Month: September 2010

Here is your R&D for September 8th:

BP Report Says Many Factors Caused Macondo Oil Spill from Business Week
BP has released a recent report on what caused the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster.  The report blames BP engineers as well as rig owner Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton.

Sarkozy Stands Firm on Retirement Age from the Wall Street Journal
As protests increase in France against President Nicolas Sarozy’s pension reform plans, Sarkozy is standing his ground, unlike past French presidents.  Check out Extemp Central on Friday for a topic brief on this issue.

‘Europe Needs a Directly Elected Leader with Charisma’ from Der Spiegel
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s “state of the union” speech yesterday pitched a transaction tax to finance EU operations, but his bland speaking style probably won’t win over new converts.  Find reviews of Barroso’s speech in this article.

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Here is your R&D for September 7th:

Petraeus Condemns U.S. Church’s Plan to Burn Qurans from the Wall Street Journal
Plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of September 11th has outraged Muslims in Afghanistan.  David Patreus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan warns that this could hamper U.S. efforts in the region.

Julia Gillard to lead Australian minority government from the Guardian
It’s official:  Australia will have its first minority government in almost 70 years after Prime Minister Julia Gillard won the support of two independent MP’s.  This makes her the country’s first elected female prime minister.

CNN Poll: GOP can handle budget slightly better than Democrats from CNN
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey shows that 46% of Americans believe the Republicans would do a better job with the economy versus 43% who support the Democrats.  The poll doesn’t give a lot of hope to Democrats, who only lead the GOP on Social Security and healthcare.

Should the Bush tax cuts be extended? from the Economist
How do economists feel about extending the Bush tax cuts?  Get various opinions in this roundtable discussion courtesy of the Economist.

Brazil extends sovereignty over undersea continental shelf from MercoPress
In this really short news piece, read about Brazil’s new naval order that expands the offshore area where drilling for oil and conducting mineral prospecting requires government approval.

Here is your R&D for September 6th:

Iran accused by UN watchdog of hampering nuclear inspections from the Guardian
The Iranian nuclear saga continues as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that Iran is not cooperating with inspectors.  Reports that Iran is breaking the seals on some of its low enriched unranium worries experts, who think that it is diverting the uranium for military purposes.

Lambasting the GOP, Obama proposes $50 billion for road, rails and runways from the Miami Herald
In Milwaukee, President Obama unveiled his latest proposal to get the economy moving:  $50 billion in new federal spending for infrastructure projects.

Why School Reform Fails from Newsweek (courtesy of Real Clear Politics)
Since the 1960s, the federal government has poured billions of dollars into the education system but why are results not growing with the pace of spending?  This article examines some reasons why.

Unions gear up to push agenda at the polls from the Detroit News
Unions are increasing spending for the upcoming midterm elections, which they see as pivotal to their influence in Washington.  Unions fear that a Republican takeover of Congress would hamper their legislative priorities.

Push for common approach on bank tax in EU from the Financial Times of London
Efforts to have a common bank tax in the EU are continuing, but Germany continues to resist.  This article provides a quick overview of the EU’s latest economic manuevers.

Here is your R&D for September 3rd:

How Barack Obama Became Mr. Unpopular from Time Magazine
Barack Obama entered the White House with record approval ratings.  However, the last year has taken a toll on his popularity.  Find out why in this article.

Obama planning new package of economic aid from the Associated Press
Under fire for the state of the economy, President Obama is planning to unveil a series of proposals to boost job growth and keep the economy going.

Wilders pulls out as Dutch talks fail from the Financial Times of London
Controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders have pulled his support from a right-wing majority government.  Find out more about Wilders and why negotiations failed in this article.

120 Days to Go Until the Largest Tax Hikes in History from Americans for Tax Reform
There has been a lot of talk about tax increases that will hit Americans on January 1st of next year.  This provides an efficient listing of those tax increases.

UN calls meeting on food price concerns from the BBC
After Russia extended its ban on grain exports, the United Nations has called for a meeting on global food prices.  The fear is that wheat prices will continue to surge and hurt developing nations.  Excellent article on the global food market.

Here is your R&D for September 2nd:

Republicans Remain Disproportionately White and Religious from Gallup
Although the GOP leadership has tried to enhance the ethnic diversity of the party over the last several years, Gallup’s latest breakdown of the Democratic and Republican parties illustrates that the GOP remains heavily white and that its members attend church in greater numbers than Democrats.

World Bank raises Pakistan funding from Al Jazeera
In light of recent flooding, the World Bank pledged an additional $100 million for Pakistani flood relief.  This comes without interest as Pakistan also discusses its $11 billion in outstanding loans with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

CBO analysis confuses ‘assumption’ with ‘conclusion’ from the Christian Science Monitor
The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of whether President Obama’s stimulus package helped the economy is coming under fire because it assumed that the stimulus did work rather than presenting evidence that it actually did work.  A short and interesting article for speeches about the effects of last year’s stimulus package.

Schools lengthen student supply lists to help meet higher costs from the Seattle Times
As states cut back on their educational budgets, parents are being left with the bill for classroom supplies that range from tissues to flash drives.  A good article for a domestic social question on US education.

Striking unions reject S Africa pay offer from the Financial Times of London
Tension between Jacob Zuma’s government and public sector workers remains high after unions rejected the government’s offer of a 7.5% wage increase and 800 rand housing allowance.  The unions want a 8.6% increase with a 1,000 rand housing allowance.

Here is your R&D for September 1st:

You Ain’t Seen This Before from the New York Times
Renowned New York Times columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman discusses the upcoming Middle East peace talks and the divide between moderate and radical forces in the Middle East.

Murkowski Concedes GOP Senate Race to Miller from the Anchorage Daily News
In one of the major shockers of the 2010 election cycle, Alaska’s incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has been knocked off by tea party candidate Joe Miller in the party’s primary.  The race attracted national attention because of abortion being a major campaign issue and former Governor Sarah Palin’s decision to endorse Miller.

Germany Needs More Foreigners from Der Spiegel
Although Germans are turning against high levels of immigration, the nation needs it because of a shrinking and aging population.  In this commentary, Reiner Klingholz of the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, discusses the benefits to the German economy from higher levels of immigration and how Germans don’t need to fear the erosion of their culture.

Doubts grow over N.Korea Kim succession from the Agence France Presse
North Korean experts speculate that North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Il may pass power to his song Kong Jong-Un by october 10th, at the North Korean Communist Party’s 65th anniversary.  However, the nation’s economic problems and some skepticism about Jong-Un’s experience might wreck Jong Il’s hopes of having a second dynastic succession.

Announced U.S. Job Cuts Fell 55% From Year Ago, Challenger Says from Business Week
The U.S. labor market is gradually improving, with planned firings dropping 55 percent from last year.  However, is it improving fast enough to get the economy going?