US lawmakers publish rescue deal: related news

US lawmakers publish rescue deal

US politicians have announced a $700bn deal to rescue America's financial system and end the credit crunch.

Iraqis Protest Proposed Deal to Allow US Troops to Stay in Iraq Until 2011

Iraqis Protest Proposed Deal to Allow US Troops to Stay in Iraq Until 2011 On Saturday, tens of thousands of Iraqis demonstrated against the proposed Status of Forces Agreement, but US military chief Michael Mullen warned today that Iraq could risk “losses of significant consequence” if the deal is not approved quickly. We speak to Patrick Cockburn and Raed Jarrar.

US indicts UBS wealth management head

UBS suffered its biggest blow yet in the US investigation into its offshore banking activities for rich American clients as US authorities said they had indicted Raoul Weil, the Swiss bank’s head of global wealth management. The US Department of Justice indictment also said other senior unnamed UBS’s executives were involved as alleged “unindicted co-conspirators�. Separately, the indictment includes detailed allegations about how other, more junior, managers sought to circumvent US tax rules over a period of years. The DoJ claims Weil used the expression “toxic waste� to refer to the US business because of its acute sensitivity. In a statement Tuesday night, UBS said Weil would relinquish his duties pending resolution of the matter and said the bank was “fully committed� to continuing co-operating with the probe.

Toys "R"Us to Offer Apple iPod "For the First Time Ever"

The iPod phenomenon shows little signs of abating. A spokesperson from the giant, Wayne, NJ-based toys retailer Toys”R”Us informs us that, beginning this month, it will offer a “wide selection of Apple iPod products in all of its Toys”R”Us stores nationwide for the first time ever.” Those comments refer to the American Toys“R”Us outlets and Web sites only. Although iPods aren’t yet listed on America's Toys"R"Us Web site, they have been available through its U.K. affiliate (www.toysrus.co.uk) for well over a year. There's no word when (or if) iPods might become available in Canada through this retail channel.

Was the Yahoo-Google Deal a Ploy To Weaken Yahoo?

JagsLive writes with a link to a BetaNews story about a US Senator who is questioning whether the deal between Yahoo and Google was brokered with less than honorable intentions on Google's part. The advertising deal came under scrutiny from the Department of Justice recently for potential antitrust violations. The deal has now been delayed in order to allow investigators more time for evaluation. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating that Yahoo will cut as much as 20% of its workforce after an internal memo from CEO Jerry Yang called for "discipline" and said the company was "getting fit" for the long term. For their part, Google has launched a site endorsing the deal and attempting to smooth the way for its approval by providing facts and positive reactions from experts.

ACLU Creates Map of US "Constitution-Free Zone"

trackpick points out a recent ACLU initiative to publicize a recent expansion of authority claimed by the Border Patrol to stop and search individuals up to 100 miles from any US border. They have created a map of what they call the US Constitution-Free Zone. "Using data provided by the US Census Bureau, the ACLU has determined that nearly 2/3 of the entire US population (197.4 million people) live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders. The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This 'Constitution-Free Zone' includes most of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.'"

US pushes for Iraq security deal

US defence chief Robert Gates is seeking support from politicians on a draft deal to extend the US mandate in Iraq, which expires later this year.

BrazAlta Announces Private Placement of US$18.6 Million in BCH Ltd. And Provides a BCH Operational Update

BrazAlta Resources Corp. ("BrazAlta" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:BRX) is pleased to announce that its oilfield services subsidiary, BCH Ltd. ("BCH"), has completed a non-brokered private placement (the "Financing") of 4,474,999 Common Shares of BCH Ltd. ("BCH Common Shares"), at a price of US$4.163 per BCH Common Share for aggregate gross proceeds of US$18,629,421. BrazAlta Resources Corp. acquired 2,282,249 BCH Common Shares and Allis-Chalmers Energy Inc. ("Allis-Chalmers") acquired 2,192,750 BCH Common Shares in the Financing. BCH intends to use the proceeds from the Financing to pay down intercompany debt to BrazAlta (US$7.4 million), interest to Allis-Chalmers with respect to the previously announced US$40 million subordinated convertible debenture (the "Debenture") (US$3.

US Elections: What direction now for US space exploration?

US CONGRESSMAN Adam Schiff was touring Pakistan in May when NASA's Phoenix spacecraft touched down on Mars. He was struck by the glowing accounts of NASA's triumph that suddenly dominated the Pakistani newspapers. "In a country where there are such deep suspicions about what the US does, there was at least one area where the reaction was uniformly positive," says Schiff, whose district in California includes NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which built Phoenix. "And it's one area where the US shows that it is capable of doing great things."

Lawmakers call on DOJ to approve Google-Yahoo deal

Eleven lawmakers call on the US Department of Justice to approve a proposed advertising deal between Google and Yahoo.

Lawmakers call on DOJ to approve Google-Yahoo deal

Eleven lawmakers call on the US Department of Justice to approve a proposed advertising deal between Google and Yahoo.

Lawmakers call on DOJ to approve Google-Yahoo deal

Eleven lawmakers call on the US Department of Justice to approve a proposed advertising deal between Google and Yahoo.

Lawmakers call on DOJ to approve Google-Yahoo deal

Eleven lawmakers call on the US Department of Justice to approve a proposed advertising deal between Google and Yahoo.

Lawmakers call on DOJ to approve Google-Yahoo deal

Eleven lawmakers call on the US Department of Justice to approve a proposed advertising deal between Google and Yahoo.

Paulson reveals bank rescue plan

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the US government is planning to invest directly in US banks to prevent them from failing, expanding the focus of the government's $US700 billion ($1 trillion) rescue plan.

US Supreme Court Allows Sonar Use

gollum123 writes "The US Supreme Court has removed restrictions on the Navy's use of sonar in training exercises near California. The ruling is a defeat for environmental groups who say the sonar can kill whales and other mammals. In its 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said the Navy needed to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats. The court did not deal with the merits of the claims put forward by the environmental groups. In reinstating the use of sonar, the top US court rejected a lower federal judge's injunction that had required the US Navy to take various precautions during submarine-hunting exercises. The Bush administration argued that there is little evidence of harm to marine life in more than 40 years of exercises off the California coast.

How US Schools' Culture Stifles Math Achievement

Zarf writes "I'd like to file a bug report on the US educational system. The New York Times reports on a recent study that shows the US fails to encourage academic talent as a culture.'"There is something about the culture in American society today which doesn't really seem to encourage men or women in mathematics," said Michael Sipser, the head of M.I.T.'s math department. "Sports achievement gets lots of coverage in the media. Academic achievement gets almost none."' While we've suspected that the US might be falling behind academically, this study shows that it is actually due to cultural factors that are devaluing the success of our students. I suspect there's a flaw in the US cultural system that prevents achievement on the academic front as valuable.

Toys "R"Us to Offer Apple iPod "For the First Time Ever"

The iPod phenomenon shows little signs of abating. A spokesperson from the giant, Wayne, NJ-based toys retailer Toys”R”Us informs us that, beginning this month, it will offer a “wide selection of Apple iPod products in all of its Toys”R”Us stores nationwide for the first time ever.” Those comments presumably refer to the American (and possibly, the Canadian) Toys“R”Us outlets and Web sites only. Although iPods aren’t yet listed on either country’s Web sites, they have been available through its U.K. affiliate (www.toysrus.co.uk) for well over a year.

US debt rescue plan takes shape

US President George W Bush has defended a rescue package to tackle the worst financial markets crisis for decades.

AMD Says Manufacturing Deal Does Not Violate Intel Processor Patents

The day after AMD announced a significant deal that will spin off its manufacturing facilities into a new joint venture company, AMD is defending its licensing agreement with Intel. In the wake of the deal, Intel said it would review its processor licensing agreement with AMD to ensure the deal does not violate any patent agreements. An AMD spokesman said the deal does not impact the chip licensing agreement with Intel.

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft carrying US tourist docks with ISS

Russian Soyuz spacecraft TMA-13 carrying US space tourist Richard Garriott has docked with the International Space Station (ISS), RIA Novosti news agency reported today quoting Russia's Mission Control official. The Soyuz TMA-13 craft, which blasted off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on Sunday, brought US astronaut Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and US space tourist Garriott to the ISS. Mr Garriott will conduct a variety of scientific experiments during his ten-day stay on the orbiting station. The son of US astronaut Owen Garriott, the sixth space tourist to travel to the ISS made his fortune in online computer games, including the popular Ultima Online. He reportedly paid 30 million dollars for the trip to the ISS.

Google and Yahoo: Will Revising the Deal Help Get Government Approval?

Trying to push through their search advertising deal, Google (GOOG) and Yahoo (YHOO) have revised the terms of the deal to satisfy antitrust objections by the Department of Justice, reports the WSJ (article behind the pay wall). The main concessions are putting 25 percent cap on the search-related revenues that Yahoo can generate from the partnership and making it a two-year deal instead of a ten-year deal.

How Close Were US Presidential Elections?

Mike Sheppard writes "I'm a graduate student in Statistics at Michigan State University and spent some time analyzing past US presidential elections to determine how close they truly were. The mathematical procedures of Linear Programming and 0-1 Integer Programming were used to find the optimal solution to the question: 'What is the smallest number of total votes that need to be switched from one candidate to another, and from which states, to affect the outcome of the election?' Because of the way the popular and electoral votes interact, the outcome of the analysis had some surprising and intriguing results. For example, in 2004, 57,787 votes would have given us President Kerry; and in 2000, 269 votes would have given us President Gore. In all there have been 12 US Presidential elections that were decided by less than a 1% margin; mean

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain reports net profit of US$60.1 million

(MENAFN Press) Al Salam Bank Bahrain announced a net profit of BD22.7 million (US$60.1 million) for the nine month period ended 30 September 2008 registering increase of 30% compared to BD17.4 million (US$46.2 million) for the corresponding period in 2007. The earnings per share for the period were 18.9 fils against 14.5 fils for the corresponding period in 2007. The results represent a quarterly net profit of BD7.4 million (US$19.6 million) for the quarter ended 30 September 2008 compared to BD3.3 million (US$8.8 million), an increase of 120%, in the corresponding quarter in 2007.

Microsoft Trying To Shiv the Potential Google-Verizon Wireless Search Deal

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is trying hard to snatch away the search deal that Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has been working on with the second largest U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ), and has offered a much sweeter rev share deal as part of it, reports WSJ, citing sources. MSFT saw an opening as Google was distracted trying to work and defend its search ad pact with Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), which was officially called off yesterday, the story says. Details of Google’s talks with VZW came out in August, and at that time the deal was supposed to be a comprehensive one: Google would have been the default search provider on Verizon devices and would give it a share of ad revenue. The search functionality would be on VZW’s homescreen. Later on, the deal could extend to Verizon’s Web portal and even its FiOS TV service.

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