links for 2011-08-30

(Reuters) – Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said on Tuesday he favored strong central bank accommodation for a substantial period of time as the U.S. economy looks to be moving "sideways."

Bill Gross, manager of the world’s largest bond fund for Pimco, has admitted that it was a mistake to bet so heavily against the price of US government debt.

Human rights campaigners say Chinese factories using children as young as 14 and that workers forced to do overtime

iTunes Match will let you sign up for a yearly $24.99 fee. Hopping on the bandwagon early has extra rewards too — early birds get three months (on top of their yearly sub) for free.

The bill by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would require the UN to adopt a voluntary budget model in which countries selectively fund UN agencies rather than according to a set formula. It would end funding for Palestinian refugees, limit use of U.S. funds to only purposes outlined by Congress and stop contributions to peacekeeping operations until management changes are made.

Germany is a prosperous and pleasant nation to live in; one of the best in the world. Germany manages to have lower unemployment than the US, despite all their unions and socialistic regulations for hiring and firing: laws which Harvard economist ding a lings will insist would be the ruination of the American economy. How did the Germans manage this? Michael Lewis doesn’t know; he’s too busy making turd jokes.

Residents of Vermont know their work is cut out for them as they struggle for normalcy after enduring the wrath of Irene.

Schoolchildren in Britain are less likely to learn multiple foreign languages than those in any other EU member state, an international study has revealed.

The Republican presidential candidate used the hurricane, which has killed at least 32 people and caused billions of pounds of damage, and the 5.8 earthquake, as signs of God's anger at government policies.

The Aug. 22-28 weekly average of Gallup Daily tracking includes Obama's worst three-day average approval rating thus far in his presidency: 38% approval and 55% disapproval from Aug. 25-27. Gallup suspended Daily tracking on Aug. 28 because of the hurricane conditions affecting much of the East Coast.

The Obama administration attacked Libya without a constitutional declaration of war, without congressional authorization, without meaningful consultation with Congress — and without a dollar being authorized from the House or Senate.  It was a war started by a president who turned to the United Nations for its authority and ignored the authority of the US Congress.

Wie bereiten die europäischen Großbanken sich auf den Schuldenschnitt vor? Laut einem Zeitungsbericht kritisieren eine Aufsichtsbehörde nun, dass einige Banken zu geringe Summen abgeschrieben haben. Im Fokus steht vor allem ein französisches Institut.

India's economy grew 7.7% in the three months from April to June, compared with the same period of 2010.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc may sell as many as 5 million tablet computers in the fourth quarter, making the largest Internet retailer the top competitor to Apple Inc in this fast-growing niche of the consumer PC market, Forrester Research said on Monday.

Bank of America has confirmed it is to sell around half its stake in China Construction Bank (CCB) as America's biggest lender moves to shed assets and boost its capital.

German group latest to volunteer for higher contributions, saying country could raise €100bn in two years with a 5% wealth tax

Interest rate hikes, fuel costs and austerity measures are pushing people into arrears as new figures show the house price decline continues

“If the central bank needs money, it just turns on the printing press to buy whatever it needs,” Brosens explained. “When the Fed wanted to buy assets as part of its QE programmes, it did not first have to borrow the funds to do so, as an ordinary individual or company would need to.”

So technically a central bank cannot go broke bit that does not mean the huge jump in the balance sheets at the Fed and ECB cannot cause trouble, according to Brosens who noted that inflation could be the consequence.