Front Page Flashcards

Question

No Movement in Shutdown Standoff

Answer 1

- Still no compromise between House Republicans and Senate Democrats.

Answer 2

- The US is overtaking Russia as the world's largest oil and natural gas producers - Russia has yet to adopt techniques such as hydraulic fracturing - Russia's exports have been hurt by weak European Economic Performance - Bakken Oil Field & Eagle Ford Shale are leading the way - US shale production over the next decade relies on: commodity prices, government regulation, and public support

Answer 3

- Pro-Regime troops have circled the town of Moadhamiya and cut off supplies into the small town. - The town is famed for its olive orchards

Answer 4

- Dan Loeb is attempting to usurp William Ruprecht from his position as CEO of Sotheby's auction house, claiming he doesn't understand which type of art sells the best. - Sotheby's was founded by a London Bookseller in 1744 and claims to be the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. - Mr. Loeb is well known in the industry for his "poison-pen" letters.

Answer 5

- Teens in Europe are celebrating Holi - the Hindu festival that welcomes spring - just as autumn was approaching Europe. - The Rainbow hues erase social, religious, and racial differences. - Two companies, Holi One, and Holi Festival of Colours, are in a heated war to bring the festival to other parts of the world, and reap profits from its popularity. - Holi Powder = gulal

Answer 6

- ECB President Mario Draghi warned that the US gov't shutdown could send ripple effects throughout the world. - Despite weak recovery, Mr. Draghi sought to reassure investors that the ECB is open to additional rate cuts and lending programs. - He may use LTROs, or Long-term Refinancing Operations.

Answer 7

- Jury found Anschutz Entertainment Group not liable for the singer's death. - Katherine Jackson, Michael's mother, sought $1.2 billion in damages. - Family claims AEG was negligent in hiring doctor to inject a powerful surgical anesthetic to help with the singer's sleeplessness. - Doctor = Conrad Murray, who applied the powerful sedative propofol.

Answer 8

- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now public enemy no. 1 with GOP leaders. - The Senate Conservatives Fund, a super PAC founded by Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), has started running political ads aimed at Mr. Reid and the Democrats.

Answer 9

- Preschool activities, welfare benefits, and vouchers for infant formula have taken a hit with the recent gov't shutdown. - Head Start programs at preschools have closed in various states. - The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, provides vouchers for infant formula and food to low-income families with young children. - The impact on the government's main welfare program, called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, will also vary by state.

Answer 10

- The Department of Health and Human Services said its site, which operates the online marketplaces for 36 states, continued to run slowly.

Answer 11

- Russia agreed to a United Nations Security Council demand for its ally Syria to stop blocking humanitarian assistance to millions of Syrian civilians whose lives are at risk amid the country's raging civil war.

Answer 12

- U.S. and Afghan negotiators are far from agreement on some fundamental issues in talks on a long-term American military presence here. - Afghan President = Hamid Karzai - Failure to reach an agreement with Kabul would force the U.S. to completely withdraw from Afghanistan, as happened in Iraq when negotiations fell through in 2011. - In another possible delay, Mr. Karzai says the security agreement should also be approved by the Loya Jirga, a traditional gathering of local representatives that usually takes about a month to convene.

Answer 13

- Mr. Berlusconi plunged the Letta government into crisis last weekend when he ordered five ministers representing his People of Freedom party in the coalition to resign, and called for new elections just seven months after the last one. - But the laundry list of problems facing Italy is daunting. Italy has the highest labor taxes in the European Union.

Answer 14

- Nearly 80% of patients with prolonged ICU stays showed cognitive problems a year or more later, and more than half exhibited effects similar to Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury.

Answer 15

- An armed mob attacked the Russian Embassy compound in the Libyan capital Tripoli Wednesday after a Russian woman was accused of killing a Libyan air force pilot.

Answer 16

- Four employees at Fannie Mae who were placed on administrative leave two years ago, have been allowed to return to work. - The employees were investigated in connection with contracts awarded for a joint venture to manage foreclosed apartment properties. - The investigation was initiated by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Answer 17

- A federal appeals court ordered a lower-court judge to halt payments to some Gulf Coast businesses that say they suffered damage after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. - Earlier this week Judge Barbier opened the second phase of a three-part civil trial to determine how much BP would pay in Clean Water Act fines.

Answer 18

- Silk Road - Ross Ulbricht, 29, was caught in a San Francisco Public Library with incriminating evidence on his laptop. - Online, he was known as "dread pirate Roberts". - The system remained anonymous for so long because it relied on a system known as the Tor network, a legal service that masks the source of Internet traffic by routing it through a system of volunteer computers all over the world. It is designed to make it "practically impossible" to pinpoint the physical location of a computer surfing the Internet.

Answer 19

- Twitter Inc., on Thursday revealed plans to raise up to $1 billion in a public offering, looking to cash in on a messaging service that has transformed public conversation but is still losing money and facing challenges attracting new users and advertisers. - Twitter CEO = Dick Costolo - Largest Twitter Shareholder is Evan Williams

Answer 20

- Thursday's consent order centers on the conduct of Mr. Chang, a Taiwan-based Internet and hardware analyst, who allegedly gave SAC, T. Rowe Price, Citadel and GLG Partners a forecast showing that orders for Apple Inc.'s iPhone would go down significantly.

Answer 21

- Senior Republicans in Congress, frustrated over their inability to strike a deal to reopen the government, began shifting from their drive to undercut the 2010 health-care law, which has been the central element of the dispute, toward a broader budget deal.

Answer 22

- The pattern of brokers moving from one problem firm to another, according to a former broker, is sometimes called "cockroaching". - people claiming wrongdoings must use Finra's arbitration process, which investors must use to settle disputes, instead of courts, under agreements they sign upon opening brokerage accounts.

Answer 23

- To the dismay of traditionalists, the holiday season seems to shift earlier every year, with retailers selling Christmas decorations well before Halloween. But this year, the season will get a legitimate jump-start of sorts—at least for millions of American Jews. - In a rare convergence of the calendar, Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights that typically commences close to Christmas, fall on the same date in 2013: Nov. 28 - It is a holiday mashup that has happened only once before—in 1888—according to those who track the Jewish calendar. And it is one that isn't set to happen again for potentially another 70,000-plus years.

Answer 24

- Court indicted 13 alleged members of hacker-group Anonymous. - The hackers took part in 2010's "Operation Payback" that focused on large multi-national firms. - The hackers were allegedly upset at the freezing of payments to WikiLeaks, as well as the discontinuation of the file-sharing site "The Pirate Bay." - Suspects downloaded and used LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon) to launch distributed-denial of service attacks.

Answer 25

- A former Islamist warlord who brought al Qaeda's leading figures to Afghanistan registered Thursday to run in the country's presidential elections. - Abdul Rasoul Sayyef, the most controversial and conservative candidate in the elections, has a decent shot at winning. - If Mr. Sayyef were to be elected, this could be disastrous to US attempts to aid and protect the country, possibly plunging the country into civil war. - Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist organization out of the phillipines, is named after him.

Answer 26

- Brazil's economy has slowed, and with that slowdown comes a credit crunch that consumers are feeling as they realize they are unable to pay back their loans. - Interest on an average loan: 37% - Economists say Brazil focused too heavily on policies designed to increase consumption instead of completing ports and roads to help economic production in the long-run. - Dilma Rousseff hir

Answer 27

- Brazil's economy has slowed, and with that slowdown comes a credit crunch that consumers are feeling as they realize they are unable to pay back their loans. - Interest on an average loan: 37% - Economists say Brazil focused too heavily on policies designed to increase consumption instead of completing ports and roads to help economic production in the long-run. - Dilma Rousseff hired tens of thousands of gov't workers and expanded its welfare system. - Infrastructure plans have stalled. - Rousseff announced on Sept. 2nd that Brazil's gov't lent around $500 million in three months so people in subsidized home mortgage programs could buy home appliances too: "My Better House" program.

Answer 28

- Obama has nominated current Fed Vice-Chairwoman Janet Yellen to head the Fed Reserve. - She's been 2nd in command since 2010. - Her biggest challenge: deciding when and how to wean the financial system off easy money without torpedoing a fragile economy. - As chairwoman, she would lead a divided committee of 19 policy makers. - Fed has 12 independent regional banks.

Answer 29

- Iran is preparing a package of proposals to halt production of near-weapons-grade nuclear fuel. - These include limits on the number of centrifuges operating, enrichment amounts, and the need for verification. - The P5+1 group offered to end sanctions in return for Tehran suspending its production of 20%-enriched uranium and ceasing activities at is Qom site. - Iran may cooperate with the UN's nuclear watch-dog: The International Atomic Energy Agency.

Answer 30

- Iran is preparing a package of proposals to halt production of near-weapons-grade nuclear fuel. - These include limits on the number of centrifuges operating, enrichment amounts, and the need for verification. - The P5+1 group offered to end sanctions in return for Tehran suspending its production of 20%-enriched uranium and ceasing activities at is Qom site. - Iran may cooperate with the UN's nuclear watch-dog: The International Atomic Energy Agency.

Answer 31

- The law, the first of its kind, sanctions the direct purchase of mail-order drugs from some foreign pharmacies. - Pharm companies in the US are worried about their bottom line, especially if other states adopt this cost-saving measure. - They claim that importing drugs compromises the "safety" of the consumer, but thus far no problems have been reported.

Answer 32

- The law, the first of its kind, sanctions the direct purchase of mail-order drugs from some foreign pharmacies. - Pharm companies in the US are worried about their bottom line, especially if other states adopt this cost-saving measure. - They claim that importing drugs compromises the "safety" of the consumer, but thus far no problems have been reported.

Answer 33

- The FAA is ending furloughs for some 800 inspectors and other safety staff. - National Air Traffic Controllers Association wants to end the budget discussions so that training can continue.

Answer 34

- The FAA is ending furloughs for some 800 inspectors and other safety staff. -

Answer 35

- Turkey lifted a ban on public employees wearing the Islamic head scarf following decades of wrangling between pious conservatives and the secularist establishment. - Turkish PM: Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Answer 36

- Bo Xilai has formally filed an appeal against his conviction for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. - Sentenced by the Intermediate People's Court in Jinan. - The appeal will be heard by the Higher People's Court in Shandong province, where Jinan is located.

Answer 37

- Prosecutors said on Tuesday that they were investigating a Tunisian man over his possible role in bringing to Italy a ship packed with hundreds of African migrants that sank last week. - Khaled Bensalam - The European Union's Home Affairs Commisioner Ceclia Malmstrom reached an agreement with the 28-bloc nation to strengthen the EU's Frontex campaign - its continental immigration policy.

Front Page Flashcards

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