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During a spell of extremely sunny weather, – on Saturday, May 26 — the solar-energy record by sourcing nearly 50 percent of its daytime electricity needs from sunshine.  According to Germany’s Institute of the Renewable Energy Industry (IWR), solar power plants produced an unprecedented 22 gigawatts of electricity, approximately the same amount generated by 20 nuclear […]

In a sign that no Eurozone nation is completely immune to the shocks of the European debt crisis, ratings agency Moody’s Investor Services has cut the credit ratings of six banks in Germany.  The largest bank to be downgraded is Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest lender, which was cut to A3 from A2. “Today’s rating actions are […]

Spain asked the Eurozone for a bailout of up to €100-billion to rescue its banks.  This is just a short-term fix for the troubled Eurozone because it doesn’t address the underlying problems in the monetary union.  The earlier bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal didn’t resolve the problems either.  “The Spanish banking bailout is big […]

While the American public was bailing out Wall Street, those same taxpayers saw their families’ net worth decline by nearly 40 percent. The recession took roughly 20 years of Americans’ wealth, according to government data, with middle-class families faring the worst.  According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of families plummeted by 39 […]

Which American city is at the greatest financial risk from a hurricane?  If you think it’s New Orleans or Miami, you’re wrong.  According to CoreLogic, a data analysis firm, it’s New York City that is at the greatest risk, both from the number of properties impacted and the dollar value of the damage.  The area […]

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has asked policymakers to focus their crisis support on solvent Eurozone banks.  “The ECB will continue lending to solvent banks and will keep the liquidity lines active and alive with solvent banks,” Draghi said. World stock markets have lost roughly $4 trillion as European turmoil proliferated […]

Google Chrome has overtaken Internet Explorer (IE) to become the world’s most widely used web browser.  Google Chrome was the world’s most popular web browser for a single weekend in March, but according to StatCounter, it is now more popular than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and is expected to remain in the top spot for the […]

Last year, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback stunned the national arts community by vetoing funding for the Kansas Arts Commission.  Brownback recently changed his mind and approved a state budget that includes $700,000 for a newly created Creative Arts Industries Commission. “It’s a big win for Kansas,” said Sarah Fizell of Kansas Citizens for the Arts.  […]

The world’s largest banks need to raise as much as $566 billion of common equity to meet Basel III rules on capital to be implemented by 2019, cutting shareholder returns, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings.  The 29 global banks that regulators believe are too big to fail need new capital that equals nearly 23 […]

Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Company is buying the movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, for $2.6 billion in China’s biggest takeover of an American company.  The purchase reflects the global ambitions of a wave of cash-rich Chinese companies that are speeding their expansion by obtaining foreign skills and brand names.  According to Wanda, the […]