“Es preciso aceptar la responsabilidad personal. No es posible cambiar las circunstancias, las estaciones ni el viento, pero sí es posible cambiarse uno mismo.”
Chiara Jim Rohn
Regulators not swayed by bank capital complaints
Felipe 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global banks aggressive push to scale back or postpone new capital rules for the world’s largest banks is being met with little sympathy from international regulators who are set to finalize these standards in the coming weeks.
At events across Washington this weekend, set to coincide with meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, several regulators made clear they believe higher capital standards for large banks are key to making the financial system more stable.
Many regulators sought to push back against specific arguments being put forward by banks.
For instance, banks and their lobbying groups contend the capital standards, agreed to as part of the Basel III agreement, will cause banks to lend less and hurt the economy at a time when recession worries are troubling world markets.
«While the worsening global economic outlook has implications for bank performance, it does not provide a rationale for delaying the implementation of Basel III,» Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney told the annual meeting of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a bank lobbying group, on Sunday.
New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley made clear he is unmoved by the argument that it is difficult to determine all the banks that are systemically important, or SIFI’s, and who would have to meet the additional capital surcharge.
«I appreciate that it is impossible to calibrate ‘SIFIness’ precisely, but this is not a valid argument for no surcharge,» Dudley said at an event sponsored by the Bretton Woods Committee on September 23.
«The logic behind the SIFI surcharge is that the failure of a systemically important institution would generate a very large shock to the rest of the financial system,» Dudley added. «As a consequence, it makes sense to require higher capital for such firms to reduce their probability of failure.»
At issue is the new capital requirements set out in the Basel III international regulatory agreement.
The agreement, which is to be phased in from 2013 through 2019, will require banks to maintain top-quality capital equal to 7 percent of their risk-bearing assets.
Banks have mostly agreed this minimum level is necessary.
On top of that, however, global «systemic» banks may have to hold up to an additional 2.5 percent buffer, which will impact about 28 of the world’s biggest banks.
This provision is likely to hit banks like JPMorgan Chase , Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank and has been the source of much consternation in the banking industry.
The Basel Committee of global regulators is due to finalize plans Tuesday and Wednesday for the surcharge on large banks, which will be phased in between 2016 and 2018.
The heads of the Group of 20 leading and emerging economies are expected to give final approval to the rules in November and then it will be up to each country to implement them.
Banks have also complained that countries will implement the standards differently creating a competitive advantage for some banks.
«It is essential that the Basel agreements involving global and regional banks be applied in all major jurisdictions at the same time,» Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann said at an IIF news conference on Sunday. «Right now, all the indications show that this is not the case.»
Regulators said they will work to make sure the rules are enforced evenly but also said banks need to embrace the new standards and start working to adopt them.
«This thing will have to be done,» Stefan Ingves, governor of Sveriges Riksbank and chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, said at the September 23 Bretton Woods event.
(Reporting by Dave Clarke, editing by Diane Craft)
‘If we can’t win, we have to be the strongest party in the opposition,’ Alfonsín
UDESO presidential candidate Ricardo Alfonsín ratified that he is working “in order to win the October elections” although he highlighted that “in case of a defeat we have to be the largest party in the opposition so we can win in 2013 and 2015.”
“We have to win. And if we can’t win, then we have to be the largest party in the opposition so we can beat them in 2013 and 2015,” he said during a speech he gave at a Provincial Convention of the Radical Woman, which was organized by the UCR party in the Buenos Aires province.
Before a crowd filled mostly by female voters, the Radical leader thanked them for their support during his campaign and warned that “there are many who do not want the UCR to win because it is the party of values, not interests,” and added that “there are some who want the Radical party to stop being an important player in Argentine politics.”
“We work hard in order to win an election, but in case you haven’t noticed, we have to be the strongest party in the opposition in Argentina. We Radicals don’t give up. Our militants put up a fight,” he concluded.
buenosairesherald.com
Vettel wins in Singapore, closes on F1 title
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix to edge closer to becoming the Formula One’s youngest double world champion.
The 24-year-old German led from pole to flag to see off the challenge of Jenson Button in his McLaren to move 124 points clear of the Briton with just 125 available.
Vettel had held a comfortable lead before Button closed to 1.7 seconds by the finish with Vettel’s Red Bull team mate Mark Webber completing the podium a further 27.5 seconds back.
buenosairesherald.com
Chavez foe launches presidential bid in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A Venezuelan opposition leader launched his presidential campaign Saturday, challenging President Hugo Chavez to accept him in the race after a human rights court overturned a ban on his candidacy.
Leopoldo Lopez said in a speech to thousands of supporters that Chavez shouldn’t try to prevent him from running.
«Since 2008, he’s been looking for a mechanism to remove me from the political game,» Lopez said. «Mr. President, I ask myself: … Are you afraid of me?»
Venezuela’s top anti-corruption official had barred Lopez from running for office, but the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights earlier this month ordered election officials to allow him to run.
Chavez has criticized the court’s decision. Government and electoral officials say they will await a decision on the matter by Venezuela’s Supreme Court.
«Rights aren’t begged for nor given. Rights are conquered and fought for. We fought for our right and we conquered it,» Lopez told the cheering crowd.
He urged Chavez to accept the ruling and not «hide behind» other public institutions. Lopez said former Latin American strongmen including Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, Argentina’s Jorge Videla and Peru’s Alberto Fujimori all sought to flout decisions by the rights court.
«Decide if you will be on the side of history of democracy, or on the side of history together with Pinochet, Fujimori and Videla, who also tried to violate decisions,» Lopez said.
The former Caracas district mayor was barred from running for office in 2005 by Venezuela’s comptroller general, an ally of Chavez. Lopez was accused of receiving donations between 1998 and 2001 on behalf of an organization he led from the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, where his mother worked at the time.
The comptroller general also sanctioned Lopez in 2004 for alleged irregularities in the movement of funds from one portion of his local budget to another.
Lopez was on a list of politicians blacklisted due to corruption investigations, but he insists he is innocent and notes he never was sentenced in a court.
Lopez plans to compete against other opposition contenders in a February primary vote that will pick a unity candidate to challenge Chavez in the October 2012 election.
In recent polls, Lopez has trailed other opposition leaders such as state governors Henrique Capriles and Pablo Perez. Those surveys were carried out before the human rights court sided with Lopez.
There was no immediate reaction from the government to Lopez’s latest remarks.
Chavez said earlier this month that the rights court is part of an international system that «protects the corrupt and obeys the mandate of the (U.S.) imperial power and the bourgeoisie.»
«What value can that court have?» Chavez said. «For me, it’s worthless.»
Lopez’s supporters filled a Caracas avenue waving Venezuelan flags and beating out a festive rhythm on drums.
Some in the crowd said they have little faith in the Supreme Court. Many magistrates were appointed by pro-Chavez lawmakers who dominated the previous National Assembly before opposition candidates increased their presence in 2010 elections.
«If Chavez gives the order, the next day the court, all of them accept the sentence. He always has the last word,» said Carmen Ruiz, a 34-year-old housewife at the rally.
Chavez vehemently denies holding sway over the courts or prosecutors, insisting they are autonomous and act according to the law.
International human rights groups argue that prosecutors and courts have targeted government opponents, and they urge Venezuela to abide by the ruling in Lopez’s case.
«The Venezuelan government finds itself in a pickle: if they reject the sentence they will be in violation of the Venezuelan Constitution. If they accept it they will have to permit a political rival they have persecuted for several years,» said Sarah Wasserman, chief operating officer of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation.
Other Chavez opponents have also faced accusations or criminal charges they say are politically motivated.
They include former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, who lost to Chavez in the last election in 2006. Rosales fled into exile in 2009 after prosecutors accused him of pocketing public funds. He was granted asylum in Peru and has denied wrongdoing.
Guillermo Zuloaga, the majority owner of opposition-aligned TV channel Globovision, fled the country last year after a court issued an arrest warrant on charges of usury and conspiracy. Zuloaga accused prosecutors of carrying out a vendetta on orders from Chavez.
Another opposition politician, Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, was jailed for nearly two months last year and was eventually convicted on a charge of spreading false information during a TV talk show. He denies the charge.
___
Associated Press writer Ian James contributed to this report.
‘We realized domestic market, exports aren’t incompatible,’ CFK
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner assured that “we realized that domestic market and exports aren’t incompatible,” while heading the inauguration of a diary exhibition in the locality of Morteros, in northern Córdoba province.
During her speech, Fernández de Kirchner highlighted figures of the dairy sector. “From 2003 onwards, production increased 30 percent, export 260 percent and the consumption of milk per habitant per year is of 205 litres, on par with developed countries.”
The diary sector’s production is absolutely superior that the traditional and producers realized that they need the whole country to grow harmoniously, so they can produce more and in better quantities,”
“I dream of a day in which we shall no longer need the universal child allowance because everybody will have registered jobs,” Fernández de Kirchner added.
The inauguration of the dairy exhibit was originally scheduled for Friday, but was postponed due to inclement weather conditions.
buenosairesherald.com
¿FUE UN MISIL QUE CAYÓ EN ESTEBAN ECHEVERRIA?
admin 12:30 hs . La policía federal esta buscando señales de radioactividad,para esto esta usando trajes especiales y contadores geiger .
Foto presunta de un vecino. Observe la de abajo del Misil y el enagulo de inclinación . La de abajo se ve mas porque es inflarroja, de noche solo se veria el motor de la propulsión del misil
(La foto corresponde a un Misil nocturno , con visión de inflarrojos sobre Tripoli)
La extraña explosión que destruyó un almacén de barrio y varias casa aledañas llama la atención:
Los testigos coinciden en que una bola de fuego cayó desde el cielo y luego se sintió la explosión.
Asimismo luego de la explosión se sintió olor a azufre o olor como a fosforo. Ninguna garrafa explotó y no hubo incendio.
Además los misisles se pueden programar para que exploten a 25 metros o mas , eso se hace para que la onda expasiva genere mayor daño.
Por otra parte según las informas de la empresa:
El hecho ocurrió minutos antes de las 2 de la madrugada, en un inmueble situado sobre la intersección de las calles Luis Vernet y Los Andes, localidad de Monte Grande, partido de Esteban Echeverría.
Las causas de la explosión aún son desconocidas, pero los vecinos del lugar que presenciaron el hecho aseguran que «una bola de fuego cayó desde el cielo».
«Se empezó a sentir mucho olor como si fuera a pólvora», recordó una de las personas que vive en la zona en declaraciones a C5N.
«No hay explicación para lo que sucedió», dijo Cayetano, un vecino del lugar, en declaraciones a Radio 10, para luego agregar que «una vecina salió corriendo porque veía caer una bola de fuego azul«.
El comandante del cuartel de bomberos local, Guillermo Pérez, remarcó que todavía no se conocen las causas del incidente, pero reconoció que la primera versión apunta a un «objeto que cayó del cielo».
“Escuché esa versión, pero no la puedo afirmar en primera instancia. Hay que abocarse al peritaje para ver realmente lo que paso», señaló en declaraciones a Radio 10.
Pérez confirmó que dos casas y un comercio «quedaron completamente destrozados».
Por el hecho, una mujer mayor que había quedado atrapada bajo los escombros perdió la vida mientras que otras seis personas lograron ser rescatadas y fueron trasladadas para su atención a un hospital local, informaron a C5N bomberos que trabajan en el lugar.
La víctima es una de las personas que vivía en el inmueble donde se generó la explosión. En cuanto a los heridos, tres pertenecen a esa vivienda y otros tres a la casa lindera, afectada por el estallido. Todos los lesionados se encuentran fuera de peligro, precisó C5N
De acuerdo al relato de vecinos, el estallido se sintió incluso en localidades linderas como Ezeiza y Temperley, al sur del Gran Buenos Aires.
////
El Jefe de Bomberos de E.Echevería también obtuvo las mismas declaraciones de la bola de fuego y el olor a azufre pero no quiso adelantar nada. Si consideró que el incidente es extraño.
En las próximas horas ampliaremos
Por Héctor Alderete
15hs. Se espera que los bomberos den a conocer los detalles de la explosion algunas fuentes especulan que fue una garrfa de 45 kg..aunque eso seria poco creible.
80 people arrested at ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protest
NEW YORK (AP) — About 80 people were arrested Saturday as demonstrators who were camped out near the New York Stock Exchange marched through lower Manhattan, police said.
The «Occupy Wall Street» protest is entering its second week. Demonstrators said Saturday they were protesting against bank bailouts and the mortgage crisis; some also held signs decrying Georgia’s execution of Troy Davis, who was put to death Wednesday for the 1989 slaying of an off-duty Savannah police officer.
At Manhattan’s Union Square, police tried to corral the demonstrators using orange plastic netting. Some of the arrests were filmed and activists posted the videos online. One video appears to show officers using pepper spray on women who already were cordoned off; another shows officers handcuffing a man after pulling him up off the ground, blood trickling down his face.
Police say the arrests were mostly for blocking traffic. Charges include disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. But one demonstrator was charged with assaulting a police officer. Police say the officer involved suffered a shoulder injury.
Protest spokesman Patrick Bruner criticized the police response as «exceedingly violent» and said the demonstrators sought to remain peaceful.
A police spokesman had no comment about the videos or the arrests.
Pope in Germany calls for unity, some frustrated
FREIBURG, Germany (Reuters) – Pope Benedict urged Catholics in his native Germany on Sunday to close ranks behind him rather than demand reforms or leave the Church, a staunchly conservative message that some who came to hear him found frustrating.
Addressing about 100,000 people during mass at a small airport near the southwestern city of Freiburg, he said the sometimes fractious Church needed to unite around him and the German bishops.
«The Church in Germany will continue to be a blessing for the entire Catholic world if she remains faithfully united with the successor of St Peter,» he said, referring to himself.
His third trip as pope to his native country has been his toughest, met by protest over sex abuse scandals, reform calls from Catholics who view his conservative stand as outdated and hopes from Protestants for closer ecumenical cooperation.
The pope flew back to Rome from Freiburg in the early evening.
Benedict has closed the door on changes to the Church’s opposition to gay marriage, married clergy or women priests, and has indicated he will not ease restrictions on divorced Catholics who have remarried outside the Church.
From highly secular Berlin to former communist Erfurt to Catholic Freiburg during this four-day trip, he has hammered home his view that the Church cannot change merely to suit the whims of the times.
Polls say many German Catholics disagree. A record 181,000 officially quit the Church this year — for the first time more than joined and more than those quitting Protestant churches.
Some worshippers told Reuters they were happy to have an opportunity to attend mass celebrated by the head of their Church but were frustrated by his opposition to change.
«I had hoped he might rally people more to the Church, especially young people,» said Martine Kircher, 50, who brought her four children from Heidelberg to see the pope.
«But he didn’t show a path of renewal,» she said. «Instead he seemed to be rowing back to the old values.»
The fact German Catholics could both call for reforms and still turn out in large numbers for a papal mass «shows the Church in all its ambivalence,» Rev Bernd Hagenkord, head of Vatican Radio’s German service, told German television.
«It is a very mixed church,» he said.
MAJOR INSTITUTIONS
Even in an increasingly secularised society, the Catholic and Protestant churches are major institutions in Germany.
About a third of Germans are Catholics, a third Protestants and a third unaffiliated or members of minority faiths such as Islam and Judaism. Members pay a church tax that helps fund extensive social, educational and health programs.
Polls show that many Germans, thrilled when he was elected in 2005, now see the pope as obstinate and out of step with how his homeland has developed since reunification in 1990.
Office worker Holder Gasch, 37, one of those in Sunday’s crowd, told Reuters: «The Church needs to be more progressive in its attitude toward homosexuality and women.»
Several lay Catholic leaders and even some bishops have urged the pope in recent weeks to allow some reforms, a request he appeared to reject on Saturday when he said that without a renewed faith, «all structural reform will remain ineffective.»
The issue of sexual abuse of children by priests has been in the background through most of the trip. At the start of the trip the pope said the Church was made of «good fish and bad fish» and urged Catholics not to leave because of the scandal.
The Church in Germany has received almost 700 requests for compensation for victims of sexual and physical abuse, while a victims’ association estimates that more than 2,000 people were mistreated by Catholic priests in recent decades.
Benedict held a surprise meeting on Friday in the city of Erfurt with victims of clerical sexual abuse and expressed his deep regret for their suffering. Victims’ associations say the Vatican has not done enough to bring perpetrators to justice.
«The pope is doing nothing and the dioceses are trying to cover everything up,» said Wilfried Fesselmann of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Victims joined 8,000 protesters on a march through Berlin at the start of the visit.
Michael Ebertz, who teaches sociology of religion in a Catholic college in Freiburg, said the pope’s sermon could be a call to bishops not to let lay Catholics take over a dialogue they launched in reaction to the sexual abuse scandals.
«It could mean that, in the end, the bishops will decide what real belief is and this can’t be left to the dialogue process to decide,» he said on ZDF television.
In comments on Sunday afternoon, Benedict told Germans working in Catholic institutions that deeper faith was the key to overcoming the challenges facing the Church.
«It is not a question here of finding a new strategy to relaunch the Church,» he said.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan, editing by Tim Pearce)
Boca, Argentinos Juniors tied in bland match
Boca and Argentinos Juniors clashed in a bland match that ended with no goals and a lack of excitement. Despite the result, Boca Juniors remains on top of the Apertura Tournament after going 19 matches undefeated.
Line up:
Argentinos Juniors: Nereo Fernández; Federico Pistone, Miguel Torrén and Juan Sabia; Gonzalo Prósperi, Matías Laba, Germán Basualdo and Nicolás Berardo; Emilio Hernández or Gustavo Oberman; Juan José Morales and Santiago Salcedo. Coach: Néstor Raúl Gorosito.
Boca Juniors: Agustín Orión; Facundo Roncaglia, Rolando Schiavi, Juan Manuel Insaurralde and Clemente Rodríguez; Diego Rivero, Leandro Somoza and Walter Ervitti; Juan Román Riquelme; Pablo Mouche and Lucas Viatri. Coach: Julio Falcioni.
Referee: Pablo Lunati.
Stadium: Argentinos Juniors.
buenosairesherald.com
Global economy weekahead: From a soft patch to quicksand
(Reuters) – The global economy was supposed to be better by now.
Just a few months ago, the prevailing wisdom was that growth was going through a «soft patch» caused by a combination of Japan’s earthquake and unrest in the oil-producing Middle East. Once global supply chains got back to normal and oil prices receded, the second-half recovery could begin.
Judging from the tone among world finance leaders who gathered in Washington over the weekend, no one is buying that theory any more.
«The global economy has entered a dangerous phase, calling for exceptional vigilance, coordination and readiness to take bold action from members and the IMF alike,» the International Monetary Fund’s steering committee warned on Saturday.
Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan spoke of a «somber mood» among policymakers. Financial markets priced in a growing risk that Greece may default, which could touch off a panic worse than what followed the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy.
«The Lehman crisis was about rescuing a company. Now it involves a country’s sovereign debt so in a sense, the situation is more severe,» said Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi.
Yet the strongest statement Group of 20 officials could offer was a promise that, by November, euro area leaders will find a way to «increase the flexibility» of a financial stability fund widely considered inadequate to cope with a crisis which could engulf Italy or Spain.
«If a generous sovereign from Mars came down and paid off every penny of Greece’s debt tomorrow, the fundamentals of the European crisis would not be altered,» said former White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers.
J.P. Morgan economists blamed the renewed global weakness on a «crisis of competency.» In a note to clients entitled, «Yes we can; no we won’t,» they argued that the economy was indeed shaking off the Japan quake effects — until August, when Europe’s debt strains intensified and the U.S. debt ceiling drama cast doubt on Washington’s political will to address its own long-term budget needs.
Europe came under fresh pressure on Sunday to ramp up its crisis response when a top IMF official said the ECB was the only player big enough to «scare» financial markets, which have punished several euro zone countries.
The United States is having enough trouble solving its short-term budget problems. The next act could come as early as Monday, when Congress debates another spending bill. If lawmakers fail to act, a program that assists disaster victims could run out of money by Tuesday.
As for Europe, J.P. Morgan now expects a mild recession — and this forecast assumes policymakers «move aggressively to provide a huge amount of support for banks and sovereigns.»
If they don’t, the downturn could be far more severe and no region would be immune.
LOSING TRACTION
There is already evidence the global economy is losing traction. A private survey of China’s manufacturing sector, released last week, showed it probably contracted in September for a third consecutive month.
Official government data on factory activity is due on Saturday, and if it confirms a decline, that would deepen concerns about China’s capacity to help prop up the world.
The latest batch of data from China points to still-strong domestic growth, although the global slowdown has taken a significant toll on exports.
Indeed, the August purchasing managers’ survey showed overall orders increasing even as export orders contracted, suggesting China is still generating solid demand at home. If those figures deteriorate in Saturday’s report, it may signal a sharper-than-expected slowdown in domestic activity.
Germany, which joins China atop the list of the world’s biggest exporters, is looking even shakier. Its economy barely grew in the second quarter from the three months before, and confidence is fading fast.
The closely watched Ifo business climate index, due on Monday, is expected to record another decline after a precipitous drop in August.
OXYMORONS AND MORONS
With the G20 offering no promise of coordinated action, investor attention returns to what officials in the United States and Europe might do.
The next significant step may come in early October, when the European Central Bank holds a policy-setting meeting. Some economists are predicting a rate cut, which would mark an abrupt about-face for a central bank that was warning about inflation risks just a couple of months ago.
«It seems bizarre that the Fed has been easing monetary policy, partly on concerns about Europe, and yet the ECB, in the midst of a sovereign debt crisis, has hiked rates twice since April,» said Nomura economist Paul Sheard.
As for fiscal policy, that looks likely to stay tight in both Europe and the United States — much to the dismay of some economists who question how the economy can possibly pick up speed when the public sector is applying the brakes.
«The notion of expansionary fiscal contraction is oxymoronic and a bit moronic as well,» said Summers, who the former White House economic adviser.
(Reporting by Emily Kaiser in Singapore)
Libya finds mass grave from 1996 massacre
Libya’s interim rulers said on Sunday they had found a mass grave containing the bodies of 1,270 inmates killed by Muammar Gaddafi’s security forces in a 1996 massacre at a prison in southern Tripoli.
To the east of Tripoli, NATO bombers hit the city of Sirte to clear the way for fighters with the National Transitional Council (NTC) who are trying to capture Gaddafi’s hometown.
But Gaddafi loyalists showed they were still a threat by attacking the desert oasis town of Ghadames, on the border with Algeria, NTC officials said.
The mass grave was the first physical evidence revealed so far of the Abu Salim prison massacre, an event that was covered up for years but created simmering anger that ultimately helped bring about Gaddafi’s downfall.
«I am happy this revolution succeeded, and that our country will be better,» said 45-year old Sami al-Saadi, who believed two of his brothers died in the massacre. «But when I stand here, I remember my brothers who were killed.»
According to accounts from survivors who have spoken to human rights groups, starting at dawn on June 29, 1996, guards lined up inmates in the courtyards of the Abu Salim prison.
Security men, standing on the prison rooftops, fired at the inmates with Kalashnikov rifles before using pistols at close range to finish them off.
The uprising that toppled Gaddafi was ignited by protests linked to the Abu Salim massacre. In February, families of inmates killed there demonstrated in the eastern city of Benghazi to demand the release of their lawyer.
buenosairesherald.com/
The upside of economic worries: Lower gas prices From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110925/BIZ/109250333/The-upside-of-economic-worries–Lower-gas-prices#ixzz1Z16tzO3E
New York— Soaring gasoline prices are in the rearview mirror.
For the first time in months, retail gasoline prices have fallen below $3 a gallon in places, including parts of Michigan, Missouri and Texas. And the relief is likely to spread thanks to a sharp decline in crude-oil prices.
The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $3.51 per gallon, down from a high of $3.98 in early May. Last week’s plunge in oil prices could push the average to $3.25 per gallon by November, analysts say.
Economist Philip Verleger equates it to «a stimulus program for consumers,» leaving them more money for clothes, dinners out and movies. Over a year, a 50 cents-per-gallon drop in gasoline prices would add roughly $70 billion to the U.S. economy.
Arthur De Villar, a 48-year-old safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, paid $2.96 for gasoline near his home in Manchester, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis — and he recently replaced his SUV with a four-door sedan.
With three boys at home between the ages of 11 and 14, the money De Villar saves on gas still gets spent. But it goes to the amusement park, a Cardinals baseball game or the movie theater.
«It’s far better to be able to put (the money) anywhere other than in the gas tank,» he says.
Prices for oil, gasoline and other commodities dove last week along with world stock markets over concerns the global economy is headed for another recession. When economies slow, demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel falls as drivers cut back on trips, shippers move fewer goods and vacationers stay closer to home. Oil fell to $79.85 per barrel Friday, a drop of 9 percent for the week. Oil reached a three-year high of $113.93 on April 29.
Economists caution that gasoline savings, while welcome, won’t matter much to people if the worst economic fears come to pass.
«Yes it produces some relief, your bill at the gas pump goes down, but it’s going down because there are worries that people won’t have jobs,» says James Hamilton, an economics professor at the University of California, San Diego. «The news has not been good.»
And gasoline prices remain historically high. Gasoline has averaged $3.56 this year, the highest yearly average ever. Americans have cut back driving in the face of high prices, but they are likely to spend more on gasoline in 2011 than ever before — close to $490 billion, according to Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.
Kloza says the latest drop in prices will stick around through most of the fall. And while that may only add $20 a month to a typical commuter’s wallet, drivers say it matters.
Pat Wolf, 60, a retired information technology professional from East Lansing, Mich. responded with a «Holy Mackerel!» when he got a text from his wife Friday morning that said a station nearby was selling gas for $2.98 per gallon.
Wolf said prices in the area were $3.49 earlier in the week and he had no hope that they’d fall below $3. «It’s one other thing in the back of your mind if you are deciding whether to buy some gizmo or other,» he says.
Aureleano Duran, a house painter in Dallas, gave the cashier at a RaceTrac gas station $55 to fill up his red Dodge pickup Friday night, but the tank began to overflow before he shut off the nozzle — at $49.21. Duran plans to sock away roughly $30 a week in gas savings. «I’m trying not to spend a lot of it,» he said. Then he excused himself: «I’ve got to go get my change.»
Gasoline prices have always varied from state to state, but the gap now is especially big. Drivers along the coasts are paying significantly more than drivers in the middle of the country, analysts say. California drivers are paying the highest average price in the lower 48 states, at $3.89 per gallon on Sunday. Missouri drivers are paying the least, $3.21 per gallon, according to AAA, OPIS and Wright Express.
Differences in state taxes explain much of the gap. Another factor is that most of the oil used by refineries on the coasts comes from overseas, making it far more expensive than oil piped to refineries in the middle of the country from places such as North Dakota and Canada. The coastal refineries must compete with the growing economies of Asia for shipments of oil.
Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, says that while he expects the national average to fall to between $3.25 and $3.50 between now and Thanksgiving, some areas could hit $2.50. He says prices in Lansing, Mich., and St. Louis had fallen below $3 already. A price war between filling stations near Bridge City, Texas, pushed prices to $2.62 last week.
«In some of these areas prices are collapsing,» DeHaan says.
The trend could reverse, analysts say, if the world economy does not descend into recession. That’s because the growth in oil demand from China and other developing nations will more than make up for falling demand in Europe and the United States.
The investment bank Goldman Sachs forecasts that oil will rise to $120 per barrel within the next six months. That’s a jump of 50 percent from last week’s closing price of just under $80 per barrel.
«Whatever we see gas prices falling to, it won’t be the new normal. It will be a launching pad for winter and spring prices,» says Kloza, from Oil Price Information Service.
Jonathan Fahey/ Associated Press
NBA players not taking serious look overseas yet
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — John Wall isn’t taking his game overseas yet.
If the NBA lockout continues to drag on, well, he just might.
«Maybe down the road, but not right now,» the former No. 1 overall pick said Saturday night when asked about the possibility before a loosely organized exhibition game in Indianapolis.
One day after league officials announced the postponement of training camp and the cancellation of 43 preseason games, 16 NBA players participated in a game that could become the new normal for NBA fans. Most participants played high school, college or pro ball near Indianapolis.
The game, of course, came without many of the NBA’s usual trimmings.
Instead of thousands of fans, only a few hundred showed up at the University of Indianapolis, a Division II school that will be the practice site for this year’s Super Bowl team from the NFC.
Instead of hearing a live person sing the National Anthem, a recording was played over the public address system.
Instead of wearing clearly distinguishing colors, the team with black jerseys was told to turn theirs inside out just before tip-off in an effort to delineate themselves from the navy blue team.
And instead of making money, the proceeds from Saturday’s Indy Pro Am Lockout League game will benefit foundations headed by new Pacers player George Hill, former Indiana Mr. Basketball Eric Gordon and WNBA MVP Tamika Catchings.
Officials wore gray shirts with an NBA logo but were not sanctioned by the league, and team officials were not allowed to attend.
Players will take it, for now.
«I don’t know how many games we’ll miss or how long we’ll be locked out,» Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague said. «But this going to have to do because it’s the only way to play against the best talent and be at an NBA level when it (the lockout) ends.»
Nobody’s sure when the lockout will end, so players are taking precautions.
Five of them told The Associated Press they are carrying insurance to cover any potential injuries during the lockout, and that’s not the only way they’re protecting themselves.
«The best thing about games like this is that all the guys realize you have careers,» former Butler star and current Utah Jazz player Gordon Hayward said. «So we’re not going to do something stupid.»
Perhaps that accounted for the lack of defense Saturday night.
The blue team, Goodman League, won 170-167. Wall had 41 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins had 33 points and 15 rebounds. Gordon led the Knox team with 40 points and nine assists. All but three of the 16 players reached double figures.
Whether it was Wall, the Washington Wizards point guard, or Eric Gordon, who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, the key concern was staying in shape, to be ready for the return of NBA ball.
The players said they aren’t even sure the league owners know what they want in a new deal.
«That’s what it seems like from what I’ve seen in the media and from what I hear,» Gordon said. «It’s going to take a collective agreement by everybody to get this thing settled.»
In the meantime, they’ll continue working on their own.
Hayward is going through his training at St.Vincent Sports Performance in Indy. Some are working in groups, and others are playing in games like this, where there are almost as many smiles as dunks. Teague plans to return to Atlanta next week, where he will continue playing pro am games.
But each player has his own primary concern.
Josh McRoberts, an Indiana native who played with the Pacers last season, is a free agent who hasn’t been able to negotiate a new deal. Shelvin Mack left Butler after his junior season, was selected by Washington in the second round of this year’s NBA draft and is still unsigned.
«It’s kind of tough,» Mack said. «We’ve got things like this so we can still work on our skills, but you’d really like to get back to work.»
For some players, that could come sooner — if they decide to move overseas. Kobe Bryant has been offered a $6.7 million, one-season contract to play for the Italian team Virtus Bologna.
Gordon said that while he’s had offers, he’s not jumping at the chance and neither is D.J. White, the former Indiana star who now plays for Charlotte.
«I’ve really not thought much about it,» White said. «You really just want to work on your game and we’ll see what happens. It’s hard to put a time table (on deciding to play overseas).»
‘I pity Menem and Sola,’ Duhalde
Popular Front presidential candidate Eduardo Duhalde assures he “pities” lawmaker Felipe Solá and Senator Carlos Menem, who have re-established friendly ties with the Government in the last few weeks, despite previous feuds.
“I pity both of them,” Duhalde said, a few days after Solá abandoned the Federal Peronism bloc in the Lower House and declared himself as “independent” and renewed his sympathy towards President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration.
“Political tv shows will have start providing seat belts, because everybody is jumping around,” Duhalde said, regarding Solá’s latest political stance.
When asked about former president Menem, who keeps an alliance with Kircherism in La Rioja pr Duhalde stressed that he “pities” him. “I am convinced he’s being extorted. Excepting the Radical Party, the rest of the opposition is scared,” the presidential candidate concluded.
buenosairesherald.com
Lawyer of Candela’s mother believes killer could be among those arrested
Carola Labrado’s lawyer, Fernando Burlando, said on Sunday that one of the suspects arrested in connection to the murder of 11-year old Candela Rodríguez “could be the one who committed the crime.”
“The investigation is going the right way,” he said, adding that authorities will be able to press charges on the one or several of the suspects in prison.
“It’s still a long way from pressing charges to reaching a sentence for this crime, but we’re heading the right way,” he explained.
At the same time, he stressed that the girl’s mother did not conceal any information from the police nor displayed a suspicious behaviour, adding that “she’s just one more victim of this country’s insecurity.”
“Widespread doubt is a social malady and a shame. Carola is in pain for several reasons. The most important one is the loss of her daughter, but she’s also hurting because of what she hears people say about her,” he explained.
Burlando closed by arguing that “casting the shadow of a doubt over a mother who has just lost her daughter means a total loss of values.”
His statements were made in relation to the suspicions falling on Labrador after rumours of her alleged ties to the drug trafficking business or any other illegal activities that may have ended up in the perpetrators exacting revenge on her by killing her daughter.
Power blackout stuns Chile, halts copper mines
A massive power blackout paralyzed crucial copper mines in Chile and darkened vast swaths of the country including the capital Santiago before energy started to be restored, officials said.
The outage acutely exposed the fragility of the energy grid in the world’s top copper producer, which was devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2010.
Critics have blamed Chilean President Sebastian Pinera for under-investment in infrastructure and his popularity ratings have dropped since taking office last year. Prior to the power failure, he has already struggling with massive protests by university students demanding deep educational reforms.
Engineers scrambling to restore power were able to get the lights turned on in at least some districts of Santiago and at the sprawling El Teniente copper mine of state-owned Codelco, officials and Reuters witnesses said.
Chilean Energy Minister Rodrigo Alvarez said the cause of the failure was unknown but that computers that help run the energy grid had also malfunctioned.
«This affects the fourth and seventh region, or much of the country’s most populous area,» he said on state TV. Those regions include about 10 million people in the center of the country.
Angloamerican said operations at its Los Bronces mine was halted by the blackout and state-run Codelco said its Andina division was also paralyzed.
Authorities said the Collahuasi and Chuquicamata mines in the far north of Chile were not affected and that the power outage did not extend to them.
buenosairesherald.com
CGT, UIA leaders clash once more over revenue sharing bill
Leaders from the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) and the CGT Labour Confederation clashed once more over the revenue sharing bill. UIA’s head José Ignacio de Mendiguren said “this isn’t the right time to debate it,” while CGT lawmaker Héctor Recalde replied that they have waited to pass it “for over a year.”
“In a moment like this what we must do is try and bring calm to the economy instead of upsetting it more than it already is due to external factors,” de Mendiguren assured.
“This bill aims at having unions involved in co-management and I do not agree with that at all. This isn’t about revenue sharing, it’s about union co-management, which means that unions will get a say in budget approval and that, to me, is abusive.”
Recalde replied to de Mendiguren’s statements, and assured that “the moment to discuss this is now, since we’ve taken it slowly and we introduced this bill over a year ago.”
He also rejected that the CGT is looking to achieve union co-management. “Not a single article in the bill mentions co-management, even though it is our constitutional right to demand so. We should all rally behind this,” he concluded.
buenosairesherald.com
Dilma in the limelight of power
A triumphant Dilma Rousseff with her arms upraised is the cover of the latest edition of Newsweek. As if the headline “Where women are winning” were not enough, the lead story is entitled “Don’t mess with Dilma.” Regardless of whether this article was placed or is a mere coincidence (as alleged by the Brazilian presidential press department), the influential United States magazine is bang on — Dilma seems at the cusp of global power.
That power will be on display in New York this week. The Brazilian leader will be kicking off the 66th General Assembly of the United Nations. That also makes her, as the Brazilian media never weary in pointing out, the “first woman in world history” to inaugurate a General Assembly. Although Brazil, by virtue of being the first country to enter the UN, has been delivering the opening speech since 1945, Dilma has not been taking this lightly. She has been in New York since Sunday with an agenda calculated to flaunt this empowerment to both the Brazilian and US press.
Simply running over the list of her bilateral meetings suffices to show that she plays in the big league — Barack Obama (US) and Felipe Calderón (México) yesterday, Nicolas Sarkozy (France), Sebastián Piñera (Chile), Ollanta Humala (Peru), Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia) and David Cameron (United Kingdom) today. A contrast with the slender agenda chosen by Cristina Kirchner for her 35 hours in New York — a reluctantly conceded bilateral meeting with Piñera and another with Haitian President Michel Martelly.
As for Dilma, as if her seven bilateral meetings were not enough, she joined in two of the UN “theme” forums on Monday — in the one concerning chronic non-contagious diseases, Dilma advocated exempting drugs against diabetes, hypertension and cancer from patent royalties (as has already been done for AIDS).
Heavy skirts
But she must surely have missed her neighbour Cristina in the forum on Women’s Political Participation in Democracy, planned and directed by Michelle Bachelet, the head of UN Women since she stopped being president of Chile. Apart from the Chilean and the Brazilian, Monday’s “heavy skirts” photo included the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Catherine Ashton and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (on Dilma’s right). Saudades (that Brazilian word for nostalgia and sadness) no doubt for Cristina who four Septembers ago (and the month before presidential elections, just like now) filled the pages of Time magazine with an interview in which she was compared both to the then presidential hopeful Hillary and to Evita Perón. And today? “You’ ve come a long way, baby”, could be one answer. “The world has really changed”, could be another.
Dilma’s New York agenda has even more chapters. On the one hand, the academic — the Woodrow Wilson International Centre honoured her yesterday with its Public Services Prize. The cultural, on the other — in her first two days in the Big Apple, she chose to visit the MoMa and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She too could not resist shopping, although faithful to her intellectual style, she spent half an afternoon at Rizzoli’s book-shop on the corner of 5th Avenue and 67th Street. Dilma also has her strategic-nuclear chapter — today’s high-level meeting on Nuclear Security. It remains to be seen whether Brazil will lay on the table its current doubts over opening the Angra dos Reis IIII nuclear power plant and pressing ahead with those projected for the Northeast region.
The speech
But perhaps the crux will be the content of her inaugural speech this morning when she will become “the first woman in world history” to open a General Assembly. As is already traditional, Brazil will call for the end of the US embargo against Cuba and for the Security Council to expand its permanent membership in favour of emerging heavyweights (such as Brazil, for example). President Rousseff will also refer to the critical global economic and financial situation and will defend sustainable development policies (apart from emphasizing that 95 percent of Brazil’s reserves of US$350 billion are in US Treasury bonds, which turns our neighbour into a key player for Washington finances).
The fourth issue — already announced by Itamaraty Foreign Ministry — is support for Palestine’s candidacy to enter the United Nations as its 194th member. While Brazil was the country which kickstarted recognition of a Palestinian State within the pre-1967 frontiers in Latin America (immediately followed by Argentina), President Rousseff met up with Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Alzebren before heading out to New York. According to the newspaper O Estado, the Palestinian “ended up convincing Dilma.”
This “convincing” is crucial since officially Itamaraty backs the initiatives of the Quartet on Middle East Peace (the US, Russia, the EU and UN), which is now desperately seeking dialogue (suspended in August, 2010) between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, while the Palestinians have submitted their request for UN entry, which the US has already announced it would veto.
If Dilma places too much emphasis on supporting Palestine’s UN entry (whether as a full member or as an observer state, a halfway house which already commands 139 votes), this would fall within the contradictory (not to say tautological) lines of Brazilian foreign policy installed during the Lula presidencies — namely, “preventive diplomacy for pacific solutions.” With that in mind, Brazil did not spare itself embarrassments in its dicey intervention during the nuclear conflict with Iran and Lula had to grin and bear it when trying to mediate between Palestine and Israel. Indeed the contradiction has gone so far that although Dilma promised to defend human rights at an international level, Brazil has yet to condemn government repression during the Arab Spring and the wholesale slaughters of the Gaddafi régime — nor did she ever support the Libyan rebels or pronounce a word against the excesses in Syria.
While waiting for Dilma’s words, Brazil is also awaiting the arrival of Newsweek magazine with her consecrated on the cover. Its distribution is delayed by a post strike. Goes with the job. Or with power, which cannot control everything.
buenosairesherald.com/By: Carolina Barros
Vick leaves game with broken right hand
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Vick has a broken right hand, and it’s uncertain when the Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback will return.
Vick left Sunday’s 29-16 loss to the New York Giants after getting hurt late in the third quarter. He started despite suffering a concussion in last Sunday’s loss at Atlanta.
«I don’t know anything right now except my hand is broken,» Vick said when asked if he could play against San Francisco next week.
Coach Andy Reid said Vick would have a CT scan Monday.
Vick, who throws left-handed, wasn’t happy with the play that he got hurt on. He completed a 23-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin before taking a hard shot from Chris Canty.
«I felt I got hit late. No flag,» Vick said. «At some point something catastrophic is gonna happen. Not to blame the refs, but more precautions should be taken. I’m on the ground all the time in the pocket.»
It appeared on replays that Canty hit Vick in the facemask with his helmet. Vick sat on the ground, lifted his helmet off slightly before getting helped up by a teammate and an official.
«Every time I throw the ball, I’m on the ground,» Vick said. «I get hit in the head. I don’t know why I don’t get the 15-yard flag like everybody else does. I’m not trying to blame the refs. I just want them to take notice.»
Vick was temporarily replaced by Mike Kafka after heading to the locker room for X-rays on his right hand early in the fourth quarter. But Vick returned during a time-out and Kafka left the huddle.
Vick played one more series before being replaced by Kafka.
Polls close in Río Negro, recount to begin soon
Polls in the Río Negro province closed with no major incidents reported as the population cast their ballots in order to pick their next governor. The main contenders in the race are César Barbeito, a “Kirchnerite-Radical,” and FPV Carlos Soria.
Also, the seats of 46 legislators and municipal authorities in 20 cities were up for grabs.
The people of Río Negro approached the province’s schools on Sunday in order to pick their new governor, scheduled to take office on December 10th.
After 12 pm, election officials announced that they believe a 50 percent of registered voters had already approached the polls.
In an unusual race, citizens had to pick between to Kirchnerites, only one is a Radical and the other a Peronist.
The ruling party was represented by “Radical K” César Barbeito, who came first in the primaries along side his running mate Bautista Mendioroz. Barbeito is supported by current governor Miguel Saiz.
The Radicals have been in power in Río Negro since the return of Argentine democracy in 1983.
Over 400,000 citizens were registered to vote on Sunday.
buenosairesherald.com
MF urges ECB to play bigger crisis-fighting role
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top IMF official on Sunday said the European Central Bank was the only player powerful enough to «scare» financial markets and keep the euro zone’s debt crisis from further damaging the global economy.
Ahead of a high-stakes meeting on Sunday afternoon between IMF chief Christine Lagarde and the finance minister of Greece — where the crisis is now centered — officials were wrestling with how to bolster Europe’s banking system and keep the crisis contained.
The IMF said the European Union’s bailout fund could not go it alone.
«It is very important that we see a combination of the ECB and the EFSF,» said Antonio Borges, the head of the IMF’s European department, referring to the European Financial Stability Facility of 440 billion euros ($594 billion) .
«The ECB is the only agent that can really scare the markets,» he added — a vital consideration because investors are increasingly skeptical Greece can avoid a default and policymakers can prevent the crisis rolling to other nations.
Analysts say the bailout fund would be far too small if the crisis were to spread beyond Greece, Portugal and Ireland to hit the much larger economies of Italy and Spain.
Germany stands opposed to chipping in more to help nations it sees as profligate and the focus has now turned on ways to leverage existing bailout funds, possibly through the ECB.
The European Union’s top economic official, Olli Rehn, said on Saturday that as soon as the region’s governments confirm new powers for the EFSF, attention will turn to how to get more impact from the existing money.
«We need to find a mechanism where we can turn one euro in the EFSF into five, but there is no decision on how we could do that yet,» another senior European official said.
The rescue fund would need to be at least 2 trillion euros to safeguard Italy and Spain if the crisis spread, analysts estimate.
Throughout a weekend of IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, European officials have been under pressure to get a grip on the debt crisis before it spirals out of control.
While signs have mounted that Europe was preparing to step up its crisis response, there were still doubts that officials were moving swiftly enough.
«There is some risk of market disappointment due to the fact there were no further, more specific pledges from the euro countries at this time,» Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg told reporters.
«It is clear they want to build a firewall (but) it will take time before we see the decisions necessary in place.»
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed the ECB on Saturday to take on a pivotal role in fighting the crisis. «The threat of cascading default, bank runs, and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table,» he told the steering committee of the 187-nation IMF.
In a measure of the global concern about the potential for renewed recession, Brazil’s central bank chief also appealed for a better coordinated and stronger European approach.
«Brazil’s experience with past crises suggests you have to confront the problems in a fast, consistent manner,» said Alexandre Tombini.
«The longer it takes, the higher the cost, the more contagion spreads. You have to act with overwhelming force.»
(Reporting by Dan Flynn and Marc Jones; writing by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Patricia Bullrich reiteró que el pedido del juez Catania es «gravísimo»
ALEJ 
La diputada por la Coalición Cívica así se refirió en Radio 10 a la solicitud de datos personales de los periodistas que difundan mediciones sobre la inflación. Advirtió sobre la importancia de la oposición, que debe reaccionar ante estas situaciones.
La diputada Patricia Bullrich habló con Mariano Grondona por Radio 10 y aseguró que la medida propuesta por el juez Alejandro Catania -solicitar a los diarios los datos personales de todos los periodistas que hagan alusión a la inflación- es algo “gravísimo”.
Al respecto, aseguró que desde su espacio reaccionaron con una conferencia de prensa de manera rápida “para frenar esto”. Luego indicó que al día siguiente el juez mandó otro oficio algo suavizado dado que no pedía el domicilio personal de los trabajadores.
“Esto es una barbaridad. A nosotros nos han dicho que hasta han tenido miedo de publicar los índices de inflación. Esto es lo que intenta la medida, que cada vez que un periódico vaya a escribir algo sobre inflación, recuerde que hay un juez que puede estar atrás por lo que dice o escribe”, dijo Bullrich.
El juez Alejandro Catania requirió a diversos medios datos de los periodistas que suelen cubrir la variación del índice de precios. Es en el marco de una causa penal iniciada por el secretario de Comercio Interior, Guillermo Moreno, contra economistas que difunden sus indicadores.
A través del escrito, el magistrado en lo Penal Económico Nº 4 pidió “suministrar la nómina, dirección y teléfonos de contacto de los periodistas –editores, redactores, etc.- que hayan publicado en el referido diario noticias vinculadas a índices inflacionarios” desde el año 2006.
Fuente: InfoBAE.com
Ajuste y reforma constitucional
Por Carlos Tórtora para el Informador Público
La crisis financiera global, la devaluación del real, las medidas de emergencia en Brasil y la distorsión del tipo de cambio, así como de las tarifas de los servicios públicos locales, son parte de un coctel que va marcando una tendencia para el 2012. Las probabilidades de que CFK deba iniciar su segundo mandato firmando medidas de ajuste son entonces cada vez más altas. Éste es justamente el escenario que el kirchnerismo siempre negó, partiendo de la premisa de que el alto consumo, los aumentos salariales por encima de la inflación y el festival de los subsidios serían poco menos que eternos. Por otra parte, el nuevo cruce entre Amado Boudou y Nicolás Eysaguirre, jefe del Departamento del Hemisferio Occidental del FMI, sirvió para demostrar que el acuerdo con el Club de París y el acceso a los mercados voluntarios de crédito está lejos. Paradójicamente, los nubarrones sobre la economía se muestran justamente cuando el cristinismo está a punto de aplastar en las urnas a sus dos principales rivales, la UCR y el peronismo disidente. Una economía con complicaciones generaría, a su vez, un escenario político nuevo, probablemente con un mayor desgaste para la presidente.
En el seno del poder se estaría preparando la reacción política para enfrentar ese escenario. El plan en estudio pasaría por instalar inmediatamente luego de octubre el debate sobre la reforma constitucional, que incluiría la reelección indefinida. La instalación del tema le daría al cristinismo dos beneficios inmediatos: mantener la iniciativa política intacta y disimular los inminentes problemas de la economía. Como es obvio, un debate de esta magnitud podría también paralizar durante mucho tiempo cualquier intento de Daniel Scioli, Juan Manuel Urtubey u otro presidenciable, de levantar el perfil con vistas al 2015.
No sería casual que el máximo ideólogo de la reforma, Eugenio Zaffaroni, haya reaparecido esta semana para decir, por ejemplo:
“Todo el Ejecutivo está pendiente de la salud física y mental de una persona” y “un accidente en un sistema presidencialista es una crisis del sistema”.
Zaffaroni agregó que “2001 no fue una mera crisis política sino que puso al sistema al borde del abismo”, y señaló que “en todas las crisis del presidencialismo se salió con el sistema del parlamento”, tras lo cual indicó: “(Eduardo) Duhalde fue un presidente parlamentario”.
“La irracionalidad del sistema presidencialista es clara. Llegó el momento en que tenemos que empezar a pensar en una institucionalización en serio”. Arrojándole un anzuelo a la oposición, el ministro de la Corte remató: “Sería un grave inconveniente que exista un sistema de partido único por una coyuntura en la Argentina” y “Cuando no hay oposición afuera, pronto la oposición se genera adentro y puede haber problemas de gobernabilidad”. En otras palabras, que la oposición, que el 23-o perdería la mayoría en la Cámara de Diputados, podría ser tentada por este canje: un gobierno parlamentario a cambio de la reelección indefinida. En el ‘94, el acuerdo Alfonsín-Menem que posibilitó la reforma constitucional tuvo un núcleo similar: la reelección a cambio de la supuesta atenuación del presidencialismo, la autonomía de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, el tercer senador para la minoría y el Consejo de la Magistratura, entre otras innovaciones.
Cambio de planes
Según una versión, Zaffaroni ya habría conversado de este tema con su amigo Francisco de Narváez y otros intermediarios habrían sondeado a Ricardo Alfonsín, que simpatiza con la idea del parlamentarismo. En el campo del desperdigado peronismo disidente, el proyecto reformista tendría un punto a favor: Eduardo Duhalde fue hasta ahora el principal defensor público del giro hacia el parlamentarismo. El retorno de Felipe Solá al planeta K también querría decir algo en este tema. Y Mario Das Neves seguiría pronto los pasos de aquél.
El gobierno está muy lejos de contar con las dos terceras partes de los miembros de las dos cámaras que el artículo 30 de la Constitución exige para la declaración de la necesidad de la reforma. Esta importante valla hizo que, en principio, en la mesa chica de Olivos se pensara que lo mejor sería esperar hasta el 2013. Entonces, en un cálculo optimista, el oficialismo podría estar más cerca de obtener los dos tercios en la nueva renovación de las cámaras.
Sin embargo, en la balanza ahora pesan dos hechos nuevos: el 50,7 por ciento obtenido por CFK en las primarias el 14 de agosto abrumó a la oposición, creando un clima tal vez único para que los vencidos acepten una propuesta de reforma constitucional que les daría protagonismo y les serviría para recomponer sus espacios de poder.
En segundo lugar, las dificultades económicas que se avecinan estarían señalándole al cristinismo que tal vez no convenga esperar hasta el 2013, porque el humor social entonces podría ser menos favorable que el actual.
Fuente: El Informador
Malestar por el acercamiento a Irán y las compras de Louboutin
Por Guillermo Cherashny para el Informador Público
Varios meses atrás, el periodista José Eliaschev desató una fuerte polémica al denunciar un supuesto acuerdo entre Argentina e Irán para dejar a un lado la responsabilidad de este país en los atentados a la embajada de Israel y la AMIA. A esos efectos, se habría creado un paraguas diplomático similar al que utilizó Menem en el conflicto por las islas Malvinas. De este modo, se podría incrementar el intercambio comercial con Irán, que es justamente lo que está ocurriendo en los últimos meses.
La presencia de nuestro embajador en la ONU Jorge Arguello durante el discurso del excéntrico presidente Mahmud Ahmadineyad ante la Asamblea General fue el implícito reconocimiento de que la diplomacia secreta entre Teherán y Buenos Aires está dando sus frutos. El caso es que las fuertes reacciones -internas y externas- por el acercamiento a Irán habrían disgustado seriamente a la presidente, al punto de que algunos de sus allegados deslizarían que la aproximación a Irán traerá más perjuicios que beneficios.
Shopping
Otro tema que habría causado el mal humor de Cristina habría sido la nota publicada por el New York Post -el diario de Robert Murdoch- que citaba a Informadorpublico.com, acerca de la compra de 20 pares de zapatos de Christian Louboutin realizada días atrás por la presidente en su suite del hotel George V, junto con carteras de Louis Vuitton y Hermès. Uno de los grupos que mostraron indignación por el shopping presidencial fue la American Task Force que nuclea a los holdouts, es decir, a los bonistas de títulos argentinos que quedaron fuera del canje. Pero lo más grave es que el artículo del Post compara a Cristina con el presidente de Ruanda, Paul Kagame, que en Nueva York pagó U$S 16.000 dólares por una suite en el Mandarín Oriental, el hotel donde también se alojó CFK, ubicado en Columbus Circle y 60 Street, en el exclusivo barrio de Central Park West, con vista desde sus ventanas al famoso Central Park.
Por esto se puede deducir el “nunca menos”, es decir, que también CFK pagó U$S 16.000 por su suite en Nueva York. Al mismo tiempo, se dio el lujo de rechazar una entrevista con Christian Lagarde, la directora gerente del FMI, quien reclamaría que en 90 días se normalicen las estadísticas oficiales de la Argentina, o sea, el INDEC, como condición previa para las negociaciones con el Club de París.
En materia de negociaciones hostiles, el kirchnerismo tiene experiencia. Allegados al ex ministro de economía Roberto Lavagna recuerdan la histórica negociación hostil en la que Kirchner realizó una quita del 66% de la deuda, dejando afuera más de U$S 20.000 millones.
Vale recordar la anécdota de cuando Lavagna y el entonces presidente Néstor Kirchner estaban analizando la propuesta de quita y las posibles represalias de los países cuyos acreedores se negarían al canje. Entonces sonó el celular del presidente, quien atendió a su hijo Máximo. Kirchner habría escuchado atentamente durante dos minutos a su hijo y de repente comenzó a gritarle, diciéndole: “Máximo, ya te dije los alquileres se pagan del 1 al 5; si 22 locatarios te pagaron en fecha, al número 23 pedile el desalojo”, y cortó la comunicación. Lavagna, que estaba presentando una negociación por 80.000 millones de dólares, se sorprendió de que el primer mandatario se ocupara del alquiler de un departamento en Río Gallegos, pero se repuso y le presentó la propuesta, que fue aceptada de inmediato. La segunda negociación de la deuda estuvo a cargo de Amado Boudou y Hernán Lorenzino y tuvo bastante éxito, aunque varios grupos importantes se quedaron afuera.
Volviendo a las compras de la presidente, ella debería ser muy cuidadosa con sus gastos personales en el exterior, por razones políticas y no económicas. La realidad es que tiene una posición económica holgada, que le permite esos gastos y nunca criticamos eso. Solamente informamos sobre las compras en París sin emitir opinión. Es más, creemos que la presidente está en su derecho de usar los mismos zapatos que Sara Jessica Parker, Kate Moss, Cameron Diaz y, por supuesto, Carla Bruni, ya que recientemente fue ubicada entre las 20 mujeres más influyentes del mundo. Así es que puede comprarse todo el vestuario que quiera y no tiene necesidad de desmentirlo, ya que a la gente que la vota le importan poco o nada esas compras.
Fuente: El Informador
Más del 50% de enfermedades no transmisibles pueden evitarse
En los males no transmisibles esta el 80 % de la carga de enfermedades como las cardiovasculares, el cáncer y el impacto de la seguridad vial, dijo el Ministro de Salud.
El Ministro de Salud, Alberto Tejada aseguró que más del 50% de enfermedades no transmisibles crónicas pueden evitarse si la gente come mejor, regula el consumo de alcohol, evita el tabaco y hace actividad física.
Tejada Noriega destacó que en su presentación en la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas tuvo la oportunidad de expresar el compromiso del gobierno peruano respecto a las enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles vinculadas a los estilos de vida modernos.
“Estamos muy interesados en el cambio del comportamiento colectivo y esto no es solo labor de los servidores de salud, sino también de las autoridades locales y regionales con las cuales debemos trabajar de la mano, porque estos males no transmisibles deben ser enfocados con claridad», resaltó.
Agregó que en los males no transmisibles esta el 80% de la carga de enfermedades como las cardiovasculares, el cáncer y el impacto de la seguridad vial en la que se deben tratar lesiones.
Fuente: http://www.rpp.com.pe/
Renovado cruce entre la CGT y la UIA por el reparto de las ganancias de empresas
El titular de los industriales, José Ignacio de Mendiguren, aseguró que el proyecto «busca la cogestión sindical» y no la distribución de utilidades. El diputado cegetista, Héctor Recalde, aseguró que la iniciativa «cumple con un mandato de la Constitución Nacional bastante demorado».
La Unión Industrial Argentina y la CGTrenovaron hoy los cruces por el proyecto de ley que impulsa la central sindical para distribuir ganancias empresarias entre los trabajadores.
El presidente dela UIA, José Ignacio De Mendiguren, consideró que el actual contexto económico frente a una crisis internacional no es el momento oportuno para insistir con la iniciativa que fue presentada por la CGT al Congreso el año pasado.
«Me parece que en un momento como este lo que tenemos que tratar todos juntos es de traer serenidad a la economía, y no más alteración que la que ya está teniendo por factores externos», opinó.
En declaraciones radiales, el dirigente industrial ratificó su rechazo al proyecto porque «busca la cogestion sindical». «El proyecto de ley que entró al Congreso por parte dela CGTno lo comparto en lo más mínimo. Es un proyecto que más que hablar de distribución de utilidades estaba buscando la cogestión sindical, es decir la intervención de los sindicatos en la aprobación de los balances, esto me parecía que era un abuso», planteó.
Por su parte, el diputado por el Frente para la Victoria, y asesor legal de la CGT, Héctor Recalde, replicó: «Nosotros tenemos mucha serenidad, el proyecto ya tiene exactamente un año de presentado, más serenidad que esta».
Recalde remarcó que «el proyecto cumple con un mandato de la Constitución Nacional bastante demorado».
Fuente: http://www.infobae.com/
Advierten que Hugo Chávez no reacciona bien a la quimioterapia
El ex embajador de los EEUU ante la OEA así se refirió al hablar sobre la salud del caudillo bolivariano, quien ya está en Venezuela. Asegura que el gobierno chavista miente respecto a esta situación para asegurarse las elecciones presidenciales de 2012. Alertó sobre la llegada de un período de gran inestabilidad.
El ex embajador de los Estados Unidos, Roger Noriega, dijo ayer que el venezolano Hugo Chávez no evoluciona favorablemente al tratamiento contra el cáncer, por lo que alertó sobre un escenario político sin la presencia del mandatario.
Noriega aseguró que la salud del presidente de Venezuela está peor de lo que el mandatario expresa y además que fueron tres y no cuatro las sesiones de quimioterapia a las que se sometió el caudillo caribeño, de acuerdo a lo publicado por el diario El Nuevo Herald.
“Fuentes siguen señalando que Chávez está en una condición muy seria y que no está mejorando como sus doctores tenían esperanzas”, afirmó el ex funcionario. “Esto significa que deberíamos comenzar a pensar, y deberíamos prepararnos, para un mundo sin Hugo Chávez”, se animó a resaltar.
Estas afirmaciones se contraponen a los dichos de Chávez, quien en cada alocución pública que proporcionó desde que se supo que padecía cáncer indicó que reaccionaba favorablemente al tratamiento y que la enfermedad iba a ser vencida sin inconvenientes. Hasta afirmó que los doctores no encontraron más células cancerígenas desde que en junio le extrajeron un tumor del tamaño de una pelota de béisbol.
Hace pocos días, Chávez hasta llegó a admitir estar curado. “Con la quimioterapia de domingo, lunes, martes, miércoles y hoy estamos cerrando el cuarto ciclo de quimioterapia y con el favor de Dios eso será suficiente”, dijo el venezolano en una conversación telefónica transmitida por Venezolana de Televisión.
Sin embargo, Noriega considera que el partido de Hugo Chávez entiende que la única manera de ganar las presidenciales el año próximo es mostrar a un presidente en plena recuperación. “Creen que pueden ganar una elección si Hugo Chávez está en la boleta de votación; si está relativamente activo, muestra fortaleza y la gente cree que va a seguir vivo por un período razonable de tiempo”, declaró.
“Si recae, si da la impresión de que está perdiendo el control, ahí cualquier cosa puede pasar. Ellos poseen encuestas internas, que no son divulgadas a los medios, y saben que la magia de Chávez no es transferible a ninguno de sus allegados”, reveló.
Además, Noriega entiende que el mandatario bolivariano miente cuando dice que ya concluyó su cuarta sesión de quimioterapia: “Él terminó su tercera ronda de quimioterapia ayer. La ocasión en que fue a Cuba para recibir el segundo tratamiento, los doctores decidieron no hacerlo porque concluyeron que haría más mal que bien, debido a su bajo conteo de células rojas”.
De hecho, asegura que la decisión del gobierno chavista de retirar las reservas internacionales de los Estados Unidos y Europa es una muestra de que se prepara para un período de inestabilidad.
Fuente: infobae.com
El BM alerta que emergentes pueden verse arrastrados por la desaceleración mundial
Washington, 24 sep (EFE).- El presidente del Banco Mundial (BM), Robert Zoellick, insistió hoy que el peligro al que se enfrentan los países emergentes «es que la demanda de los países avanzados se reduzca» y afecte al crecimiento de las regiones que están impulsando la economía mundial.
«El problema que vemos ahora es que la caída de la confianza en los mercados avanzados pueda afectar al crecimiento de los emergentes», indicó Zoellick.
Según los datos del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) y el BM, los mercados emergentes crecerán a una tasa superior al 6 % durante los dos próximos años, mientras que los avanzados lo harán por debajo del 2 %.
«Si bien los países en desarrollo han sido los que más han contribuido al crecimiento económico mundial de los últimos tiempos, la crisis económica ha disminuido su capacidad para soportar más crisis», apuntó el comunicado final del Comité para el Desarrollo del FMI y el BM.
El presidente del BM, en la rueda de prensa final de los encuentros de ambas instituciones en Washington, aseguró que la situación económica en los países emergentes ha cambiado desde el verano.
Zoellick afirmó que los riesgos de sobrecalentamiento de las economías emergentes no han desaparecido, pero se han aligerado.
En el mismo sentido se expresó la directora gerente del FMI, Christine Lagarde, al resaltar que no hay que hacerse «ilusiones» porque el crecimiento de los mercados emergentes sea más sólido que el de las economías avanzadas.
«Estamos en esto juntos, y los países en desarrollo están claramente en riesgo si se produce la dislocación en las economías avanzadas. Resolver la crisis en los países avanzados es una gran prioridad porque nos afecta a todos», agregó Lagarde.
Como ha repetido en diversas ocasiones durante esta semana, Zoellick aconsejó que los «emergentes centren sus políticas en el crecimiento a largo plazo».
Y advirtió sobre los peligros de algunas «políticas proteccionistas y cortoplacistas que han comenzado a percibirse».
Por ello, reiteró que la mejor receta para el reequilibrio y el crecimiento a largo plazo es la «apertura de las economías».
El presidente del Banco Mundial, Robert Zoellick (d), el primer director encargado del FMI, Richard Mills (c-d), el presidente del Comité de Desarrollo Conjunto, Ahmed Al Khalifa (c-i), y la directora gerente del FMI, Christine Lagard (i), participan en una rueda de prensa en el marco de las reuniones anuales del Fondo Monetario Internacional y el Banco Mundial.
EFE
Chiche Duhalde: «Si la sociedad elige el proyecto kirchnerista que se haga responsable de lo que elige»
Lo dijo Hilda «Chiche» Duhalde, candidata a senadora por Unión Popular.
«Nosotros vamos a tratar de decir lo nuestro. Si la sociedad elige el proyecto kirchnerista que se haga responsable de lo que elige, pero que sea auténtico. Y bueno respetemos lo que la gente decide en democracia», señaló.
Fue en «Le doy mi Palabra» que se emite por Canal 26.
¿Usted es la nueva jefa de campaña de la fórmula?
No, yo colaboro.En la provincia de Buenos Aires tengo cierto reconocimiento a través de mis años de ocuparme de lo social y trato de hacer lo mío, esta semana recorriendo la segunda sección, esa es mi tarea, tratar de hablar con al gente.
¿Que recoge en el díalogo en esos lugares, porque que cree porque ganaron en lugares donde en 2009 perdieron?
Si bien ya pasó hubo muchas irregularidades en las primarias. He tenido en mis manos más de 1000 actas de escrutinio y la verdad es que era una vergüenza, pero la verdad es que nos faltaron muchos fiscales , fijese lo que pasó en Corrientes donde el 14 de agosto sacaron más del 64 % y ahora en legislativas, solo el 30 y pico. O sea hubo fiscalización y entonces tenemos que fiscales y bloetas que es los problemas que tuvimos. El tema de mayor preocupación de la gente sigue siendo la inseguridad, la gente tiene mucho miedo aun en los sectores más pobres porque tienen en claro quer salen y tienen que pagar peaje y que salen a las cuatro de la mañana y no saben si vuelven. Y después el tema de la inflación que se come los ingresos.
¿Cómo sigue la campaña de Duhalde – Das Neves?
A partir del 19 comienza la habilitación para hacer campaña y a partir del 28 la habilitación para salir en los medios. Nosotros vamos a tratar de decir lo nuestro. Si la sociedad argentina elige este proyecto kirchnerista que se haga responsable de lo que elige. Y si elige otro proyecto, que sea auténtico y bueno respetemos lo que la gente decide en democracia.
Fuente: http://www.26noticias.com.ar/