May 3, 2012

Canada's (better-regulated) banks dominate the list of the world's strongest banks

(Bloomberg) Banks from Citigroup Inc. (C) in the U.S. to BNP Paribas SA (BNP) in France are racing to shed assets and raise money ahead of new global capital rules that start taking effect in 2015. For Canadian lenders, these moves have created the opportunity to go on a shopping spree.

Canada’s six largest banks have spent $37.8 billion since 2008 on about 100 acquisitions at home and abroad, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its June issue.

“We and our Canadian competitors are only able to do that because we have some flexibility as a result of our strength,” says Gerald McCaughey, chief executive officer of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which bought JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s minority stake in asset management firm American Century Investments last year. “Over the longer term, this should actually help to maintain the strength of the Canadian banking system and its competitiveness.”

CIBC (CM) was No. 3 in Bloomberg Markets’ second annual ranking of the world’s strongest banks, followed by three of its Canadian rivals: Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) (No. 4), National Bank of Canada (NA) (No. 5) and Royal Bank of Canada (No. 6), the country’s largest lender. Bank of Nova Scotia ranked 18th, and Bank of Montreal was 22nd. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-02/canadians-dominate-world-s-10-strongest-banks.html

May 3, 2012

18th Century Foxx

Ultra-conservative North Carolina Republican congresswoman Virginia Foxx, chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee in the House, made news in the past week when she said that she has "very little tolerance" for people who take out student loans. "There's no reason for that. We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that ... You don't sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap."

May 3, 2012

$100 for a carry-on bag?

New York— Putting a bag in the overhead bin will soon cost some Spirit Airlines passengers $100, more than they paid for their tickets.

The Miramar, Fla., airline currently charges $45 for a carry-on bag. As of Nov. 6, customers who pay the fee at the boarding gate will fork over $100. Any bag that needs to fit in the overhead bin is considered a carry-on. A bag that fits under the seat is free.

The fee stays at $45 if passengers pay at an airport counter or kiosk. Spirit is one of two airlines that charge for carry-ons. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120502/BIZ/205020433#ixzz1tlZgAMRn

May 2, 2012

How Macintosh virus could be stealing $10,000 daily from Google

from the Toronto Star:

The hackers behind a virus plaguing Macintosh computers could be generating up to $10,000 per day off of Google advertisement clicks, according to security software company Symantec.

In a statement on their official blog, Symantec said the makers of the Flashback Trojan — a virus that first appeared in March and infected some 600,000 Macs by early April — have profited by targeting search queries made on Google through Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers.

It’s a Mac-attacking virus that Roel Schouwenberg, a senior researcher at antivirus software company Kaspersky Lab, told the New York Times in April was the largest scale and most sophisticated attack on Mac OS X to date.

Flashback may reroute users to another page where they, instead of Google, receive revenue from the click — effectively stealing ad revenue from Google. A Symantec analysis of a hijacked web search for “toys” found that the Flashback hackers were paid about 8 cents for the redirected ad click. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1171626--how-macintosh-virus-could-be-stealing-10-000-daily-from-google?bn=1

May 2, 2012

Rise in Teen Marijuana Use Demonstrates Continued Failure of War on Drugs

from AlterNet:

Rise in Teen Marijuana Use Demonstrates Continued Failure of War on Drugs

The 23rd annual Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) was released today, showing an increase in teen marijuana use and reductions in prescription drug misuse, and especially cigarette smoking.

Smoking rates have declined with 22 percent of teens reporting smoking cigarettes in the past month – down 19 percent from 27 percent last year. Past-month usage of marijuana, though, grew from 19 percent in 2008 to 27 percent last year.

The continued decline in teen cigarette smoking is great news – not just because it's the most deadly drug but also because it reveals that legal regulation and honest education are more effective than prohibition and criminalization. Although the U.S. arrests 750,000 people every year for nothing more than possessing a small amount of marijuana, teens consistently report that marijuana is easier to obtain than alcohol.

It's time we developed a comprehensive strategy for dealing with drug abuse in the 21st century by focusing on what works and what doesn't. It's time to step back and ask ourselves what's the best way to solve the problem we're trying to solve—how to reduce drug abuse and addiction—and use the best available evidence to guide us. And, ultimately, it's time to bring marijuana out of the shadows and under the rule of law. The evidence shows that the most effective way to reduce teen marijuana use would be to regulate it in a manner similar to alcohol, with age limits, licensing controls, and other regulatory restrictions. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/911662/rise_in_teen_marijuana_use_demonstrates_continued_failure_of_war_on_drugs/

May 2, 2012

The Washington Post Continues Its Love Affair With NAFTA and Disdain for Facts

from CPER:

The Washington Post Continues Its Love Affair With NAFTA and Disdain for Facts
Sunday, 29 April 2012 07:10

The Washington Post was a strong supporter of NAFTA at the time the deal was approved. It continues to be a strong defender of the pact nearly two decades later. It has repeatedly shown itself willing to make up facts or just ignore them to push its pro-NAFTA line.

An example of the former occurred in December of 2007 when its lead editorial criticized the leading Democratic presidential candidates for saying that they would renegotiate NAFTA. The editorial told readers that not only had NAFTA been good for the U.S., it had been great for Mexico:

"Mexico's gross domestic product, now more than $875 billion, has more than quadrupled since 1987."

For those keeping score, the actual increase was 83 percent. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-washington-post-continues-its-love-affair-with-nafta-and-distaste-for-facts?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beat_the_press+%28Beat+the+Press%29

May 2, 2012

Dan Rather on G. W. Bush report: ‘We reported a true story—that’s why I’m no longer with CBS News'

Dan Rather, former "CBS Evening News" host and current star of Mark Cuban's HDNet, has been out promoting his new book, "Rather Outspoken."

In an interview with Piers Morgan on Tuesday, Rather recalled the last conversation he had with George W. Bush after his controversial 2004 CBS News report on the former president's Air National Guard service record.

"I was at the White House for a briefing for reporters, and I asked him a couple of questions and he answered the questions," Rather said. "And then afterward he said to me, 'I hope you'll be happy retired in Austin.' That's my home. I had no intention of retiring in Austin. I have a passion for my work and I plunged myself back into doing work. But that's the only conversation I've had with him since."

Rather also defended the report that led to the end of his network news career.

"We reported a true story," he said. "That's why I'm no longer with CBS News." ...........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/dan-rather-george-w-bush-report-reported-true-143116444.html

May 2, 2012

The Washington Post Continues Its Love Affair With NAFTA and Disdain for Facts

from CPER:

The Washington Post Continues Its Love Affair With NAFTA and Disdain for Facts
Sunday, 29 April 2012 07:10

The Washington Post was a strong supporter of NAFTA at the time the deal was approved. It continues to be a strong defender of the pact nearly two decades later. It has repeatedly shown itself willing to make up facts or just ignore them to push its pro-NAFTA line.

An example of the former occurred in December of 2007 when its lead editorial criticized the leading Democratic presidential candidates for saying that they would renegotiate NAFTA. The editorial told readers that not only had NAFTA been good for the U.S., it had been great for Mexico:

"Mexico's gross domestic product, now more than $875 billion, has more than quadrupled since 1987."

For those keeping score, the actual increase was 83 percent. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-washington-post-continues-its-love-affair-with-nafta-and-distaste-for-facts?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beat_the_press+%28Beat+the+Press%29

May 2, 2012

The "Sans Auto" Generation

(New York, NY — Kristen Meinzer, The Takeaway) A typical story on The Takeaway morning radio program receives up to a dozen listener comments. Stories that strike a particular cord receive closer to two or three dozen responses. But a story we covered this month received nearly seventy five comments from more than twenty states across the country.

The story was about young people driving less. According to a new study, co-authored by Tony Dutzik and Benjamin Davis of the Frontier Group, 16- to 34-year-olds without driver’s licenses rose to 26 percent in 2010 from 21 percent a decade earlier. Younger drivers are driving almost a quarter fewer miles than they used to. At the same time, biking, walking, and other driving alternatives rose among young people in the past decade.

We asked our younger listeners to tell us if they’re driving less and, if so, why.

The top reason was the cost of the gas, as well as the cost of cars.

And a listener from Evans, Georgia texted:

It’s all about the cost. Jobs are scarce or poorly paying and cars, gas, and insurance are expensive.

..............................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://transportationnation.org/2012/04/30/young-people-are-driving-less-and-explaining-why/

May 2, 2012

The World’s 10 Busiest Subway Systems

from Txchnologist

complete list with photos is at: http://www.txchnologist.com/2012/white-glove-service-the-world%E2%80%99s-10-busiest-subway-systems

White Glove Service: The World’s 10 Busiest Subway Systems
April 26th, 2012

Tokyo and its famed white-gloved shoving service, which helps pack the crowded subways trains, may be the world’s busiest public transport system but it’s under pressure from its Asian neighbors. In the past decade, other Asian cities have populated their undergrounds with busy commuters. Indeed, underscoring Asia’s growing economic clout, today the region is home to seven of the world’s 10 busiest transit systems. This trend could foster a new loose economic rule: As GDP grows, urbanites go underground.

1. Tokyo