The U.S. Congressional Budget Office projects slow growth and high unemployment for years to come.
GDP will remain stagnant for several years. The CBO predicts 2.3% for 2011, 2.7% for 2012. Official unemployment numbers will remain above 8% until 2014!
Pakistan has given the U.S. embassy 40 days to remove 250 U.S. officials.
Pakistan says the U.S. officials are involved in high-level espionage and anti-state activities.
U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, cut short his vacation to deal with the situation. The situation has gotten worse in Pakistan, because the United States has greatly increased the number of drone attacks. Pakistani officials, and independent observers, say the majority of people killed in the U.S. drone attacks are civilians. In some cases the target of the attack is totally missed, and dozens of bystanders are killed. U.S. officials have dismissed independent investigations that show that several hundreds of children have been killed.
The United States, Europe and other countries are pushing for the United Nations to unfreeze billions in Libyan assets. This is on top of what the U.S. is unfreezing.
A Libyan rebel official admitted in a press conference they needed the money “…for supplies…to pay salaries.”
From the beginning the African Union has been oppossed to the NATO action in Libya. Libya is a member of the African Union, and the AU wasn’t even consulted by the the United States and Europe, before the United Nations was tricked into approving military action against Libya.
South Africa, one of the most powerful members of the AU says it will vote no on unfreezing Libyan assets.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced that a U.S.$100 billion fund is being created, to help Japanese companies to use yen to buy foreign money, and take over foreign companies.
Noda says the fund is a response to the crashing U.S. dollar, which is forcing up the value of the Japanese yen. The more the yen is worth, the more expensive it makes Japanese exports. Already Japan has seen the effect, reduced sales to other countries.
The fund will loan money to Japanese companies, and investors, who will then use it to buy foreign money, and foreign companies. It’s hoped that action will bring down the value of the yen.
The Japanese government will counter speculators from abusing the fund, by requiring daily reports of financial transactions.
The Chinese government has expanded the use of the yuan in international trade deals.
Originally China restricted the use of the yuan to just five cities, for trade with Southeast Asian nations. Later it was expanded so 20 provinces could use the yuan in all their international payments. Now, the People’s Bank of China gave permission to all businesses in China, to use the yuan for international trade payments.
Chinese officials say the decision was influenced by the crashing U.S. dollar.
President Obama is giving Libyan rebels $1.5 million in frozen Libyan funds. At the same time Germany is demanding that the United Nations give the rebels funds that were frozen under the UN sanctions.
Germany is also going to issue rebels a huge $140 million loan, within days.
What this means is the fragile Libyan rebel alliance (aka Transitional National Council) has run out of money to pay for military operations, which include mercenaries. A BBC report said the rebel alliance is so fragile that it could fall apart as soon as the war is over. It’s more likely it’ll fall apart if it runs out of cash.
Moody’s downgraded Japan, from double A2, to double A3. Moody’s cited continuing government budget problems, huge government debt, and government incompetence.
One of the signs of government incompetence is what has become a revolving door of government agencies and leaders. The latest change is that Prime Minister Naoto Kan has resigned, effective by the beginning of September.
Japan is the second largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt.
California State Fish and Game reports that 1,000 prize game trout were stolen from a fish farm.
It happened at the San Joaquin State Fish Hatchery. Each fish weighed at least three pounds.
Game wardens are searching fish markets. The trout sells for as much as $7.00 per pound. The thieves would have needed a large truck to get away with 1,000 three pound trout.
Reporters still holed up in the Rixos Hotel, in Tripoli, say the hotel is still under attack by Rebels. That’s because the area is still under the control of the Libyan government. It seems the rebels have not taken Tripoli after all.
CNN’s Matthew Chance said this about the situation: “Just had confirmation that a Maltese boat docked in a Libyan port. Would love to get on board and out of here.”
Another report says that SCUD missiles, supposedly being launched from Sirte, are being intercepted by the U.S. Navy. The SCUDs are targeting Misrata.
East Idahoans are being hit with a phone scam. Someone claiming to be with Wells Fargo is telling them their “card is locked” and they need to give their card info over the phone to unlock it.
Local Wells Fargo officials say it’s called a “fishing” scam, and that you should deal directly with your local bank if there’s a possible problem with your card.