Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke holds a press conference on the state of the US economy. Follow it here live 2.10pm ET: You can watch Ben Bernanke in his full glory live via this video stream helpfully provided by the Federal Reserve. 2.01pm ET: And this just in from the Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached table and charts summarizing the economic projections made by Federal Reserve Board members and Federal Reserve Bank presidents for the June 21-22 meeting of the Committee. Everyone likes large PDF files of charts, right. Well here they are . 1.50pm ET: Just before the Bernanke press conference kicks off, the Federal Open Markets Committee has issued its latest decision on monetary policy – and the news is (as expected) no change in interest rates. The devil is in the detail, as always. In its accompanying statement the FOMC said: Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April indicates that the economic recovery is continuing at a moderate pace, though somewhat more slowly than the Committee had expected. Also, recent labor market indicators have been weaker than anticipated. The slower pace of the recovery reflects in part factors that are likely to be temporary, including the damping effect of higher food and energy prices on consumer purchasing power and spending as well as supply chain disruptions associated with the tragic events in Japan. Household spending and business investment in equipment and software continue to expand. However, investment in nonresidential structures is still weak, and the housing sector continues to be depressed. Inflation has picked up in recent months, mainly reflecting higher prices for some commodities and imported goods, as well as the recent supply chain disruptions. However, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable. Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The unemployment rate remains elevated; however, the Committee expects the pace of recovery to pick up over coming quarters and the unemployment rate to resume its gradual decline toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Inflation has moved up recently, but the Committee anticipates that inflation will subside to levels at or below those consistent with the Committee’s dual mandate as the effects of past energy and other commodity price increases dissipate. However, the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflation expectations. To promote the ongoing economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 per cent. The Committee continues to anticipate that economic conditions – including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run – are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period. The Committee will complete its purchases of $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of this month and will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate. The Committee will monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will act as needed to best foster maximum employment and price stability. Now then, what does all that mean in English? Let’s discuss that. For only the second time, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will take the microphone for an open press conference today at 2.15pm ET – at a moment when fears that the US economy is sliding back into recession, thanks to anaemic growth, lacklustre job creation and the lasting effects of the financial market and housing meltdown going back three years. The climate for the US economy has certainly got worse since Bernanke debut press conference – and this afternoon appearance before the media should see more probing questions about how the Federal reserve intends to handle monetary policy going forward. Join us here as we watch Bernanke in action in Washington DC – and feel free to leave your comments below. Ben Bernanke US economy US economic growth and recession US Interest rates Economics United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke holds a press conference on the state of the US economy. Follow it here live 2.10pm ET: You can watch Ben Bernanke in his full glory live via this video stream helpfully provided by the Federal Reserve. 2.01pm ET: And this just in from the Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached table and charts summarizing the economic projections made by Federal Reserve Board members and Federal Reserve Bank presidents for the June 21-22 meeting of the Committee. Everyone likes large PDF files of charts, right. Well here they are . 1.50pm ET: Just before the Bernanke press conference kicks off, the Federal Open Markets Committee has issued its latest decision on monetary policy – and the news is (as expected) no change in interest rates. The devil is in the detail, as always. In its accompanying statement the FOMC said: Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April indicates that the economic recovery is continuing at a moderate pace, though somewhat more slowly than the Committee had expected. Also, recent labor market indicators have been weaker than anticipated. The slower pace of the recovery reflects in part factors that are likely to be temporary, including the damping effect of higher food and energy prices on consumer purchasing power and spending as well as supply chain disruptions associated with the tragic events in Japan. Household spending and business investment in equipment and software continue to expand. However, investment in nonresidential structures is still weak, and the housing sector continues to be depressed. Inflation has picked up in recent months, mainly reflecting higher prices for some commodities and imported goods, as well as the recent supply chain disruptions. However, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable. Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The unemployment rate remains elevated; however, the Committee expects the pace of recovery to pick up over coming quarters and the unemployment rate to resume its gradual decline toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Inflation has moved up recently, but the Committee anticipates that inflation will subside to levels at or below those consistent with the Committee’s dual mandate as the effects of past energy and other commodity price increases dissipate. However, the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflation expectations. To promote the ongoing economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 per cent. The Committee continues to anticipate that economic conditions – including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run – are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period. The Committee will complete its purchases of $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of this month and will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate. The Committee will monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will act as needed to best foster maximum employment and price stability. Now then, what does all that mean in English? Let’s discuss that. For only the second time, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will take the microphone for an open press conference today at 2.15pm ET – at a moment when fears that the US economy is sliding back into recession, thanks to anaemic growth, lacklustre job creation and the lasting effects of the financial market and housing meltdown going back three years. The climate for the US economy has certainly got worse since Bernanke debut press conference – and this afternoon appearance before the media should see more probing questions about how the Federal reserve intends to handle monetary policy going forward. Join us here as we watch Bernanke in action in Washington DC – and feel free to leave your comments below. Ben Bernanke US economy US economic growth and recession US Interest rates Economics United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
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Police give chase to boy in pyjamas who reached 50mph in car taken from his mother’s house A barefoot seven-year-old boy wearing pyjamas hit speeds of 50mph while driving a car for 20 miles before Michigan police eventually forced him to stop. The boy was stopped in a 55mph zone in Caseville Township only after two police cars gave chase and forced him to slow down. He had set off from his mother’s house in the Pontiac Sunfire with the intention of driving to his father’s house 15 miles away. “He was crying and just kept saying he wanted to go to his dad’s,” said the Caseville police chief, Jamie Learman. Police began looking for the car at 10.15am on Monday after receiving a call from someone who had spotted an underage driver. The boy was staying with his mother in Huron County’s Sheridan Township, 110 miles north of Detroit. She had worked a night shift and was unaware her son and the car were gone. The boy had hoped to drive to his father’s home in Filion, also in northern Michigan. Police pulled him over about 15 miles to the west. Learman told the Detroit Free Press he feared the boy would crash as the car veered to the right on a rural road and skidded wildly. “When that happened, he seemed to be increasing his speeds,” Learman said. He sped ahead and tried to box in the car with the help of a Huron County sheriff’s deputy, who was behind in another vehicle. “I slowed down, he slowed down and eventually stopped,” Learman said. Huron County sheriff, Kelly Hanson, said the prosecutor’s office and child welfare officials were reviewing the matter. The prosecutor “is going to want to know things like … where did he learn how to drive?” Hanson said. “I’m just glad he didn’t get hurt, and no one else got hurt,” Learman said. “I can just imagine the stop signs and other things he didn’t stop for. I’m just assuming a seven-year-old didn’t follow the traffic laws.” Michigan United States guardian.co.uk
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Dmitry Medvedev’s support for democracy rings hollow as his justice ministry refuses to register People’s Freedom party for this year’s polls President Dmitry Medvedev’s attempts to portray Russia as a flourishing democracy were dealt another blow when a liberal opposition party was barred from taking part in forthcoming elections. Medvedev has promised to increase political competition but the justice ministry announced in a statement that it was refusing to register the People’s Freedom party (PFP), a coalition whose leaders include the former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, and activist Boris Nemtsov. The ministry said that the party could not be registered because some listed members were under-age, some were “dead souls” – already deceased at the time of the party’s founding conference in December – and some did not live at the addresses provided in documents filed by the party. It also identified other alleged violations. Kasyanov accused the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, of engineering the refusal because the PFP posed “serious risks” for him. “It’s clear that Putin has taken the decision not to allow our party to take part in the elections,” Kasyanov said, adding that as a result the parliamentary poll this December “cannot be considered fair”. Vladimir Ryzhkov, another leader of the party, said that launching an appeal would be pointless. “To apply to the courts now would mean going in a vicious circle and like a sheep running again and again into the same gate,” he said. The polls are expectedto be a pallid affair. Last month, Putin created the All-Russia People’s Front to boost the flagging fortunes of his United Russia party, which dominates the duma and should preserve a large swath of seats. Also last month, the billionaire metals tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov agreed to head Right Cause, a small party that appears to support Medvedev’s modernising agenda. The Communist party, the misleadingly named Liberal Democratic party headed by ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovksy, and the Fair Russia party will also compete as nominal opponents to United Russia. Critics say the Kremlin has consistently quelled sharply oppositionist parties in recent years by refusing registration and imposing other legal obstacles to participation in elections. In April, the European court of human rights ruled that the dissolution of Ryzhkov’s Republican party in 2007 was unjustified. Russia Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin Tom Parfitt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Afghanistan withdrawal: Obama warned over ‘snatching defeat from jaws of victory’
June 22, 2011 No Comment
US military fears cutting troop numbers in Afghanistan too quickly could jeopardise entire mission Unless Barack Obama has a sudden change of heart, his address to the nation will privately disappoint many of the senior commanders in Isaf – the International Security and Assistance Force – and provide them with immediate logistical problems. The military had been expecting an initial withdrawal of between 3,000 and 5,000 troops. That can be achieved relatively easily by reducing the number of back-up staff in Afghanistan. The ratio of fighters to support personnel is out of kilter at the moment, so this would help to rationalise the “teeth to tail” numbers. A further 5,000 soldiers out by the end of the year is more of a problem. In military circles this target is described as “challenging”. That means it is going to be a real headache, potentially disrupting plans for this summer’s fighting season, and the strategy for the autumn. Speaking ahead of the speech, Professor Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, warned the US needed to keep “as many combat units intact for as long as possible” or risk “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory”. But the likelihood now is that the US will have to start withdrawing one of its brigades in the autumn, to meet the first end of year deadline, and then synchronise the withdrawal of others through 2012 to get all 33,000 surge troops out of Afghanistan within the White House timetable. There will not be a second fighting season at full strength, which is what commanders wanted. All talk of a “conditions-based withdrawal”, the phrase used by Downing Street and the White House to provide reassurance to the generals, appears to have been abandoned. The conditions driving this process now are political ones. In early 2013, the US will still have more
Continue reading …The non-partisan fact-checkers at Politifact have rated his assertion that Fox News viewers are the most consistently misinformed viewers false , Jon Stewart acknowledged on the Daily Show last night. Some studies have shown Fox viewers to be the most misinformed but others have rated viewers of some specific Fox shows…
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Airline finally ends bitter conflict with Unite union that resulted in 22 days of strikes and cost it £150m British Airways and the Unite trade union have ended one of the most rancorous industrial disputes in recent decades after cabin crew at the airline accepted a peace deal. Following 22 days of walkouts and a £150m hit to BA’s balance sheet, both sides have declared an end to nearly two years of hostilities. The agreement includes the return of staff travel perks for the thousands of crew who took part in strikes last year, but not the reversal of staff cuts that triggered the initial dispute in 2009. More than 6,500 crew backed the deal, representing a 92% majority on a 72% turnout. Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, said: “Thankfully we have reached an honourable agreement with BA. The overwhelming acceptance of this deal by cabin crew means that both parties can now move forward together on securing a bright future for the airline.” BA said: “The skills and professionalism of British Airways cabin crew are second to none, and we are delighted this dispute is behind us.” The travel plans of hundreds of thousands of BA passengers were disrupted by the dispute, while dozens of crew were disciplined by the airline, including the sacking of senior figures at the main Unite cabin crew branch, Bassa. As part of the agreement, crew disciplined during the dispute can refer their cases to binding arbitration by Acas, the conciliation service. McCluskey said: “I hope it sends a message to employers everywhere that working with your workforce is the only way to secure productive change.” Hopes of a peace deal rose when, after a torrid 2010, there was a change of leadership at Unite and BA, with McCluskey replacing Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson, while at BA chief executive Willie Walsh, who took the top job at BA’s parent International Airlines Group, was replaced by Keith Williams. Williams admitted this month that the dispute had damaged the BA brand, having become front-page news last year as the likes of Gordon Brown joined attempts to end the stand-off. “One of the things we need to do is rebuild the brand image, which inevitably suffers during a protracted dispute,” he said. BA is preparing to launch a marketing push ahead of the Olympics, where it is a headline sponsor, emphasising a multibillion-pound investment programme that includes 12 Airbus A380 superjumbos. BA added: “We have made permanent structural savings to our business, which is now ready to invest £5.5bn over the next five years for the benefit of our customers.” British Airways Airline industry Travel & leisure Willie Walsh Unite Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk
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Culture secretary set to announce approval for deal after receiving Ofcom’s report • David Cameron pays visit to Murdoch HQ The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is expected to give the final go-ahead to News Corporation’s proposed takeover of BSkyB early next week, after receiving a report on the deal from media regulator Ofcom on Wednesday. Hunt has been waiting to receive final reports on the regulatory issues relating to News Corp’s bid to buy the 60.9% of BSkyB it does not already own from Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading. Hunt is expected to announce the deal will go through next week, although it is understood he is to put the decision out to a further seven-day consultation. He has previously indicated he is minded to approve the merger on condition that News Corporation agrees to spin off Sky News and restrict its shareholding in the channel to 39.1%. Although Ofcom has delivered its report to Hunt, the culture secretary is currently in Brazil with the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, as part of an official UK government visit. Hunt gave the deal a provisional green light in March and had been expected to announce his final decision by the end of April after putting it out to consultation. The delay in publishing a final approval for the takeover is due to make negotiations more intense on points of detail of the Sky News spin-off agreement between News Corp and Ofcom and the OFT, which have both been advising Hunt. Regulatory sources say they want to structure the legal agreement “so it cannot be got around” – an attempt to head off a perception that Rupert Murdoch has been successfully able to work around previous legal agreements he has signed designed to secure the editor’s independence at the point when the Times was acquired in 1981 and when the Wall Street Journal was bought in 2007. In both cases the agreements were designed to prevent the editor of both newspapers from easily being removed, but in practice editors at each title have come and gone largely at the behest of the owner. The long delay has frustrated Murdoch’s News Corp, which is keen to conclude the transaction at a time when BSkyB’s share price has been rising due to its strong financial performance. News Corp’s original proposal was 700p a share a year ago, but Sky’s share price was 830.5p on Wednesday. A final bid is thought likely to succeed at around 875p – costing News Corp about £1.8bn more than the original £7.5bn proposal. A string of media organisations, including the parent company of the Guardian, have opposed the proposed Murdoch merger, arguing it would stifle media plurality by bringing together the largest newspaper group, Sun and Times owner News International with a 37% share of all copies sold in the UK, and the largest broadcaster, BSkyB. Last year the fast-growing Sky had a turnover of £5.9bn, taking it comfortably ahead of the BBC. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . BSkyB Television industry News Corporation Ofcom Rupert Murdoch Jeremy Hunt Dan Sabbagh Jason Deans guardian.co.uk
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Essex 19-year-old charged with five offences after arrest linked to cyber attacks by LulzSec group A British teenager has been charged with five offences of computer hacking. Ryan Cleary, 19, was charged with offences, including a cyber attack on Monday on Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). Cleary was arrested on Monday evening at his family’s home in Wickford, Essex. His arrest was linked to a series of cyber attacks by a group called LulzSec, which investigators believe had targeted websites including ones belonging to the US government and the electronics giant Sony. Cleary was charged over cyber attacks on targets including the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the British Phonographic Industry as well as on Soca. The investigation into whether he is involved in any other attacks is continuing. The Metropolitan police said: “A 19-year-old man has this afternoon been charged with offences under the Criminal Law Act and Computer Misuse Act by officers from the Metropolitan police service’s police central e-crime unit (PCeU).” Scotland Yard cyber crime detectives spent Tuesday and Wednesday questioning Cleary, 19, over the attacks carried out by the LulzSec group, which mostly targeted websites belonging to institutions and companies in the US. Computer equipment seized from his home was examined to see if it contained evidence linking him to the attacks. Cleary will appear at City of Westminster magistrates court on Thursday morning. The events leading to the arrest of Cleary involved an investigation by British police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI’s involvement, plus the nature of the targets, raised the prospect that Washington may seek the teenager’s extradition to the US. LulzSec Hacking Internet Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk
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Press face curbs on frontline reporting, internet links and translators, as insurgents go on alert for Gaddafi spies Rebel authorities in the besieged Libyan city of Misrata have introduced tough restrictions on foreign media, banning travel to the frontline, cutting internet access and ordering journalists to work only with officially approved translators. Insurgent leaders had previously encouraged journalists to move and speak freely throughout the city and frontlines. Frontline units said they were under instructions not to allow journalists access because of suspicions that some would be working for other interests. “We are afraid of spies from Gaddafi,” said Mohammed Durat, head of the Misrata media centre and a member of
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