On Wednesday, Russian stocks ended the trading session with significant gains after Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke’s testimony. By the end of the day on May 22, Russia’s MICEX had added 1.79 percent to close at 1448.42 and the RTS advanced 2.02 percent to 1461.93.Wednesday’s main financial news was Bernank’s indication during a Q&A that the US central bank could begin phasing out its $85 billion-per-month bond-buying program at one of its ”next few meetings.”However, later in the session the Fed released minutes from the May FOMC meeting that were less optimistic: There is not yet a firm consensus on when to begin drawing down the stimulus program. The decision will likely be significantly influenced by the trajectory of the economy in the coming months.The news spooked US investors, with major indices reacting immediately and posting steep losses throughout the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.52 percent to 15,307, the S&P 500 slipped 0.83 percent to 1,655 and the tech-centric Nasdaq dropped by 1.11 percent to 3,463.US home sales saw a moderate uptick in April, but failed to meet the forecasted 4.98 million. On Thursday, the US will publish its weekly report on initial jobless claims and official data on new home sales.European stocks closed higher on Wednesday after Bernanke spoke of the Fed’s intention to ”maintain highly accommodative monetary policy as long as needed.” The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.53 percent to 6,840.27 – a 13-year high – while in Germany the DAX 30 set a new record, climbing 0.69 percent to 8,530.89 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.37 percent to 4,051.11, a two-year high.On Thursday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will make a hotly anticipated speech in London. Draghi is expected to comment on further ECB cuts and potential negative deposit rates.Also on Thursday, the Eurozone, Germany and France will each release preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector activity, and Spain will hold 10-year government bonds auction. The UK will release official data on retail sales, revised data on Q1 economic growth and a report on business investment.Stocks in Asia have mostly declined on Thursday after China released weak flash PMI data. The flash HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index for May fell to 49.6, sliding below the 50-point mark demarcating expansion and contraction for the first since October. Investors fear that the economic recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy may have stalled.Japan’s Nikkei 225 index has fallen 2.4 percent to 15,256.56, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 1.6 percent to 22,879.74, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.7 percent to 1,980.42 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.7 percent to 5,081.40. Benchmarks in Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan also fell.Oil is continuing its downward slide, with Brent losing 0.9 percent to trade at $101.6 and WTI down 1.1 percent to $93.4. … Read More
Markets Buzz: Russian stocks to continue gains amid calm global backdrop
Russian floors ended Tuesday in positive territory: The MICEX added 1.19 percent to close at 1430.18 and the RTS advanced 1.73 percent to 1451.84, with power company shares the biggest gainers.European markets also closed in the black, setting a series of new records. The Stoxx Europe 600 set a record for the year, gaining 0.3 percent to close at 301.74 on earnings reports from banks HSBC Holdings PLC and Société Générale SA.Germany’s DAX 30 also saw an all-time-high closing, advancing 0.9 percent to end the day at 8,186.16. In France, the CAC 40 was up 0.6 percent to close at 3,930.98. UK stocks returned to action after a bank holiday on Monday, with the FTSE 100 index of leading companies gaining 0.4 percent to close at 6,548.95.Important market news out of Europe on Wednesday will include official German data on industrial production. France is on a national holiday, and markets will be closed on May 8. On Thursday, markets in France and Germany will remain closed for national holidays. The ECB will publish its monthly bulletin on May 9, and Spain will hold an auction of 10-year government bonds. The US will release its weekly initial jobless claims update on May 9.Wall Street set new records during May 7 trading: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 15,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 also ended at another record high. The Dow added 0.58 percent to close at 15,056.20, the S&P 500 gained 0.52 percent to end at 1,625.96 and the Nasdaq grew by 0.11 percent to 3,396.63.No important news is expected from the US on Wednesday. Investors will be closely watching a Friday speech by Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, as well as official data on the federal budget balance. Also on Friday, finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of Seven nations will begin a two-day summit.Asian markets are trading higher on Wednesday after another record performance on Wall Street and improvement in Chinese trade: Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9 percent to 14,304.15; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1 percent to 5,195.20; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.6 percent to 23,186.94 on HSBC’s earnings report. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Mainland China, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines also saw gains.Oil is trading higher on Wednesday, with Brent up slightly by 0.01 percent and WTI adding 0.16 percent. … Read More
Vote Ukip get Miliband? Not so, says Farage
http://www.youtube.com/v/MkTJ2v-VwJ4?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Excerpt from - Vote Ukip get Miliband? Not so, says Farage
Michelle Rhee’s group stands by anti-gay honoree
In response to a recent Salon report that Michelle Rhee’s controversial nonprofit StudentsFirst named anti-gay Tennessee state Rep. John Ragan “reformer of the year,” the group is standing by him — responding with dubious claims about his record and scrubbing its website of a blog post hailing him for always voting “to do right by kids when it comes to education.”Salon reported Monday that despite receiving the award from StudentsFirst, Ragan has a notorious (and searchable) track record of legislation that specifically targets queer students for harassment by teachers, school counselors and their peers. He was the co-sponsor of the notorious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a measure that would have banned teachers from discussing sexuality that is not “related to natural human reproduction” in the classroom — and would have forced educators and school therapists to “out” students they suspected of being gay to parents or guardians.Continue Reading… … Read More
‘US tries Iraq scenario in Syria’
http://www.youtube.com/v/VrpL6I74M1U?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Taken from: ‘US tries Iraq scenario in Syria’
Iraq suspends Al Jazeera, other networks for ‘promoting violence’
“We took a decision to suspend the license of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism,” Mujahid Abu al-Hail of the Communications and Media Commission told AFP. “It means stopping their work in Iraq and their activities, so they cannot cover events in Iraq or move around.” Al Jazeera and Sharqiya, a popular channel in Iraq, are among the 10 suspended channels. Al Jazeera was not formally notified of the move in advance, the Qatari channel said on their website. The announcement follows clashes between Iraqi security forces and Sunni Muslim protesters that broke out on Tuesday, killing 169 people in three days and injuring nearly 300. The violence saw Sunni protesters take over an army base and torch a Shia mosque in Sulaiman Pek before army helicopters were deployed to quell the unrest. In remarks broadcast on state TV, Prime Minister Nuri Maliki called on Iraqis “to take the initiative and not be silent about those who want to take the country back to sectarian civil war.” Thousands of Sunnis have been protesting since December over what they see as an effort by the Shia-dominated parliament to keep them out of top positions in the government. They have further decried tough anti-terrorism laws, which they argue infringe on their religious freedoms. Authorities have been accused of carrying out regular raids in Sunni areas, detaining those who critics say have been wrongly accused of terror links or ties to the deposed Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. Sunday’s decision is not the first time Iraqi authorities have sought to restrict the operations of foreign media outlets in the country. In June 2012, Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) placed restrictions on 39 media outlets, including the BBC and Voice of America, over alleged licensing problems, AFP reported.The Journalism Freedoms Observatory (JFO) in Iraq claims that the CMC had recommended banning 44 news outlets.Iraq is often at the bottom of global press freedom rankings. In 2013, Reporters Without Borders placed it 150th in media rights on its annual World Press Freedom Index, trailing Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. … Read More
Iraq suspends Al Jazeera, other networks for ‘promoting violence’ – reports
“We took a decision to suspend the license of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism,” Mujahid Abu al-Hail of the Communications and Media Commission told AFP. “It means stopping their work in Iraq and their activities, so they cannot cover events in Iraq or move around.” Al Jazeera and Sharqiya, a popular channel in Iraq, are among the 10 suspended channels. Al Jazeera was not formally notified of the move in advance, the Qatari channel said on their website. The announcement follows clashes between Iraqi security forces and Sunni Muslim protesters that broke out on Tuesday, killing 169 people in three days and injuring nearly 300. The violence saw Sunni protesters take over an army base and torch a Shia mosque in Sulaiman Pek before army helicopters were deployed to quell the unrest. In remarks broadcast on state TV, Prime Minister Nuri Maliki called on Iraqis “to take the initiative and not be silent about those who want to take the country back to sectarian civil war.” Thousands of Sunnis have been protesting since December over what they see as an effort by the Shia-dominated parliament to keep them out of top positions in the government. They have further decried tough anti-terrorism laws, which they argue infringe on their religious freedoms. Authorities have been accused of carrying out regular raids in Sunni areas, detaining those who critics say have been wrongly accused of terror links or ties to the deposed Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. Sunday’s decision is not the first time Iraqi authorities have sought to restrict the operations of foreign media outlets in the country. In June 2012, Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) placed restrictions on 39 media outlets, including the BBC and Voice of America, over alleged licensing problems, AFP reported.The Journalism Freedoms Observatory (JFO) in Iraq claims that the CMC had recommended banning 44 news outlets.Iraq is often at the bottom of global press freedom rankings. In 2013, Reporters Without Borders placed it 150th in media rights on its annual World Press Freedom Index, trailing Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. … Read More
