| British economic gloom |
|
All indicators point to a down hill ride for the
British economy. Politicians had thought that
the boom and bust cycle was a thing of the past,
but here they are again with a wave of pessimism
sweeping over the country as signs of a slow
down appear daily, falling house prices, less
spending, problems in the banking sector
commencing with the bank of England. It appears
that Gordon Brown has made the greatest error in
timing that a political leader can make - being
in the wrong place at the wrong time. |
|
Ricky Hatton KO'd |
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To
make bad news worse Britain's great hope Ricky
Hatton ended in Las Vegas as the reigning
champion Floyd Mayweather floored then contender
in the 10th round with a devastating left hook.
Hatton joins a long list of great British hopes
to be floored in the USA, be it bravely. |
The contender looks as
battered as Gordon Brown and his finance minister.
The Citigroup suggests
spending will rise just a mere 1% in 2008, after
an increase of more than 3% this year, also 1.7m
households will face a “reset shock” in the
coming months, as interest rises. |
| The Independent New
York Times will be pleased to receive your
articles and comments. Please contact our
editorial desk at the following address
sumpinein@gmail.com
and we shall Endeavour to answer you promptly. |
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| Subprime aid |
|
Will
the aid package proposed by the Bush
administration help those in difficulty with the
repayment of their home loans? Reports say that
the administrative maze will complicate aid for
many families in difficulty and in addition the
proposed package is too little and too late. The
coming weeks will be vital for markets and the
international financial system as banks struggle
to overcome the problems related to half a
decade of economic growth based on easy credit.
|
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Our
only adds are for charitable organizations
So why not donate
a dollar or two as we approach the festive
season to one of these charities! |
| BOOKS |
| The Legacy of
Solomon is the latest novel from John
Francis Kinsella. The story takes place in
Israel where a writer investigates the
archaeological story behind the work to
discover the site of the Jewish Temple, the
biblical legend, against
a background of conflicting evidence and the
conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Visit
http://herod.tk |
|
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|
Oil Rich Nations
to use more oil |
 |
| According to the New
York Times the economies of
many big oil-exporting countries are growing so
fast that their internal need for energy is
affecting how much they can export, adding new
strains to the global oil market. If this growth
continues, many of the world’s most key
suppliers could start importing oil within a
decade to fuel their economies. Indonesia has
already made this transition and Mexico will
follow within five years followed by Iran, the
world’s fourth-largest exporter. These factors
would reduce crude exports by as much as 2.5
million barrels a day or 3 percent of global oil
demand by the end of the decade. China and India
are expected to account for much of the increase
in global oil demand in the next 20 years with
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya, internal
consumption doubling within a decade. |
|
Iran ‘nuclear bombshell’
splits US |
|
Following intelligence reports it now
appears that war with
Iran appears to be off the US
agenda and it will be difficult to
persuade the international community to
approve harsher United Nations sanctions
against Iran. American intelligence
agencies startled the world last week by
saying that while Tehran continued to
enrich uranium it had halted its nuclear
arms programme in 2003. The declassified
summary of the National Intelligence
Estimate on Iran not only ran
contrary to its insistence two years
earlier that Iran was determined to
develop nuclear weapons, but flew in the
face of accepted facts among western
intelligence agencies. President George
W Bush, who warned recently that a
nuclear-armed Iran could provoke a third
world war, was left with a dollop of egg
on his face. When Dick Cheney, the
vice-president and leading Iran hawk,
was briefed on the about-turn a couple
of weeks ago, there was a “pretty vivid
exchange” with intelligence officials in
the White House, one participant told
The New York Times. Was American
intelligence really fooled for four
years? Or is it being undermined from
within? |
|
|
The editor of The
Independent New York Times will be relocating to
Kerala in India for the end of year vacation as
from 15 December for one month |
|
So
loyal and faithful readers please excuse
the absence of our weekend edition during this
period whilst Sumpinein relaxes on the sun swept
beaches of southern India. |
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|
Up the Creek |
|
Stranger than fiction...a
British woman has been questioned by detectives in
connection with a life insurance plot and the
strange reappearance of her husband. Mrs
Darwin left Panama City for the US after her
husband was found to be alive after his faked
death in a canoeing accident. Darwin was
recognised by a neighbour in England who said
him "aren't you supposed to be dead" to which
Darwin replied "don't tell anyone about this".
Mrs Darwin admitted that her husband hid in
the same apartment building after reappearing
from his accidental death in 2002. He built a
secret hole in the wall from his family
apartment to a next door apartment building
where he could hide in a bachelor flat he owned.
He admitted discussing the idea of faking his
death to escape their mounting debts. His wife
claims she told him not to go ahead with the
plan and thought his disappearance was real
until he turned up at her door dirty and
dishevelled 11 months later. The couple's adult
children were unaware of the truth believing
their father was dead. Darwin obtained a false
passport under the name John Jones, buying
property in Panama and setting up a company,
Jaguar Properties Corporation, to purchase a
£200,000 stretch of virgin forest on the banks
of Panama's Lake Gatun, to develop an
eco-tourism resort. |
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