Things worth reading: 14th July 2009

Things we're reading today include ...

Today's must-read

Today is the day that Parisians stormed the Bastille in 1789 and overthrew the excesses of the then powers-that-be, namely King Louis XVI and his beautiful Mrs. Marie-Antoinette ... let them eat caviar and champagne!

So, in the spirit of the French revolutionaries, today's Francais are just as revolutionary as demonstrated by this article in yesterday's Guardian:

French workers threaten to blow up New Fabris car parts factory

First there was boss-napping, now angry workers at a factory in
France have come up with a new tactic in their battle against mass
redundancy.  Staff at bankrupt car parts maker New Fabris are
threatening to blow up the plant if they do not receive compensation
from the companies that provided most of the firm's business.

Vous etes toutes le capitalist cochon et nous voudrons votre tete sur un stake ... or something like that anyways.

Key headlines

UK:

Government loses £10.9bn in RBS and Lloyds (Times)
Saving RBS and Lloyds could cost taxpayer £11bn, government admits (Guardian)
UKFI: no quick exit for £3,000 each UK household has in RBS and Lloyds shares (Telegraph)

Europe:

‘Dear Brits, we’ve beaten you at everything’ says Berlusconi paper (Times)
Biannual information on euro banknote counterfeiting, press release from the ECB

Asia:

China's central bank signals end to credit boom (Telegraph)

USA:

Goldman rebounds from crisis of confidence (Financial Times)
Goldman executives sold $700m of stock (Financial Times)
Bank of America Said to Balk at Paying Backstop Fee  (Bloomberg)
Countrywide, Bank of America sued by MBIA Insurance (Los Angeles Times)
Tim Geithner upbeat on prospects for economic recovery (Guardian)
US budget deficit at $1 trillion (BBC)

General:

Investment industry needs to put some skin in the game (Times)

After last month's ban of virtual currencies by the Chinese government, this report from Reuters regarding 'gold-farming' in virtual worlds makes for interesting viewing too:

Quote of the Day:

"The stir caused by the Morgan Stanley intern’s report tells me one thing: media companies and the City analysts that follow them are completely out of touch with the teenage market."
The Telegraph on the "Twitter is not for teens" astounding insight ....

  

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