links for 2011-09-13

"The UK government's targeted rate of inflation rose in August, following higher prices for clothing and footwear, petrol and energy."

"The UK's pension schemes moved £117bn into the red by the end of August, according to figures from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF)."

"Yields on Italian government bonds hit their highest level since the introduction of the euro ten years ago in an auction."

"Basic rate taxpayer now needs a savings account paying 5.63% to beat inflation and tax, says ONS"

"Europe's top court has ruled that a ban by Lufthansa on pilots flying past the age of 60 is illegal, in a case brought by three flight captains."

"Overnight deposits parked at the European Central Bank once again reached a new high for the year Monday, reflecting new worries about the sovereign crisis and the end of the ECB's monthly reserve period."

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel has sought to calm nerves over a possible Greek default, saying the eurozone bloc must stick together."

"Testosterone, that most male of hormones, takes a dive after a man becomes a parent. And the more he gets involved in caring for his children — changing diapers, jiggling the boy or girl on his knee, reading “Goodnight Moon” for the umpteenth time — the lower his testosterone drops."

"The applause identified Rick Perry as the crowd favorite when he took the stage in Tampa for Monday night’s Tea Party debate, greeting his lesser rivals as “fellas.”

But two hours later, those fellas – and a gal from Minnesota – had made some serious progress toward exposing the broad-shouldered Texas governor as an empty suit."

Bank of America will cut 30,000 jobs as part of the biggest cost-saving plan undertaken by any bank since the height of the financial crisis.

The Italian government is reported to have been in talks with China's largest sovereign wealth fund about buying Italian bonds.

"The risk of contagion beyond Greece pushed sovereign credit-default swap prices to record highs across the euro region. European bank debt risk also rose to the highest ever amid speculation French lenders will be downgraded because of their holdings of Greek bonds."

"Spool is a new service aimed at addressing the problem created by the multi-device, multi-screen environment we now live in, where the content consumption experience can vary widely from platform to platform."

"None of the executives who pushed and packaged fraudulent mortgages has gone to jail. Even those who have faced civil actions, like Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo, have almost certainly still come out ahead after making large payments to settle suits."

"Americans are approaching unanimity in their views of marriages between blacks and whites, with 86% now approving of such unions. Americans' views on interracial marriage have undergone a major transformation in the past five decades. When Gallup first asked about black-white marriages in 1958, 4% approved. More Americans disapproved than approved until 1983, and approval did not exceed the majority level until 1997."