trillion
foreign currency reserves, the world's largest.

China will cap its purchases of US dollars, in
an effort to limit the depreciation of the yuan.

“It’s no longer in China’s favour to accumulate
foreign-exchange reserves,” Bloomberg quotes
Yi Gang, a deputy governor at the central bank.

Decreasing the influence of the dollar and
other currencies is a step closer to reaching
China’s 2015 goal to “float” its currency and,
says the People’s Bank of China, it will help
the everyday Chinese citizen.

Between July and September 2013, China
increased its foreign currency holdings by
$166 billion, making it the world’s highest,
at $3.66 trillion. This is more than the GDP
of Germany – Europe’s biggest economy,
Bloomberg reports.

This cap will “basically” end the interference
of foreign currency in the Chinese market,
and widen the yuan’s daily trading range.

The move also provides a buffer to China from
future US Federal Reserve stimulus "tapering",
which is a sneaky way of exporting US deficit
problems, and has already had severe ripple
effects on emerging market currencies in
Brazil and India.

_________________________________

MALTESE ?

The Maltese House of Representatives announces
now, that it will grant citizenship to people born
outside the European Union -- for 650,000 euros.

Labour Party PM Joseph Muscat, states that
this will generate cash and attract important
investment to the Mediterranean island.

Muscat asserts that the plan will generate
around 30 million euros in the first year, with
an initial naturalization of 45 people, who
will be able to work and obtain residence in
any of the EU's 28 member countries.

The above figure will increase to 200 or more
individuals annually, say Henley and Partners
group, which will administer the project.

About 50 residents organized a demonstration
outside government headquarters, while
the vote for the measure was taking place.

Nationalist leader Simon Busuttil criticizes the
decision to sell national citizenship, saying
he fears that Malta will become a 'tax haven'.

_____________________________________________

BANKRUPT US & EU
RUSH INTO TRADE DEAL

The "biggest free market in the world" attracts
EU and US officials, despite the spy row... just
as the two face a massive bad debt implosion.

Slovenian PM Alenka Bratusek's government is
now to face a vote of confidence, as it struggles
to avoid being the next eurozone state to take
an international "bailout".

Slovenia, an economic star among EU newcomers
when it joined in 2004 and adopted the euro as its
currency in 2007, was badly hit by the global crisis
and fell back into recession in the third quarter of
2012, amid lower export demand and budget cuts.

The coalition government is struggling to tackle
7.9 billion euros of "bad loans" at mainly state
-owned banks.

Avoiding an international bailout will mean
raising taxes - particularly on real estate -
spending cuts and privatization, says
the centre-left government.

The EU warns that eleven other EU countries,
including the United Kingdom, France, Italy,
the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark,
Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Malta, are all
"experiencing macroeconomic imbalances."

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-
partisan federal data agency, forecasts that
US debt will grow to levels not seen since
World War II, when the US took on the huge
cost of arming and sending 16 million
service members, to fight in Europe
and the Pacific.

________________________________________

AFRICA CAUGHT BY
UK BANKING CON

The UK is “by far the most important” player
in the global financial secrecy market. Its
web of jurisdictions around the world
makes the UK the top router of
global financial secrets.

John Christensen, director of Tax Justice Network
states: “Our index reveals that Britain plays a key
role in the global market for financial secrecy.”

This, despite David Cameron’s recent G20 drive
to crack down on tax avoidance and to promote
tax transparency.

“The City of London uses a web of satellite
secrecy jurisdictions based on UK crown
dependencies and overseas territories,
to channel huge illicit flows, which feed
London’s mad property boom,” he says.

The findings by the non-aligned network of
researchers and activists, were presented
to Queen Elizabeth II, before release.

“Britain, taken together with its Overseas
Territories and Crown Dependencies, is by
far the most important part of the global
offshore system of tax havens or secrecy
jurisdictions,” the letter read.

The note to the Queen also mentioned that
PM David Cameron, is doing little to deliver
on his pledge to provide more transparency.

“Our findings show that these jurisdictions
fall woefully short of acceptable standards
of transparency, having made only modest
reforms since 2009, when the G20 led by your
government committed itself ‘to take action
against non-cooperative jurisdictions, including
tax havens,’” the message to the Queen read.

“The crown dependencies and overseas
territories have long been considered among
the worst offenders of world tax havens",
Salman Shaheen, editor for International
Tax Review magazine tells RT.

“What is surprising is that the UK government
is not doing very much about it. I mean, it has
introduced certain legislation to clean up its
own companies onshore, but it really needs to
get its work on tax havens offshore in order.”

Of the 82 global financial jurisdictions ranked,
10 are directly connected to UK, whose head
of state is the British queen. They include the
Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the British
Virgin Islands.

According to the financial secrecy watchdog,
up to US$32 trillion is sitting in offshore zones
where it is either untaxed or slightly taxed.

“Rolling back the secrecy that shrouds up to
$32 trillion in offshore financial assets remains
one of the great challenges of the 21st century,”
Christensen says in a statement .

The report believes that offshore zones have
cost African countries over $1 trillion since
the 1970s, of which, $640 billion came from
16 Commonwealth countries.

“These losses dwarf the external debts of
$190 billion for the 33 countries, meaning
that Africa is a major net creditor to the
world, contrary to what is widely
believed,” the letter said.

“The European Union’s decision to curb one
important aspect of banking secrecy from
2015 – masks waning momentum for the
other urgent changes elsewhere,” Markus
Meinzer, lead researcher for the Financial
Secrecy Index says.

The three highest ranking countries are
Switzerland, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.

Switzerland, the “grandfather of the world’s
tax havens”, accounts for less than 5% of
the world's offshore financial services.

Yet last year the country managed one quarter
of the world’s total assets (approx $2.8 trillion),
according to the Swiss Bankers’ Association.

“Switzerland has also been playing the spoiler,
striving to block or derail emerging international
transparency initiatives,” the watchdog says.

Luxemburg was placed second on the index.

“Outside what might traditionally be regarded
as the financial sector, it also runs a lucrative
line hosting holding companies of transnational
corporations, principally to help them avoid (&
evade) tax.

It's also strenuously seeking to build an
industry based on Islamic finance, and in
October 2012 achieved a boost when a
group of major Chinese banks said they
were leaving the (very lightly regulated)
London markets in favor of the even less
regulated Luxembourg one.

Hong Kong, though, is the “fastest growing
secrecy jurisdiction, or tax haven, today.”

Moran Harari, researcher, Financial Secrecy Index:

“Without public disclosure of the owners of
these assets, and the automatic exchange
of information between jurisdictions to
provide information the law enforcement &
tax authorities need, it will be impossible
to tackle some of the world’s most
pressing problems.”

___________________________________

DEFEND THE CO-OP
--- IF YOU CAN !!!

Nick Matthews, vice-chair of Co-operatives UK:

First, "we should have no confidence in the advice
from group chair Len Wardle or ex-CEO Peter Marks
--- about what to do next. We should have stopped
listening to them a long time ago," he stresses,
adding "it is inconceivable to me that Wardle
could contemplate retaining his chairmanship
until May — he should have already gone."

Secondly, he says that "a co-operative bank with
a minority member’s stake might be “ethical” in
intent, but it is evidently not.. a co-operative, and
if it persists in using the name it should be asked
to desist — just as the brand Co-operative Travel,
which the group sold to Thomas Cook, has to
disappear, after a certain period."

He adds that current CEO of the group, Euan
Sutherland, "has handled the situation well,
despite the dreadful hand he has been dealt,"
and ends by hoping that "this amputation of
the Co-op’s crippled banking arm stops the
bleeding and protects the body of the Co-
operative Group from any further liabilities."

____________________

LONDON BOOMS
AS WALES ROTS

China and the UK have agreed to continue building
London into a major offshore market for yuan trading.

Both sides welcome the strong growth of London's
RMB markets, making London the most active RMB
centre in the world outside China, according to the
joint statement after the fifth China-UK Economic
and Financial Dialogue held in Beijing.

"China recognizes London's major role in increasing
the international use of the RMB, and both sides
agree to continued collaborating to support
London's offshore market," the statement says.

To boost London's market status, China will give
investors based in the city a right to buy 80 billion
yuan worth of stocks, bonds and money market
instruments issued by financial institutions in China.

China allows foreign institutional buyers to trade
yuan-denominated financial products through a
regime called RQFII, or Renminbi Qualified Foreign
Institutional Investor.

To encourage foreign investors to hold the yuan,
the RQFII now has a global quota of 350 billion yuan.

The extension of RQFII will deepen China's financial
markets, & strengthen RMB activity in the offshore
market, the statement says.

"China has agreed to further develop capital inflow and
outflow channels for the RMB, including for RMB trapped
onshore, overseas direct investment and the development
of Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) quotas
to support liquidity in the offshore market," it says.

Both sides agree to support further RMB bond issuances
in the UK by Chinese as well as international firms, and
develop London as an offshore RMB debt issuance centre.

Numerous cities are competing for China's permission
to be allocated as centres for clearing yuan trading
offshore, to provide these lucrative financial services.

The talks were co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier
Ma Kai and the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer,
George Osborne.

Where is the economic investment in Wales?
In a "dole queue" for unsustainable "grants"!

_____________________________________

Iran to exclude dollar, euro
from foreign transactions

SPY AGENCIES STEAL WORLD's
COMMERCIAL SECRETS

Brazil may reject US fighter jet deal
over NSA spying scandal

Brazilian officials have expressed reluctance to purchase
dozens of military planes from the US, after it is revealed
that the NSA not only closely monitored Brazilian energy
& military affairs, but also mined for commercial secrets.

________________________________________________

ANTI-IRAN SANCTIONS
CRIPPLED
FRENCH CARMAKERS

French carmaker Renault, said its profits
plunged, as US-engineered sanctions on
Tehran led to a halt in its activities in Iran.

The auto group says that resulted in a loss of
249 million euros from a profit of 519 million,
the previous year year.

In February 2012, Europe’s second largest automaker,
PSA Peugeot Citroën, also stopped its trade with Iran
after the enforcement of US-led financial sanctions
against the Islamic Republic.

Peugeot stopped exporting vehicles to Iran, which
accounted for around 13% of the firm’s global
deliveries in 2011.

The French company posted a record 6.7 billion dollar
loss in 2012. Iran was the carmaker’s second-biggest
market in 2011, in terms of trade volume.

The illegal US-engineered sanctions against the Islamic
Republic have been imposed based on the unfounded
accusation that Iran may be pursuing non-civilian
objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that, as a committed
signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of
the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to
use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

____________________

CLOUD KARMA

The European commission says European companies
will probably stop using the services of US Internet
providers, due to reports of US spying on the EU.

US providers of cloud services, which allow users to
store & access data on remote servers, could suffer
major business losses, if their customers fear the
privacy of their data is under threat, Neelie Kroes,
the commission’s vice-president who speaks on
digital affairs, warns now.

"If businesses or governments think they might be
spied on, they will have less reason to trust cloud,
& it will be cloud providers who ultimately miss out.

"Why would you pay someone else to hold your
commercial or other secrets if you suspect or
know they're being shared against all your
wishes?" Kroes says.

On June 29th, Der Spiegel reported that secret
documents provided by former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden showed that the US had spied on
EU offices in Washington, New York, and Brussels.

Members of the European Parliament are asking for
“immediate clarification” from the US government,
warning of a “potential impact” on US-EU relations.

"It is often US providers that will miss out, as
they are often the leaders in cloud services. If
European cloud customers can't trust the US
government, then maybe they won't trust US
cloud providers either. If I am right, there are
multibillion-euro consequences for these US
companies.

"If I were a US cloud provider, I would be quite
frustrated with my government right now," she adds.

________________________________________________

WEST's PLOT TO DEVALUE
SYRIAN POUND... FLOPS

The Syrian government has weathered its worst
economic crisis, thanks to the help of friendly
countries, Syria's top economist says, but he
adds that the economy still falls short of true
recovery, at least in the foreseeable future.

Iran, Russia and other friendly countries, have
been supporting the Syrian government politically,
militarily and economically, Qadri Jamil, the Syrian
deputy prime minister for economic affairs and the
minister of domestic trade & consumer protection,
tells the Financial Times, noting how transactions
in Syria now use the Iranian rial, or Russian ruble,
to get around the West's sanctions.

The deputy prime minister says allies are supporting
Syria with around 500 million US dollars a month for
financial dealings, including oil and open insurance
lines, which will definitely support the country in its
counter-attack against what he calls a "foreign
conspiracy to drown the Syrian pound."

He says Syria has an unlimited credit line with Tehran
to import oil and food --- and Damascus has replaced
dollars and Euros with Iran and Russia's currencies.

He says the economic situation is "very complicated
& difficult, but hasn't reached the point of no return."

Syria's oil production dipped from 380,000 barrels a day
before the crisis to about 20,000 barrels, after repetitive
attacks on oil and gas wells in the country.

His reassurance came as Syrian people meet the
expenses of Ramadan, seeing a further projected
fall in the cost of living, due to the Syrian pound's
fall in value, and rises in consumer prices.

Since mid June, the pound has sharply depreciated
against the dollar and dropped from 170 pounds per
dollar to around 205 pounds within 2 weeks, which
inflated the prices of all goods in Syria's markets.

Jamil accuses Saudi Arabia, the US & the UK,
of attempts to undermine the Syrian currency.

"Riyadh, Washington and London manage a conspiracy
to undermine the Syrian currency by flooding Lebanon
and Jordan with Syrian pounds," he says.

He accuses his government's opponents of launching
"a military campaign and a financial war against Syria
through Western sanctions - ranging from a ban on
Syrian oil to the prohibition of remittances through
banks and credit cards."

Ammar Youssef, a local economist says that,
without the intervention of the Central Bank
of Syria, the pound would have been sold at
2,000 per dollar.

He says the pound will recover once the conflict
in the country has drawn to an end, & the wheel
of Syria's economy will move again through new
investments --- which will eventually lead to the
dollar's return to lower than its pre-crisis price.

The Prime Minister, Wael al-Halqi, says the economy
is balanced and adapting itself to the developments
and complexities of the crisis, now in its 4th year,
through a package of measures the government
is taking, in line with present variables.

_______________________________________

UK's 'CITY STRATEGY':-
GOING DOWN!

The UK was stripped of its top rating by Fitch
after a downgrade by Moody’s in February.

Fitch not only cut its growth projection, but
also forecast, that UK debt will hit 101% of
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015-2016.

“The fiscal space to absorb further adverse
economic and financial shocks is no longer
consistent with an AAA rating,” Fitch says.

Moody’s cut the UK’s top AAA ranking to AA1
because of "rising debt" & slowing "growth".

The downgrade came as another damaging
blow to the UK Chancellor, who is already
under pressure from the IMF - to reverse
his damaging austerity cuts.

The head of the IMF Christine Lagarde urges
the Chancellor to ease his so-called deficit
reduction strategy - as it is increasing debt
and inhibiting any chance of a recovery.

____________________________________

CLOSING DOWN
THE TAX HAVENS

As Germany and France move to close down
EEC countries hiding behind tax "havens",
and unsustainable debt, eg, Cyprus,
Luxemburg and Malta start to squirm...
and the UK's "City" starts to shiver.

_____________________

CYPRUS EXPLODES

After Cypriots withdrew their cash en masse
to avoid losing a percentage of their savings
--- as part of the EEC's "restructure" plan ---
Cyprus turned to Russia but talks collapsed.

Will New Zealand end up asking China for similar help?

New Zealand depositors face a Cyprus-style tax on
their bank accounts, as the government is planning
to impose a similar strategy on its banks. warns
the country's Green Party.

New Zealand is facing a similar bank failure to Cyprus,
and seems likely to adopt open bank resolution (OBR),
which will see small depositors lose part their savings,
in favour of a big bank bailout, Green Party co-leader
Russel Norman says. The country’s Finance Minister,
Bill English, supports the open bank resolution.

"Bill English is proposing a Cyprus-style solution
for managing bank failure here in New Zealand,"
says Norman, adding that the Reserve Bank is in
the "final stages" of implementing an OBR system.

New Zealand's bank depositors will have their savings
cut by a certain percentage, to keep their bank afloat.

The Green Party however has major doubts, that OBR
tactics are appropriate here. Norman underlines that
few depositors can reasonably evaluate the reliability
of their bank. "Not even sophisticated investors like
Merrill Lynch saw the global financial crisis coming."

Norman believes that the OBR policy is too radical,
and few OECD countries use it, preferring instead,
deposit insurance schemes.

"A deposit insurance scheme is a much simpler,
well-tested alternative to open bank resolution.
It rewards safe banks with lower premiums and
limits the cost to taxpayers of a bank failure…
[They] protect people's deposits up to a maximum,
ranging from $100,000 to $250,000," he says.

Cyprus has announced that it plans to impose a
10% tax on bank accounts as part of a 10 billion
euro bailout by the European Union. The news
caused panic across the island, as many people
rushed to cash machines to withdraw savings.

Switzerland is to assist international tax authorities
in disclosing information on bank accounts held by
foreigners who avoid taxation at home.

Joint efforts by the EU, the US and a number of other
countries, have led to Switzerland introducing new
banking laws.

The new regulation now allows foreign tax services to
send group requests for bank account information of
their citizens. Banks, nominal account holders, agents
or trust managers, are obliged to provide information.

These requests can take a number of forms.
A tax authority can request data on a group
of people united by common criteria, but it
still has to be seen how it will work –
"fishing" requests will be strictly
prohibited.

________________________________

GERMANY MOVES ITS GOLD
FROM US & FRANCE

Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank has
withdrawn its entire 374-ton gold bullion store
from the Bank of France in Paris, and 300 tons
of the 1,500 tons held by the New York
Federal Reserve.

The move follows an audit criticizing the Bundesbank
for mismanagement, stating that the gold had never
been “verified physically.

Germany has the world’s 2nd-largest bullion reserves
at 270,000 gold bars ($177.5 billion), second to the US.

From now on, the bank will keep small amounts of
gold abroad for trading purposes. About 30% of
Germany’s gold reserves are currently held at
facilities of the Frankfurt-based Bundesbank.

Bundesbank board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele
says gold is an important resource "to create
confidence in the currency and in the
economic power of our country."

"This sends a message about storing gold near you
and taking delivery no matter who is holding it,"
Sinclair tells the UK's Telegraph. "When France
did this years ago, it sent panic amongst the US's
financial leadership. History will look back on this
salvo as being the beginning of the end of the
US dollar as the reserve currency of choice."

___________________________

OBAMA OPENED RUSSIA UP

President Obama abolished the Jackson-Vanik amendment
giving Russia “permanent normal trade relations” status.

“The Russian Federation has been found to be in full
compliance with the freedom of emigration requirement,”
Obama proclaimed, adding that the articles of the 1974
law, were no longer applicable to Russia.

The US wants its companies to take more
advantage of... Russia’s growing market.

The decision allows US business to enjoy the benefits
of trade with Russia, now it's a member of the World
Trade Organization.

Russia will provide more access to its 140 million
consumers and US firms can benefit from lower
import tariffs, intellectual property protection
and greater legal transparency.

US economists estimate that US exports to Russia
could now double in five years, to $22 billion.

______________________________________

"Avarice is a vice, the exaction
of usury is a misdemeanour,
and the love of money is
detestable."

- John Maynard Keynes

Poised on the brink of economic meltdown as we are,
governments all over the world are baying frantically
for growth. But growth isn't the answer to our problems.

Way back in the 1700’s Adam Smith recognized a limit
to economic growth. He predicted that in the long run,
population growth would push wages down, and
natural resources would become increasingly
scarce.

Consider a steady state economy - an economy of
stable or mildly fluctuating size --- minimal chance
of the boom and bust cycle, less opportunity for
outright greed. The term can apply equally to a
national economy, a local, regional, or global
economy. To be sustainable, a steady state
economy mustn't exceed ecological limits,
and that, is its most important attribute.

Our recent, unprecedented growth in economic
activity, has significantly shifted the balance of
nature with potentially disastrous consequences
for the planet's ecology, for our own well-being
- but particularly for that of the next generation.

It is a mistake to believe that more growth will
diminish our problems. In the long term more
growth will be a disaster, as continuous growth
is completely incompatible with sustainability.

A steady state economy does not imply a stationary
state of human improvement. There would be as much
scope as ever for all kinds of mental culture, & moral
and social progress; as much room for improving the
Art of Living (a bigger likelihood of it being improved),
when minds cease to be engrossed by the shallow art
of obtaining more money.

The human economy is embedded in nature, completely.
Without the natural world to draw upon, there is
nothing to make money from. But we've been perverse.
We have exploited nature to its very limits, maybe
beyond its ability to absorb our delinquency.

Economic processes are actually biological, physical,
& chemical processes. Humans don’t create anything,
they transform it into something else – plastics, cars,
toxic waste.

Economic growth cannot be relied upon to alleviate
poverty either. On the contrary, economic growth
has polarized wealth into the hands of the few.

If the pie isn’t getting any bigger, we need to cut
and distribute the pieces in a fair way.

Poor people who have trouble meeting basic needs
tend not to care about sustainability - how can they
-- when the priority is finding the next meal.

At the other end of the scale, excessively rich
people tend to consume unsustainable quantities
of resources. Fair distribution of wealth, therefore,
is a critical part of sustainability and the steady
state economy.

60 years ago, John Maynard Keynes said:

“The day is not far off when the economic problem
will take the back seat where it belongs, and the
arena of the heart and the head will be occupied
or reoccupied, by our real problems – problems
of life and of human relations, of creation and
behaviour and religion.”

Economic collapse is extremely painful. But
environmental collapse - the collapse of the
planet's support systems which sustain life on
earth as we know it - that is truly unbearable.

Governments have their heads stuck in the past.
They can only think of recreating what has been
– growth. But the future will be different. The
future needs the fairness and sustainability
only steady state economics can bring.

Moody’s US based 'Investors Service' has
cut its credit ratings for nine Danish banks,
citing the impact of the ongoing eurozone
crisis on bank loan quality and on their
"fund-raising capacity".

-----------------------------------------------------------

IRAN REPLACES 'SWIFT'

Karl Marx said that the capitalist class would
"dig its own grave", & every move the bankers
make to strangle Iran and its friends... appears
to be spectacularly backfiring, as Iran responds.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI)
Mahmoud Bahmani, says Iran has designed
& implemented a new system for conducting
international financial transactions now.

Bahmani said that the new system, which
has already been activated, will replace
Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication(SWIFT).

March 15th, SWIFT CEO, Lazaro Campos, said
in a statement that the society had decided to
discontinue offering services to Iranian banks
which are subject to financial sanctions
imposed by the European Union.

On January 23rd, EU foreign ministers OKed
fresh sanctions on Iran's financial and oil
sectors, which stop member countries from
importing Iranian crude, or dealing with its
central bank. SWIFT’s new action is meant
to fully enforce EU sanctions, as global
financial transactions, or so the "West"
believed, were really not "possible"
without using SWIFT.

********************************************

CHINA MOVES TO END
DOLLAR PRIMACY

China begins extending loans in yuan to BRICS
countries as a part of a move from the US dollar.

The Chinese Development Bank is to sign a
'memorandum of understanding' with partners
in the BRICS group of developing countries,
on increasing yuan-denominated loans, as
partners increase loans in their national
currencies, The Financial Times reports.

This aims to increase trade between the 5
nations and diversify away from the US dollar.

China is dropping the dollar in other ways, by
quietly selling its US holdings in exchange for
Canadian and other country's treasury bills.

***********************************************

AFRICA AIMS FOR ECONOMIC
"COMMON MARKET"

The African Union projects the establishment of
a continental free trade area, by 2017, said the
closing document at the 18th AU summit.

"The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) should
be operational by the indicative date of 2017,"
says the document.

The AU's three-step plan...

The first step was to finalize the tripartite
agreement among the E African Community
(EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), by
2014. Job done.

The second was to urge other trade blocs
to follow the experience of the tripartite
agreement and reach parallel agreement
between 2012 and 2014. Job done.

The third step is to consolidate the tripartite
and other regional free trade areas into the
CFTA initiative between 2015 and 2016.

"Enhanced intra-African trade and deepened
market integration can contribute significantly
to sustainable economic growth, employment
generation, poverty reduction, inflow of foreign
direct investment, industrial development and
better integration of the continent into the
global economy," says the document.

Africa has seven major regional trade blocs,
including the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS), the Economic
Community of Central African States (ECCAS),
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and the
Community of Sahel- Saharan States
(CEN-SAD), besides the above- mentioned
tripartite agreement blocs.

**********************************************

JAPAN DROPS DOLLAR
IN TRADE WITH CHINA

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his
Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda have
reached an agreement to promote a direct
use of their currencies in bilateral trade,
limiting the use of the US dollar in Asia.

The announcement was made in a statement
by the Japanese government after the Asian
leaders met in China's capital Beijing.

Both sides also agreed that Japan will hold the
Chinese currency, yuan, in its foreign-exchange
reserves, now largely denominated in dollars.

***********************************************

HONG KONG BEATING
NEW YORK AND LONDON

The World Economic Forum (WEF) says Hong Kong
has become the world's most developed financial
market, overtaking the US & UK for the 1st time.

***********************************************

US DOWNGRADING EUROPE
THROUGH CREDIT RATINGS

The most indebted country in the world, the US,
with control of corrupt credit rating agencies,
is saving the US Dollar at the expense of the
EU's population, as Standard & Poor reduce
Belgium's creditworthiness, in a move which
strikes at the heart of European unity...

************************************************

AS THE FIRST EU BANKS FAIL...

The Bank of the South, a financial institution
serving various South American countries,
is to begin operating in the coming months
after a process of legislative ratification by
member countries, that took several years.

Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Paraguay and Uruguay, all signed the bank´s
founding agreement in 2009. Its launch needed
a simple majority of the signatory countries...
whose capital is more than 66.3% of the
total agreed-upon amount.

The legislatures of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia,
Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay have now
all finally ratified the agreement.

With start-up capital of $20 billion, the bank
is a key part of the Union of South American
Nations bloc, UNASUR.

The new institution is designed to defend
economic sovereignty, & end dependence
on "international agencies" - to protect
its members from periodic world financial
crises, and to promote development with
the region's own resources and investment.

Based in Caracas and with offices in La Paz and
Buenos Aires, bank member countries will have
equal representation on the board of directors,
in the decision making process and on approval
of funds and projects, unlike other institutions
in which the weight of members´ votes, is to be
always determined by their "contributions".

The rule of "1 country, 1 vote" demonstrates
a strong commitment to integration, based on
solidarity & equality, say observers & experts.

The Bank of the South aims to be a pillar of the
region's financial architecture, much like the
regional currency developed by the Bolivarian
Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).

In 2009, the countries of ALBA (Bolivia, Cuba,
Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela) signed an
agreement for the creation of the SUCRE;
(Unified System for Regional Compensation),
which is laying the basis for a single currency;
a further expression of the regional search for
new cooperative mechanisms - beyond the
market.

That's the spirit - don't fight and hate your
enemies - build NEW good structures instead !

************************************************

UNITED NATIONS SAYS
DOLLAR COLLAPSING

The UN warns the world of a possible crisis of
confidence in, and even a "collapse" of, the
US dollar, if its value against other
currencies continues to decline.

In its mid-year review of the world economy,
the UN economic division says the falling value
of foreign dollar holdings, is endangering the
present global financial system.

On April 18th, 'Standard & Poor's' changed its
outlook on US government debt from "stable"
to "negative", and warned that the US could
soon lose its prized AAA rating.

At one time, it would have been unthinkable
for Standard & Poor's to do such a thing.

But today it is amazing that it has taken them
so long to do it, as US government finances
are falling apart - and fast.

When the credit rating of US government debt
declines, US interest rates will shoot up.

John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics:

"S&P is noting the US government's long-range
fiscal problems. Total federal debt & obligations
are about $75 trillion. That's 15 times the gross
domestic product (GDP) of the United States.

US government debt and obligations increase
at about $5 trillion a year, which is neither
sustainable nor containable... If the US
was a corporation, it would be bankrupt.

Now they've downgraded the US debt-rating,
but the US is still intent on "winning", without
realising that giving is better than conning.

*************************************************

US WARS UNSUSTAINABLE

US economic distress and mounting bad loans now
force the US to borrow SIX TIMES its GDP, to keep
waging its plundering wars on Iraq, Libya, etc.

The US Empire is melting before our eyes.

*************************************************

BRICS: IMF CHIEF 'MUSTN'T
BE BASED ON NATIONALITY

The selection of the next head of the IMF should
meet changing realities in the global economy
& not be on the basis of nationality; especially
the tradition that requires a European chief,
the fund's 5 key emerging market economies'
executive directors say.

"The convention that the selection of the
managing director is made, in practice,
on the basis of nationality, undermines
the legitimacy of the fund," say IMF
directors for China, Brazil, India,
South Africa & Russia, or BRICS
states, in a joint statement.

More and more people believe that emerging
markets & developing economies should have
a bigger say in international institutions.

Recent reports from the World Bank and IMF
show that the world's economic structure is
changing. Emerging markets & developing
countries are now THE major engine of
global growth.

*************************************************

CHINA: DOLLAR RESERVES
TO BE CUT BY TWO THIRDS

China should reduce its excessive foreign
exchange reserves & further diversify its
holdings, Tang Shuangning, chair of the
China Everbright Group, says.

Foreign exchange reserves should be
kept to 800 billion-1.3 trillion US dollars,
Tang tells a forum in Beijing, saying that
the current reserve amount is too high.

Tang's remarks echoe the stance of Zhou Xiaochuan,
governor of China's central bank, who says China's
foreign exchange reserves "exceed our reasonable
requirement" and the Chinese government should
upgrade and diversify its foreign exchange and
use the excessive reserves.

Xia Bin, member of the monetary policy committee
of China's central bank, says a trillion US dollars
would be sufficient. He adds that China should
invest its foreign exchange reserves more
strategically, using them to gain resources
& technology needed for the real economy.

Tang also says China should further diversify its
foreign exchange holdings. He suggests 5 ways
to use the reserves, including:

Replenishing state-owned capital equipment
in key industrial sectors, buying more strategic
resources, expanding overseas investment,
issuing foreign bonds and improving national
welfare in areas such as education and health.

However, these strategies treat symptoms but
not the root cause, he says, noting that the key
is to reform the mechanism on how reserves
are both generated and managed.

************************************************

WTO KICKS US IN GROIN

The World Trade Organization's appeal body
has largely reversed a previous panel ruling
on China-US trade and supports China in its
complaint about US anti-dumping measures
imposed in four areas of Chinese exports.

China filed its complaint to the WTO in December
2008, requesting that the Dispute Settlement Body
establish a panel to probe a US Commerce Dept
decision to impose anti-dumping duties on steel
pipes, tubing, sacks and tyres.

An appeal was brought in December after China
disagreed with part of the rulings by the panel.

A new report from the appeal body not only
supports China's claims in specific cases,
but says the US approach in forming anti-
dumping duties, is inconsistent with WTO
agreements.

It outlaws the US practice of labeling Chinese
state-owned enterprises as "public bodies" &
stops the US applying anti-dumping duties to
Chinese firms on 'Non-Market Economy'
grounds.

The practice of "double remedies," - imposing
countervailing duties on the basis of anti-
dumping duties - repeatedly put on China's
products, is also ruled as 'inconsistent'.

The appeal body's ruling is a major influence
on China's exports, as SOME trade partners,
the US & EU in particular, frequently use anti-
dumping and countervailing duties, to block
Chinese products from entering their markets.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce hails it as
a monumental victory in promoting fair trade.

China urges the US to immediately adjust its
measures on the 4 sets of Chinese exports,
& demands that the US mend its practice of
unfairly overusing trade measures, & ensure
fairer competition for China in US markets.

The US has initiated over 20 other cases of
anti-dumping & countervailing investigation,
using virtually the same bases and methods.

The report is expected to be adopted within
30 days of being issued. Globalisation...
don't you just LOVE it !

********************************************

POOR OLD JAPAN

Standard & Poor have dropped Japan's credit rating
as its debt is now 200% of its GDP. Following the
USA, is certainly NOT paying off for Japan...

*************************************************

TOP TEN WORLD BANKS -
US & UK DROP LIKE STONES

The German edition of Handelsblatt, in its list
top 10 world banks with the largest market
capitalization, has Chinese banks replacing
US banks, and only 1 UK bank there at all!

Chinese banks haven't sustained major financial
losses, and have kept their reputations - due to
rules tightly enforced by government regulation.

In 2007, top of the list was the US's Citigroup.
Now it's only seventh, with both first and second
places taken by ICBC (Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China, 174.59 billion Euros) and China
Construction Bank (168.76 billion Euros).

In third place is HSBC (UK) - the sole European
bank in the top 10. Its market capitalization
is 138.20 billion euros. Experts say that its
strong presence in Asian markets has helped
the bank to survive the West's financial crisis.

Fourth and fifth are US banks Wells Fargo (123.15
billion) & JP Morgan Chase (122.01 billion euros).

In sixth place is the Bank of China. Its market
capitalization is now 106.57 billion euros.

7th is American Citigroup (104.82 billion euros)
while another Chinese Bank, Agricultural Bank
of China, is eighth. Its market capitalization is
101.05 billion euros. Ninth is Bank of America
(USA) with a capitalization of €99.65 billion.
A young Brazilian super bank is tenth... Itau
Unibanco was only founded in 2008, but the
finance company is already the largest in Latin
America. Market capitalization is €70,56 billion.

************************************************

US DEBIT WITH CHINA
CAUSED BY US
HI-TECH BAN

A new report says that the entire US deficit in
trade with China is accounted for by its ban
on high technology products to China...
irony !

************************************************

US EXPORTS ITS DEBT
TO US ALL !

As Europe struggles to balance its books,
the US Treasury Department says that the
federal budget deficit climbs for the 26th
consecutive month, to $150 billion+.

The $150.39 billion deficit is 25% higher,
the department announces.

Analysts' average forecast for the shortfall was
$134 billion, & many economists had said that
the debit would decline gradually over the
coming years, AFP reports.

But the US continues with its worsening economic
recession, ignoring the debt crisis, or passing
on its cost to the rest of the world.

Experts... that's the good ol' USA !!

*************************************************

US WAR; AN UNWELCOME
REVOLUTION's SOLUTION?

In 1985, the US trade deficit with China
was $6 million for the entire year. In 2010,
in the month of August alone, the US trade
deficit with China was over $28 billion.

In just 25 years, world trade has undergone a
complete revolution, leaving the US stunned.

All that stands between the US and default,
is time, and the AAA credit rating accorded
to the US & UK, by bent US agencies... no
wonder China has set up their own credit
rating agency (which the USA is now
refusing to recognise as "valid"... since
it exposes their US/UK credit ratings as
absurdly biased, (& they don't control it!)

Now many Republicans are openly calling for
war with Iran... to "rescue" the US economy.
This means that the world's people need to
be extremely vigilant & that a strong media
devoted to peace is essential today. This is
why Rhondda Records exists... to represent
a point of view Maggie wanted to get rid of...
a view that puts people before profits & war.

***********************************************

THE US IS LOST,
SAY GERMANS NOW

As the world criticises US fiscal & monetary moves
to "print" more dollars, even the German finance
minister shoots the US money-pumping plan down.

"Saying that we once again make an additional
600 billion dollars available will not solve any
problem." Schaeuble says, stressing that the
huge economic problems of the United States
"should not be tackled with more debt," and is
at odds with the consensus at June's Group
of 20 summit, that cutting deficits, instead of
adding more, is one of the priorities among
developed countries. The US is now rogue,
he says.

Schaeuble says that the Fed's capital-injection
push will "create extra problems for the world"
and lead to "long-term damage".

One outcome of the Fed's new plan will be the
fast appreciation of the euro against the dollar,
causing Europe to take the burden of US debt.

*************************************************

UK POLITICAL PARALYSIS

In the UK, the Labour party is proposing making
the banks pay more for capital reconstruction,
& a reduction in the severity of cuts on the poor.

BUT to be put into effect, this required them to
ally with other anticuts parties, like the Greens
and Plaid and the SNP.

So until this occurs, not only are the UK's
working class incapable of mass direct
action, but their political room to
move forward, is tied up too!

So the UK population is stuffed. Therefore, so is
Wales, unless we act to create wealth ourselves.

So here's to a new Wales, with a new economy !

************************************************

EUROPE's CORRUPT BANKS
FORCE BUDGET CUTS

All European governments are using austerity
cuts to tackle their budget deficits, and it's all
due to a “corrupt banking system” in Europe,
an economics expert says.

"European governments all say they have no
alternative. That's because they're completely
controlled by a corrupt banking system which
always wants to lend money at interest --- if it
can," says Rodney Shakespeare, professor
of binary economics, London.

Recommending a way out of the economic
mess, Shakespeare says Europe's people
could “demand that the European Bank
provides interest-free loans for public
capital projects.”

“The people of Europe must demand that they
start to get interest-free loans from their national
banks for large public capital spending projects;
and, at the same time, that will cap the national
debt, because you can use the same mechanism
to actually get rid of the national debt," he adds.

Across Europe, working people are struggling to
show their frustration and anger, knowing it's
the bankers' fault, but unable to see a solution.

Professor Shakespeare puts his finger on it:

"Stop Western banks living like bloodsuckers
by usury - banned by the early Christian church
- which forces our children into debt; for what?"

To help bankers in their love of money -
so there's your root of evil:-

LET's CUT IT OUT BY STOPPING THE ABILITY
OF BANKS TO ISSUE CREDIT... WITH SUCH
HIGH INTEREST RATES!

Rhondda Records Home Page

(Source - Xinhua)

Australia first country to open service sector to China.

Australia first country to open service
sector to China.