Full Marx for such imaginative thinking - Times Online

Full Marx for such imaginative thinking - Times Online: "Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take on more and more expensive debt, until their debt becomes unbearable.

The unpaid debt will lead to the bankruptcy of all banks, which will have to be nationalised, and the State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism.” So says the Karl Marx quote that has been whizzing round Wall Street and the City.

We seemed a step closer to that prospect yesterday. Bank shares plunged again on both sides of the Atlantic amid concern that more capital injections will be required. Bank of America shares fell 20 per cent on reports that it needed further government help to complete the acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Merrill has suffered higher than expected losses in the fourth quarter and BoA is in talks with the American authorities about an infusion of capital."

At Davos Forum, Russia and China Blame Capitalists for Economic Crisis - NYTimes.com

At Davos Forum, Russia and China Blame Capitalists for Economic Crisis - NYTimes.com: "The leaders of the former bastions of the Communist bloc took the stage here on Wednesday to rebuke their capitalist brothers for dragging the world into crisis but also to assure them that, working together, they can rapidly restore the global economy to health."

Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy - NYTimes.com

Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy - NYTimes.com: "Jobs began disappearing in home building and mortgage operations early in the recession, then across finance and banking more generally. Now the ax is falling across large swaths of manufacturing, retailing and information technology, taking out workers from New York to Seattle. Just last week, Microsoft announced its first significant job cuts ever.

Because companies like Microsoft have invested in their workers’ skills and knowledge, they usually delay major work force reductions as long as they can. But with orders for new products and services drying up and financing tight, employers are looking to shrink their costs drastically and are slashing their payrolls, anticipating a protracted decline for business in 2009.

Monday’s parade of negative news comes after months of announcements from other prominent companies like Citigroup, General Electric, Nokia and Harley-Davidson. As part of its acquisition of Wyeth, Pfizer said it would cut the combined workforce by 19,500 employees."

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive: "Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The best advice Vladimir Putin says he ever got was from his late mother, Maria: “Don’t ask for anything and don’t complain about anything.”

That may help explain the Russian prime minister’s affinity for “Oliver Twist,” the 1948 movie adaptation of Charles Dickens’s novel about an orphan in 19th century London that Putin told Bloomberg Television was the most recent movie he watched."

Revealed: New words you'll discover in '09 | Metro.co.uk

Revealed: New words you'll discover in '09 | Metro.co.uk: "If you're a recessionista who's suffering from brickor mortis, it could be time for a staycation.

In other words, if you're someone who dresses down because of the financial crisis and your property has lost value, don't go abroad for a holiday.

These expressions – inspired by the global economic downturn – are ones to watch out for in 2009 and could end up in the dictionary."

Horrible Jobs Report May Save The Economy - TIME

Horrible Jobs Report May Save The Economy - TIME: "If Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman and other leading economists are right, the federal government has less than two months to get a huge economic stimulus package into the market place. There is still debate about whether it should focus on building infrastructure, creating jobs, keeping mortgages from default, or cutting taxes. Which of those is the best path is impossible to determine beforehand. It may be that it will never be entirely clear exactly what hurt or helped the economy. Those issues are still being debated when it comes to the reasons American got into and out of the Great Depression."

In Gaza, the Fighter Who Smiled at Death - NYTimes.com

In Gaza, the Fighter Who Smiled at Death - NYTimes.com: "In Gaza, the Fighter Who Smiled at Death"

Sony's new OLED touchscreen Walkman | News | TechRadar UK

Sony's new OLED touchscreen Walkman | News | TechRadar UK: "Sony's new Walkman range was unveiled at CES in Las Vegas this week. The stand-out device? The NWZ-X1000, which features a beautifully bright OLED screen with impressive battery-friendly levels of power consumption."

Featured IPhone Download: Cisco WebEx Brings Online Meetings, Collaboration to Your iPhone

Featured IPhone Download: Cisco WebEx Brings Online Meetings, Collaboration to Your iPhone: "iPhone/iPod touch only: Cisco's popular meeting and collaboration tool WebEx has found a new home on the iPhone, and, frankly, it looks very impressive."

Russia and Ukraine's Annual Gas Spat - TIME

Russia and Ukraine's Annual Gas Spat - TIME: "For decades, Russia's New Year has been marked by two traditions: eating Salade Olivier, a delicious salad named for French chef Lucien Olivier, who cooked at Moscow's Hermitage restaurant in the 1860s, and the 12 midnight chimes of the Kremlin Spasky Tower clock. Over the past three years, a new tradition seems to have taken hold: a New Year's spat with Ukraine over Russia's supply of natural gas.
This New Year proved no exception. In the buildup to Dec. 31, Russia accused Ukraine of having arrears of more than $2 billion on its expired gas contract. Ukraine said it had paid all its debt. Moscow said it would start charging a new price, which it presented as both the 'market' price and a 'preferential' rate — just $250, a rather sharp increase over the 2008 price of $179.50 per 1,000 cu m of gas. Ukraine said it could pay $201."

Gazprom Dispute Entangles Europe - NYTimes.com

Gazprom Dispute Entangles Europe - NYTimes.com: "PARIS — Russia’s gas price dispute with Ukraine escalated Tuesday, disrupting deliveries to the European Union in the midst of a bitter cold spell, with a number of countries reporting that gas supplies had been suspended or reduced, and Germany predicting a possible shortage."

Volvo goes for the crash-proof car | Up to Speed | Los Angeles Times

Volvo goes for the crash-proof car | Up to Speed | Los Angeles Times: "“Our aim for 2020 is that no one should be killed or injured in a Volvo car,” says Thomas Broberg, safety expert with the Swedish auto maker. So how can such a worthy goal be achieved? Broberg’s reply would be that Volvo is working on the world’s first accident-proof car."

Livni: Deal with Hamas would abolish peace process - Israel News, Ynetnews

Livni: Deal with Hamas would abolish peace process - Israel News, Ynetnews: "Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni held a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday ahead of the arrival in Jerusalem of European diplomats attempting to reach a ceasefire pact between Israel and Hamas."

TG Daily - Google tells users to drop IE6

TG Daily - Google tells users to drop IE6: "Google is now urging Gmail users to drop Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) in favor of Firefox or Chrome that, according to the company, run the popular web-based email service 'twice as fast.' Google also labels IE6 as an unsupported browser, meaning it fails to run some Gmail features."