All Entries Tagged With: "news"
Labor Unrest Hits Honda Production In China
A wave of strikes in different parts of China continued to intensify on Friday, threatening to affect industrial production of this booming economy. Hundreds of workers of a Honda lock factory staged an unusual street demonstration in Zhongshan, in Guangdong province. Production at Honda’s two car plants in China had to be halted for two days this week owing to a shortage of parts supplies.
However, Honda Motor put up a brave face on Saturday claiming that all Chinese car plants of the company were now operating normally and expected to do so through the weekend. Talks with workers at the striking factory were on, said Takayuki Fujii, a spokesperson of the car manufacturer. He didn’t offer any comment on the outlook of production next week. The available inventory of locks can reportedly feed production only till Saturday.
DIY Gene Testing Kits Under FDA Scanner
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come down upon companies making personal gene testing kits sold directly to consumers. In a letter to five companies, FDA contended that these kits are medical devices that need to be ratified by regulators before they can be sold.
Knome Inc., deCODE Genetics, 23andMe, Navigenics and Illumina Inc. are currently marketing products or equipment in this category. Basically, the products use DNA samples to predict inheritable diseases. The FDA will hear the claims of the companies on benefits of the devices before deciding on their suitability for use.
Dissidents Rally Behind Bill To End Cuba Travel Ban
Seventy-four Cuban dissidents and activists have urged the US Congress to pass bill lifting travel ban on the U.S. citizens to Cuba. At present, Americans need special permission to travel to Cuba and spend money there.
In an open letter addressed to the U.S. Congress, the activists supported a legislation brought by Collin Peterson, Minnesota Congressman. Yoani Sanchez, Cuba’s best known blogger, Elizardo Sanchez, the head of the country’s leading human rights group and Guillermo Farinas, a journalist-activist of international fame are signatories to the letter.
Lohan Violates Bail Terms Again
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel enhanced actress Lindsay Lohan’s bail to $200,000 after her alcohol monitoring anklet recorded a violation. The decision to double the bail amount was taken following a two-hour closed-door proceeding involving a prosecutor and Lohan’s attorney.
Shiara Davila-Morales, spokeswoman of District Attorney confirmed the ‘alcohol-related violation.’ Authorities declined to divulge any further detail. A source close to the actress revealed that the violation relates to MTV Movie Awards ceremony on Sunday. She is reported to have attended an after-show party of the award ceremony.
Fraud Slur On Investment Adviser Gets Murkier
A federal grand jury in New York on Thursday indicted Kenneth Ira Starr, the New York investment adviser of embezzling at least $59 million from 11 clients. An earlier criminal complaint by federal prosecutors on May 27 charged him of stealing at least $30 million from seven victims. Clients of Starr included actors Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone.
The new indictment charges him with 20 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and securities fraud. If charges are prove, he may be sentenced 20 years in prison. Starr, 66, was arrested on May 27 and has since been held in jail.
Minnesota Nurses On Warpath
Nurses across hospitals in Minnesota are striking work on Thursday protesting proposed pension cuts and cut in staffing levels. A simultaneous action planned in California was blocked by a San Francisco judge. The National Nurses United Union is spearheading the nurses’ cause and many allege that it is an attempt by the newly formed union to hog the limelight.
More than 12,000 Minnesota nurses are participating in the strike, affecting 14 hospitals in the Twin City. Two large hospitals are not affected. Despite the magnitude, the impact is likely to be minimal as the striking nurses have been substituted by 2,800 nurses recruited from different states of the country. In addition, hospitals have taken steps such as postponing elective surgeries and reducing the number of patients to cope.
Google Wants E.U., U.S. To Pressurize China
Google Inc. urged the European Union and U.S. governments to pressurize China on Internet restrictions. Censorship violates the principles of human rights and is also a means to impose disadvantages on multinational companies in the markets, David Drummond, Chief Legal Officer of Google told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.
Google recently had to shunt its Chinese site to Hong Kong to avoid the country’s strict censorship rules. The Chinese government decried the move, which also took a toll on the Mountain View company’s share in the Chinese Internet market. Google threatened to discontinue China operation after it was subject of cyber attacks from the country in January. Google alleges the attacks were an attempt to gain access to personal data of human rights activists, who used its e-mail service, Gmail.
Ban On Deepwater Drilling Temporary: Salazar
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Wednesday that the ban imposed by the Obama administration on deepwater drilling in the wake of one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history is temporary. Salazar said this to allay concerns raised by lawmakers and industry experts that the ban would harm the economy and result in job loss.
At the same time Salazar informed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that safety must be ensured before the activities are allowed to resume. The six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling is necessary to put in place new safeguards and standards in environmental protections, so that the oil spills like the one in the Gulf of Mexico recently don’t recur, he said while defending the ban.
Fed Officials Strike Conflicting Chords on Rates
The U.S. economy is emerging out of recession slowly but steadily, said Thomas Hoenig, President of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in his keynote address at the Kansas City Fed’s 2010 Regional Symposium on “Farming, Finance and the Global Marketplace” on Tuesday. Financial institutions are showing signs of stabilization, even though they are still not out of the problems yet, he said.
Improvement in consumption, manufacturing and housing are definite signs of recovery, he explained, while advocating the need the step away from the current highly accommodative interest rate regimen. Federal Funds target rate currently hover in the range of 0 to 0.25 percent.
Airline Industry Laments Germany’s Air Travel tax
The airline industry came down heavily on Germany’s announcement of a new ‘ecological air travel levy’, a new air travel tax. The move is as an attempt to grab cash by a “cash-strapped government” in Berlin in the garb of environment, said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA DG and CEO at the concluding day of IATA’s annual meeting on Tuesday.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany shocked the industry by announcing the new tax plans on Monday. The government hopes to mop up 1 billion euros through the new tax, which is a part of various budgetary measures amounting to 80 billion euros.
