Stop the Propaganda / Feed the Truth » Economics

China Corners Over 90% of Market for Rare-Earth Metals

GlobalResearch.ca — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:30:00 +0000

(GlobalResearch.ca) - China has cornered 97% of the world market for rare earth metals, according to Byron King (the Times Online puts the number at 95%, and the Financial Times puts the number at “over 90%”). What are rare earth metals? Most people define them as including the following 17 metals: Cerium Dysprosium Erbium Europium Gadolinium Holmium Lanthanum Lutetium Neodymium Praseodymium Promethium Samarium Scandium Terbium Thulium Ytterbium Yttrium Some people also include some or [...]

Scotiabank forecasts recession for Canada

Stop the Propaganda — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:05:23 +0000

(CTV.ca) - A Scotiabank report is forecasting recessions for both Canada and the United States that could last well into 2009. But the report says a potential recession in Canada would not be nearly as bad as one in the U.S. The bank expects Canada’s housing market to continue to slow, exports to the U.S. to drop [...]

Wary of Public Outcry, Revised $800B Wall St. Bailout Stuffed with Earmarks to Sway Election-Year Incumbents

Stop the Propaganda — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:13:21 +0000

(DemocracyNow.org) - On Capitol Hill, the House is preparing to vote again on the revised $800 billion Wall Street bailout plan after rejecting a similar bill on Monday. All 432 seats in the House are up for election next month, and many “no” votes on Monday reflected lawmakers’ fears of a voter backlash for the [...]

Foreign Invasion Sends Markets Reeling

Stop the Propaganda — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:50:39 +0000

(dissidentvoice.org) - The realization of how foreign central banks contributed to our current financial maelstrom has been lost in the debate over resuscitating the US economy and saving failing financial institutions. For over two decades foreign central banks, particularly Japan’s and China’s, have been pumping money into America, de facto loaning us money, so that [...]

House prices fall for first time in 12 years

Stop the Propaganda — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:06:46 +0000

(NationalPost.com) - It took 12 years, but the housing boom in Toronto is finally over. For the first since 1996, prices in the city have begun to fall. Houses are now sitting on the market longer and less of them are selling, in a trend that appears to be picking up steam. The Toronto Real Estate Board [...]

House prices tumble amid freefall in sales

Stop the Propaganda — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:03:58 +0000

(TheStar.com) - It’s a new reality for some vendors when realtor Duncan Fremlin appraises a property for sale in the increasingly choppy waters of today’s real estate market. “It’s a tough conversation to have, because sellers don’t want to hear that they may not be getting what they expected,” said Fremlin. “When you do the comparables it’s [...]

Why We Can’t Afford Cheap Gas

Andy Kroll, AlterNet — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:00:01 +0000

(AlterNet.org: Environment) - We can’t let the talk about alternative energy rise and fall with the cost of gas, or the environment and our economy will pay a mighty price. With the cost of crude oil again nearing the $100-a-barrel mark (even after last week’s financial meltdown) and this summer’s record gas prices in the rearview [...]

Virus hits Facebook, MySpace social networking sites with bogus emails

Stop the Propaganda — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:09:54 +0000

(The Canadian Press) - MONTREAL — A virus has been infecting popular social networking sites MySpace and Facebook, tech experts said Thursday. On Facebook, the virus is causing email messages to be sent to people on “friends” lists asking them to watch a video supposedly on YouTube. A user has to download what purports to be [...]

SCUM ALERT: Government won’t interfere in wireless texting charges: Prentice

Stop the Propaganda — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:30:50 +0000

(CBC.ca) - Minister of Industry Jim Prentice said Friday the government had no intention of introducing new legislation to regulate cellphone companies over changes in text messaging services. Prentice had met with the heads of Bell Mobility and Telus over the companies’ new texting charges introduced in July, which called for customers whose cellphone plans did [...]

HERO ALERT: Class action suit filed against Bell, Telus for new texting fees

Stop the Propaganda — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:25:42 +0000

(CBC.ca) - A Quebec man has launched a class action lawsuit against Bell Mobility and Telus, following a move by the cellphone providers to charge customers for incoming text messages. Eric Cormier, who has subscribed to Bell Mobility for the past decade, says by introducing the new fees, the companies have changed the terms of their [...]

SCUM ALERT: Bell introduces controversial new texting charges

Stop the Propaganda — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:21:32 +0000

(StopThePropaganda.com) - One of the most blatant corporate money-grabbing schemes in recent history has just been slapped in the faces of Canadian Bell Mobility subscribers. This tactic is clearly meant to force mobility subscribers into spending more by upgrading their service accounts or duping subscribers into paying for text messages they did not request. Yes, you heard it right. Bell [...]

Bell moves to limit internet downloads of competitor ISPs

Stop the Propaganda — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:58:04 +0000

(CBC.ca) - Bell Canada Inc. is moving to impose download limits on customers of independent internet providers, an act the smaller firms say is designed to eliminate broadband competition and prevent the introduction of new television services. The Montreal-based company, which cut its own Sympatico customers off from unlimited downloading last year, has proposed extending that [...]

Bush signs bill to provide mortgage relief

Betty — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:25:02 +0000

With no fanfare, President Bush signed a mortgage relief bill that he had threatened to veto. He changed his mind on the veto last week. While blaming Democrats for forcing an imperfect bill, he said: "hurting homeowners could not wait." The bill gives the US Treasury powers that it has not had since the Depression.

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Russia takes control of Turkmen (world?) gas

Sparrows — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:10:02 +0000

From the details coming out of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Moscow over the weekend, it is apparent that the great game over Caspian energy has taken a dramatic turn. In the geopolitics of energy security, nothing like this has happened before. The United States has suffered a huge defeat in the race for Caspian gas. The question now is how much longer Washington could afford to keep Iran out of the energy market. Curiously, the agreements reached in Ashgabat on Friday are unlikely to enable Gazprom to make revenue from reselling Turkmen gas. Quite possibly, Gazprom may now have to concede similar terms to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the two other major gas producing countries in Central Asia. In other words, plain money-making was not the motivation for Gazprom. The Kremlin has a grand strategy. Russia and China have a heavy agenda to discuss in energy cooperation far beyond the price of Turkmen gas supplies. But suffice it to say that Gazprom's new stature as the sole buyer of Turkmen gas strengthens Russia's hands in setting the price in the world gas (and oil) market. And that has implications for China. Moscow would be keen to ensure that Russian and Chinese interests are harmonized in Central Asia. Besides, Russia is taking a renewed interest in the idea of a "gas cartel". Medvedev referred to the idea during the visit of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Moscow last week. Note: Continuation in the comments section.

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U.S.-China trade has cost 2.3 million U.S. jobs: report

Fiore — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:55:02 +0000

The U.S. trade deficit with China cost 2.3 million American jobs between 2001 and 2007, the Economic Policy Institute said on Wednesday in a report likely to fuel debate about free trade ahead of November elections. Even when they found new jobs, workers displaced by job loss to China saw their earnings decrease by an average of $8,146 each year because the new jobs paid less, according to the report, funded in part by labor unions. Contrary to popular belief, jobs lost to China were not necessarily low-skilled, the report showed. Thirty-one percent of the jobs lost were among workers with college degrees.

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Cellphone users to be charged for incoming text messages

Stop the Propaganda — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:02:36 +0000

Do you have a Bell or Telus cellphone? Soon you will be paying for text spam too! According to CBC News, after August 24, 2008, Bell and Telus subscribers can expect to be paying for all incoming text messages to their cellphones for the price of .15 cents per text message. Do you consider this an example of price gouging? [...]

Biofuel production boosts food prices by 75%, report suggests

Stop the Propaganda — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:24:35 +0000

The production of biofuels has driven up food prices 75 per cent, according to an unpublished World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. In an article published Friday, the British daily cites a confidential report authored by Don Mitchell, a senior economist at the bank. The newspaper suggests the report has not been released so as [...]

Petro Dollar Method / Nothing Lasts Forever 9/11

Stop the Propaganda — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:18:33 +0000

These films below are mainly based on the theory that a petro dollar exists. The narrator ties in 9/11, conspiracy, Iran, China, Russia, war, oil piplines, debt, wall street, profiteering, etc. with some examples to back up the theory of the petro dollar. However, these films will offer only a generalized theory so you may [...]

Oil hits high near $146, then eases _ but not much

Stop the Propaganda — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:03:17 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices briefly soared to a new high near $146 a barrel Thursday, extending the previous day’s record-shattering rally before easing somewhat as the dollar gained ground against the euro. Americans hitting the road for the July Fourth holiday were confronted with an unwelcome record of their own: The average retail price [...]

Stocks punished as oil hits new highs

Stop the Propaganda — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:16:31 +0000

North American equity markets fell sharply as oil prices touched another record high near $144 US a barrel on Wednesday. The S&P/TSX composite index shed 432 points to close at 14,034.11 — the market’s lowest close since April 30. Stocks in Toronto were led down by a 7.5 per cent drop in the mining sector. The materials [...]

Oil prices a speculative bubble? Not so fast!

Pete — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:55:39 +0000

The breathtaking run-up in oil prices is linked to the crisis of world financial institutions. What the U.S. Government should not do.

The Wal-Martization of our cities

rabble.ca news — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:37:55 +0000

Why is a proposed big box retail emporium on Eastern Avenue in Leslieville symptomatic of our urban crisis? The answer is that in this topsy-turvy world, what looks like investment is disinvestment, what looks like jobs is deskilling and what looks like sustainability is its toxic opposite.

NYC losing global influence to other cities overseas

Fiore — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:55:02 +0000

Although New York City's global ties are "part of its DNA," the study warned that the city is losing the competition for global influence to other money centers. Tokyo, which is home to 50 of Fortune Magazine's Global 500 companies, ranked first in global influence among cities, according to the report commissioned by the Partnership for New York City, a pro-business group. Paris ranked second with 26 corporate headquarters. New York City tied for third with London, with 22 corporate headquarters each, and Beijing was fourth with 18. Around the U.S., nearly half of the foreign employers plan to cut their stakes or shun new investments because they say they see better opportunities in other countries, according to the study authored by London-based consultants DTZ.

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Prices & speculators - June 28

bart — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:00:43 +0000

Paul Krugman: Fuels on the Hill (blame speculators?)
6 myths about oil speculators
Henry Liu: Flat-earther Thomas Friedman blind to oil facts

Consumer confidence hits a new 28-year low

Fiore — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:40:01 +0000

Consumer confidence fell more than expected in June, hitting another 28-year low as surging prices and mounting job losses contributed to a bleak outlook, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers survey released on Friday.The Surveys of Consumers said the final June reading for its index of confidence fell to 56.4 from May's 59.8. The report said the pace of consumer spending is likely to sink at least through the start of 2009. "Moreover, gas prices have risen to an all-time peak, food prices posted the largest increases in decades, home prices have fallen faster than any time since the Great Depression, and there has been widespread distress associated with foreclosures," the report added. Also weighing on consumers, data earlier this month showed U.S. employers shed jobs for a fifth straight month in May and the unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent, its highest in more than 3-1/2 years.

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Advanced Imperialism: A Phase of Capitalism

GlobalResearch.ca — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:59:00 +0000

For more details, please click on the link to read the article.