EU-Digest: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know about Social Networking

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"What Entrepreneurs Need to Know about Social Networking"

Everyone who has been keeping up to date on the latest marketing trends across corporations around the world, and up and down the organizational ladders, are talking about the benefits of social networking to increase their exposure and sales. It's a major development that has been growing rapidly during the past few years. People are exchanging information about everything under the sun via a variety of platforms on the internet and you can be part of it or not, because it happens with or without you. It's your choice whether you want to participate or ignore this technological tidal wave.

Journal Now/Washington Post: Race Heats Up: China, India, Europe push ahead as U.S. program slows to a crawl - by Mark Kaufman

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Race Heats Up: China, India, Europe push ahead as U.S. program slows to a crawl - by Mark Kaufman

China conducted its first spacewalk last month. The European Space Agency is building a roving robot to land on Mars. India recently launched a record 10 satellites into space on a single rocket.Although the United States remains dominant in most space-related fields -- and owns half the military satellites currently orbiting Earth -- experts say that the nation's superiority is diminishing, and many other nations are expanding their civilian and commercial space capabilities at a far faster pace. "We spent many tens of billions of dollars during the Apollo era to purchase a commanding lead in space over all nations on Earth," said NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin, who said that his agency's budget is down by 20 percent in inflation-adjusted terms since 1992. "We've been living off the fruit of that purchase for 40 years and have not ... chosen to invest at a level that would preserve that commanding lead."

In a recent in-depth study of international space competitiveness, Futron, a technology consulting firm in Bethesda, Md., found that the globalizing of space is unfolding more broadly and quickly than most Americans realize. "Systemic and competitive forces threaten U.S. space leadership," the company president, Joseph Fuller Jr., concluded.

Flightglobal: Germany launches Eurofighter refueling trials with A310 - by Craigg Hole

Eurofighter refueling from Airbus A310
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Germany launches Eurofighter refueling trials with A310 - by Craigg Hole

ADS has conducted the first of nine planned test flights leading to the certification of the Eurofighter combat aircraft to undergo in-flight refueling from the German air force's Airbus A310 multi-role tanker transports. Conducted from EADS Military Air Systems' Manching facility near Munich in late October, the first test lasted for about 5h and employed two of Germany's instrumented production aircraft.

REDIF: "Slump", the new world order - by D Ravi Kanth

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"Slump", the new world order - by D Ravi Kanth

Darkening recessionary clouds are steadily enveloping country after country. While the mayhem caused by Wall Street continues unabated, its impact on the real economy is rather difficult to fathom.The underlying reality is finance played havoc with the real economy that produces goods and services for people to consume and survive. Those who depended on the production of these goods and services have not only suffered via depressed real wages during the last 30 years when the boom took the incomes of those in the financial sector to stratospheric levels.Those erstwhile heroes of "irrational exuberance" fame, like Alan Greenspan, are already admitting the "flaw[s]" and "mistake[s]" in their assessment of the credit boom and the housing bubble they unleashed on the world economy. Similarly, the pressure is mounting to put some of the high-profile Wall Street actors behind bars. Clearly, there is an urgent need for naming and shaming of all those who are responsible for creating this gigantic mess.

The person responsible for this drift towards unilateralism is none other than US President George W Bush. So, when he summons world leaders from 20 countries to "advance common understanding of the causes of the [financial] crash" and prepare "a common set of principles for the reform of the regulatory and institutional regimes for the world's financial sectors", it is hardly surprising there is a deep cynicism as to what this will achieve. Amid conflicting interests around the table next month in Washington , it will be too much to expect any radical policy prescriptions. For all we know, Karl Marx -- whose Das Kapital is selling more copies in Germany this year due to the financial plague -- might prove right once again when he said history repeats itself twice, "the first time as tragedy, the second as farce"!

china.org.cn: The way all the bubbles burst -- by Liu Junhong

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The way all the bubbles burst -- by Liu Junhong

"Back in the 1990s the US staged a rousing production known as "the new economy" very much to the envy of the whole world. One of the prime reasons for this success was the support from an extensive and very sophisticated financial market, which enabled emerging enterprises to go public anytime they wanted with the lowest possible cost guaranteed. This is also one of the fundamental forces that drove Japan's financial system reform at that time.Nowadays, however, the system of direct financing is in a shambles and enterprises have to rely on the old ways for direct financing by borrowing mostly from banks. The problem is that the crisis is spreading deeper into the banking industry, crippling the banking market as well. The two pillar systems of securities and banking are both in big trouble, causing the whole financial system to go haywire.Back to where it all began, the root of the US financial crisis has stemmed from the loopholes in the US-led "financial capitalism" format, with the bursting of "the real estate bubble" serving as the fuse. The "reverse asset effect" created by the bursting of the real estate bubble directly caused the "bursting of the consumption bubble".

It is widely known that the biggest characteristic of the US economy is consumption in overdrive, to the point that people would rather bury themselves in debts than cut back spending. As of August this year, the total value of individual consumption in the US accounted for over 70 percent of the country's GDP. If that is not a pillar of the US economy, I don't know what is".

EurActive: EurActive: 'New Europe' fears losing privileged status with US

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"New Europe' fears losing privileged status with US

No matter who becomes the next US president, Eastern European countries are afraid that the privileged relations they have enjoyed under the Bush administration could be lost. EurActiv's network in Central Europe and Turkey contributed to this report. The sentiment in Eastern European capitals is that the next US President will prioritzse repairing relations with Western European capitals, which have suffered under neo-conservative US rule, and that Eastern European countries – despite being America's strongest allies under Bush – could find themselves somewhat neglected. "

Businessweek: ECB put up more cash, Euro 12b to Denmark

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ECB put up more cash, Euro 12b (US 15.1B) to Denmark

The ECB, the central bank for the 15-nation euro zone -- of which Denmark is not a member -- said the 12 billion euro ($15.1 billion) swap will remain in effect as long as needed. It was done with the goal of increasing the amount of cash in short-term euro money markets. The move will make it easier for Denmark, whose krone currency is pegged to the euro, to get access to euros. The ECB provided similar moves for Hungary and Switzerland earlier this month. The swap will provide euros to the Danish bank in exchange for Danish kronor and should lower the exchange rate for euros in Denmark.

KiplingerBusinessResources Center: Reshaping World’s Financial System Now a Must - by Andrew C. Schneider

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Reshaping World’s Financial System Now a Must - by Andrew C. Schneider

The West knows it can’t set the terms as it has in the past. That’s why the biggest developing nations were invited to join the G-8 in Washington on Nov. 15 for the first in a series of summits that will run well into 2009. Remaking the G-8 into something closer to the G-20 also appears likely. A large part of the reason the G-8 has been seen as increasingly irrelevant in recent years has been its exclusion of so many of the world's new stars.

Most of the economies poised to join the IMF's leadership are each worth $1 trillion or more. Two, China and Brazil, are already larger than some current members. The Group of 20, whose full membership President Bush invited to the Nov. 15 summit, comprises the G-8 countries as well as China, Brazil, India, South Korea, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the European Union (EU).

Note EU-Digest: "contrary to what the above Kiplinger report indicates, the major hurdle to establish stricter international regulatory rules will be to overcome the US reluctance to allow more transparency and controls over their own financial system. They have historically opposed most forms of regulatory safeguards when it appears to tamper with their own laissez-faire style of capitalism. Unfortunately we recently have seen what kind of havoc this has created in the world financial system."

Swissinfo:: Switzerland is the second most competitive economy, behind the US, says the World Economic Forum

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Switzerland is the second most competitive economy, behind the US, says the World Economic Forum

The competitiveness of Switzerland's economy has again been ranked second only to that of the United States in a World Economic Forum (WEF) annual survey. WEF awarded Switzerland top marks for innovation and the quality of infrastructure in its 2007/8 Global Competitiveness Report. But the country was held back by the relatively small size of its economy. It is the second year in a row that the Swiss have come runners-up in the poll of 12,000 business leaders, conducted by the Geneva-based organisation.

WEF asked respondents to rank 134 countries based on factors that promoted economic growth, such as the availability of talent, transparency of governance, infrastructure and openness to innovation.

Hub Trader: Fraudulent Practices on Wallstreet USA: Jim Cramer (NBC) brags about manipulating stock prices when he was a Wall Street trader

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Fraudulent Practices on Wallstreet USA: Jim Cramer brags about manipulating stock prices when he was a Wall Street trader

Jim Cramer, the boisterous host of CNBC’s “Mad Money,” recently bragged in an interview about manipulating stock prices when he was a Wall Street trader, proving all too directly — and stupidly, I might add — that investment professionals profit off the backs of the naïve investing public.In the Web interview with TheStreet.com's executive editor Aaron Task, which is on YouTube and has been blasted all around the Internet, Cramer gave advice on how to keep a profit on a short-position by driving a stock price down. He gave a number of different examples of manipulation, which he admitted might be illegal, but said it didn't really matter because "the Securities and Exchange Commission never understands this."

And that is the sad point of Cramer's comments and this column: The people who are supposed to guard and protect the public's trust in the markets are letting the people down. They simply aren't doing their jobs effectively. For years the SEC tried to pin something, in a very public manner, on Cramer. But they could never really make anything stick; he ran circles around them. There are now thousands of hedge fund managers playing tricks just like the old Cramer used to when he was running a hedge fund. And regulators are looking on without making a call. And the public still continues to invest like they know better. And hedge fund managers continue to laugh all the way to the bank.

Note EU-Digest: "one day the market goes down 6oo points and the next day it goes up 600, with screaming "know it all" CNBC reporters hyping-up the public This has nothing to do with the investors money, but all about making a select group of Wall Street traders very rich. This fraudulent activity will never stop without very strict regulations on Wall Street".

tehran times : Iran opens trade center in Netherlands

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Iran opens trade center in Netherlands

The Mehr News Agency quoted TPOI Director for Foreign Branches Affairs Hamid Zadbum as saying that a number of Iranian and Dutch traders as well as Iran-Netherlands Cultural Council members also attended the inaugural ceremony. The two sides expressed hope that the trade center would pave the way for the two-way trade in the long run, Zadbum said, adding, they announced their full-fledged support of any activity which would enhance bilateral economic and commercial relations.

AP: Dutch say unlocked bike not enticement to steal

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Dutch say unlocked bike not enticement to steal

The Dutch Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a bicycle thief who stole a decoy bike planted by police. Lawyers for the convicted thief — a repeat offender who was sentenced to 22 days in jail — had argued that leaving the bike unlocked amounted to entrapment. But the five-judge court has rejected that, saying the man wasn't personally targeted.Tuesday's court ruling said placing an unlocked decoy bike didn't make the suspect do anything he had not intended doing beforehand.

The Independent: Britain - At this rate, it won't be long before we're joining the euro - by Steve Richards

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Britain - At this rate, it won't be long before we're joining the euro - by Steve Richards

The calls for a significant cut in interest rates get louder. In the US there is speculation that before very long rates will be close to zero. The long list of those keeping their fingers crossed here that the Bank of England will deliver a headline-grabbing reduction next week includes home-owners with big mortgages, small businesses, big businesses, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister.

One wonders how long it will be before a traumatised senior minister thinks the following: "This wretched independence for the Bank is the worst of all worlds, yet it would make matters even worse to revert to the old arrangements. Therefore the least risky course is to join the euro". If the arrangements aimed at stabilising the currency are now a source of turbulence, and a return to the old system would cause even more storms, there is no obvious alternative option. That great sleeping issue, Britain's membership of the euro, will be waking soon.

Salon: US elections: The Republican shipwreck

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US elections - The Republican shipwreck

The modern conservative movement is dying in front of our eyes, and its death throes aren't pretty. As John McCain heads for likely defeat, the GOP is eating itself. Right-wing politicians and pundits who never criticized Bush in eight years are suddenly jumping ship like rats, while bitter-end loyalists angrily accuse them of being "pathetically opportunistic." After months of veering from one tactic to the next, McCain has finally settled on one message for his campaign, but it's absurd: claiming that the party whose signature is tax cuts for the rich is really on the side of Joe the Plumber. Meanwhile, 3.1 million real Joe the Plumbers across America are sending Barack Obama hundreds of millions of dollars, a torrent of cash that is helping to flush the GOP down the national toilet. Right-wing hacks like Palin and Minn. Rep. Michele Bachman respond by doing the only thing they know how to do -- attack, demonize and divide.

EUobserver: Financial crisis builds Polish euro-entry momentum - by Philippa Runner

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Financial crisis builds Polish euro-entry momentum - by Philippa Runner

The financial crisis is building momentum for Poland to swiftly join the EU's single currency on 1 January 2012, with a positive political climate for the euro also developing in the Nordic states. "The world crisis has shown that it's safer to be with the strong, among the strong and to have influence on the decisions of the strong," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday (27 October), adding that his pro-euro policy is "not based on any orthodoxy, any ideology" of deepening EU integration.

Note EU-Digest: "being a part of the European Union also means carrying some of the burdens and not just profiting from its benefits. A stronger, integrated and unified Europe is an important part of keeping the euro strong. You can't have your cake and eat it too Mr. Tusk".

The Independent/Rolling Stone:: The US election - The Vote Grab: How the Republicans stole the 2004 election - by Peter Tatchell

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The Vote Grab: How the Republicans stole the 2004 election - by Peter Tatchell

Will next week's US presidential vote be free and fair? Based on the conduct of the last election, possibly not. The 2004 election was marred by vote-fixing that would disgrace a banana republic. Four years later, few new safeguards have been implemented to prevent a re-run of the voter exclusion and ballot tampering of 2004.This is the conclusion of Robert F Kennedy Jr, civil rights lawyer and nephew of JFK. In one of the most important pieces of investigative journalism in recent years, published in Rolling Stone magazine in 2006, he revealed how voting irregularities in 2004 were enough to steal the presidency for the Republicans.

AFP: French minister opposes Georgia, Ukraine entry to NATO

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French minister opposes Georgia, Ukraine entry to NATO

France's minister for European affairs on Wednesday said he was opposed to Georgia and Ukraine entering the NATO military alliance for now because it would not benefit Europe. "I think that it is not the right time for membership for Georgia and Ukraine," Jean-Pierre Jouyet said on the sidelines of a European Parliament session. "It is not in the interests of Europe or its relations with Russia." NATO foreign ministers are in December set to once again examine Georgia and Ukraine's candidacy for membership, strongly denounced by Moscow. While Jouyet said he was expressing his personal opinion, he in fact confirmed a view repeatedly expressed by Paris.

Along with Germany, France has been reluctant to take the two ex-Soviet states into the alliance and draw the wrath of Russia, which has made it clear it would regard such a move as something close to a hostile action by NATO. Note EU-Digest: this is a wise move. Letting these countries in might be of interest to the US government, it certainly is not in the interest of the EU's relationship with Russia.

Mainstream: US: Politics in the Age of George the Great - by Eddie J.Girdner

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US - Politics in the Age of George the Great - by Eddie J.Girdner

It has been eight years since the putsch in Florida by the neoconservative Storm Troopers stole the presidential election and installed George W. Bush on the White House Throne. The dark days had begun and these dark days have not yet ended.Indeed, it is difficult to think of any quarter, domestic or international, left untouched by the havoc brought to fruition in the Age of George the Great. Who would have thought, who could have imagined that such inordinate talent dwelt ensconced inside the scull of the former Governor of Texas? It is the great ineffable mystery of the Age of George the Great, who we have observed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World”. How do we unravel this inscrutable mystery?

Indeed, the trillion dollars for the two wars had been funded mostly by dollars the US did not have in supplementary off-budget funding. The national debt ceiling was raised to $ 11.3 trillion as the banks began to give up the ghost. George the Great had not got the Hogs out of the Dollar Creek. The Dollar Creek was so crowded that the dollars dried up, the banks collapsed and then the stock markets began to crash. As an experiment in neo-liberalism in the real world it was instructive. ‘One capitalist kills many.” Marx was certainly right about that. A herd of them can easily collapse the entire global financial system.

Private Equity News: The irresistible rise of renewables - by Jennifer Bollen

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The irresistible rise of renewables - by Jennifer Bollen

Clean energy deals are up more than 50% on last year. Tumbling oil prices have caused some to question the continued attraction of renewable energy in the face of more affordable oil, but private equity firms remain bullish about the sector’s prospects on the evidence of last week. Portuguese buyout firm Magnum Capital Industrial Partners agreed the biggest renewable energy deal in the last 13 years last week, with a €1.2bn ($1.6bn) acquisition of wind energy assets owned by Enersis, a portfolio company of Australian investment bank and infrastructure specialist Babcock & Brown. The transaction confirmed the sector’s rise in popularity during the credit crisis, overtaking an $895m (696m) acquisition of German wind turbine manufacturer RE Power by Citigroup Private Equity, the buyout arm of Citigroup, last year which had been the biggest renewable energy deal since data provider Dealogic’s records began. It took total deal values in the renewable energy sector to $2.4bn so far this year, up from about $1bn in the same period last year, according to Dealogic.

Survey shows many EU citizens still at risk of poverty, especially now

NEW EUROPE - The European News Source

"Survey shows many EU citizens still at risk of poverty, especially now
27 October 2008 - Issue : 805

It all started in February 2001 when the Social Protection Committee was appointed with the task of improving indicators in the field of poverty and social exclusion. This followed from the political agreement reached at the European Council in Nice, defining appropriate objectives in the fight against poverty and social exclusion. That came as a necessity derived from the social chapter of the Amsterdam Treaty (1997) but also would be an important tool for monitoring the results of the goals set in the Lisbon treaty to make a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty by 2010, to improve the understanding of poverty and social exclusion."