Eurozone Inflation Slumps To 5Yr Low Risking Triple-Dip Recession – 16 October 2014

Inflation in the 18-member eurozone has dropped precipitously low to 0.3 percent, the lowest since 2009. The European Central Bank missed its 2 percent inflation goal for the 20th straight month.

Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent last month, compared to 1.1 percent in September 2013. Monthly inflation in August 2014 was 0.4 percent, Eurostat reported Thursday.

The prognosis was slightly better in the whole EU rather than the 18 eurozone members. Overall EU inflation was 0.4 percent last month, compared to 1.3 percent in September 2013. In August inflation was recorded at 0.5 percent.

Inflation is one of the major economic indicators, with limited price rises signaling robust growth. A combination of weak growth in the eurozone and deflation threaten an excessive debt burden.

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John Ward – Boris Bikes: Shelved Schemes, Conflicts Of Interest, Coca-Cola And Canary Wharf – 16 October 2014

David Anderson: man in two places at once need hard hat

‘Ere’s a funny fing, missus.

Last December, Barclay’s Bank decided to withdraw their support for Boris bikes, in order to spend more time robbing their customers.

Five days later, an unabashed Boris announced that the scheme would double in size. But there is still no sponsor for any of this.

Norway Authorities Remove Child From Parents Over Lost Tooth – 16 October 2014

Norwegian authorities have snatched away a Russian couple’s young son after he shared the story of a missing baby tooth with his classmates. The parents are accused of child abuse.

The boy’s grandfather, Gennady Sharkikov, recounted the disturbing incident to LifeNews. On October 8, five-year-old Oscar Shianok did not come home. Norwegian Child Welfare Services (CWS) picked the child up from school and placed him into protective custody.

According to Oskar’s parents, Natalya and Sergey Shianok, a few days before his removal, Oscar had told his classmates that his mother accidently yanked out one of his baby teeth. Natalya explains that she was helping him pull a T-shirt over his head and accidently knocked out an already-loose tooth.

The CWS report claims his mother was abusive and deliberately knocked the tooth out.

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US Tanks Arrive In Latvia To Ward Off ‘Perceived’ Russian Threat – 16 October 2014

US tanks have arrived in Latvia as NATO flexes its muscles in an apparent show of strength towards Moscow. The machines are being deployed across the Baltic States and Poland over the next two weeks and will be used for training exercises.

The 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood in Texas, was deployed in Adazi, not far from the Latvian capital of Riga. 150 soldiers used five M1A2 Abrams tanks, as well as 11 Bradley Fighting Vehicles in a training demonstration.

The commander of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, John Di Giambattista said, “This is more than just a training mission. This is more than just a trip across the Atlantic; this is more than a multinational training exercise. This is how we demonstrate our nations’ commitment to reassure our NATO allies,” Reuters reports

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UK Column News – 16 October 2014

Uploaded on 16 October 2014 by We Are Change Edinburgh

Secretive Home Secretary Quizzed Over UK Mass Surveillance – 16 October 2014

Home Secretary Theresa May gave evidence, mostly in secret, at the Intelligence and Security Committee inquiry into UK privacy and security on Thursday. She said “there are times when it is entirely right that the government should be silent on things.”

This comes as the former home secretary, David Blunkett, called for stronger oversight of the UK’s intelligence agencies and for the legal framework on mass surveillance to be updated frequently.

“This country is not subject to mass surveillance,” May said during the hearing. “There is a lot written about this that is not accurate.”

The inquiry was largely prompted by Edward Snowden’s leaked revelations concerning GCHQ internet surveillance, published by the Guardian.

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Clashes Erupt In Jerusalem As Palestinians ‘Denied’ Access To Holy Mosque – 16 October 2014

Fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police have taken place near a mosque in Jerusalem. Law enforcement officers fired stun grenades, after Palestinians threw stones close to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Around 400 people gathered at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, to protest restrictions put in place to only allow Palestinians over the age of 50 to enter the site, which is considered the third holiest shrine in Islam.

Law enforcement officers fired stun grenades, while Palestinians were arrested, and three police officers were injured during the disturbances, according to police spokeswoman, Luba Samri, as reported by AFP.

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Did The Saudis Just Get A Tap On The Shoulder? – 16 October 2014

The US-Saudi “secret” plan that was supposed to crush Putin quickly turned sour when as we reported several days ago, one after another America’s own shale plays, which recently entered a very sharp bear market, started appearing on various death watches (case in point today’s MHR Second Lien refi which repriced from L+500 to L+750 in minutes).

As a result, one wonders: did Obama realize that Russian “costs” which as everyone knows by now include a Eurpoean triple-dip recession, could also very soon include an insolvent US shale industry, and thus may be just a little too much, and, one further wonders, if he is the one who just tapped Saudi Arabia on the shoulder?

WTI – granted, record oversold as is – explodes higher (on no news whatsoever)
Read the rest and see charts at: www.zerohedge.com / link to original article

Deadlock Around South Stream Needs To Be Resolved To Avoid Cold Winter – Putin – 16 October 2014

The development of South Stream gas transit to Europe is essential in providing energy security for Europe, but Ukraine is still a thorny obstacle that may cause disruptions, and alternative routes are needed, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

“We are convinced that this project will significantly contribute to integrated energy security in Europe. It will benefit everybody, Russia as well as the European consumers, including Serbia,” Putin told the Serbian daily Politika ahead of his visit to Belgrade on Thursday.

For a full transcript of the interview, click here.

The South Stream gas pipeline will deliver gas to south and central Europe via the Black Sea and the Balkans, instead of through Ukraine. The project is seen as critical for European energy security. Ukraine has been an unreliable transit country, and building a new transport grid presents less risk than using Ukraine’s aging pipes.

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Ukraine, Georgia And EU Candidate Countries Line Up For Anti-Russian Sanctions – 16 October 2014

EU candidate countries Norway, Iceland, Montenegro, Albania and Lichtenstein, as well as Ukraine and Georgia have joined the third package of sanctions against Russia, according to the European Union.

“The candidate countries, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Iceland, and Albania, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and Georgia align themselves with this decision,” says the statementfrom the Council of the European Union published on October 15.

European Free Trade Association countries Norway and Lichtenstein, who are also members of the European Economic Area, supported only part of the measures concerning blacklisted individuals, RIA Novosti says.

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