The British private equity firm Terra Firma is considering asking investors to invest up to an additional £120 million ($191 million) in EMI, the troubled record label it owns, to avoid defaulting over the next year, a person briefed on the matter told DealBook on Wednesday.

Read more:
Terra Firma Considers Investing More in EMI

Reuters is quoting President Obama: “One of the challenges that we’ve got to address internationally is currency rates and how they match up to make sure that our goods are not artificially inflated in price and their goods are artificially deflated in price. That puts us at a huge competitive disadvantage.” Pimco’s Paul McCulley listed this as one of the key issues for 2010: The first issue is the peg between the Chinese yuan and the U.S

Here is the original post:
Obama Vows to Address Yuan Exchange Rate Issue

Here’s a curious case of rebranding. Comcast is probably the best known cable company in the country, but that isn’t always the best thing apparently. That must explain why the megacorp is changing its name to Xfinity, at least for its cable, high-speed Internet and phone services and products

See the article here:
Comcast changing its name to Xfinity for cable, Internet, phone services

ZDNet.com.au has obtained permission to publish Justice Dennis Cowdroy’s summary — read this morning in court — to help understand the judgement of the iiNet versus Australian Federation against Copyright Theft court case. The studios first brought iiNet into the Federal Court back in November 2008 , arguing that the ISP infringed copyright by failing to take reasonable steps — including enforcing its own terms and conditions — to prevent customers copying films and TV shows over its network. However, in a packed courtroom in Sydney today, Justice Cowdroy said he found that iiNet did not authorise the infringement of the studios’ copyright

Read the original here:
Document: Judge’s summary of iiNet trial

Now that the bottled-up, rumour-fed hyperbole has died off, and now that the naysayers have had their, well, naysay — only now can the real contemplation of Apple’s iPad begin. And while the device is certain to shake up a broad range of online industries, one of its biggest lessons may well be for the world’s telecommunications carriers

Excerpt from:
iPad teaches telcos to walk again

Electronic throttle systems are under review by U.S. safety officials as a possible cause of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles, as alleged in at least seven lawsuits

Here is the original:
Toyota’s Electronics Said to Be a Focus of U.S. Recall Probe

The good news in the high-yield credit markets is that default rates could fall by as much as half of 2009′s near-record levels, Edward I. Altman, the debt specialist, said. The bad news is that 2011 could prove the start of another down cycle.

More:
Defaults Could Fall by Half This Year, Altman Says

3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) will host its 20th Annual Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., from March 22 – 24, 2010. Still celebrating its 30th anniversary, the USHCC offers …

See original here:
Immigrants In USA Blog: United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce …

In an announcement yesterday, the Victorian Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor has called for a full review of smart meter consumer regulations following new electricity pricing structures and negative reaction. Batchelor also announced that he would temporarily stop charges for using the devices, which was introduced in September 2009, if the need arose. “I’m prepared to consider all options including, if necessary, imposing a moratorium on new tariffs until the regulatory investigation is complete,” said the minister.

Read the original:
Vic smart meters under review

Justice Cowdroy today handed iiNet a sound victory in the Australian ISP’s long-running battle against a coalition of film and television studios, finding that iiNet did not authorise copyright infringement carried out by its customers.

See more here:
Why the court ruled for iiNet

Caracas, February 3, 2010 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Yesterday, Venezuela celebrated eleven years since President Hugo Chavez was first elected in 1998 on the back of a wave of popular rebellion against neo-liberalism in the Latin American country, signifying for many the beginning of what is referred to as the “Bolivarian Revolution”, a radical social process named after Latin American independence hero, Simón Bolivar. By Kiraz Janicke – Venezuelanalysis.com read more

Read the original:
[news] Venezuela Celebrates 11 Years of “Bolivarian Revolution” & Further Cabinet Changes Announced

Promoted by Steven- It's really not the the money in politics that really irritates but the use to which it is put. An email leak has California GOP Candidate Steve Poizner in an uproar. Quote: An e-mail in which an adviser to candidate Meg Whitman threatened to spend $40 million or more to ruin her fellow Republican Steve Poizner's reputation provided a rare glimpse this week at the tough tactics in the high-stakes race for California governor.

Link:
40 Million to Destroy Someone.

The Premier Online Trading Destination for Commodity and Futures Traders. We provide REAL TIME Commentary, Research, Trades and Info! From Index Futures to Grain Futures and Energy Futures to the Softs, Interest Rate Futures, …

Read more:
InsideTheMarket.com | Futures & Commodity Market Trading Blog …

Australian ISP iiNet was today announced as the victor in its long-running defence against a lawsuit by major film and TV studios represented by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT). iiNet chief Michael Malone (Credit: iiNet) Justice Cowdroy announced the verdict to a packed courtroom in Sydney today

More:
iiNet wins copyright court case

From Jon Prior at HousingWire: Mortgage Delinquencies Pass 10%: LPS Home-loan delinquency rates in the US reached 10% in December, up from the record-high 9.97% in November, according to Lender Processing Services … which provides data on mortgage performance. Accounting for foreclosures in the pipeline, the total non-current rate stands at 13.3% ….

The rest is here:
LPS: Mortgage Delinquencies Reach 10%

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has stood by his communications minister despite an audit office report critical of the way the government handled a tender process for its initial broadband network. The failed process cost the government and proponents more than $30 million, including $17 million for the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

See the original post here:
Rudd backs Conroy’s NBN failure

Just about everybody realizes that the Stimulus did did not stimulate our economy. In fact, it was probably quite counter-productive, since the borrowed debt and newly printed Dollar Bills have severely weakened the Dollar in comparison to other currencies like the Euro, Yen and Pound Sterling

More here:
Fix The Balance Sheet, Fix Our Economy

Some interesting, volatile trading action today. Day traders who observed our daily webinar saw some good trade setups in live mode like the chart shown below (red arrows = suggested sell, blue arrows = suggested buy). …

The rest is here:
Futures Trading Levels & Economic Calendar for February 4th, 2010 …

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Guillermo Becerra, is the CFO of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago.  I asked him how I could help him, and the Red Cross, during what must be an incredibly busy  time post-Haiti earthquake.

See the original post here:
Help The The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago Help Haiti

So many of you are no longer working for the Big 4 or next tier firms.  Those of you who had a chance to stay long enough – not as common as in the past and more often not your choice these days – may be thinking about setting up …

Original post:
Guest Post From Greg George: Thinking Of Striking Out On Your Own? Be Careful!

Dear Madame: Thank you for your recent submission to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).  We appreciate your taking the time to contact us.  This automated response confirms that the PCAOB has received your communication. The PCAOB’s mission is to oversee the auditors of public companies in order to protect the interests …

View original post here:
Do You Have Something To Tell The PCAOB?

Update: David Hoffman’s chief opponent as the Democratic candidate for US Senate from Illinois , Alexi Giannoulias, now has some serious banking issues. From Politico: Here’s a story that Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (D) didn’t want coming out less than a week before next Tuesday’s primary. The Crain’s piece reports that Giannoulias’s …

Originally posted here:
Update-Bring A Man of Integrity To U.S. Senate: David Hoffman for Illinois

Protiviti is currently soliciting feedback for its new Sarbanes-Oxley Insight Survey. The results of this survey promise to provide valuable and important insight into the current state of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance for all types of organizations. We should also learn more about the related costs and how to achieve a desired state …

View original post here:
Sarbanes-Oxley Insights: An Interview With Bob Hirth of Protiviti

It may have been the first time you had ever heard of AIG.  As big as it is, it wasn’t really a household name outside of the financial services world.  And certainly, big as it is, the average businessperson probably could not describe everything they did and why.

See the rest here:
The Great American Financial Sandwich: AIG, PwC, and Goldman Sachs

For 30 years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other national lobbying organizations have made a lot of Americans hate business because they have been the primary reason annual immigration numbers have quadrupled and illegal immigration …

Continue reading here:
NO MORE ILLEGAL ALIEN ENTRY and NO AMNESTY! at Desert Conservative