The U.S. Defense Department is preparing to cut at least $350 billion from its previously projected spending through the next decade. Additional Pentagon cuts of up to $600 billion would kick in absent congressional passage by yearâs end of at least $1.2 trillion more in deficit reduction over the same period.
Last week, General David Petraeus, while retiring from the Army to become CIA director, warned against sacrificing U.S. military capabilities to ease the budget woes. How will the savings, if implemented, affect the level of national security? On the tenth anniversary of September 11 attacks how safe do you feel?
At the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington DC from September 6 to 8 top executives from leading Pentagon suppliers and other experts in the sector will be interviewed by Reuters reporters on the expected cuts and more topics from cybersecurity to big-ticket arms programs such as the $382 billion-plus F-35 fighter aircraft, the Pentagons costliest purchase.
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* Follow hefty coffee sector fines in 2010 and 2009HAMBURG, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Germany’s federal competition
agency said on Wednesday it had fined two coffee roasters and
two of their executives a total of about 9 million euros for
setting prices for cappuccino coffee.This is the latest of a series of anti-competition fines
imposed by the agency on the coffee industry and follows fines
totalling 159.9 million euros imposed on a large number of
German roasters in December 2009 and 30 million euros on others
in June 2010.The latest fines were imposed on Kraft Foods Deutschland, a
German unit of Kraft Foods , and German coffee company
Krueger GmbH & Co, the competition agency said.The companies had agreed the time and size of cappuccino
price rises for retailers in telephone discussions at the end of
2007 and early 2008, it said.”Such agreements create heavy economic damage and probably
meant consumers had to pay noticeably more for their
cappuccino,” the agency said.The agency did not give the precise fines to be paid by each
company but said Kraft’s fine had been reduced as it cooperated
with investigators.Information from German coffee roaster Melitta had started
the cappuccino investigation and so the company was not fined,
the agency said.
Billboard editorial director Bill Werde said Swift’s music and songwriting had transcended all genres of music.”At the young age of 21, Taylor has already made a major impact on music and has been an incredible role model for aspiring singers/songwriters and young women everywhere. I look forward to watching her career continue to flourish in the years to come,” Werde said.Swift’s 2008 album “Fearless” captured both the heartache and thrills of first love and remains the longest-running No.1 album by a female country artist in the history of the Billboard 200 album charts.Her overall worldwide sales now exceed 20 million albums and 40 million song downloads, Billboard said.Swift will be presented with the award at the 2011 Billboard Women in Music event on December 2 in New York.
By Caroline Stauffer and Marco AquinoLIMA, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Government labor inspectors said
Freeport-McMoRan must stop relying on volunteer workers
to keep its Cerro Verde mine open during a strike or pay a
fine, according to documents obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.Workers have been on strike for 13 days and are demanding
higher pay at the mine, which churned out out 312,336 tonnes of
copper in 2010, or about 2 percent of global supply.”The company … must refrain from acts that would impede
the exercise of the right to strike by 1,099 workers affiliated
with the Cerro Verde union organization and stop replacing the
tasks of workers who are on strike,” said a report from the
labor ministry that was obtained by Reuters.Labor inspectors indicated the company had reassigned jobs
held by union members to other staffers to weather the strike.Government officials confirmed that a letter signed by
labor ministry officials says Cerro Verde has until Wednesday
to heed the government’s request or face fines of between
$14,505 and $26,383.The strike has dragged on in part because the government,
for the first time in Cerro Verde’s 40-year history, declared
that the walkout was legal. That meant workers could stay on
the picket line without fear of being fired.Cerro Verde has said it has been “legally operating” the
facility with approximately 600 personnel that volunteered to
work under strike conditions since the strike began on Sept.
29.Freeport, which is also facing a strike at its huge
Grasberg mine in Indonesia, could not immediately be reached
for comment on Tuesday.The government’s latest action suggests leftist President
Ollanta Humala is taking a more sympathetic approach to
organized labor in the world’s No. 2 copper producer, as part
of a broader push to calm social tensions over the spoils of
natural resources.
“This supply agreement helps ensure Tesla will meet its costs and margin targets for Model S,” said a statement from Panasonic and Tesla.Panasonic has supplied Tesla with battery cells since 2009, when Tesla produced only the Roadster, which has a price tag ranging from $109,000 to more than $140,000. The Model S sedan base model will be priced at $57,400, before a $7,500 federal tax credit and other incentives.About two weeks ago, Tesla showed off a production prototype of the Model S to customers who reserved the vehicle in advance.In 2010, Panasonic invested $30 million in Tesla to “deepen the partnership and foster the growth of the electric vehicle industry,” the joint statement said. Also in 2010, Toyota said it would take a $50 million stake in Tesla.Tesla co-founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said Panasonic’s participation was an “endorsement of our technology.”Tesla supplies powertrains and batteries to Toyota Motor Corp and to Daimler AG.
