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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Letters: The 2011 census, foreign-born residents and losing our religion

The analysis of the 2011 census can be misleading if all foreign-born residents are classified as immigrants, including migrant workers, staff of multinationals, tourists and visitors (We're different now, 12 December). It would also be helpful if we knew how many of our own citizens have emigrated and worked abroad since the 2001 census.

The young EU workers I have spoken to say they need to come to the UK to improve their English to ensure they get the best jobs in their home countries. They often say the price of property and rents make the UK an unattractive place for permanent settlement. We should appreciate – apart from the economic gain – that these foreign workers have been educated and trained at no expense to us. I remind people who complain that the British empire moved millions around the world in the name of profit. We took over 25% of the world without the consent of the native peoples. On a positive note, all the foreign residents I have spoken say they are enjoying their time with us because British people are friendly and kind to them.
Bill Coughlan
Chelmsford, Essex

• Jonathan Freedland says the census "confirms our place as perhaps the most godless country, the least 'churched', in the industrialised world, setting us apart from the US, obviously, but also from much of continental Europe". Even the US is changing, with a recent Pew survey showing 20% with no religious affiliation. But we are not much out of line in Europe, where an EU survey has recently shown that 23% of people across all 27 member states are atheist or agnostic. In that survey the UK scores 32%, but the Czech Republic (59%), the Netherlands (49%), Sweden (43%) Estonia and France (both 37%) all have higher rates of non-belief. At the opposite end of the scale are Ireland and Portugal (both 7%), Italy (6%), Poland (5%), Bulgaria, Greece and Malta (all 3%), and Cyprus and Romania (both 0%).
David Pollock
Past president, European Humanist Federation

• So on the same day it is reported from the census that a quarter of people state that they have no religion (Religion, race and mortgages, 12 December), Andrew Selous MP argues against gay marriage because "… this country will be passing a law that is directly contrary to what Jesus said about marriage in Mark chapter 10 and Matthew chapter 19" (Ukip plans to derail PM over gay marriage, 12 December). I hope that quarter rises pretty quickly.
Kevin Smith
Brighton, East Sussex

• Your editorial (12 December) says that the number of people with a degree is now greater than those with no educational qualification. In fact, the comment only holds true for the south of England. London, and the east, south-east and south-west regions have more people with degrees than people with no qualifications, with London at the top with more than twice as many with degrees as unqualified. The lowest regions are all in the north and Midlands, with the north-east lying bottom with a ratio of 0.84 of those with degrees as compared with those with no qualifications. Something for policy-makers to look at if they want a more balanced economy.
Frank Neale
Watford


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Court Seizes Assets of Greek Oligarch


Court Seizes Assets of Greek Oligarch
New York Times
An Athens court on Wednesday ordered the seizure of assets belonging to Lavrentis Lavrentiadis, a Greek oligarch authorities have charged with fraud and embezzlement, and 29 of his former associates, the latest legal maneuver in a case that has ...


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Greek Court Seizes Assets of Lavrentis Lavrentiadis

The ruling by an Athens court upheld an appeal filed by the shareholders in a bank that the oligarch, Lavrentis Lavrentiadis, once controlled.


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Chobani founder turns centuries old Greek yogurt into billion dollar craze

Since launching in 2007, Hamdi Ulukaya’s company Chobani has grown into a $1 billion business, according to Ulukaya, with no signs of slowing down. He also did something arguably more impressive: he changed what Americans eat. Since launching in 2007, Hamdi Ulukaya’s company Chobani has grown into a $1 billion business, according to Ulukaya, with no signs of slowing down. He also did something arguably more impressive: he changed what Americans eat.






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Good News: Young Americans On the Move Again

Since the recession, American mobility — the rate at which we move states, counties, and even neighborhoods — has fallen to record lows, which is both a reflection of economic troubles and a hindrance to recovery. But new data released by the Census Bureau shows that trend beginning to reverse, at least in the short term. How frequently we move may not seem particularly significant, but it has major implications: Geographic stagnation is closely linked to economic stagnation. During tough times, Americans have historically set off for geographic areas with more jobs and other economic opportunities. In recent years, however, the real estate market hasn’t cooperated: Folks are not only struggling to sell homes, but with so many homes underwater, many can’t even think of selling. Other factors are convincing people to stay put as well. America is aging, and older workers have always been less likely to move than younger ones. The growing prevalence of two-income households has made it less likely that families will migrate when someone loses a job. Meanwhile, growing student debt levels have made it hard for young people to leave their parents’ home to look for work. (MORE: How Debt-Ravaged Greece Aced a Financial-Literacy Survey) And in a kind of vicious cycle, this dynamic runs in both directions: Yes, tough times can cause a decrease in mobility; but decreased mobility can also stifle economic recovery. Several areas of the country have dramatically lower unemployment rates than others; and employers report that large numbers of jobs have remained unfilled for months because of a lack of qualified candidates. But circumstances are making it impossible for many Americans to take advantage of such opportunities. But there’s good news, at least in the short-term. According to new data from the Census Bureau, mobility rates are starting to head back up after hitting an all-time low in 2011. This year, according to new Census figures, those rates finally starting ticking up. Twelve percent of Americans moved in 2012. Most promising, 25- to 29-year-olds are moving again. According to analysis of

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Golden Dawn MPs Ejected From Greek Parliament After Trying To Enter Building ...


Arutz Sheva

Golden Dawn MPs Ejected From Greek Parliament After Trying To Enter Building ...
Huffington Post
Leader of the ultra right nationalist Golden Dawn party, Nikos Michalioliakos speaks at the Greek Parliament in Athens on November 11, 2012 during the last hours of the discussion over the 2013 budget. (LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty). Two Golden Dawn ...
Greek Neo-Nazi MPs Attempt to Bring Guns into ParliamentArutz Sheva
Live on TV: The Fall of GreeceGQ Magazine
Greek MPs allowed to carry guns in ParliamentDigitalJournal.com

all 8 news articles »

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Golden Dawn MPs Booted From Greek Parliament For Being Armed

Two Golden Dawn members of Parliament armed with guns were turned away at the gates of Greece's legislative building recently after metal detectors revealed the...

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The difference between Greece and the US


The difference between Greece and the US
Baltimore Sun
12:45 p.m. EST, December 12, 2012. The only difference between the U.S. and Greece is that the European Union stops Greece from printing money and going deeper in debt. When the U.S. dollar crashes, it will be worse than most of us have experienced in ...


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UPDATE 4-Greece's lenders call bond buyback a success, endorse aid


BBC News

UPDATE 4-Greece's lenders call bond buyback a success, endorse aid
Reuters
BERLIN/ATHENS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Greece's foreign lenders hailed a bond buyback as a success even though it narrowly fell short of a target to cut the country's debt, paving the way for Athens to get long-delayed aid to avoid bankruptcy. The scheme ...
Greece to Ask for Additional Loans to Finance Debt Buyback DealWall Street Journal
Greece Plans to Retire $41.5 Billion of Debt in BuybackBloomberg
Greece to buy back 31.9 billion euros of bondsU.S. News & World Report
BBC News -Fox Business -New York Times
all 1,489 news articles »

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Lottomatica to pull out from Greek lotteries consortium-source


Kathimerini

Lottomatica to pull out from Greek lotteries consortium-source
Reuters
ROME Dec 12 (Reuters) - Italy's Lottomatica will withdraw from a consortium led by Greek sports betting monopoly OPAP for Greece's state lotteries because the offer price exceeded its investment limits, a source close to the dossier told Reuters. OPAP ...
INTRALOT SA : INTRALOT ANNOUNCES ITS CONSORTIUM SELECTED FOR ...4-traders

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888 jumps after unveiling Facebook deal, as market moves higher on eurozone and US optimism

Online gaming company to provide cash games to social networking site, including bingo and casinos

Facebook users can already play games supplied by 888 for fun, but now the online company has signed a deal to add the spice of gambling for real.

888 will offer real-money bingo, casino and slot games through Facebook's UK site, starting with bingo, and the news has pushed the company's shares 9p higher to 118.25p. Analysts at Daniel Stewart said:

We see the news as positive for 888 and if the operator succeeds in converting play-for-fun players into real-money players the benefits could prove lucrative. However in our view it is too early at this stage to estimate the economic benefits the operator will derive from the agreement and as a result we maintain our forecasts for now but clearly the risk to our forecasts are to the upside.

Overall the market rallied once more, as Greece came closer to receiving its latest bailout tranche, as the next European summit loomed. Investors were optimistic that the US Federal Reserve might unveil further quantitative easing, which helped push the FTSE 100 20.88 points higher to 5945.85.

Mining groups were in demand, on hopes of a recovery in the global economy. Anglo American added 49.5p to 1882.5p after Barclays - cautiously - raised its rating on the mining group from underweight to equal weight.

A number of companies went ex-dividend including Babcock International, down 5.5p at 983.5p, and Polymetal, which bucked the normal trend and added 27p to £11.43.

BT dipped 1.8p to 234.9p after completing the sale of its remaining stake in Tech Mahindra, the Indian IT business it co-founded 25 years ago, for £115.7m.

Pennon put on 2.5p to 620p despite confirmation it would lose its place in the leading index, to be replaced by TUI Travel, down 0.8p to 286.1p.

Imagination Technologies fell 23.4p to 425p despite the chip designer reporting a 10% rise in half year profits to £16.8m. The company is caught up in a bidding war with US chipmaker Ceva for control of MIPS Technologies. James Goodman at Investec said:

Given the share's weak performance, we are initially encouraged by today's report, with a very strong royalty unit performance (237m units versus our 172m) and guidance to 500m full year units (versus our 429m). However, we calculate a 15% decline in average rates (due to higher volume of lower-end phones) which suggests full year royalty revenue unlikely to move up materially. In addition, Technology margin is down as costs rise and [digital radio business] Pure's loss has doubled. Hold.

Ahead of a trading update on Thursday, HMV rose 0.94p to 4.1p on reports its suppliers were funding the retailer to the tune of £40m over the key Christmas trading period.


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Greece police warn women about purse snatchings


Greece police warn women about purse snatchings
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Following a string of purse snatchings, the Greece Police Department is cautioning women to pay particular attention to their surroundings when leaving area retail stores. Police Capt. Patrick Phelan said there have been at least a half-dozen purse ...
Greece Police investigating series of purse snatchingsNews 10NBC

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With Germany's backing, EU nears banking union deal


Telegraph.co.uk

With Germany's backing, EU nears banking union deal
Fox Business
BRUSSELS/BERLIN – Germany signaled on Wednesday it was ready to back plans for the European Central Bank to be made the chief supervisor of banks, raising the prospect of a breakthrough on the European Union's most ambitious financial reform.
EU Lawmakers Seek Greek Swap Details After ECB Bars FilesBloomberg
ECB needs time to set up bank supervision-Germany's SchaeubleReuters
Spain Fin Min:Need To Separate ECB's Supervisory,Monetary Policy RolesWall Street Journal
Telegraph.co.uk -New York Times -MarketWatch
all 489 news articles »

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The Greek Lesson


The Greek Lesson
Huffington Post
Zoe Georganta is a professor of applied econometrics and productivity at the University of Macedonia. She also consults with businesses in Greece and abroad. In 2010, the Greek parliament appointed her to the Greek Statistical Authority, the agency ...


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Evaggelos Vallianatos: The Greek Lesson

Recreating feudalism is not an option, especially in Europe and America. The Greeks would fight to the death defending their country. In addition, neither civilized societies nor the Earth can afford the policies the troika is pushing in Greece.

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Greek Neo-Nazi MPs Attempt to Bring Guns into Parliament


Arutz Sheva

Greek Neo-Nazi MPs Attempt to Bring Guns into Parliament
Arutz Sheva
Members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party attempted to enter the Greek parliament armed with guns but were stopped by a metal detector and asked to leave, The International Business Times (IBT) reported. Two unidentified MPs belonging to the far-right ...
Live on TV: The Fall of GreeceGQ Magazine

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Greek 10-Year Bonds Decline, With Yield Rising to 13.25 Percent


Greek 10-Year Bonds Decline, With Yield Rising to 13.25 Percent
Bloomberg
Greek 10-year bonds declined, reversing an earlier advance, with the yield rising five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 13.25 percent at 2:57 p.m. London time. The rate fell earlier as much as 75 basis points to 12.46 percent, the lowest ...

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Greece expels Syrian ambassador, 2 other diplomats

ATHENS, Greece - Greece has expelled Syria's ambassador to Athens and another two Syrian diplomats, the foreign ministry says, nearly five months after shutting down its own embassy in Damascus as Syria's civil war deepened.

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EU Lawmakers Seek Greek Swap Details After ECB Bars Files


Workers' Liberty

EU Lawmakers Seek Greek Swap Details After ECB Bars Files
Bloomberg
Lawmakers in Italy and Germany are urging their governments to demand greater transparency from the European Central Bank after a court upheld its decision to keep documents secret that show what the central bank knew about Greece's finances before ...
The Greek left and Plan BWorkers' Liberty
Bundesbank's Weidmann blasts new Greek debt deal - paperFox Business
Germany may agree to forgive Greek debtTimes of Malta

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