From Jenna Orkin in New York
Headlines
Energy bills to soar: Three million EDF customers face 10% rise
Iran to Introduce Second Official Currency
"The currency's freefall has intensified the burdens on Iran's economy, as it is currently struggling with tough sanctions targeting oil exports and measures that are blocking it from key international banking networks. These sanctions were imposed upon Iran due to the country's continued development of its nuclear program.
But many accept that Western sanctions are not the only reason for the rial's sharp decline. Some have begun to blame governmental policies, such as fuelling inflation by increasing money supply while also artificially holding down inflation rates."
'It smacks of a professional hit, but we don't know why': friend's fears over murder of British Exxon oil executive
Norway's New Foreign Minister 'Exploitation of Arctic Resources Will Happen'
"The Arctic is changing at a breathtaking pace, which has oil and gas companies flocking to the region. SPIEGEL ONLINE talks to Norway's new Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide about the dangers of resource extraction and China's role in the High North."
'Fiscal cliff' warnings rise to fever pitch
China at a Crossroads in Shift from World's Factory to Industrial Power
U.S. Expands Secretive Drone Base for African Shadow War
"The Pentagon’s secretive drone and commando base in the Horn of Africa is getting a lot bigger and a lot busier as the U.S. doubles down on its shadowy campaign of air strikes, robot surveillance and Special Operation Forces raids in the terror havens of Yemen and Somalia.
Camp Lemonnier, originally a French colonial outpost in Djibouti, a tiny, impoverished nation just north of Somalia, has been the epicenter of America’s Indian Ocean shadow war since just after 9/11. What was once little more than a run-down compound adjacent to Djibouti city’s single-runway international airport is now a sprawling complex of hangars and air-conditioned buildings housing eight Predator drones and eight F-15E fighter-bombers plus other warplanes, as well as around 300 Special Operations Forces and more than 2,000 other U.S. troops and civilians."
First U.S. Oil Sands Mine Proceeds Without Pollution Permit
"InsideClimateNews.org -- Utah officials have given a Canadian company the greenlight to begin mining oil sands on a remote plateau in Eastern Utah without first obtaining a pollution permit or monitoring groundwater quality, an action that sets the stage for a possible court battle over the fragile region."
Economy
Banks Now Turn to Psychologists for Help
Not the bankers, mind you, but the banks. - JO
Vietnamese Banks Who Paid Dividend On Stored Gold, Were Quietly Selling It To Appear Solvent
Shocking. Who taught them to do that? - JO
UBS To Terminate 10,000, Or One Sixth Of Its Employees
Art Cashin On Becky Quick's Roast Of Paul Krugman
Female Unemployment In Ceuta Region Hits 57%
Desperate Trends From Early 20th Century Britain Show What REAL Austerity Looks Like
The Economics Of The Canadian Oil Sands Are A Mess
Energy/Resources
Ash tree disease puts wildlife at risk
So what happened to the billions in oil money that gushed out of Libya?
Cutting Carbon Is Europe's Emissions Trading System Broken?
Of course - that's the point. - JO
The High Price of Clean Energy Tax Breaks and Subsidies for Industry Divide Germans
Don't believe these 6 flu vaccine myths
Believe the myths we tell you to believe. - JO
Putin Is the New Global Shah of Oil
"With TNK-BP in its hands, Rosneft will be in charge of more than 4 million barrels of oil production a day. And who is in charge of Rosneft? None other than Vladimir Putin, Russia's resource-full president."
Meet Sandy: Single Furious Hurricane Seeking GDP-Boosting Landfall
Horrifying Pictures Show The Huge Damage Hurricane Sandy Has Already Created
You Don't Realize How Bad Pollution In China Is Until You Compare It To The US
Starving Africa Could Become A Huge Food EXPORTER With Just A Few Changes
Military/Intelligence
Rumsfeld: Feels Like White House Cover-Up
Take it from one who knows. - JO
Gaza Boat Activists Accuse Israel of Using Tasers
Civil Unrest/Politics
The fall of Berlusconi: Silvio sentenced to jail - but will he ever see the inside of a cell?
From Rice Farmer in Japan
Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards
MAN SE to halt truck production for 4 weeks: sources
"MAN SE plans to halt production of heavy-duty vehicles for four weeks at two German factories as the economic downturn curbs demand from freight transporters and construction firms, company sources said."
New Definition of "Sustainable" is Six Months; New Word Needed to Replace "Haircut"
Six Canadian banks on review for Moody’s downgrade
Report: UBS to slash investment banking
Airline Death Spiral
Airport lost €6m since subsidies stopped
Plane Truth: Millions Spent on Rarely-Used Airport
Third Airline Adds Carry-On Bag Fee
Buyouts reduce number of furloughs needed at American Airlines
"So many mechanics are taking buyouts at American Airlines Inc. that the company expects only a small fraction of the layoffs that were originally planned."
Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums
U.S. officials briefly detain Pakistani politician Imran Khan in Toronto
"Pakistani politician Imran Khan, a former cricket star and critic of U.S. drone strikes, was briefly delayed and questioned by U.S. immigration officials in Toronto before being allowed to board a flight to New York."
Interview with Imran Khan (video)
Al Qaeda's Zawahri calls for kidnap of Westerners
Israel's Likud Party and Yisrael Beitenu to join forces
"Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's party will run alongside that of his ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, in January's election."
Report: Israel sells drones to Azerbaijan
Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks
Tens of thousands protest against austerity in Rome
"Tens of thousands of people marched through Rome in a 'No Monti Day' on Saturday, some throwing eggs and spraying graffiti to protest against austerity measures introduced by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's government."
Police disperse east China chemical plant protesters
Compal employees go on strike in Chengdu
64 reported dead in Myanmar violence
Two dead as police clash with protesters in Peru's capital
South African Worker Protest Turns Violent in Mining Town
Industry protests power outages with daylong strike
Energy/resources
BP drops plans for U.S. cellulosic ethanol plant
"Once seen as a promising alternative to the use of corn and other crops to make fuel, cellulosic biofuel has become a political football as companies struggle to produce commercial quantities, despite a government mandate."
Germany shifts to coal to tackle its installed capacity shortfall
Got food?
India's food inflation to hit Aam Aadmi [Joe Sixpack] during festive season, says Assocham study
Environment/health
Triclosan is harmful to the ecology of rivers
Six new cases reported in meningitis outbreak
Fight to save a third of Britain's trees from killer fungus
Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar
South Carolina hit with huge data breach
"South Carolina says a massive security breach exposed millions of Social Security numbers as well thousands of valid credit card numbers of state residents."
Indonesia Holds 10 Over Alleged Terror Plot Against U.S. Embassy
Systemic breakdown
Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity, High Cost of Foods, Insecurity, Mar Sallah Celebrations
Japan
"The only source of 'capital' left - BOJ monetization. The only problem, of course, is that Japan already has well over 200% of national debt to GDP. And that's the smaller problem. The bigger problem: even the smallest increase in prevailing interest rates, and the entire Japanese house of cards topples."
Tepco will oblige all the employees to go to Fukushima, 100,000ppl/y in total.
TEPCO tries to find somewhere to store contaminated water
Defense chief to visit India to boost ties amid China rise
China
If China willing, Gold to break all time high: Saxo Bank
Coasts, mudflats are vanishing, research shows
H.K. Imposes Property Tax on Non-Locals on Bubble Risks
UK
Street lights turned off in their thousands to meet carbon emission targets
"Local authorities say the moves helps reduce energy bills, at a time when energy prices are continuing to rise. Several of the big energy companies have unveiled price hikes in recent weeks, including British Gas, npower and EDF Energy - which this week said it was increasing its standard variable prices for gas and electricity customers by 10%."
Half of workers can not afford to retire, pensions industry says
More than 400 trains cancelled due to driver shortages
US
The Trouble With 2 Percent GDP Growth
"A good chunk of that 2 percent growth came from a bizarre surge in defense spending that masks some pretty crappy fundamentals, particularly on the business side of things."
Seattle police plan to deploy spy drones
More than a Dozen Nuclear Plants Near Hurricane Sandy’s Path Brace for Impact
Sandy: Over 250,000 Homes At Risk
Earnings & Guidance Disappoint Wall Street, But Are Consumers Toast Too?
