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Alabama county files biggest municipal bankruptcy
(Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy court protection on Wednesday in the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Commissioners for the county, which is home to Birmingham, the state's biggest city and economic powerhouse, voted 4-1 to declare bankruptcy after meeting behind closed doors for two days in a last ditch-attempt to restructure its debt out of court.
A tentative deal reached with creditors in September to settle $3.14 billion in red ink had been widely expected to avert bankruptcy. But the deal fell apart over what the commission described as creditors' refusal to meet the terms of previously agreed economic concessions.
For article GO HERE
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Analysis: Europe's debt crisis to shake corporate America
By Scott Malone
BOSTON | Wed Nov 9, 2011 11:15pm EST
(Reuters) - The shock waves of Europe's debt crisis will take a toll on corporate America, particularly sellers of cars, consumer products and basic materials that generate significant revenue on the continent.
The crisis that this week claimed the heads of the Greek and Italian governments is threatening to throw Europe into recession, and has U.S. companies from General Motors Co to Emerson Electric Co scrambling to find ways to reduce their risk.
For article GO HERE
For article GO HERE
Blasts hit Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan
CAIRO, Nov. 10, 2011 (Reuters)
Saboteurs blew up a Sinai pipeline on Thursday, halting gas supplies from Egypt to Israel and Jordan in the sixth such attack since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian security sources and witnesses said.
Two blasts were set off by remote control, one in the Mazar area, 30 km (18 miles) west of al-Arish, and a smaller one near a pumping station west of the northern Sinai town. Pumping had only resumed on October 24 after repairs from a previous attack.
"Primary examination showed that improvised explosive devices were put under the pipeline and were detonated from a distance," a security source said. "The attackers used two trucks and extended wires were found at the scene."
Residents in al-Arish said they could see flames after the blasts. Witnesses told state news agency MENA that security forces and fire fighters had controlled the blaze. MENA said it was not clear if the pumping station had been damaged.
No group has claimed responsibility for the series of pipeline attacks since a popular uprising toppled Mubarak in February. One attack took place before he was ousted.
For article GO HERE
Supply running dry
Prairie diesel shortage has truckers stumped at the pumps
A diesel fuel shortage across Western Canada is sparking a scavenger hunt for truckers trying to find stations that still have something left in the pumps.
The manager of the Flying J Travel Plaza on Portage Avenue just west of the Perimeter Highway said Tuesday his station ran out of diesel by mid-afternoon -- and is running out just about every day.
A reported production disruption at a Suncor refinery in Alberta coupled with an explosion and fire at a Federated Co-Op refinery in Regina about a month ago has crimped diesel supply in the Prairie provinces.
Various reports say supply will be re-established within a couple of weeks. Some say it could be as much as several weeks before normal flows are restored.
For article GO HERE
Fuel protests, mob rage choke city, cops helpless
KOLKATA: The city's working week began amid chaos and disruptions on Tuesday as a couple of petrol price rise protests threw traffic out of gear and an accident in Park Circus triggered mob violence that clogged AJC Bose road flyover and major thoroughfares during peak hours.
As a result of these twin blows, traffic was reduced to a crawl on the city's already cramped roads from 10.30am till late afternoon , leading to huge commuting delays and leaving motorists hoping for a smooth ride after the weekend and Eid holiday exasperated . Kolkata Police deputy commissioner (traffic) Dilip Bandyopadhyay voiced the frustration and helplessness of commuters. "If there is a big rally at Esplanade , traffic movement of the entire city gets affected. This time, the rally blocked the north-south traffic completely," he said.
Most the major roads started getting choked as early as 10am as rallies taken out by Left, Congress and SUCI trade unions converged on Esplanade from Howrah and Sealdah. Strand Road, Central Avenue, S N Banerjee Road, Chowringhee Road, AJC Bose Road and APC Road were clogged by 10.30am. "We had a tormenting experience. Traffic was unusually slow," Bandyopadhyay said. The chaos intensified after SUCI and the Naxalites staged an agitation at Phears Lane near Lalbazar.
For article GO HERE
Chinese Steel Production Falling Fast
10 November, 2011
China’s steel production plummeted in October, according to CISA data reported in a Reuters article. As this graph shows, China’s average daily crude steel output fell to 1.786 million tons in October, the lowest level since January, as steel mills scaled back production to cope with lower steel demand.
Chinese steel mills, facing lower orders and increasing inventories, are bringing forward blast furnace and equipment overhauls in the hope demand may improve in the New Year. After operating at full capacity since February, mills produced just 1.717 million tons per day in the last 11 days of October, down 4.6 percent from the previous 10 days. More mills are expected to follow as demand continues to soften on the back of a rapidly slowing construction sector.
For article GO HERE
Africa's Western Black Rhino Is Officially Extinct
10 November, 2011
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) officially declared Africa's Western Black Rhinoceros extinct today, according to the organization's updated Red List of endangered species.
The sad news comes less than a month after Vietnam's Javan rhinoceros was hunted out of existence.
Central Africa's White Rhino is also on the brink of extinction, according to the IUCN report.
Rhinos have been the target of relentless poaching for their horns, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure fevers.
'Burning martyrs': the wave of Tibetan monks setting themselves on fire
Monks and nuns say leaflets are circulating in monasteries in China listing names of those ready to carry out suicide protests
11 November, 2011
On the posters, they call them "the burning martyrs". Above photographs of the 11 Tibetan monks, former monks and nuns who have set fire to themselves this year in an unprecedented series of demonstrations in Sichuan, south-west China, the question asked is: "How many more?"
For article GO HERE
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