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Life without a toilet
8/22/2008 8:26:34 AM
With billions around the world living without a toilet, sanitation experts are pushing to get this most basic need on the political agenda.
Better sanitation improves human health, promotes economic and social development and also helps the environment. That's the arguments development professionals want governments and businesses to hear to help improve the sanitation facilities of the 40 percent of the world's population who live without a toilet.
U.S. consumer prices saw a record plunge in October and new home construction projects fell to historic lows, confirming signs of rapid economic deterioration.
Auto executives were back on Capitol Hill testifying before lawmakers as to why they need government help to avoid bankruptcies.
Below normal temperatures in the Northeast may not create enough heating oil consumption to offset falling energy demand.
Conway Gittens reports from New York.
Greek shipowners are facing the perfect storm as the global financial crisis threatens to sink the industry.
The bottom has fallen out of the global shipping industry. In just a few months, dry cargo rates have fallen by more than 90 percent as demand for transport of commodities to fast-growing nations, like China and India, has slumped. On top of that, the credit crunch has made banks reluctant to lend money to shipowners and to provide financial guarantees to allow their vessels to sail, leaving some stuck in harbour.
The Nordic region, known for its buoyant labour market, is now feeling the effects of the global economic slowdown.
In Sweden, where the economy is dominated by exporters like Volvo and Ercisson, the outlook has darkened as the global financial crisis has pushed some of its main foreign markets into recession.
Volvo Group and Ford-owned Volvo Cars have already announced thousands of job cuts across the country, and many Swedes are worried about what the future holds.
Joanna Partridge reports for Reuters
The Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was criticized on Capitol Hill for not doing enough to stop home foreclosures or helping the auto industry.
On Wall Street, a volatile session finished with the Dow up 151 points to 8,424. The S&P 500 climbed 8 points to 859. The Nasdaq crept one point higher to 1,488.
Oil prices fell to $54.39 a barrel.
SPEAKER: Henry Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary
Conway Gittens reports from New York.
GM, Ford and Chrysler were on the hot seat on Capitol Hill as they pleaded with lawmakers to pass a $25 billion rescue package.
Democrats in the Senate support a loan package arguing that up to three million U.S. jobs would be lost from an auto industry collapse. Most Republicans are opposed to an auto industry bailout arguing that the rescue package is not a wise use of taxpayer money.
Jon Decker reports.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that credit markets, while stabilizing, remain under serious strain and government capital injections into banks are needed to help restore normal lending.
Barclays offers slice of capital injection and cancels bonuses after shareholders complain terms of the injection were too generous for the Middle East investors.
* Record UK CPI drop sparks deflation fear
* Carphone Warehouse says toughest outlook ever
The Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was criticized on Capitol Hill for not doing enough to stop home foreclosures or helping the auto industry.
On Wall Street, a volatile session finished with the Dow up 151 points to 8,424. The S&P 500 climbed 8 points to 859. The Nasdaq crept one point higher to 1,488.
Oil prices fell to $54.39 a barrel.
SPEAKER: Henry Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary
Conway Gittens reports from New York.
The brand name of the Latvian-invented camera favoured by spies worldwide lives on in Germany.
The revolutionary Minox camera was invented by Waltar Zapp and produced in Latvia in the 1930s and the brand still lives on in Germany where everything from everyday cameras to spy gadgets are still made under the famous name.
President-elect Barack Obama is relying on a team of Washington veterans, including several who worked for former President Bill Clinton, to staff his transition.
Peer-to-peer lending gets new interest as banks keep a tight rein on credit.
Thanks to the internet, peer to peer lending is gaining new traction. But risks remain and both borrowers and investors must tread carefully. Bobbi Rebell reports.
Pharmaceuticals and energy stocks fall after Barack Obama's presidential win with markets fearing his policies could hurt profits.
* ArcelorMittal slashes output, feezes growth plans
* Carlsberg trims 2008 outlook
European stocks fall as investors' focus moves back to economic troubles after Barack Obama won the U.S. election.
Despite the biggest ever Election Day rally in the United States, and a 4.5 percent increase on Japan's Nikkei, the party didn't continue in the European markets.
Analysts said an Obama win had been largely priced in after six days of gains for European equities.
Joanna Partridge reports for Reuters
The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression awaits the winner of the U.S. presidential elections.
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain both have plans to jump-start the economy which economists say is already in a recession that could worsen by the time the new president takes office next February.
Analysts say investors had better beware false rallies like the one that occurred after the 1929 stock market crash.
The Dow rallied 24 percent over the next five months following the stock market crash, only to turn south again. Stocks fell 89 percent from their peak. Fred Katayama reports from New York.
When the economic going gets tough, the tough open a new shopping centre.
The largest inner-city shopping centre in Europe opens for business in London despite consumers tightening their belts amid fears of a global recession.
China scoops its first major overseas deal for a home-grown aircraft but the world aviation industry as a whole is in a tail spin.
The biennial Zhuhai gathering is a major showcase for the international aviation industry and is particularly significant in the current financial climate as many major players bank on China's potential as the world's largest aviation market to help them weather the economic storm.
Both political parties are making a strong pitch this year for young voters-- in recognition of how large and how vocal this demographic group is.
For Barack Obama, youth voters have been a reliable demographic group at rallies and in terms of getting out the vote on college campuses. The big question now is whether all of these young voters will actually come out and vote on election day.
Jon Decker reports.
Japan brings forward short selling restrictions in a bid to curb market turmoil.
The Ministry of Finance, the Financial Services Agency and the Tokyo Stock Exchange will also launch an investigation into naked short selling to determine if there have been any illegal practices. Naked short selling is when traders effectively sell stocks without first borrowing them to sell
As global auto sales stall, General Motors and Chrysler announce cuts and intensify merger discussions.
Sources tell Reuters that GM is exploring other plans if talks with Cerberus, Chrysler's owner, fail.
The US government could also provide aid to the ailing automakers, say experts.To date, Chrysler sales have dropped 25% while GM's have dropped 18%.
Manoush Zomorodi reports.
(Reuters) - Stocks pointed to a higher open on Monday, reversing some of the sharp losses endured on Friday when dismal monthly retail sales triggered a sell-off. At 5:18 a.m. EST, S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 percent, Dow Jones futures were up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1 percen...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials slashed their growth forecasts through 2009 and some believed even deeper interest rate cuts may be necessary if growth slows further, minutes of their October meeting released on Wednesday show.
"Even after t...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday ruled out an acquisition of Yahoo Inc but said his company was very interested in resuming talks on a Web search partnership.
Shares of Yahoo fell 13 percent on ...
By Alister Bull
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Producer prices posted a record decline in October as the weak economy sent energy prices tumbling, data on Tuesday showed, while business confidence among home-builders slumped.
A...
By Ellis Mnyandu and Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co , Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp tumbled to multiyear lows on Wednesday on expectations that deteriorating credit conditions and a contracting economy will weigh...
DETROIT (Reuters) - Shares of General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co tumbled on Wednesday as mounting political opposition cast doubt over a proposed $25 billion government bailout for the U.S. automakers.
Shares of GM dropped more than 15 percen...
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