That will mean that over the next year Citgo will withdraw completely from 10 states and stop supplying some stations in four additional states, Citgo spokesman Fernando Garay said Wednesday.

Chavez has long claimed that parts of Citgo's business produce losses for Venezuela and constitute a subsidy for the U.S. economy.

Interesting to see what effect this will actually have.

Citgo to stop selling gas at U.S. stations

When General Motors cites retiree costs, the giant auto maker has a point: It owed nearly 700,000 U.S. workers and retirees pensions that totaled $87.8 billion at the end of last year.

But $95.3 billion had already been set aside to pay those benefits when due.
....
GM has often said its U.S. pension plans added about $800 to the cost of each car made in the U.S. in 2004. It declines to say how much was due to executive pensions.

Well considering that the general pension fund is $7.5 BILLION over, and GM is collecting interest on it, that $800 and then some is due to executive pensions. Unions causing problems my ass. It's the fat asses in the leather chairs.

WSJ.com - As Workers' Pensions Wither, Those for Executives Flourish

While natural gas prices are up about 28 percent this year, usage is down 5 percent. At the same time, supply has remained steady.

"How can you have demand down, and price up and supply level?" said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. "It doesn't make sense. To get to these big increases, you have to look at the financial side, at the trading."

Enron redux?

Lax Oversight Blamed for High Gas Prices - Yahoo! News

The constraints on financing the current account deficit are likely to come from "foreign investors' fears" of holding too large a share of their investment portfolios in U.S. stocks and bonds, Greenspan said.

This change in mind-set could already be under way, he suggested.

"Concentration and other risks in holding dollar balances seem to have become a consideration at least for some investors, Greenspan said.

I think I started discussing this problem (more in terms of the federal budget deficit than in terms of the trade issues though) here over two years ago. It's gotten worse since then with no let up, and Greenspan doesn't seem to have any ideas on how to fix it.

Greenspan Issues Trade Deficits Warning

A record 12 percent rise in energy prices fueled the historic jump in the consumer price index, but core inflation -- which excludes food and energy -- increased just 0.1 percent.

In other words, the cost of living has increased, but the cost of entertainment has stayed the same. The haves still have, but the "have-a-littles" are now have nots.

25-year record US inflation surge sparks debate - Yahoo! News

Finland, the United States and Sweden also occupied the top three places in the table last year, but the report indicated that the United States could have emerged at the top but for worries about current policies and attitudes in Washington.

....

It ranked even lower -- 47th out of the 117 countries studied -- on the health of its macroeconomic environment, echoing, the Forum said, growing international concern about economic imbalances, "especially as it regards public finances."

We're competative, but we're not healthy (in fact at 47 that's going to put us down there with a whole bunch of 3rd world sweatshop countries). That's the sort of thing that does not look good when you're looking at the long term.

Nordic economies lead in competitiveness, study says - Sep. 28, 2005

The most affluent one-fifth of China's population earn 50 percent of total income, with the bottom one-fifth taking home only 4.7 percent, said the report by the official Xinhua News Agency, carried in newspapers Wednesday.

"The income gap, which has exceeded reasonable limits, exhibits a further widening trend. If it continues this way for a long time, the phenomenon may give rise to various sorts of social instability," it said.

Interesting. I wonder if they were taking a shot at the US about as the respective US numbers are 50.1% at the top, with the bottom fifth making 3.4%

Gap Between China's Rich, Poor Alarming

"With the actions we take today, consumers will reap the benefits of increased Internet access competition and enjoy innovative, high-speed services at lower prices," he said.

Who the hell are they trying to kid? No competition drives prices UP not down. That's the whole point of anti-trust law.

FCC ruling gives telecoms power over Internet access

In the first study to make plain the negative consequences of such behavior, 49% of 164 female MBA graduates said in a survey that they have tried to advance in their careers by sometimes engaging in at least one of 10 sexual behaviors, including crossing their legs provocatively or leaning over a table to let men look down their shirts.

The other half said they never engaged in such activity, and those women have earned an average of three promotions, vs. two for the group that had employed sexuality. Those who said they never used sexuality were, on average, in the $75,000-$100,000 income range; the others fell, on average, in the next-lowest range, $50,000 to $75,000.

In other words, sex may sell, but it doesn't pay.

Study says flirtatious women get fewer raises, promotions

Bernard Ebbers, the folksy entrepreneur who built WorldCom Inc. into a telecommunications giant, was sentenced on Wednesday to 25 years in prison for his role in the business fraud that led to the largest U.S. corporate bankruptcy.

The sentence means Ebbers, 63, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Ouch! Moral: It's better to fail than break the rules and get caught.

Ex-WorldCom CEO Ebbers sentenced to 25 yrs