Monday, September 17, 2012

The Island Hideaway the Great Recession Forgot


Despite the economic crisis, luxury tourism is still on the rise in Mallorca.

Previewing Asia's Stock Futures


Bloomberg's Mia Saini previews Japan and Australia's stock futures.

Merkel calls for closer coordination (1:01)



Sep 17 - German Chancellor Merkel says the euro zone crisis ''must be solved largely politically,'' and calls for closer coordination. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Concrete future for world's richest African (2:38)



Sept.17 - Aliko Dangote's entrepreneurial skills have helped make him Africa's richest person, with cement plants opened or under construction across Africa - now he dreams of owning the largest cement firm on the planet. Sonia Legg reports

Snack Pack: Gold, Yen, Kraft and Treasuries


Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Alix Steel, Josh Lipton, Dominic Chu, Stephanie Ruhle and Adam Johnson update the top trading stories of the day. They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Lunch Money." (Source: Bloomberg)

Royal Dutch Shell: drilling for oil in Alaska halted



Published on Sep 17, 2012 by
Plans for the first new oil wells in Arctic waters in 20 years have been put on hold. There'll be no drilling for oil in Alaska by Royal Dutch Shell plc this year at all, after operations were postponed all because one of its containment systems failed on a routine test. So now Shell's going to drill several shallow "top holes" in readiness for resumption of a full drilling plan next summer.
It's bad news for the oil giant which has so far spent around $4.5 billion (some £2.77 billion) over four years to get hold of licenses and prepare for exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Investors may not be that happy too, which is music to the ears of Greenpeace which is campaigning to stop Shell exploiting 'the fragile Arctic'. According to Ben Ayliffe, from the environmental organisation they claimed "vindication" and called Shell's programme a "monumentally reckless gamble."
However Shell said the postponement's evidence of how carefully it is proceeding. In a statement, the company said "This exploration program remains critically important to America's energy needs, to the economy and jobs in Alaska, and to Shell"

The Sound of Istanbul - New music from Turkey | Arts.21



Published on Sep 16, 2012 by
Istanbul, where Europe meets Asia, is known as a cosmopolitan city that is pulsing with life. Now the Turkish composer Mehmet Erhan Tanman has taken the sounds of the city and transformed it into an orchestral work called "Traffic". Now it's about to debut at the Beethovenfest in Bonn. Arts.21 met the young composer and the youth orchestra that will be performing his work during rehearsals in Istanbul.

09/17/2012 LATEST BUSINESS BULLETIN



Published on Sep 17, 2012 by
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European markets at close: 17.09.2012



Published on Sep 17, 2012 by

EU Commission to limit food-based biofuels



Published on Sep 17, 2012 by
http://www.euronews.com/ In a major policy shift, the European Commission has said it wants to cap food-based biofuels to five percent.

The new limit was announced during informal talks in Cyprus on Monday between EU energy ministers.

Record high global grain prices have intensified calls from environmental groups, and NGO's like Oxfam, which argue current rules snatch away land that should be used for food.

The idea, to develop more sustainable biofuel sources would still need to be approved by MEPs and national governments.

Activists insist the current use of food-based biofuels is unsustainable:''Every day we take huge amounts of food and put it inside the tanks of our cars. We live in a world where one billion people suffer from the famine. Is this acceptable? We need a more intelligent transport system that has more fuel efficient cars, electric cars,''Marc-olivier Herman from Oxfam said.

The EU's current goal is to source 10 percent of its road transport fuel from renewable sources by 2020.

But without food based carburants doubts have been raised whether that target is now achievable.

Expat helps building the Great Baikal trail



Published on Sep 16, 2012 by
Russia's Lake Baikal is stunning ... but not the tourist hot spot you'd expect it to be.

In many way's that's a blessing, as the region's eco systems remain in tact.

But a new effort to boost tourism while respecting the environment is now underway.

Prime Times Lindsay France went on the trail to Baikal...

China's disabled athletes face discrimination



Published on Sep 13, 2012 by
London Games chairman Sebastian Coe says the Paralympics helped create a "seismic" shift in public attitude towards people with a disability.

But in countries like China, there remains a huge amount of work to do to improve the lives of the disabled.

William and Kate touch down in Solomon Islands



Published on Sep 17, 2012 by
Thousands of people lined the streets of the Solomon Islands capital Honiara to catch a glimpse of the young royals Prince William and his wife Catherine.

The couple have arrived in the Pacific as part of their tour for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.