Links and News [2008.02.11]

• Another Goldman Perk: Sex Changes — NYT
  
  URL: http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/another-goldman-perk-sex-changes/index.html?ex=1360213200&en=bffbcafca7c69f64&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
  

  Fortune.com reported Friday that Goldman added coverage of sex-reassignment surgery to its medical plan last year.

  Goldman employees can undergo the procedure, which normally costs anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000, and have it paid for entirely by their medical insurance.

  (categories: news)

• BBC | Venezuela denies oil asset freeze
  
  URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7235653.stm
  

  Venezuela’s state-run oil firm has denied that US oil giant Exxon Mobil had won a court order to freeze up to $12bn (£6bn) of its assets.

  (categories: news)

• BBC | Australia releases whaling photos
  
  URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7232239.stm
  

  Australia has released graphic pictures of minke whales caught by a Japanese hunt in the Antarctic.

  (categories: animal-welfare)

• AlterNet: Meeting of Global Titans Tainted by Tanking Economy
  
  URL: http://www.alternet.org/workplace/76057/
  

  One of the world’s best-known CEOs, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, admitted to fellow participants that he had become skeptical of the very notion of capitalism.

  (categories: economics)

• BBC | Indian economy set to decelerate
  
  URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7233135.stm
  

  India expects its economy to grow by 8.7% in the financial year ending March, the slowest rate of expansion in three years.

  (categories: economics india)

• Retailers Report Weak January Sales - NYT
  
  URL: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Retail-Sales.html?_r=1&ex=1360126800&en=66728f34a724d4e6&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin
  

  The nation’s retailers delivered more evidence of a stumbling economy Thursday, as merchants reported their weakest January performance in nearly four decades, extending a malaise that has deepened since the holiday shopping season.

  (categories: economics)

• The recession watch can now end. It’s already here.
  
  URL: http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/05/news/economy/recession/index.htm
  

  A weak report about the services sector has caused some experts to declare that the economy has already entered downturn.

  (categories: economics)

• BBC | CIA admits waterboarding inmates
  
  URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7229169.stm
  

  The CIA has for the first time publicly admitted using the controversial method of "waterboarding" on terror suspects.

  (categories: torture)

• BBC | US judge reinstates sonar curbs
  
  URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7227708.stm
  

  A judge has ruled that the US Navy must adhere to a curb on the use of strong sonar in waters off California, amid concerns about its effect on whales.

  (categories: animal-welfare)

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 10:45 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.