Saturday, 13 August 2011, 20:25 WIB | Hot News | 40 views
On August 13th, 1961, East German troops set out to close the border between East and West once and for all with the construction of the Berlin Wall. This one-124 mile expanse of barbed wire and concrete changed the tone of the Cold War and remains a powerful symbol to this day.
For 28 years, the Wall managed to almost completely cease all communication between the people on either side of it. Scores of families were divided, and East Germans...
Saturday, 13 August 2011, 18:23 WIB | Hot News | 36 views
There is something a bit bizarre, yet fascinating, about the way Berlin and the local media mark the anniversaries of the Berlin Wall’s construction on Aug. 13, 1961 and the anniversaries of its collapse on Nov. 9, 1989.
There are many of the same things each time: sombre speeches, fancy ceremonies, countless thousands of stories in the print and TV media and a general consensus that A) the Wall was a horrible thing B) the Communists who...
Saturday, 13 August 2011, 6:22 WIB | Hot News | 56 views
Last year, audiences sat for nearly six hours—some brought pillows and snacks—to watch the critically acclaimed "Gatz," a dramatic reading of the entire text of "The Great Gatsby" by the theater group Elevator Repair Service. They won't have to be seated quite as long for the company's new rendition of Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises": This time, the company ...
Thursday, 11 August 2011, 1:24 WIB | Hot News | 96 views
Ford Motor Co. (F) and SunPower Corp. (SPWRA, SPWRB) said Wednesday they are combining forces to sell solar-powered cars.
The U.S. auto giant plans to start producing an all-electric version of the Ford Focus later this year, followed by additional plug-in models in 2012 and later years. San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower has been making solar panels and selling rooftop solar systems for years.
The matchup provides green credentials for Ford,...
Tuesday, 9 August 2011, 17:25 WIB | Hot News | 60 views
BY MICHAEL ANEIRO
Following its downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating, Standard & Poor's whipsawed markets again by saying that downgrade doesn't necessarily imperil triple-A ratings for state and other local governments.
The municipal-bond market had anticipated that top-rated state and local governments would be cut after the U.S. downgrade, being unlikely to maintain higher credit profiles than the federal government on which...
Monday, 8 August 2011, 15:25 WIB | Hot News | 40 views
Should investors and politicians regret criticizing the rating agencies for not being bold and proactive enough up through 2008?
"Okay Congress: You want us to be more aggressive with our ratings and not just stamp AAA on any old bond? Then how about this -- you're downgraded." This proclamation wasn't a part of Standard and Poor's statement on its decision to lower the U.S.'s sovereign debt rating from AAA to AA+ on Friday, but it could have...
Friday, 5 August 2011, 15:23 WIB | Hot News | 51 views
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stocks zigzagged early Friday as a better-than-anticipated jobs report couldn't fully calm investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 8 points, or 0.1%, to 11376, in volatile trading. The blue-chip index rose as much as 171 points in early trading, but lost all of its gains within the first half hour of trading. Then it bounced back after being more than 70 points lower.
The Dow tumbled 512 points...
