For Spain, it’s a question of when, not if, it will need a bailout

The epicentre of the euro zone debt crisis is shifting as officials look at injecting as much as €80-billion ($103-billion) into Spain’s faltering banks.

The exact form, size and timing of the bailout remains unclear as Spain insists publicly that it doesn’t need help.

But as depositors continue to flee the country’s banks, it’s become a question of when, not if, Spain will need a bailout.

“Right now, either Spanish banks get a whole load of help so they can function normally, or they will slowly die,” Société Générale SA currency analyst Lauren Rosborough said.

Auto makers tell union wage hikes won’t happen

The Detroit Three auto makers have fired an early salvo at their unionized Canadian work force, warning that they are determined to hold the line on wages and other fixed costs in contract negotiations that begin next month.

Each of the companies sent a letter to the Canadian Auto Workers asking the union to forego a small wage increase, known as cost of living adjustment (COLA), that went into effect this month. The auto makers want the workers to agree instead to lump-sum payments, and are warning that such automatic wage increases would further damage the competitive positions of their Canadian plants.

Stuck in place: Canada’s mobility problem

This summer, employers from Alberta will head south for a road show, where they will hit American cities with high jobless rates and unemployed skilled tradespeople to lure new recruits.

Edmonton and northern Alberta need more than a thousand engineers, and several thousand more tradespeople – carpenters, welders, pipe fitters. Not in the coming years – in the next few months.

A growing number of employers in the Prairies are looking abroad – to the U.S., to Ireland, South Africa and Eastern Europe – to fill gaps in their work force. In Edmonton, they’re setting their sights further afield partly because it’s hard to convince Canadians in other provinces to move. Many find it too expensive to move, too costly to live in the west, and too difficult to leave behind family.

Five Broken Cameras: Home Videos Evolve into Stirring Film on Palestinian Resistance to Israeli Wall

The award-winning new documentary, "Five Broken Cameras," tells the story of a Palestinian farmer who got a video camera to record his son’s childhood, but ended up documenting the growth of the resistance movement to the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in. The film shows the nonviolent tactics used by residents of Bil’in as they join with international and Israeli activists to protest the wall’s construction and confront Israeli soldiers. We speak with the film’s directors, Emad Burnat, a Palestinian, and Guy Davidi, an Israeli.

Video
Source: Democracy Now!
Author: ---

Canada must do more to stop torture

Canada is failing to live up to its international obligations to stop torture. Last week, the UN Committee against Torture released its concluding observations from a review of Canada’s record on preventing, punishing and remedying torture and ill-treatment. It’s a review that comes around periodically, the last one in 2005, by virtue of the fact that Canada signed on to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 25 years ago.

The committee lays out a solid framework of recommendations for action by the federal government. Key now is for the government to promptly implement those recommendations. Doing so will uphold the rights of individuals who have experienced torture or ill-treatment through the action, inaction or complicity of Canadian officials. It will also position Canada as a forceful leader in the campaign to eradicate torture worldwide.

Average Canadian Household Debt Hits $112,329: BMO

TORONTO - A new bank study suggests the average Canadian household is more than $100,000 in debt and that Canadians have ramped up borrowing in the past five years.

The first annual BMO survey on household debt found that average household debt among Canadians surveyed stands at $112,329, including mortgage, credit card, line of credit and loan debt.

But the bank says so-called good debt like mortgages outweighs less favourable forms of borrowing.

While 25 per cent of those surveyed say they are debt free, 41 per cent say that they have taken on more debt in the past five years as a result of increased spending.

And 54 per cent of respondents said they expect to be debt free in the next five years.

The survey also found that 70 per cent of Canadians believe they can afford to pay down debt by paying more than the minimum, but one-third appear to be stretched with paying only the minimum amounts.

The report, conducted by Leger Marketing to measure the amount of debt Canadian households are carrying and how it's managed, surveyed 1,507 Canadians in an online poll at the beginning of April.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: CP

DND withholding F-35 costing info from PBO, says Liberal MP

The Department of National Defence is not complying with the law and is refusing to hand over costing information on the F-35 to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Liberal MP John McKay charged Wednesday.

Two weeks after the auditor general’s office released its April report on the F-35 procurement, McKay followed up on a letter he’d sent in January, requesting an updated cost analysis of the fighter jet acquisition. Writing in April, McKay wanted to know how the AG’s report “may additionally affect the cost estimates for the planes.”

In late April, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page wrote to deputy minister Robert Fonberg at DND, asking for information and documents “that provide a full life cycle cost of the F-35 aircraft.” Additionally, Page encouraged DND “to assume in its analysis” some of the figures coming out of the U.S. – particularly those the U.S. Government Accountability Office was using to establish the average unit procurement cost of the planes.

The Commons: We are an island that Louis XIV is protecting from debt zombies

The Scene. Apparently something of a fussy TV critic, Thomas Mulcair seemed not to appreciate the Stephen Harper’s demeanour during last night’s showing of “The Prime Minister & The Queen (And The Continent That Is Like A Plane That Is Running Out Of Runway).”

“Mr. Speaker, last night in London” Mr. Mulcair reported, seeming to sound out the city’s name in a certain la-de-da tone, “the Prime Minister mused about catastrophic events about to hit the Canadian economy. He laughed about Canadians having to face the most volatile stock market since the Great Depression.”

There were groans from the government benches.

Canada wants this French election hushed up

On Saturday, Canada saw its quietest election ever. It was the don’t ask, don’t tell election.

Thousands of French citizens in Canada voted to choose a member of France’s National Assembly representing North America, in the first round of legislative elections.

But Canada, alone among the world’s nations, objected to the election in the first place and said it shouldn’t be held on Canadian soil. Having someone represent Canada in another country’s parliament infringes on our sovereignty, Ottawa has decided. They don’t want rough foreign politics in our genteel streets.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda silent on why expense claims changed

OTTAWA—A Conservative cabinet minister has yet to explain why some of her travel and hospitality expenses were altered after they were published on a federal government website.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda came under fire in April after The Canadian Press reported she had upgraded from one five-star hotel to a more expensive one, hired a chauffeur to drive her around in a luxury car and bought a glass of orange juice for $16 while attending a conference on international immunization in London last year.

Oda reimbursed taxpayers some of the money after the story broke — 10 months after she incurred the expenses — but never provided an explanation for her lavish spending.