Posts Tagged ‘Syria’

The Week Unpeeled

US media were captivated by the horrific one-man shooting spree at an Aurora, Colo., 12-midnight showing of Batman’s “Dark Night Rises,” where 12 died and some 50 were injured. In fact, CNN seemed to cover the story almost nonstop since Friday.

Elsewhere:

• Fighting intensified in Syria, with rebels killing key military leaders and the regime staging new attacks that sent refugees fleeing the capital;
• Google’s profits rose 11 percent in the quarter, while Microsoft recorded a rare loss based on a charge for its Internet business;
• Marissa Mayer from Google was named chief of Yahoo, reportedly awarded as much as $60 million, making her one of if not the largest paid female executive;
• The New York Times named Margaret M. Sullivan from the Buffalo News as its public editor, fifth in a line and first woman in the role;
• Morgan Stanley saw its second-quarter profit slide 54 percent as trading revenues slumped amid a downgrade;
• Barton Biggs, a well-known market guru and former Morgan Stanley money-management executive, died;
• UK inflation reached its lowest level since November 2009 as the wettest June on record deterred many shoppers forcing retailers to slash prices;
• An official report for the G20 warned that it is likely motorists have been overcharged for petrol because banks and other traders may have manipulated oil prices in the same way they rigged interest rates;
• And with less than one week until the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, a few interesting fact:
  • Up to 5,500 border guards are set to strike next Thursday on the eve of the Olympics in a dispute over job cuts and pay, causing disruption for nearly 130,000 passengers;
  • Some train drivers are also planning a three-day strike during the Games which will affect people travelling into London;
  • Olympic traffic restrictions have come into effect in parts of London, resulting in queues and delays for motorists and thousands of drivers are facing a fine of GBP130 after being caught in a newly-activated Olympic Games lane; and
• “Brand police” have been deployed across Britain to protect sponsors from firms using “ambush marketing” or illegally associating themselves with the Olympics at the expense of official sponsors.