Tuesday September 2 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Mark Carney confirms contingency plans after Scottish bank run warning - (www.telegraph.co.uk)  The Bank of England’s Governor has confirmed contingency plans have been drawn up following warnings of a run on Scotland’s banks if the nationalists win next month’s independence referendum. Mark Carney said that uncertainty over a separate Scotland’s currency could cause financial turmoil as the Nationalists continued to refuse to spell out their Plan B to sharing the pound. In a further blow to Alex Salmond, he confirmed the bank would have no input in whether a currency union with an independent Scotland would happen and the decision would rest entirely with his political masters. It is understood four of Scotland’s major financial institutions are worried about a “flight” of capital to England if there is a Yes vote next month but Mr Salmond blamed the Westminster parties for causing uncertainty by refusing to agree to his plans.

Cisco cuts 6,000 jobs in restructuring plan - (www.cnbc.com) Cisco Systems delivered quarterly earnings and revenue that surpassed analysts' expectations on Wednesday and posted a smaller-than-expected decline in sales during the quarter. The technology company also said that it will cut some 6,000 jobs, or about 8 percent of its workforce. Cisco said it expects adjusted earnings for the current quarter to come in between 51 cents and 53 cents per share, versus analysts expectations of 53 cents per share. The company forecast sales for the current quarter to come in between flat and up 1 percent, while Wall Street is expecting fiscal first-quarter revenue to come in flat at $12.08 billion, according to analyst polled by Thompson Reuters.

Backlash over ATF's 48-hour gun rule - (www.wnd.com) The federal law enforcement agency that has acknowledged losing track of hundreds of weapons in sting operations is trying to force legal gun dealers to do what it failed to accomplish: quickly report guns that get lost in transit. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which endured significant ridicule from the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal, on Tuesday revived a decade-old and previously rejected regulation that would require gun dealers to report within two days any weapons that get lost in shipping. A similar proposal was introduced by the Clinton Justice Department in 2000 but was shot down four years later by the Bush administration. Reviving the 14-year-old rule drew immediate outcries from the firearms industry, which argued that compliance would put them at the mercy of shippers such as FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service.

The Government's Secret Plan to Shut Off Cellphones and the Internet, Explained - (www.motherjones.com) This month, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Department of Homeland Security must make its plan to shut off the internet and cellphone communications available to the American public. You, of course, may now be thinking: What plan?! Though President Barack Obama swiftly disapproved of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak turning off the internet in his country (toquell widespread civil disobedience) in 2011, the US government has the authority to do the same sort of thing, under a plan that was devised during the George W. Bush administration. Many details of the government's controversial "kill switch" authority have been classified, such as the conditions under which it can be implemented and how the switch can be used. 

Massive SWAT Team Clearing Streets In Ferguson: "This Is Not Open For Discussion" - Live Feed - (www.zerohedge.com) Despite Police best efforts to force Ferguson residents off the streets, tensions reignited once again as night fell last night and, as The Guardian reports, a second man has been shot by police. Police officials told local reporters that the man was shot in Ferguson by a St Louis County officer after pointing a handgun at him soon after 1am on Wednesday. A crowd of around 250 young protesters were halted by police and separately a woman is being treated in hospital after being shot in the head during a drive-by shooting in the troubled city. Protesters exclaimed, "we have a right to assemble, a right to freedom," said Paul Muhammad. "But here we are facing what looks like a military imposing martial law. It is not acceptable." Interestingly, President Obama's official response "urging reflection" has been rejected as insultingly inadequate by many African American residents of Ferguson.

OTHER STORIES:

Southwest braces as Lake Mead water levels drop - (www.ap.org)

Worst drought in half a century hits China’s bread-basket - (www.marketwatch.com)

Japan Economy Shrinks the Most Since 2011 Quake on Tax - (www.bloomberg.com)
Maliki Meets Commanders as Tensions Rise in Baghdad - (www.bloomberg.com)

EU’s East Braced for Sanctions Pain With GDP Set to Slide - (www.bloomberg.com)

SpaceX sued for labor violations – (www.money.cnn.com)

Worst Retail Sales Showing in Six Months in Slow Start to Third Quarter - (www.bloomberg.com)

Brazil Presidential Candidate Campos Dies in Plane Crash - (www.bloomberg.com)

Greece’s Recession Eases as Country Nears End to Slump - (www.bloomberg.com)

World Awash in Oil Shields Markets From 2008 Price Shock - (www.bloomberg.com)