NO VISSIBLE SOLUTION TO ECONOMIC CRISIS

PM says 'no clear map' for crisis
Mr Brown called for a global regulatory system to prevent further problems
Gordon Brown says there is no precedent for the "first financial crisis of the global age".

History offered "no clear map" of how to deal with it, the UK prime minister told an audience at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.

Mr Brown warned about the rising threat of protectionism and said that global co-operation was the only way forward.

"This is not like the 1930s. The world can come together," the prime minister said.

He told reporters: "This is the first financial crisis of the global age. And there is no clear map that has been set out from past experience to deal with it.

"I'm reminded of the story of Titian, who's the great painter, who reached the age of 90, finished the last of his nearly 100 brilliant paintings, and he said at the end of it, 'I'm finally beginning to learn how to paint', and that is where we are.

"We're learning all the time about how to deal with what are real problems for which we have no historical analogies to fall back on, because when the 1930s problems hit them, they did not have the global financial markets that we have today."

This is a global banking crisis and you've got to deal with it for what it is, a global banking crisis

Gordon Brown


Read Stephanie Flanders' blog

He said a "laissez faire" attitude was not permissible and added that "there is implicit protectionism I'm afraid in what is happening at the moment".

He called for co-operation and the rebuilding of "out-of-date" institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

"This is a global banking crisis and you've got to deal with it for what it is, a global banking crisis," he said.

Global regulation

He said the solution did not lie in just nationalising banks and there was a need for a "global regulatory system" to ensure that such a crisis could be prevented in the future.

He also said there were far too many nations fearing an Asian crisis and holding on to far too many economic reserves.

The French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, warned there could be a real risk of more social unrest and protectionism unless measures were taken quickly to tackle the global economic crisis.

"I think it's a risk in Europe, it's a risk elsewhere as well, which is why I believe that time is really of the essence and we're working against the clock," she said.

Discussing the fall in the value of sterling, Mr Brown said he still believed the UK's economy was built on "sound fundamentals".

Two weeks ago billionaire investor Jim Rogers urged others to take their money out of the British economy.

Mr Brown dismissed the calls and told the Davos audience: "It think it is very clear that we are not going to build policies around self-interested speculators."

He said the UK was making the decisions it needed to on issues such as planning, science, the environment and investing in skills.

He said: "I believe we are making the right decisions for the future."

'Reward hard work'

Focusing on the G20's second meeting on 2 April in London, he said the discussions would focus on global "interdependent" issues.

The UK will chair the financial summit and Mr Brown said nations that were not members would still be consulted beforehand and their concerns would contribute to the dialogue.

BBC News diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall said Mr Brown was frank that there were no "ready solutions".

She said: "He admitted he and others had mistakenly believed global financial markets would spread risk - instead they'd helped spread contagion.

"He said the only way to restore trust in banks was to establish new global principles that rewarded hard work and enterprise but not what he called 'short term ridiculous risk-taking'."

THE MELTING POINT OF WORLD ECONOMY

THE TROUBLOUS WAVES ARE RISING
by B. E. Ajibola

The United States of America has beeen regarded as the melting point of world economy as such, when the bubble burst in this God's own country the ripples is felt all across the globe. Last yeat (2008) witnessed the beginning of economic recession which started like a child's play in that the economic experts and beneficials of the Wall Street business empires want us to believe that all is well until the the clouds could no more cover the sunshine of economic doom which heat is now being felt across the globe. Despite the much noise and publicity given to the economic down trend, the dollars continue to gain strenght against other world currencies.
Definitely the United States of America is the melting point of the world economy.
The IMF has revealed that the financial markets remain under stress and the global economy has taken a sharp turn for worse.
It also reveals that world economic growth in 2009 will be the lowest since 1945 with the U.K. fairing worst among advanced nations. We should ask the question, if this is happening to the green trees, what will become of the dry trees?
What will happen if things take a dimension that nobody, even the experts do not envisage. Who can then bail us out. Right now, the party politics is still raising its ugly head in the United Sate Congress. The Economic Stimulus Package just sailed through the Congress without the support of any of the Republicans. President Obama may not be able to do much if this trend continues.
If in actual fact the United States is the melting point of world economy, then Obama should be given every cooperation that he needs to move the United States forward so that we can all move forward.
According to the ILO,as many as 51million jobs world wide could be lost this year because of global economic crisis.




US House passes economic package

Mr Obama's package was passed by 244 votes to 188
The US House of Representatives has passed President Barack Obama's $825bn (£576bn) economic stimulus package.

Passed by 244 votes to 188, no Republicans backed the plan, saying it was too expensive and would not work.

It must now be approved by the Senate, where it could face stiff opposition as the Democrats have a slimmer majority.

After the vote, Mr Obama urged members of Congress not to "drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way".

The president has said his package, which he hopes to sign into law next month, would help create a favourable climate for American business to thrive.

The bill would cut taxes for people and businesses by $275bn, while pumping more than $540bn into a range of initiatives including road and bridge repair, increased unemployment benefits, investment in new technology and renovations to 10,000 schools.

Heated debate

Mr Obama has pledged to try to end partisan division in Washington, but the debate on how best to kick start the US economy has devolved into a bitter squabble along party lines, says the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington.


President Obama said the economy can be turned around
In a heated debate, a succession of Republicans in Congress have condemned the stimulus package as a wasteful government spending exercise that will do little to create jobs.

They promoted their own bill, focussing more on tax cuts, which they said would create more jobs for half the investment.

But this was a battle they could not win in the House, where Democrats have a large majority.

It is slimmer in the Senate where Republicans could slow the bill's progress, but Democrats are confident they can get the measure through there, and they have set a target for mid-February to have the bill on Mr Obama's desk to be signed into law.

Failing to attract significant Republican support for the bill, our correspondent says, is a blow to Mr Obama's hopes of forging a new consensus in Washington, at this time of economic crisis.

Greater accountability

Mr Obama said earlier workers were looking for "bold and swift" action from leaders, and called on businesses to play their part in economic recovery by creating jobs in a "favourable climate" started by government. OBAMA PLAN: KEY POINTS
Expand Medicaid: $87bn
Help state governments: $79bn
Help school districts: $41bn
Higher unemployment benefits: $36bn
Rebuild roads: $30bn
Computerise medical records: $20bn
Green electricity grid: $11bn
Source: House Appropriations Committee

"I am confident that we are going to get it passed," Mr Obama said.

The US "cannot afford inaction or delay", he said after meeting business leaders at the White House.

Laying the blame for the economic crisis partially on a "sense of irresponsibility" on Wall Street and the government in Washington DC, he said corporate America had to take responsibility for its workers, but that Washington needed to provide leadership with the stimulus plan.

The president has said most of the money in his package would be used "immediately", creating as many as 4m jobs - the vast majority in the private sector - and that there would be a greater measure of accountability.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was sworn in on Monday, has the task of trying to get the US economy back in shape.

Meanwhile, Mr Obama attended his first Pentagon session with the joint chiefs of staff on Wednesday, telling them the military had carried out its missions under enormous pressure, and pledging his support to the troops.

Mr Obama, who campaigned on a promise to end the war in Iraq responsibly and withdraw troops next year, said his administration faces tough decisions on Iraq and Afghanistan.

TRAGEDY

Sacked dad kills wife and five kids



A man who shot his wife and five young children before turning the gun on himself faxed a suicide note to a US TV station just moments before the tragedy. Skip related content
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In the note, Ervin Lupoe claimed to have planned the shootings with his wife in a suicide pact because they had just been sacked.

"Why leave our children in someone else's hands," Lupoe said in the letter.

The letter also claimed that an administrator at the hospital where the couple worked said last month "you should not even had bothered to come to work today you should have blown your brains out" when it emerged they were wrongly claiming childcare benefits.

"They did nothing to the manager who stated such and did not attempt to assist us in the matter, knowing we have no job and five children under eight years with no place to go. So here we are," the note said.

The station called police after receiving the fax and the emergency services had also received a call from a man who said: "I just returned home and my whole family's been shot."

Officers rushed to the home in Wilmington, Los Angeles, within minutes of the killings and found Ana Lupoe's body in an upstairs bedroom with the bodies of the couple's twin two-year-old boys.

The bodies of an eight-year-old girl and twin five-year-old girls were found alongside Ervin Lupoe's in another bedroom. All had been shot in the head.

Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner from the Los Angeles Police said: "In the note he talked about his issues with his employer, job situation. We're not clear exactly where that is.

"We're talking to his employer right now and in the note he clearly said he was going to kill himself, his wife and his kids."

The Kaiser Permanente hospital released a statement made no comment on the claims in Lupoe's fax.

THEY ARE CUTTING JOBS

Corus set to cut 2,500 jobs in UK

Corus, a subsidiary of India's Tata Steel, employs 24,000 people in the UK
Steelmaker Corus is set to cut 3,500 jobs worldwide, including more than 2,500 in the UK, the BBC understands.

Corus said it could not comment on rumour or speculation, but the company, like all steelmakers, is facing an unprecedented downturn in demand.

One union official told the BBC Corus would announce its restructuring plans to workers at 0930 GMT on Monday.

Corus, a subsidiary of India's Tata Steel, employs 24,000 people in the UK and 42,000 worldwide.

According to the Sunday Times, the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker is not planning to close any of its British plants.

Corus's main UK sites are at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside. It also has a site in Rotherham. The company wants to use this semi-idle period - which it expects to last for six months - to retrain its employees

Robert Peston, BBC business editor


Robert Peston's blog

Mick Fell, union chairman at Scunthorpe, said he did not anticipate there would be any job losses there, but said he imagined workers would be "quite nervous" ahead of Monday morning's announcement.

A spokesman for Community trade union, which represents steelworkers, said the reported job cut figures may have been "exaggerated".

He went on: "Any job cuts that damage the viability and long-term future of the steel industry will be looked on unfavourably."

He added that the union was committed to defending the jobs and terms and conditions of its members.

'Support workers'

Rotherham MP Denis MacShane said he had spent the weekend urging Corus to maintain the production capacity in Rotherham and South Yorkshire so "once the world slump in demand for steel is over the UK will remain a steel-making economy". CORUS IN UK
Steelworks at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside
Engineering steels produced at Rotherham
Strip mills at Llanwern, South Wales
Tinplate works at Trostre, south Wales
Coating works at Tafarnaubach, south Wales and Shotton, north Wales
Electrical steel works at Newport, south Wales
Tube mills at Corby and Hartlepool
Plate mill at Dalzell, Scotland
Narrow strip mills at Brinsworth, England
Special section mill at Skinningrove, England
Service centre at Lisburn, Northern Ireland

He said: "The government has found billions for the banks and must do what it takes to support steelworkers and their families as we go through this global recession."

"Corus has invested in training a new generation of steel-workers and ways should be found to keep them operational rather than see steel-making disappear from the UK."

A 40% fall in global demand for steel from its peak of last year caused Corus's order book to drop by more than a third.

Steel prices have fallen by half since last September.

The company has already announced swift measures to reduce costs.

"I understand that the cuts at Europe's second-largest steelmaker have been brought forward as a result of the downturn, but it was clear to [its soon-to-retire chief executive] Mr Varin that Corus needed to become more efficient in any case," said Robert Peston.

Steelmakers around the world have been hit by falling demand from carmakers, shipbuilders, construction and heavy engineering sectors, which, in turn, have seen demand for their products drop. CORUS WORLDWIDE
Steelworks at IJmuiden, The Netherlands
Coating works at Maubeuge, north France
Electrical steel works at Surahammer, Sweden
Tube mills at Oosterhout, Arnhem and Maastricht, The Netherlands
Rail mill at Hayange, north-east France
Narrow strip mills at Dusseldorf and Trier, Germany, and Warren and Bethlehem, USA
Service centres at Cork and Dublin, Ireland

Corus was formed in 1999 through the merger of British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens. In 2007, it became a subsidiary of Tata Steel.

Corus claims to be Europe's second-largest steelmaker, producing 20m tonnes of crude steel every year.

Its annual revenues are about £12bn ($16.3bn).

The company has requested financial help from the UK government for a rolling programme of providing new skills to its entire workforce.

"This would take the form of a state top-up for the wages of employees," said Robert Peston.

THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Today the world watches Senator Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. There is no doubt about it that a greater number of the Americans are so excited about seeing the supposed change that dominated the political atmosphere for the last one year being inaugurated in the person of Obama. However apart from seeing the first African American elected as the President of the United State of America which is enough as a sign that Americans are serious about wanting change, there is no evidence yet that the election of Obama to the White House will bring about peace in the Middle East in particular and the world in general. There is still much to be accomplished in the economic sector before we can begin to see changes that is really worth calling change. The election of Obama to the white house generates much excitement across the globe and it has been a great source of entertainment too. Obama's speech as usual is admirable expecially his mastery of the language with which he communicates and his ability to speak it fluently as he conveys his message. A charismatic Leader and a lovely father and husband Obama is a role model across the globe. His story is a glaring example of how God intervenes in a unique way to solve human social problems and enthrone a personality that will bring about the fulfilment of the aspiration of a people that seek fot justice and social justice. Right now there is hope in the mail box of every American. Let us wish them well. Meanwhile the Obama official limousine is christened 'The Beast' If Obama had been elected in a European country I would have warned that we should beware of him being the biblical beast but he is not so no panic. However I believe Obama stands for a new era not only in American politics but also the world. Events will unfold this. Obama was realistic to tell Americans that there is not going to be a magical move that will put things in better shape immediately. The world,America inclusive should be ready to go through an era of economic belt tightening and self discpline. Goodluck America, Welcome to the white House President Obama.

THE JOY OF HAVING A BLACK PRESIDENT

What a black president means to me
Carolyn McKinstry was almost killed in a racist church bombing in segregated Alabama in the 1960s. The BBC's Matthew Price asks her what the forthcoming inauguration of America's first African-American president, Barack Obama, means to her.

Carolyn McKinstry was on her way through the church to its office when she saw the four girls through the open door to the washroom.

"Good morning," she said, and went upstairs.


Dr King did tell us we might be faced by the dogs, that the policemen might spit on you... but the only appropriate response was always a non-violent response

Carolyn McKinistry
When she reached the top, the phone rang. Normally there would be an adult at the church and she would not have answered it.

That day, though, she picked up the receiver.

"Three minutes," said a male voice on the other end, before hanging up.

Carolyn McKinstry did not know that the church had previously received bomb threats.

The children knew about the tense situation in Birmingham of course, and across the state of Alabama and the whole of the South as well. Often, though, the adults did not tell them everything.

The call perplexed her. Then as she stepped out of the office, the bomb exploded.

"I remember thinking that I heard thunder, and as quickly as I thought that, the windows came crashing down. I fell on the floor. Probably I was there 10 or 12 seconds, and then I heard people running."

Six hours later - hours of fear and chaos, of anger and hatred - Carolyn McKinstry learned that the four girls in the washroom had not made it out.

Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wasley were all killed in the explosion.

Denise McNair was 11. The others were 14 years old, just as Carolyn McKinstry was on 15 September, 1963, the day white racists blew up the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Institutionalised racism

Today, sitting in that same church, Carolyn McKinstry, speaks with the strength of someone who has faced down injustice, and survived with her dignity intact.

The city she grew up in, the state and the country too, have changed immeasurably in the past 46 years, and in ways she says she never imagined.


The bombing was one of the most notorious attacks of the civil rights era

When Carolyn McKinstry was growing up, state law segregated black people like her from white citizens.

She was forced to use separate schools, dine in different parts of restaurants, to live in different parts of the city.

As a child, she did not always notice the extent of it.

"It was clearly segregated. We were all aware of that, but our parents and our communities made every effort to make sure that we were not missing anything. We didn't miss what we didn't know about," she says.

She was 12 years old when she first remembers thinking about the institutionalised racism that then existed in Alabama.

Her grandfather had brought her grandmother to Birmingham, to try and find her a hospital bed.

"Hospitals did not accept black people, but we found a hospital to place my grandmother in. They placed her in the basement. It became my job as the youngest daughter to sit with her. I sat with her for two weeks until she died. I spent two weeks wondering why we were in the basement."


The church had received threats before the bombing
Birmingham, and to a certain extent its 16th Street Baptist Church, became the epicentre of the civil rights movement in 1963.

That was the year Martin Luther King Jnr and others came to the city.

"He told us that segregation was not the normal way of things," she says.

So she went to the mass meetings held at her church, where the civil rights leadership called on the black community to rise up against segregation.

"Dr King did tell us we might be faced by the dogs, that the policemen might spit on you. They might hit you, but the only appropriate response was always a non-violent response.

"When we did march, they brought the water hoses, and I remember thinking no-one had said anything about the water hoses. I remember being a little frightened, but I remember also thinking that... Birmingham was not the only place with segregation laws.

"It was not something you could run from, I did understand that."

Like thousands of others she did not run.

'Wonderful culmination'

Today, four decades after she almost lost her life because of the colour of her skin, Carolyn McKinstry still works at the 16th Street Baptist Church.

On Tuesday, she will walk the short distance downtown, a few blocks, into the city's auditorium, and there she will watch the big screens with awe as an African-American becomes president of her country.

"In Dr King's speech - his 'Dream speech' - he talked about being looked at and evaluated based on the merits of your character and your competence as opposed to what colour you were. I think that we've come just about full circle on that," she says.

"If you've lost friends along the way, if you've had friends killed through this journey, this is just a wonderful culmination. It says that they didn't die in vain. It brings true the words that Martin Luther King gave at the funeral of the four girls here.

"He said their blood might well serve as a redemptive force not just for Birmingham, but for America."

WILL THERE BE PEACE?

Gaza is burning and the entire world is in focus but then there still is no solution to the problem. Over three thousand years ago the same people that are setting fire on Gaza and at the same time sending rockets to blast Israel are the same people who are today setting the area ablaze, Israel and the Palestinians. In this same area the popular King of Israel. the young shepherd boy David brought down Goliath the Philistine hero who for forty days held Israel to ransome and insalted the God of Israel. Today, the young men of Palestine are still throwing stones against the Israeli army as if saying, if David killed our ancestor Goliath with stone, then it is time to kill your heroes with stones.
Unfortunately, a more sophisticated weapon of war is now being used in the acts of warfare. Do not let us underrate the power of stones as a weapon and the miracle that could accompany it. Though if it is all about throwing stones it would have been better but the devastating instruments of war in use are making the entire war jittery and yet nobody can stop the carnage permanently.
There is protest match now across the globe against Israel continuous bombing of Gaza and the death roll going higher. Women and children and the civilian population baring the blunt of the fatal condition of war. As the question is being asked, "who can stop it" The answer is nobody. Not even reasoning or human compasion. The area is a battle invested domain and it will continue to burn until there is divine intervention. Not even Obama who many are calling upon to speak out against the carnage. What bush could not accomplish in Gaza not even a thousand Obama can. No matter how many mouths yell the slogan "Yes we can" the carnage in the Middle East and every other volatile domain of the world will continue. The bible specifically states clearly; "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."1Th,5:3. Human dipomatic moves will not work because each time we sit around the table to negotiate for peace it is always with deceit and hidden bitterness at the back of our mind. This is what we call dipomacy.
Israel is an instrument in the hand of God and the earlier the Arab nations face the fact that Israel has come to be a Nation and nothing can change this. Israel also should know for sure that even though they are once more a nation, it is not for their sake but to prepare the the domain for the second coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ who they crucified that the purpose of the redemption programme of God be brought to fulfilment. They are only playing their historic role as the pen and paper with which God sends His message and revelation of His divine programme to the entire world.
The only hope that man has for peace is to look forward to the arrival of the Prince of Peace whose government shall destroy all instruments of war and reshape the heart of men from violence to a peaceful one thereby bringing the kingdom of God to manifestation.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountains of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and will walk in his path: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spares into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation,neither shall they learn war any more."Is.2:2-4

WORD OF EXHORTATION FOR 2009

It is a New Year and there is need for us to reflect on the year which we have have just put behind us and count our blessings and losses. For every gains and benefits to God be the glory and to all that we count as losses, we need to think over them and take a deep search because there are hidden blessings in them for us with which we can explore for the abundant blessings and benefits that await us in the New Year.
I expect you to leave a comment on any of the News or articles posted on this blog. I also welcome you to follow this blog.

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request s be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."Ph.4:6-7

You are welcomed once again to go through this blog and see what I have to offer you for this New Year. Wonderful books that will improve your spiritual life and bring you closer to the knowledge of God through Christ our Lord. Once again happy new year.