Lowest Credit Rating Granted by S&P to Greece...

Standard & Poor has reduced Greece’s credit rating to the lowest on Monday; insuring Greece debt today is twice the price of insuring Pakistani bonds. S&P said restructuring Greece’s debt would be considered a default. The European Union and the European Central Bank tried to strike another funding deal less than a year after the first 110 billion euro ($158 billion) aid package was granted. However, without the...

Growth Concerns Continue To Affect World Stocks Ne...

Monday signaled world stocks’ 12th week of lows as weak data from China spurred worries over an economic growth slowdown. Investors adjusted their higher-risk assets positions and government bonds. Euro dipped on the difficulty of involving commercial banks in a 2nd Greece bailout. Chinese stocks hit their 4.5 month low affected by the monetary policy tightening. May was the 30th month for a slowed Chinese money growth....

Bill Gates and Baidu to Build Their First Project ...

Chairman Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp and Robin Li, CEO of China’s giant search engine Baidu, will join forces to form an alliance for public health. Their first project together under Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Baidu Charitable Foundation is to push for cessation of smoking habit among smokers. Bill Gates said the many people under Baidu are a great asset in getting out health-related messages. He hopes other...

U.S. Slowdown May Be Brief, No Need For Stimulus, ...

IMF acting chief John Lipsky said the Federal Reserve may not need another monetary policy stimulus as the U.S. economy is expected to gain momentum. The coming quarters may bring in growth from exports and disposable incomes. The energy prices that caused slowdown in the U.S. and other major economies may be brief, he added. Lipsky also said it is right to maintain accommodative monetary policies where there is high...

OPEC Sees Slowing Growth, May Continue With Cosmet...

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf Arab partners who fear that crude prices nearing $115/barrel are slowing economic growth looked at an output increase possibility. However, delegates at the Wednesday summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said merely closing the gap may not be easy. Actual supplies and OPEC’s outdated production may pose a problem as the gap is about...

Brazil Sees A Promising Future Restarting The Etha...

Brazil said it will restart the struggling but promising ethanol industry and 30-35 billion reais ($19-22 billion) ($1 = 1.60 reais) will be provided by state bank BNDES. The money will help fund the sugar cane sector expansion until 2014. Brazil’s ANP energy regulatory agency head Haroldo Lima said to avoid shortages in sugar cane based bio-fuel, there has to be an increased short-term investment. The announcement...

U.S. Assures Asian Allies Over Cyber-Attack Worrie...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. is prepared to use force in a growing concern over cyber-attacks. He said the U.S. vows to protect sea lanes and keep significant military presence in the Asian region despite budget problems and Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He said, in obvious reference to reports that attacks may have come from China, cyber threats are taken seriously and are seen from several sources. In what...

U.S. Suspects China of Hacking Lockheed Martin

Cyber security experts in the U.S. said tracing the origin of attacks such as the one done to Lockheed Martin is difficult. Hackers have found sophisticated ways to cover their tracks. The attack made on Lockheed forced the company to stop its employees in accessing remote company networks. However, a U.S. official who has knowledge of the probe’s progress stated that there is a growing suspicion that the Lockheed hacking...