| Arming India: America Gets a Piece of the Action
To replace and update India's still largely Soviet-era military equipment, New Delhi says it will need to spend $45 billion over the next five years. As China ramps up its military spending, India's arms budget is likely to keep growing as well, not least because the two Asian goliaths share a disputed border and their relations remain tense. "As we look at India's commitment to modernizing its forces we see a wide range of opportunities," says Lee Whitney, Lockheed Martin's Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Communications. "[The C-130J] gets us off to a good beginning." But the competition is fierce. The fifth Defense Expo held this week in New Delhi attracted hundreds of exhibitors from 39 countries including Israel and France, both gaining fast on Russia in arms sales to India.
Overview: US recession fears grip financial markets
Renewed fears of a US recession gripped financial markets this week, driving down global equities, sending credit spreads to record levels and boosting short-dated government bonds. Weak service sector data and broadly disappointing corporate earnings in the US and Europe set the tone for the week's trading, with ongoing worries about the outlook for bond insurers heightening the gloomy mood. .
IN FIRING LINE: Gordon Brown speaks to journalists during his monthly ...
The Labour party's chief fundraiser was today under pressure to quit after he became embroiled in the secret donor sleaze row. Jon Mendelsohn - who was brought in by Gordon Brown to fund the general election - is alleged to have been informed of the proxy donations and told it was a long-standing arrangement. Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: "If Jon Mendelsohn - this is Gordon Brown's personal fundraiser, the man he brought in to fund the general election - actually knew about this last month, then he was party to something which was unacceptable and unlawful and I can't possibly see how this man stays in post beyond today." The latest disclosures threatened to undermine Mr Brown's attempts to limit the damage following the resignation on Monday of party general secretary Peter Watt.
Dollar - How Low Will The Fed Go?
Nevertheless, the yen may have an opportunity to gain this week, as risk aversion trends remain the primary driver of the low-yielding currency. As a result, traders should keep an eye on global stock markets, as a plummet in equities could push USDJPY back down towards 109.00. – TB Can Cable Hold Above Critical Support at 2.02? Last week we questioned whether the Bank of England would opt to cut rates in December, and indeed, they did. The BOE cut rates by 25bp to 5.50 percent for the first time in more than two years, in line with what futures markets were pricing in but against consensus estimates of economists polled by Bloomberg News. In the bank's policy statement, the MPC noted that signs had emerged that growth has started to slow, and that downside risks were mounting as "conditions in financial markets have deteriorated and a tightening in the supply of credit to household and businesses is in train." Meanwhile, the BOE judged that inflation would hold above target in the short-term, but that a slowing of demand growth would pull inflation "back to target in the medium term." The minutes of this meeting will be published on December 19, but with Cable bouncing from critical support at 2.02 following the decision, the markets have judged the BOE's statement as somewhat neutral as the MPC is not likely to continue easing monetary policy in January given inflation risks.
2007: worst year for the environment
That snow is darker than the fresh snow and lies ready and waiting to warm up quickly when next year's sunlight melt off the winter's powder. The result: many scientists believe the Arctic Ocean has reached a "tipping point" in which nothing but deep and sustained global cooling could reverse the rapid trend toward diminishing summer ice. "Everything is working in consort toward a bluer or totally blue Arctic Ocean ," said Josefino Comiso, senior research scientist for polar oceanography at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. .
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