China Casts an Acquisitive Eye on U.S. Assets

At $1.95 trillion, China’s international reserves are more than enough to fund America’s entire budget deficit next year, which the U.S. Treasury estimates will reach $1.3 trillion because of the government’s massive stimulus spending. There is no direct correlation between these two numbers, but they highlight a reversal of fortune.

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Obama at G-8: Full recovery ‘still a ways off’

President Obama said Friday that leaders of the industrialized nations have agreed to continue fueling economic growth while strengthening regulatory measures but they also realize that full recovery is "still a ways off." Obama listed some of the achievements of the Group of Eight summit this week in Italy as the conference neared the end, and he stressed the need for collective action. In addition, the G8 nations agreed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, set goals for reducing carbon monoxide emissions and invest $20 billion in food security

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G-8 leaders focus on global warming

Leaders of the world’s leading industrialized nations are huddling with representatives of up-and-coming powerhouses to tackle global warming at an economic summit Thursday in Italy. U.S. President Barack Obama will lead the Major Economies Forum at the Group of Eight meetings in L’Aquila.

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More associates link Jackson to prescription drugs

Michael Jackson’s dermatologist said Wednesday that he was not surprised to learn that investigators found numerous bottles of prescription drugs in the singer’s home — adding that he had warned Jackson about their danger repeatedly. “I’m very shocked by it, but I have to tell you it’s not something that would be unheard of,” Dr. Arnold Klein said in an appearance on CNN’s “Larry King Live.” Klein is the latest in a growing series of Jackson associates who have tied the singer to drugs in recent days

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Jews dismiss F1 boss’s apology for praising Hitler

Jewish groups on Wednesday rejected as inadequate an apology by Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone for remarks in which he praised German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. During an interview with The Times newspaper last week the billionaire spoke of the Nazi dictator’s ability to “get things done.” But after a storm of criticism, Ecclestone issued a statement on Tuesday in which he said: “I unreservedly apologize for the remarks I made regarding Hitler in a recent interview.

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Pope blasts capitalism ahead of G-8 meeting

Pope Benedict XVI, on the eve of a global economic summit, lashed out at modern capitalism for being shortsighted and short on ethics. “Today’s international economic scene, marked by grave deviations and failures, requires a profoundly new way of understanding business enterprise,” the pontiff said in his third encyclical letter, “Charity in Truth,” which was released Tuesday.

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