Future of PV Solar SYstems, IKEA-tion

Ikea to Sell $9,200 Solar-Panel Kits in All U.K. Stores - Bloomberg: "The deal shows how photovoltaic power is moving into the mainstream in the U.K., where more than 400,000 small solar systems operate. Price drops and state subsidies have doubled installations since the end of 2011, government figures show.
Ikea will offer standard 3.36-kilowatt photovoltaic systems for 5,700 pounds ($9,200) upfront, as well as a leasing option.
“In our opinion it’s the first time a truly global retailer has provided dedicated retail space and dedicated staff solely to PV,” Toby Ferenczi, co-chief executive officer of Hanergy’s U.K. unit, said by e-mail.
Solar power is a part of Ikea’s plan to source all its energy from renewables by 2020. It has installed more than 500,000 panels on some of its 298 stores across the world."

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Poverty, from Hong Kong in the East to Hong Kong of the West

Hong Kong Poverty Line Shows Wealth Gap With One in Five Poor - Bloomberg: "Hong Kong, a city with a surging number of millionaires and home to some of Asia’s richest people, finds a fifth of its population living in poverty.

About 1.3 million people, or 19.6 percent of the population, were below the poverty line last year, according to a report commissioned by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and released on Sept. 28. The benchmark, determined for the first time, was set at half of the city’s median household income, excluding impact of tax and welfare transfer, the report said.

Growing inequality between the rich and the poor poses a major challenge to Leung, who came into office in July last year pledging to narrow the city’s record wealth gap. Tens of thousands of people protested on July 1, the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, demanding the government address inequality which has been exacerbated by the doubling of home prices since early 2009."

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China Inaugurates Shanghai Trade Zone in Financial Reform Drive - Bloomberg

China Inaugurates Shanghai Trade Zone in Financial Reform Drive - Bloomberg: "ree trade zone companies and financial institutions will be allowed to invest in Shanghai securities and futures markets, while qualified overseas individuals in the zone may open accounts to trade local securities, Dai said. Overseas parents of companies registered in the zone will be able to issue yuan-denominated bonds in China.
Li didn’t attend yesterday’s ceremony, and his absence may indicate that the government is trying to counter hype surrounding the zone, said Chan Yan Chong, an adjunct professor of management at City University of Hong Kong."

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China opens Shanghai free-trade zone | World news | theguardian.com

China opens Shanghai free-trade zone | World news | theguardian.com: "A free-trade zone in Shanghai that China's government has billed as a major step for financial reforms and economic experimentation has formally started.

State media reported that a first batch of 25 Chinese and foreign companies were granted licences to register in the zone.

The China (Shanghai) pilot free-trade zone is a nearly 11-sq mile district that covers four existing special trade zones in Pudong district, including one at the airport.

China's state council formally announced rules for the zone on Friday. They outline goals to upgrade financial services, promote trade and improve governance as well as measures to encourage foreign investment in 18 sectors in the country's tightly regulated service industry."

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Spending public money the Irish way- fat pensions to fat cat politicians

Ex-Taoisigh received almost €100,000 in 2012 pensions - Political News | Irish & International Politics | The Irish Times - Fri, Sep 27, 2013: "Former taoisigh Brian Cowen, Bertie Ahern and Albert Reynolds all received almost €100,000 each in ministerial pensions in 2012, according to the latest figures.
The three former Fianna Fáil leaders, two of whom received €99,907, received the highest ministerial pensions among 120 TDs on the published list, which also includes the two retired presidents, judges and others.
The total bill for pensions for the former office holders was €15m last year, of which almost €5m was paid to politicians.
The pensions for Mr Cowen, Mr Ahern and Mr Reynolds have been reduced as a result of Budget changes as well as the two pay and productivity agreements with public sector unions. However, each is also entitled to a Dail deputy’s pension of more than €40,000 per annum, bringing their combined TD and ministerial pensions to more than €140,000.
The two highest pensions paid to former office holders were to former presidents Mary McAleese and Mary Robinsion. Ms McAleese was paid €141,082 in 2012 with Ms Robinson paid €134,883."

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Education must change for brave new world of work - Economic News | Ireland & World Economy Headlines |The Irish Times - Fri, Sep 27, 2013

Education must change for brave new world of work - Economic News | Ireland & World Economy Headlines |The Irish Times - Fri, Sep 27, 2013: "The emotional debate that takes place in the UK, and many other countries, over the disappearance of manufacturing is heavily reminiscent of the earlier outpouring of grief over the shrinking of agriculture. Arguably, the Irish economy happily missed out on this, moving at quite rapid speed from agriculture to services with only a relatively brief flirtation with manufacturing.
The moral of this story is that when it comes to jobs, everything changes, often without warning and always in unpredictable ways. One previously reliable jobs booster may now also be changing. We used to rely on economic growth to dig us out of unemployment holes, but there is reason to think that this may not be sufficient going forward.
Robotics and new technologies like 3-D printing mean that unskilled jobs may disappear almost completely. These technologies may also be set to affect “skilled” jobs."

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wasting golden years on banks

Golden years lose lustre as Bank of Ireland raises age for free banking - Consumer News & Advice | Pricewatch, Money Advice | The Irish Time - Mon, Sep 23, 2013: "Bank of Ireland has been accused of “kicking loyal customers in the teeth” over its decision to impose charges on all its customers until they reach the age of 66.
At present, customers aged 60 can apply for a Golden Years account, which has no fees. The bank has said that from next February people will qualify for free banking only when they reach 66.
A spokeswoman said the bank’s motivation was to synchronise its account structures with the State pension qualifying age coming into effect next year.
Consumers’ Association of Ireland chief executive Dermott Jewell accused the bank of engaging in a “cynical” attempt to extract more money from more of its customers."

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Republican House Leadership -no shame about abject ignorance, or simply too devious?

Republicans block science laureate vote over climate change stance fear | World news | theguardian.com: "The bill had been scheduled for swift approval last week. It would have allowed Barack Obama to name up to three laureates at a time to the two-year term. The posts would all be unpaid, and appointees credentials would be vetted by the National Academy of Sciences.

But after urging from the American Conservative Union, which bills itself as the country's largest and oldest grassroots conservative organisation, Republicans in the House leadership pulled the science laureate bill off the schedule, and sent it for revision.

In a letter to members of Congress, Larry Hart, a former Republican congressional aide and the legislative director of the ACU, warned a science laureate might give Barack Obama another chance to advance the case for climate action.

"Although the bill seems innocuous, it will provide the opportunity for President Obama to make an appointment of someone (or more than one person) who will share his view that science should serve political ends, on such issues as climate change and regulation of greenhouse gases," Hart wrote in the letter."

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Ryan Air - Cheap flights, now better service?

Ryanair chief pledges to repair airline’s battered image - Tourism News | Travel & Tourism Industry News | The Irish Times - Sat, Sep 21, 2013: "At the meeting itself, Mr O’Leary came under from shareholders who argued that a reputation for poor customer service and a “macho culture” are putting people off flying with the airline.
“We need to remedy a lot of things that make it seem difficult to communicate with Ryanair,” said one. He added that there “is a huge chunk of the market out there” that just refuses to fly with the carrier.
He added that the company’s image could potentially have a hugely negative impact on shareholder value.
Another suggested that Mr O’Leary’s public persona had transmitted itself to the board and to the company. However, the chief executive responded that it was unfair to blame other directors, most of whom are non-executive."

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Onion Tears from onion prices

Onion Shortage Seen Worsening in India as Rain Delays Crop - Bloomberg: "Onion prices in India may extend a record rally as heavy monsoon rains delay harvests and worsen a shortage, potentially accelerating food inflation in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Retail prices of the vegetable used in everything from soups to curries soared to 70 rupees ($1.13) a kilogram (2.2 pounds) in New Delhi this week from 20 rupees three months earlier, according to the Consumer Affairs Ministry. Prices may increase further as farmers are unable to pick the crop due to monsoon rains, said C.B. Holkar, a director at the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.
Surging onion prices may fuel inflation and limit the Reserve Bank of India’s room to ease interest rates to revive the weakest economic growth in a decade. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh needs to curb food prices and stem a decline in the rupee to boost the prospects of his Congress party in state polls later this year and the general elections due by May."

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Great Education on DIversity of Life

The amazing diversity of animal life – in pictures | Science | The Observer: "The amazing diversity of animal life – in pictures
The vast majority of animals with which we share our planet go almost unnoticed, eclipsed by the bigger, more charismatic creatures such as the mammals, amphibians and reptiles. A book published this week – Animal Earth: The Amazing Diversity of Living Creatures by Ross Piper – seeks to redress this imbalance by providing an unbiased tour of the 35 lineages of the animal kingdom in all their bizarre beauty and variety"

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Challenging the orders...just takes a phone call

Fisa court: no telecoms company has ever challenged phone records orders | Law | theguardian.com: "No telecommunications company has ever challenged the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court's orders for bulk phone records under the Patriot Act, the court revealed on Tuesday.

The secretive Fisa court's disclosure came inside a declassification of its legal reasoning justifying the National Security Agency's ongoing bulk collection of Americans' phone records.

Citing the "unprecedented disclosures" and the "ongoing public interest in this program", Judge Claire V Eagan on 29 August not only approved the Obama administration's request for the bulk collection of data from an unidentified telecommunications firm, but ordered it declassified. Eagan wrote that despite the "lower threshold" for government bulk surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act compared to other laws, the telephone companies who have received Fisa court orders for mass customer data have not challenged the law."

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Subsidies- for farmers and bankers, not or students

Taxpayers Turn U.S. Farmers Into Fat Cats With Subsidies - Bloomberg: "“We have been subsidizing some of the farmers who least need it in a way that is really costing taxpayers a lot of money,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat of New Hampshire. “We’re never going to solve our budget challenges if that’s what we’re doing.”
Crop insurers and the USDA say that the subsidized insurance helps stabilize food prices for consumers while protecting farmers from weather-related losses. The program insured $117 billion worth of crops last year, including almost all the corn, soybeans, cotton and wheat grown in the U.S.
Capping Subsidies
Unlike direct farm aid payments, which are capped at $40,000 per farm, there is no limit on crop insurance subsidies. The names of those receiving payouts from the program are kept secret. There’s little chance the program will be restructured, since a permanent insurance mechanism spares politicians from approving ad-hoc farm bailouts that CRS says have cost taxpayers more than $50 billion since 2000."

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China- Coal-ful of air pollution

China seeks cut in coal usage to boost air quality - FT.com: "China has announced measures to reduce its reliance on coal and set earlier targets to control the choking air pollution that is an increasing source of discontent for its citizens
The government is increasingly alarmed by public complaints online as well as the prospect of street protests over pollution. It also sees an economic opportunity in developing and potentially exporting cleaner energy technology. Coal use for heating and industry was a key factor in the “airpocolypse” – several days of thick black haze that blanketed Beijing and the North China plain last winter and brought the issue of air pollution to the fore."

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NIght and Day or nightmarish day?

Good people often rise late. Keep the noise down, we’re trying to sleep - Life & Style | Trends, Tips, News & Advice | The Irish Times - Sat, Sep 14, 2013: "The average early riser will, however, invariably cloak himself or herself in moral superiority. According to the aphorists of old, nobody ever got healthy, wealthy and wise by staying up late and rising after the milk had arrived. Society accommodates itself to this supposed norm. Offices crank up in the morning and wind down in late afternoon. Schools do the same.
To question this principle is, apparently, to invite immorality and sloth to spread about the land. Grass will work its way through cracks in unoccupied parliament buildings. Crocodiles will prowl hitherto cosy suburbs. You’ve seen Mad Max II. Is that what you want for society? No? Well get out of bed and do some work then.
This writer has, when offices allowed, always kept to the same schedule enjoyed by Proust, Churchill, Hitler and Cowell. As a confirmed misanthrope, I greatly enjoy being awake when most other people are peacefully asleep and out of the way. On those occasions when early mornings must be endured, they attack the system like a relentless virus."

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Ex-SEC chief now helps companies navigate post-meltdown reforms | Center for Public Integrity

Ex-SEC chief now helps companies navigate post-meltdown reforms | Center for Public Integrity: "Under Cox’s leadership from 2005 to 2009, the SEC was widely criticized for falling asleep on the job during the events leading up to the financial meltdown. SEC defenders say the agency was understaffed, underfunded and simply didn’t have the authority to be an effective watchdog.

Cox is one of the slew of regulators and overseers who became household names during the financial crisis of 2008 — a cast of characters whose jobs were to protect consumers, monitor banks and financial firms, rescue the ailing industry and punish wrongdoing in the years that followed.

Cox took his Washington expertise to the private sector, helping banks and other companies navigate the new regulatory landscape that the crisis spawned. Other former top regulators — like Hank Paulson, Timothy Geithner and Sheila Bair — have written books based on their experience and joined the lecture circuit. John Reich has retired since his agency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, was eliminated. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is the only top regulator still on the job, though he is expected to be gone soon."

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What a wonderful wall-street life it is! Even bad apples have rich life

Ex-Wall Street chieftains living large in post-meltdown world | Center for Public Integrity: "Five years after the near-collapse of the nation’s financial system, the economy continues a slow recovery marred by high unemployment, hesitant consumers and sluggish business investment.

Many of the top Wall Street bankers who were largely responsible for the disaster — and whose companies either collapsed or accepted billions in government bailouts — are also unemployed. But since they walked away from the disaster with millions, they’re juggling their ample free time between mansions and golf, skiing and tennis.

Meantime, the major banks that survived the crisis, largely because they were saved with taxpayer money after being deemed “too big to fail,” are now bigger and more powerful than ever.

The Center for Public Integrity looked at what happened to five former Wall Street kingpins to see what they are up to these days. None are in jail, nor are any criminal charges expected to be filed.

Certainly none are hurting for money."

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Alfalfa - too GM'd to believe

Washington state alfalfa crop may be contaminated with genetic modification | Environment | theguardian.com: "Authorities were investigating a new suspected case of crop contamination on Thursday – the second in the Pacific north-west in five months – after samples of hay tested positive for genetically modified traits.

The investigation was ordered after a farmer in Washington state reported that his alfalfa shipments had been rejected for export after testing positive for genetic modification. Results were expected as early as Friday.

If confirmed, it would be the second known case of GM contamination in a major American crop since May, when university scientists confirmed the presence of a banned GM wheat growing in a farmer's field in Oregon.

The suspected outbreak comes in the run-up to a ballot measure in Washington state that would require mandatory labelling of all GM foods."

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Sooner or later- sweetheart tax deals under "Brussels- scope"

Brussels launches investigation into Ireland’s multinational tax deals - Political News | Irish & International Politics | The Irish Times - Thu, Sep 12, 2013: "If the Commission finds cause for concern, it will open a formal investigation and start a process that could force Ireland and the other countries to recoup all the lost revenues from any outlawed tax deals. A Commission spokesperson said: “At the moment, we are simply gathering information on tax rulings.”
The Hague, Dublin and Luxembourg have all been forced to counter claims that they are acting as tax havens, giving big corporations a base to reduce their tax bill worldwide. The rulings under scrutiny give assurances to companies – sometimes in advance of a decision to relocate – over how their tax affairs will be treated.
The Department of Finance said it was not aware of a formal EU state aid inquiry but said it received queries from the Commission “from time to time” on a range of issues including tax."

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1% = 19.3%, highlights inequality

Top 1 percent in US took biggest share since 1928 - Yahoo! Finance: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- The income gap between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America last year reached the widest point since the Roaring Twenties.
The top 1 percent of U.S. earners collected 19.3 percent of household income in 2012, their largest share since 1928. And the share held by the top 10 percent of earners last year reached a record 48.2 percent.
U.S. income inequality has been growing for almost three decades. But it grew again last year, according to an analysis of IRS figures dating to 1913 by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, the Paris School of Economics and Oxford University.
One of them, Emmanuel Saez of the University of California, Berkeley, said the incomes of the richest Americans might have surged last year in part because they cashed in stock holdings to avoid higher capital gains taxes that took effect in January."

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High flying Asia

Boeing to Boost China Plane Deliveries 50% to Meet Travel Demand - Bloomberg: "Boeing Co. (BA) will boost plane deliveries to Chinese customers by 50 percent this year to meet rising demand for air travel.
The planemaker will ship more than 120 aircraft to carriers in the country, up from 80 last year, Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Chicago-based Boeing, said today in an interview with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television.
“We’ve seen strong domestic demand in China,” Tinseth said. “The fundamentals are strong.”
Boeing raised its 20-year demand forecast for China’s aircraft market last week, at least the fourth straight year in which the company has increased its estimate for the world’s second-biggest economy. The planemaker has maintained its sales target for India, where aircraft demand is withstanding a record drop in the value of the country’s currency, Chief Executive Officer James McNerney said Sept. 7."

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Stair-climber before flight climber

Think Planes Are Crowded? There's Room for Things to Get Worse - Businessweek: "Another part of the airline industry where you’ll find the most crowded planes is on ultra-low-cost carriers Allegiant Travel (ALGT) and Spirit (SAVE). Both lead their traditional network peers at filling seats—Allegiant hit 91.9 percent in August, while Spirit was at 91.4 percent in July, the latest month it has reported. “Allegiant is unique in that we manage to load,” says spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler. “We’re always pushing to try to get those load factors as high as we can.”

So wear thin clothes to fly—when you’re in coach, every millimeter counts."

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Arts high on booze?

Keeping arts in the black can be a risky business - Editorial | The Irish Times - Mon, Sep 09, 2013: "The real cause of Irish drunkenness isn’t nice stout, it’s a much deeper irresponsibility. But when alcohol brands go all Mrs Doyle on the public, winking “go on, go on, go on” through sports advertising and the branding of music festivals, comedy festivals, film festivals and everything else they can get their hands on, then they have to take a certain amount of responsibility for customers getting wasted.
But there is a bigger issue here. And that’s who funds the arts, now, and in the future. There is a trend in marketing to create touchy-feely “authentic experiences” that “bring people together” or “foster creativity”. I long for the days when mobile phone networks just wanted me to switch and not set up a DIY cinema in my back garden for the benefit of my community. I yearn for a time when beer brands just wanted me to drink their products and not find me my dream job. I wish upon a star that soft-drink companies depended on me being thirsty, not on guilting me into flying friends home from the lands to which they have emigrated."

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The Fructose about Smoothies and fruit juices

Smoothies and fruit juices are a new risk to health, US scientists warn | Society | The Guardian: "In an article this year in the journal Pediatric Obesity, Bray and Popkin review the issue 10 years on from their famous paper. "The concern with HFCS in our diet has led to a reduced proportion of HFCS in beverages compared to other sugars," they say, but add "this is a misplaced shift … fructose remains a major component of our global diet. To date, to the best of our knowledge every added amount of fructose – be it from fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages or any other beverage or even from foods with high sugar content – adds equally to our health concerns linked with this food component.""

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Want ice? that will be extra!

Ice Melting Faster in Greenland and Antarctica in UN Leak - Bloomberg: "Ice in Antarctica and Greenland is disappearing faster and may drive sea levels higher than predicted this century, according to leaked United Nations documents.
Greenland’s ice added six times more to sea levels in the decade through 2011 than in the previous 10 years, according to a draft of the UN’s most comprehensive study on climate change. Antarctica had a fivefold increase, and the UN is raising its forecast for how much the two ice sheets will add to Earth’s oceans by 2100."

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Not a shining light- e-cigarette use is up among teens!

E-cigarette use doubles among U.S. teens: "Now chic among celebrities, electronic cigarettes are gaining favor among U.S. teenagers as new data show a recent doubling in usage.

Last year, 10% of high school students say they tried e-cigarettes, up from 4.7% in 2011, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A doubling also occurred among U.S. middle school students saying they've experimented with e-cigarettes — from 1.4% to 2.7% — and similar spikes in teen usage were found in the 2013 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey."

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Why cheap meats costs the Earth | Life and style | The Guardian

Why cheap meats costs the Earth | Life and style | The Guardian: "In the rich world, each of us consumes or uses 30 or more animals a year (the bulk – 52 of the 59 billion – are chickens). We don't, in the nutritional sense, need these animals to feed us – certainly not in those numbers. Yet, in order to eat them at an acceptable price we have to imprison them, alter them genetically and chemically, and kill them. We have moved inexorably into ever greyer ethical territory. Any planning for a food future that still envisages using animal products and meat must debate the "moral cost".

I am not sentimental. I have killed and butchered many kinds of animals, and have been on prearranged visits to slaughterhouses in Britain and abroad. I have seen the job done carefully and kindly. It would have been better if I had just dropped in to those abattoirs, but the business of meat production is secretive; if it were public, it would lose customers. In some places, the meat trade is less shy: I've seen puppies blow-torched in tiny cages to remove their hair before butchering – a normal village practice in Vietnam."

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what is a healthy diet? no answer from CDC...

Death From Heart Disease Is Preventable in 25% of Cases - Bloomberg: "The CDC recommended people manage risk factors for heart disease and stroke, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol and diabetes, by working with their doctors, engaging in moderately intense exercise, eating a healthy diet low in sodium and trans fats and stopping smoking."

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Julia Gillard- done in, but her policies? Used by the opponents.

Another Seinfeld Election for Australia - Bloomberg: "

And it was all for naught. If there were ever proof that Gillard wasn’t dispatched for her performance, this election campaign is it. Other than co-opting her signature ideas on education, disability care and other issues, Abbott and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have offered nothing new or insightful to voters.

Rudd dispatched Gillard in a party coup three years after she had done the same to him. He claimed revenge wasn’t driving him, but audacious ideas about accelerating growth, raising competitiveness and preparing for the day Australia’s mining boom winds down apparently weren’t either. After calling elections in hopes of profiting from his personal popularity, what has Rudd offered? Hard-line policies on asylum seekers to pander to the right and small-beer tax policies.
...


Part of the problem is the legacy of 13 largely wasted years under John Howard (1996-2007) and Rudd (2007-2010) before he returned to power. The heavy lifting done by former Prime Ministers Bob Hawke (1983-1991) and Paul Keating (1991- 1996) turned Australia into a Group of 20 power. It’s now the world’s 12th biggest economy thanks to their steps to float the dollar, open the financial industry, remove import barriers and create a compulsory national pension program. On the economy, Howard and Rudd simply kept the plane on autopilot.
When Gillard proposed setting a price on carbon emissions, when she wanted to shake up education, spread the mining wealth, empower the nation’s indigenous people, and achieve greater gender equality in a “blokey” society, she was leading and reading from the Hawke-Keating script. Rudd and Abbott? Strictly Seinfeld."

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