12 Ominous Signs For World Financial Markets

Can anyone explain the very strange behavior that we are seeing in world financial markets right now?

Gold Closing In On US$1300/oz

Gold prices – both in the spot and futures market – touched a new record high in the international market on Wednesday as investors continued to seek refuge in the precious metal after

Sold! IMF 10 Tonne Gold To Bangladesh

After India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh has bought 10 tonnes of gold for $403 million from the International Monetary Fund.

Barbados In Top 50 But C’bbean Globally Uncompetitive

Only one Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country made the top 50 countries in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011”.

Top Economists: The Second Great Depresson Has Arrived

The worst nightmare forecast by economic specialists over the previous years has come true: new research by economic gurus in the United States of America has revealed a bleak scenario: the United States’ economy is in a state of depression.

IMF Warns Countries Of Debt Risks

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that many wealthy countries are amassing risky debt burdens, which could spark a market-wide panic.

US To Sell Israel Massive Military Fuel Stocks Worth $2 bn – More Than Normal

On Aug. 6, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, DSCA, informed Congress of the sale to Israel of 60 million gallons of unleaded gasoline, 284 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel and 100 million gallons of diesel fuel at an estimated cost of two billion dollars.

WHO Advisors Who Warned Of Swine Flu Epidemic That Never Was Tied To Drug Firms

A third of the experts advising the World Health Organisation about the swine flu pandemic had ties to drugs firms, it has emerged.

US Receiver Goes After Ex Stanford Workers

Ralph Janvey, the US receiver seeking to recover assets belonging to fraud-accused Allen Stanford and his companies, is now targeting the employees of the former billionaire.

Ecopetrol To Buyout BP Colombian Business

BP has agreed to sell its oil and gas exploration business in Colombia.

The Blind Leading The Blind? Who is Leading The Ministry Of Finance?

A dagger of immense proportions was driven through the heart of our Constitutional arrangements last Thursday night, when for close on 90 minutes of prime time television, Senator Darcy Boyce, and as such, an unelected member of Parliament, and Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, lead spoke to the country on matters of finance!

B’dos Farmers Shell Finally Reach Deal On Oil Spill

After 15 years, Shell oil company and Christ Church farmers angered by an aviation fuel leak on their lands have finally settled the issue of compensation.

Mottley: Why IMF Terms Secrecy?

Opposition Leader Mia Mottley wants to know why the fact that Barbados will not earn a loan from the World Bank unless it enters into an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement was hidden from the entire population until Thursday night.

Barbados Economy On Right Path

No stimulus package. No budget.

Central Bank Statistics Questioned

Information released by the Central Bank of Barbados about the country’s international business sector appears to be at odds with data collated by other sources which suggests that the sector is doing better than the Central Bank has indicated.

Haiti Pranksters Say More Stunts Targeting The French Are On The Horizon

A group of Canadians who pranked the French government expressed satisfaction with their successful Internet stunt — and vowed to deliver additional ones.

Saudi King Calls For Oil Exploration To Be Halted

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has ordered a halt to oil exploration operations to save the hydrocarbon wealth in the world’s top crude exporting nation for future generations.

Owen Baffled

Why are vital sectors such as energy, international business and sugar still in the hands of Senator Darcy Boyce?

Two Percent To Haiti Not Enough

A fake Internet website caused a stir for at least 24 hours when it purported to be a government of France website announcing that the government “is repaying the historic debt of 90 million gold francs Haiti paid to France following the former’s independence at the dawn of the 19th century”.

Abandon Ship! BP ‘accelerating’ Asset Sales (in anticipation of bankruptcy?)

British energy giant BP is speeding up the sale of up to 20 billion dollars (15.5 billion euros) of assets in a bid to boost funds after the Gulf oil spill, the Financial Times reported Friday.

The company is finalising details of the sales, including the disposal of American assets to Apache Corporation worth up to 12 billion dollars, said the paper, citing people close to the situation. Announcements are expected in the next few weeks and an unnamed senior BP figure said the company could “easily” raise 20 billion dollars from the asset sales, according to the report. This is double the amount the oil giant originally said it wanted to sell off when it announced plans to offload assets last month.

BP is seeking to build up a disaster fund of 20 billion dollars to cover the clean-up costs for the disastrous oil spill. The news came as BP said Thursday it had stopped oil flowing into the Gulf for the first time in three months and was beginning key tests hoping to stem the spill for good.

A sale to US oil and gas firm Apache would include a stake in Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil field in North America, according to reports. Apache has done smaller deals with its British rival in the past but acquiring a stake in Prudhoe Bay would be a major coup.

BP also wants to sell some or all of its 60-percent share in Pan American Energy of Argentina, valued at nine billion dollars, said the FT. A deal with Royal Dutch Shell to buy BP’s minority stake in the Mars field in the Gulf of Mexico is also on the cards, added the paper.

The Gulf oil spill, the worst environmental disaster in US history, started on April 20, with an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig which sank two days later.

It has so far cost the company some 3.5 billion dollars and compensation claims from devastated residents of the region could reach 10 times that.

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