Researchers have suspected for some time that emissions from coal-fired power plants in energy-hungry, rapidly industrializing China and India were a major environmental threat: according to the study, over the past two decades, emissions during the combustion of coal, which contains elemental mercury, have declined in North America and Europe, but “increased substantially” in East Asia and India. But exactly how airborne mercury from Asia has been entering deep ocean fish caught thousands of miles away has not been understood until now.
“Mercury researchers typically look skyward to find a mercury source from the atmosphere due to emissions from land-based combustion facilities,” USGS scientist and coauthor David Krabbenhoft said in a statement. “In this study, however, the pathway of the mercury was a little different. Instead, it appears the recent mercury enrichment of the sampled Pacific Ocean waters is caused by emissions originating from fallout near the Asian coasts. The mercury-enriched waters then enter a long-range eastward transport by large ocean circulation currents.”
In mid-depth ocean, the study showed, decomposing algae interact with mercury to form lethal methylmercury that enters the food chain, eventually contaminating tuna and other food fish.
via Mercury in Fish Predicted To Soar | Environmental Working Group.
Rekeda, who became head of structured credit in the Americas, and his team led Mizuho into a business it knew little about, securities backed by U.S. subprime mortgages, where it lost 672 billion yen ($7.1 billion), more than any bank in Asia. Most of the losses were related to defaults on collateralized debt obligations.
“Mizuho never made a penny out of subprime in the good times, they just got left holding the can in the bad,” says David Threadgold, an analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton Asia Ltd. in Tokyo who has an “underperform” rating on the stock. “They made a very poor decision to launch into the packaging of subprime products at the end of 2006.”
via Mizuho $7 Billion Loss Turned on Toxic Aardvark Made in America – Bloomberg.com.
The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.
via FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products.
Idola Infotech, LLC. (http://www.idolainfotech.com), a leading provider of risk and compliance services to global financial institutions, announced today that Salvatore Cangialosi of The Josefa Group will serve as a consultant to Idola focused on strategy and business development initiatives. In this new role, Cangialosi is tasked with developing the vision and business strategy to further Idola’s industry leadership position and establish a framework for significant ongoing growth. He brings extensive experience in identifying and developing new markets through the application of leading-edge solutions to major business problems and opportunities.
“We enthusiastically welcome Salvatore Cangialosi to our team as Senior Strategic Advisor,” said Mahesh Viswanathan, founder and Managing Partner of Idola Infotech. “Sal has proven himself as a visionary in anticipating market needs, developing cutting-edge products and services that defined industry standards. We believe that in this new role he will be instrumental in helping Idola develop strategic relationships, identify new opportunities and further establish its position as a leader in providing products and services to the financial sector.”
via Idola Infotech Appoints Salvatore Cangialosi of The Josefa Group as Senior Strategic… | Reuters .
Chrysler, one of the three pillars of the American auto industry, filed for bankruptcy this afternoon after last-minute negotiations between the government and the automaker’s creditors broke down yesterday. U.S. officials had offered Chrysler’s secured lenders $2.25 billion in cash if they would agree to writedown the $6.9 billion in secured debt that the company owed. But a small group of hedge funds refused the 11th-hour deal.
via Chrysler to File for Bankruptcy – washingtonpost.com.
Wolfram Alpha is the brainchild of British-born physicist Stephen Wolfram.
The free program aims to answer questions directly, rather than display web pages in response to a query like a search engine.
The “computational knowledge engine”, as the technology is known, will be available to the public from the middle of May this year.
“Our goal is to make expert knowledge accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime,” said Dr Wolfram at the demonstration at Harvard Universitys Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
The tool computes many of the answers “on the fly” by grabbing raw data from public and licensed databases, along with live feeds such as share prices and weather information.
People can use the system to look up simple facts – such as the height of Mount Everest – or crunch several data sets together to produce new results, such as a countrys GDP.
via BBC NEWS | Technology | Web tool as important as Google.
If you have read this hijack, check this new one:
A speeding electric suburban commuter train, suspected to have been “hijacked” by unidentified persons, rammed a goods train early this morning, killing four persons, including two of the suspected “hijackers”, and leaving 11 others injured, five in serious condition.
The crash, which took place at Vyasarpadi Jeeva station shortly before 5 am, sounded alarm bells across the railway and security establishments, fuelling rumours aplenty — the handiwork of LTTE sympathisers, a terror strike or simply an act of sabotage. Railway officials pointed out that had the incident taken place during rush hour, the casualty figures could have been very high.
via Four killed in mystery train ‘hijack’ at Chennai station.
The major banks that loaned Chrysler LLC about $7 billion have agreed to significantly reduce that debt, according to the Treasury Department, a move that could save the struggling automaker from having to file for bankruptcy later this week.
“The agreement from Chryslers principal banks is an exceptional accomplishment in line with the Presidents firm commitment that all stakeholders sacrifice to make this deal succeed,” said an administration official Tuesday.
The company still needs to win a rank-and-file ratification vote Wednesday of a tentative labor deal reached with leadership of the United Auto Workers union late Sunday, and wrap up an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat before the Thursday deadline set out by the federal government.
via Chrysler debt deal reached, bankruptcy may now be avoided – Apr. 28, 2009 .
Scientists at GE’s Global Research Center in upstate New York announced a breakthrough in the pursuit of holographic data storage today. They have successfully demonstrated technology that can put 500 gigabytes onto a single DVD-sized disc.
via GE unveils holographic disc breakthrough | GE Reports .
Slush money stashed away in secret Swiss bank accounts and other tax havens across the world has come into sharp focus again, with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Mr L.K. Advani, underlining the need to end banking secrecy in these countries.
India should become an active player in the global crusade against banking secrecy and tax havens, he said, reiterating that a BJP-led government would seek to bring back the country’s wealth from foreign shores and use it for developmental projects.
“The dimensions of the loot may be denied but not the fact of the loot,” he told mediapersons here on Friday.
He also unveiled the interim report of the party’s task force that, based on studies conducted abroad, estimated the Indian wealth in Swiss bank accounts and other tax havens to be between $500 billion or about Rs 25 lakh crore to $1.4 trillion or Rs 70 lakh crore.
The credibility of the estimate is reinforced by the $11.5 trillion (Rs 575 lakh crore) officially given by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), at the G-20 Summit in London earlier this month, as the amount of global wealth parked in various tax havens, the report said.
via The Hindu Business Line : ‘Rs 70 lakh cr Indian money in Swiss banks, other havens’ .