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With Heathrow airport in London operating at 98% of capacity, Britain's government is considering two options- building a third runway expansion, or scrapping Heathrow and building a large new airport east of London. A commission will report on this by the end of of 2013. Passengers at UK airports are forecast to grow from 219 million passengers in 2011 to 315 million in 2030.

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Sheila Bair leaves behind a much stronger FDIC. William Isaac, a former FDIC chairman says she has had a positive effect on the agency by raising its profile and energy level. Under the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation FDIC now has the powers to take over large complex financial institutions that are in serious trouble. Mr Gruenberg, who succeeds Ms Bair, has worked closely with her at FDIC. Jim Wigand, heads the new Office of Complex Financial institutions at the FDIC. One of the powers given by the legislation is for FDIC to have its examiners at financial firms to go over operations, providing backup supervision to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. According to FDIC officials analysts should be in place at financial firms the FDIC oversees during the next 12 months. The FDIC is also working on a rule requiring banks with assets larger than $50 billion and other large nonbank financial firms to provide a "living will," a plan that would help regulators speedily and cleanly wind down a firm in a future financial crisis. In March 2011 the FDIC approved a draft rule requiring firms to submit these plans, along with regular updates and reports on the firms' current credit exposure. Ms. Bair says the proposal will be completed in August. Bair has also put in place FDIC managers with considerable experience who can continue the work of strengthening the regulatory system she started in 2006. In her work at FDIC Bair has performed a remarkable public service at a difficult time in the nation's history....

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Luigi Di Maio, 31 years, the head of the Fuve Star Movement Party, that won the most seats in the 2018 Italian election, was elected as leader of the party in September 2017. He was chosen by Beppe Grillo, to give a younger face to the party in upcoming elections. As in France this brings young people into the new parliament. Luigi Di Maio was elected Vice President of the lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, in 2013 at the age of 26. Maio attended engineering school at the University of Naples, switching later to law, but did not complete the degree studies. During his time there he headed the student council. Before Beppe Grillo started his Five Star Movement in 2009 during the period of Berlusconi and older politicians on the right and the left who were losing confidence, Maio formed the Friends of Beppe Grillo Movement. He joined the movement to support the popular comedian Grillo early, and in the party election was chosen by Grillo to lead the Five Star Party. ...

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Iran Ceasefire breaks down as US escorts ships through Hormuz clearing Iranian fastboats. Iran sends missiles at oil hubs of UAE. Two US destroyers were closely followed by 2 merchant ships as they successfully transited through the straits on Monday morning. Iran sent 6 fastboats at the ships which were destroyed, cruise missiles and drones which had no effect. US Central Command says 100 Navy and Air Force planes drones, satellite imagery and more than 15,0000 military personnel are part of this Project Freedom. Trump says a South Korean ship was involved and maybe South Korea should be part of the effort to clear the waters. DJT says the Project Freedom is for the purpose of - “Meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance." WHich is to say that poor countries and middle income countries around the world are affected by the IRGC Iran actions that affect oil, fertilizer and other energy supplies. ...

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Marco Rubio has shown an exceptional grasp of Latin America from his days representing Florida in the Senate, about a decade in the Senate when he has closely followed events and acquired a deep knowledge of Latin America. His answers at Congressional hearing were exceptionally good, and showed an ability and earnest desire to get good results for the Venezuelan people, sharing aninterest in the good for Latin America being a person of latin American origin who speaks fluent Spanish as a native language. Points made by Venezuela in answering questions from senators in the US Senate hearings- All of Latin America welcomed the US action to remove Maduro from Venezuela.  It affects Colombia and neighboring countries. Colombian rebel groups control parts of Venezuelan territory and operate from there.  Multiple administrations had deals with Maduro. Maduro kept none of the deals including the one with Biden for free and fair elections.  To be realistic in situations such as Spain, Paraguay, there were transitions before safe and fair return to normalcy and democratic government returned after decades of dictatorship. RUbio showed an exceptional grasp of the Latin Ameican situation and reminded senator Murphy that he had been in the Senate for decade and worked with the senators now on the other side to remove Maduro amd nothing had worked. Venezuela is a rich country , the most affluent in Latin America. It does not need money from the US. Before the Chavez dictatorship it was a country with democratic forms of government, and a country friendly to the US.  The action taken was a quarantine not a blockade. By controlling oil going out of Venezuela the lifeline for the country the US has control over its finances and the economy, budgets, the government finances. The immediate task was getting the oil out of the country as there was no place to put it and US had it sold at market prices not sent to China at a 20% discount for which Venezuela got nothing except paying off debt to China. The current authorites are cooperating with the US on the budget, they have to submit budget requests and the US approves it item by item and an audit agency is being set up including Ex-Im. Bank an other options to make sure the money is being spent on salaries and for the Venezuelan people. The money goes to an account for Venezuela at the US Treasury Department. In 4 weeks a lot has been accomplished. What happens in 6 months - for that actions are more important than words, it should be a marked improvement over today. Including setting up the US diplomatic presence in Caracas which means talking to the government on the ground, talking to civil society, talking to the Opposition.  ...

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Social entrepreneur Mycoskie found the idea for TOMS shoes when he visited Argentina in 2006. There he found the traditional alpargata cloth slide-on. He popularized it in the U.S. by offering to donate pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of TOMS shoes sold at stores.

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The failure of foreclosure programs under the Obama administration continues into 2012.

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Wal-Mart has removed same store sales as a metric on which managers and executives are measured for performance based compensation. As a result CEO Duke sees his compensation increase in the last fiscal year from what it would be under the previous arrangement. Same store sales have declined for seven consecutive quarters at Wal-Mart. The new metric used instead of same store sales is total sales, which increased 3.4% in the last fiscal year. Duke's compensation was $18.7 million, of which $16 million was performance based, for the last fiscal year. Morgenson asks if Wal-Mart executives are being opportunistic when it comes to setting the metrics for performance based compensation.

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This Journal editorial points to the 3 page letter from Gen. Dempsey that make a U.S. response in Syria seem difficult and laborious, cost $1 billion a month, and endless. Gen. Keane points to the Syrian air force operating from just 6 main air strips and with about 50 aircraft out of 100 operational, using this to terrorize the opposition and the countryside indiscriminately including civilian population. Taking these out with cruise missile and other strikes is all that is needed, not even a no-fly zone says Keane. Short of a proper response the U.S. and the Obama administration could only end up leaving the Assad regime in place for longer, says the Journal. Aid to rebel groups that can then do the work of completing the transition is the right strategy, says the Journal.

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Value of a college degree in US not what it once was. Pew Research shows dissatisfaction among young people and the young vote evenly divided between the two main parties in the US in 2025.