Expedition 32 Launches
NASA – The Soyuz TMA-05M rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:40 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 14, 2012, carrying Expedition 32 Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA Flight Engineer Sunita Williams and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide to the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi
By Karen Freifeld – New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, along with Connecticut’s Attorney General George Jepsen started the investigation six months ago into the possible rigging of Libor, the London interbank offered rate, New York Attorney General spokesman James Freedland told Reuters.
Libor is compiled from estimates by big banks of how much they believe they have to pay to borrow from each other. It is used for $550 trillion of interest rate derivatives contracts and influences rates on many lending transactions, including mortgages, student loans and credit cards. more> http://tinyurl.com/bsqehwy
Posted in Banking, Business, Economy
Tagged Banking reform, Barclays, Capital, Eric Schneiderman, George Jepsen, LIBOR Scandal, London, London Interbank Offered Rate
By Carl Franzen – The International Telecommunications Union, the official United Nations telecommunications agency on Friday (July 13) announced that it would soon be making public a document that could determine the future of the Internet, a document that had previously been restricted only to government officials and selected paying members.
“What would make the WCIT process truly transparent is release of all country proposals as they are provided to the ITU,” Rashmi Rangnath, an attorney from Public Knowledge said. “This would allow everyone to see how the process of negotiation is evolving and respond to proposals that are most current.” more> http://tinyurl.com/86eovqk
By Paul Roderick Gregory – China’s state capitalism is a messy mix of market, plan, and one-party rule. Less than half of the economy is directed by the state; the rest is private and market driven. Except for infrastructure and other nontradables, both Chinese economies operate in the world economy. Although not well known, China’s rapid growth derives primarily from private companies, despite the state policy of “state advance, private sector retreat.”
The new leadership that takes command at the end of 2012 must decide whether to liberalize and privatize the state sector as advised by the World Bank’s China 2030 programs or bow to the entrenched interests of the state sector. How they decide will determine China’s long term growth. more> http://tinyurl.com/7knx546
By Ellis Smith – Verizon employees have begun to sell Comcast products and services, and will offer a gift card worth up to $300 for new sign-ups to either Comcast or Verizon.
According to Verizon’s labor union, the cable deal could cost 72,000 jobs if Verizon halts deployment of its FiOS network. That includes 18,754 jobs directly related to infrastructure build-outs, with the rest affected indirectly.
When combined, Comcast and Verizon Wireless offer consumers access to almost any type of content, in almost any location across the nation. more> http://tinyurl.com/bv59p97
