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One Response to “Financial News 9/4/12 – US donating $1bn to Egypt, ECB Meeting, Clint Eastwood Empty Chair”

1. 

   admin
   

   04. Sep, 2012

   We have lots of interesting news for you today. Starting with the world of finance, we have the US closing in on an agreement to hand out 1 billion dollars in debt relief to Egypt. A friendly, yet very strategic move to support the country’s economy and prevent its new Islamist leadership from drifting beyond America’s foreign-policy influence. A team of senior State Department economic officials have spent the past week in Egypt’s capital, completing the terms of this 1 billion dollar donation to decide how it should be spent. American funding for Egypt has been stalled by disagreements over how the government in Cairo will allocate the debt relief. The envoys currently in Cairo are negotiating over slightly less than half the money, which would be paid as a direct cash transfer to Egypt’s budget. The larger portion, about $550 million, would be handed out in a debt-swap program. Will it be enough to secure Egypt’s allegiance? That is the question.

   Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, continues to play with our emotions. He dropped more hints about how the bank could support struggling countries, suggesting the bank was free to buy government bonds maturing in three years or less. His comments came from a closed hearing at the European Parliament on Monday, shortly before the ECB’s monthly policy meeting this Thursday. A meeting that we are all waiting for on the edge of our seats, to find out more details of how the bank could help bring down the funding costs of countries, such as Spain and Italy, to prevent them from having to seek full euro-zone bailouts like Greece, Ireland and Portugal. In the meantime Moody’s put in its 5 cents, changing its outlook on the European Union’s long-term issuer rating from stable to negative. Oh just shut up already.

   Are you a frequent air traveler? Are you tired of seeing the same old boring CNN news broadcasts, dominating the entertainment air time in your airports? Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings is well on the way to give you relief during your travel, by unveiling a new TV product that will hang in airport gates and display news, sports and other programs, aiming to compete with Time Warner’s CNN for viewers waiting for flights around the country. Clear Channel Outdoor, has signed 100 content deals for the new service dubbed “ClearVision,” including with major TV networks such as Fox, CBS and NBC. Toby Sturek, Clear Channel’s head of airports, said the company is in discussions with about 20 airports, including some large ones where CNN has its TVs. Clear Channel also aims to stand out by letting travelers connect their mobile devices wirelessly to the TV sets, starting in the first quarter of next year, so travelers can watch the airport programs on their own screens while they are waiting. According to Toby Sturek, Clear Channel’s head of airports, “The airports want something that’s different and they want something where they can have a variety of content, that they can provide the passengers”. I definitely look forward to seeing this new content!