iBankCoin
Home / Breaking (page 16)

Breaking

Hungary cancels bond swap amidst currency turmoil

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s woes deepened Wednesday as the government’s controversial economic policies and uncertainty over whether it can agree on a deal with the IMF drove its currency to a new low against the euro.

Hungary’s borrowing costs also rose to levels not seen since 2009, forcing the government to cancel a planned bond swap auction Wednesday.

Hungary’s economy has been staggering since 2008, when the global credit crunch prompted the Central European nation of 10 million to accept an International Monetary Fund bailout of euro20 billion ($26 billion). Over the past months, investors have shied away from buying Hungarian debt, and the country’s credit rating was cut to junk status by two U.S. ratings agencies late last year. Unemployment is 10.8 percent and the country could be heading toward a recession.

Hungary is seeking a financial “safety net” from the IMF and the European Union, but preliminary talks ended early in December after the government pushed ahead with new laws seen as infringing on the independence of the National Bank of Hungary. Talks with the IMF are due to restart next week in Washington.

On Wednesday, the euro rose to a record 321.40 forints, surpassing a peak above 317 reached only two months ago, while interest rates for Hungary’s 10-year bonds was 10.6 percent, compared with 8.4 percent in early December.

“With problems likely to deepen in the eurozone and no sign that Hungary’s policy credibility is improving, Hungarian assets look set to be in for a bumpy ride,” said William Jackson, an emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London.

Comments »

HEREEEEEEEEEEEEE’S BARRY!

CNN Poll: President’s approval nearing 50%

President Barack Obama’s approval rating, a crucial indicator of his reelection chances, is on the rise, according to a new national survey.

A CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday also indicates that the partisan battle over extending the payroll tax cut may be partially responsible for the jump in the president’s numbers.

Full results (pdf)

According to the survey, 49% of Americans approve of the job Obama’s doing in the White House, up five points from last month, with 48% saying they disapprove, down six points from mid-November. The 49% approval rating is the president’s highest since May, when his number hit 54% thanks to a bounce following the killing of Osama bin Laden. Since then, in CNN polling, Obama’s approval rating has hovered in the mid-40s.

“President Barack Obama’s approval rating appears to be fueled by dramatic gains among middle-income Americans,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “The data suggest that the debate over the payroll tax is helping Obama’s efforts to portray himself as the defender of the middle class.”

Obama’s gains have come at the expense of the Republicans in Congress and the GOP in general. By a 50% to 31% margin, people questioned say they have more confidence in the president than in congressional Republicans to handle the major issues facing the country. Obama held a much narrower 44% to 39% margin in March.

And the GOP’s overall favorable rating has dropped to six points, to 43%, since June, while the Democrats’ positive rating remained steady at 55%.

“The Democrats do particularly well among middle income Americans, while the Republicans win support only from the top end of the income scale,” adds Holland.

Overall, only 16% say they approve of the job Congress is doing, with 83% giving lawmakers from both parties the thumbs down. The Congressional disapproval rating has topped 80% since August in CNN polling.

The survey indicates that Obama remains personally popular, with three-quarters saying they approve of him as a person.

“Overall, it’s not a bad position for an incumbent to be in as the calendar turns to an election year, but there are many months to go,” says Holland.

The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International from Dec. 16 to Dec. 18, with 1,015 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

via 

 

Comments »

Ron Paul Surges in Iowa GOP Poll

Texas Rep. Ron Paul has surged to second place in a new Iowa poll of likely Republican caucus goers, just one percent behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the current front-runner.

Paul has consistently placed in the top tier of Republican presidential candidates in recent Iowa polls. With Iowans heading to vote in only three weeks, Gingrich holds a razor-thin 22–21 lead.

The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, found weakening support for Gingrich among self-identified tea partiers, and a dramatic rise in Paul’s favorability rating.

“There are a lot of parallels between Paul’s strength in Iowa and Barack Obama’s in 2008 — he’s doing well with new voters, young voters, and non-Republican voters,” said PPP in an explanation of its poll’s findings.

Paul has taken aim at Gingrich with an ad alleging “serial hypocrisy” for changing his position on a variety of issues, including health care and global warming. The ad also targeted him for accepting millions from Freddie Mac, and for calling a budget proposal from Wisconsin GOP Rep. Paul Ryan “right-wing social engineering.”

Gingrich’s favorability rating has declined 19 points among Iowans since last week.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney placed third in the poll, at 16 percent. He was followed by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann at 11 percent, Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 9 percent, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 8 percent and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 5 percent.
Read more: http://trade.cc/qdrixzz1gSoL1Fo2

Comments »

NTSP WANTS FULL BAN ON CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING

Federal accident investigators Tuesday called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving.

The recommendation is the most far-reaching yet by the National Transportation Safety Board, which in the past 10 years has increasingly sought to limit the use of portable electronic devices. It has recommended such bans for novice drivers, school bus drivers and commercial truckers.

The new recommendation, if adopted by states, would outlaw non-emergency phone calls and texting by operators of every vehicle on the road.

It would not apply to hand-free devices or to passengers.

SOURCE 

Comments »

Flash: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case About Arizona Immigration Law

TheSupreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether Arizona’s tough law cracking down on illegal immigrants can take effect, a case arising from the fierce national debate on immigration policy ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The high court agreed to review a ruling that put on hold the key parts of the law signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010. The case has been closely watched because several other states have adopted similar laws.

The law requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detained and suspected of being in the nation illegally. Other parts require immigrants to carry their papers at all times and ban people without proper documents from soliciting for work in public places.

The justices are likely to hear arguments in the case in April, with a ruling due by July. It could produce another contentious election-year ruling for the court, which also will decide President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul law.

About 11 million illegal immigrants are believed to be in the United States. Immigration has become a major political issue, especially in states such as Arizona that border Mexico, ahead of the presidential and other elections in November 2012.

Obama and other opponents, including many Democrats and civil rights groups, have criticized the law and said it could lead to harassment of Hispanic-Americans.

The Obama administration challenged the law on the grounds the federal government has exclusive control over immigration enforcement. A federal judge and an appeals courts agreed, putting on hold the disputed provisions.

The law’s supporters, including many Republicans, said states need to take aggressive action because the federal government has failed to do enough to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.

SOURCE 

Comments »

Obama Makes Bold Prediction About Employment

President Obama’s popularity is plummeting, with more U.S. voters disapproving of his job than approve it, according to a recent poll.

More than half of U.S. voters believe he is performing badly in his role as the country’s leader compared to 48 per cent last month.

And although Obama has predicted unemployment will continue to drop, nearly all voters – 94 per cent – say the economy is in bad shape.

Unpopular: Obama, pictured speaking about jobs during a tour of a building renovation near the White House earlier this month, is losing favour among votersUnpopular: Obama, pictured speaking about jobs during a tour of a building renovation near the White House earlier this month, is losing favour among voters

He announced during a television interview that the number of people out of jobs could drop to eight per cent by next year’s election – the lowest since he moved into the White House in 2008.

‘I think it’s possible,” Obama told CBS’s 60 Minutes in an interview set to air on Sunday.

Read more: http://trade.cc/oxt

Comments »

DOWNSIZED SUPERPOWER: Army Cuts 8,700 Jobs


Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has warned that the federal budget cuts could be “devastating” for the Pentagon. (Jonathan Ernst – Reuters)

With deeper budget cuts looming, the Pentagon is starting to cut back by trimming the Defense Department’s civilian workforce.

The Army said Thursday it is moving forward with plans announced in July to cut about 8,700 positions, using a mix of early retirement offers, buyouts and attrition to trim the jobs by the end of the fiscal year in late September.

“Army commands and agencies are continuing to take necessary actions to reduce their civilian on-board strength to meet funded targets established by the secretary of defense and reflected in the President’s budget,” Thomas R. Lamont, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, said in a statement. “To the maximum extent possible, the Army will rely on voluntary departures to achieve these manpower reductions.”

The cuts will come in 37 states at 70 different locations across eight commands and agencies with nearly 90 percent of the cuts taking place within the Installation Management Command, Army Materiel Command and the Training and Doctrine Command. Most of the cuts are likely to occur in Virginia and Texas, where most of the DOD’s civilian workers are located.

In addition to eligible workers who retire, commanders will be able to use voluntary early retirement offers and buyouts to cut jobs, the Army said.

The failure of the bipartisan debt supercommittee means the Pentagon budget could be cut by a total of $1 trillion over the next decade — what defense leaders warn is a “huge” cut that would amount to a 23 percent reduction in the defense budget, resulting in furloughs and layoffs of “many” civilians and a reduction in the size of the military. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has warned that the cuts could be “devastating” for the Pentagon, creating a “substantial risk” that the country’s defense needs might not be met.

SOURCE 

Comments »