XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Tuesday 28 August 2012

A New Run On The Banks? Spaniards Pulling Cash Out At Record Rates -

A New Run On The Banks? Spaniards Pulling Cash Out At Record Rates - 



Spanish consumers are pulling their cash out of banks at record levels, according to figures released on Tuesday.

Private sector deposits fell by nearly 5 percent in July to €1.509, the Telegraph reported, citing European Central Bank data, as public confidence in the banking system reached all-time lows amid a worsening economic situation.

The news comes after bond markets continued to hammer the debt-ridden euro zone nations Spain and Italy last week.

On Friday, the interest rate on a 10-year loan to the Spanish government briefly topped 6 percent -- a level that forced Greece into a default earlier this year, despite massive financial support from international sources -- before settling back to 5.96 percent.

"The pick-up in yields is a clear negative headline for Spain," Jo Tomkins, an analyst at 4Cast, a consulting firm, told the New York Times. "The country is facing a double-whammy of low growth and tough austerity, and [there are] doubts that it will be able to hit already optimistic deficit targets."

The surge in bond yields was followed by a two-notch credit downgrade by Standard & Poor's, which slashed the country's rating to BBB + on worries about the government's exposure to the nation's ailing banks. The current reduced rating is still considered to be investment grade.

The yield on Spain's two-year notes surged to the highest level in 18 years, Bloomberg News said.

Meanwhile, Spanish unemployment climbed to 24.4 percent of the workforce, the government said.

Italy's cost of borrowing was close behind its western neighbor: The yield on a 10-year note rose Friday to 5.84 percent from 5.24 percent.

"These ... results certainly came at a price which, in turn, leaves a question mark over how long Italy will be able to finance itself at levels that can be deemed sustainable," Richard McGuire, senior fixed income strategist at Rabobank, told the Wall Street Journal.

Read more -
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/378106/20120828/spain-debt-bonds-bank-deposits.htm

At Paralympics, officials on guard for wheelchair athletes who self-harm for performance boost -

At Paralympics, officials on guard for wheelchair athletes who self-harm for performance boost - 




Some Paralympians are prepared to break a toe for victory.

Others have stabbed their legs, sat on needles and ripped out catheters, all for the sake of gaining an edge.

It’s called “boosting,” and the effects can increase an athlete’s performance by as much as 10 per cent. As a result, officials will be testing for it at the Paralympic Games, which open Wednesday in London, England.

“It’s more pronounced in the top levels, but any athlete who is competitive might want that competitive edge,” said Chris Gee, who has coached and worked with disabled athletes in Canada. The GTA-based Gee wouldn’t divulge names but said he knows of several athletes at the Games who have boosted in the past.

Simply put, boosting athletes cause themselves pain they can’t feel in order to increase their heart rate and blood pressure.

The technique only works for athletes with severe spinal cord injuries. When these athletes exercise, their heart rates don’t rise, nor will their blood pressure.

Boosting is dangerous because the athletes don’t feel anything, yet their body is reacting. The resulting spike in blood pressure can lead to a fast race — or stroke or heart attack.

“It’s an extreme thing to do and we have to constantly remind athletes it’s very dangerous,” Craig Spence, a spokesman for the International Paralympic Committee, told the Associated Press.

These athletes are, in essence, tricking their own bodies. It’s officially called autonomic dysreflexia. That is, a reflex that occurs when the lower part of their body is exposed to painful stimuli.

Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/1248462--at-paralympics-officials-on-guard-for-wheelchair-athletes-who-self-harm-for-performance-boost

Deaf Three-Year-Old Not Allowed to Sign His Name Because It Violates Preschool’s Weapons Policy -

Deaf Three-Year-Old Not Allowed to Sign His Name Because It Violates Preschool’s Weapons Policy - 
Deaf Three-Year-Old Not Allowed to Sign His Name Because It Violates Preschool's Weapons Policy

A deaf preschooler in Grand Island, Nebraska, has been prohibited from signing his own name because school administrators believe the gesture he uses looks too much like a gun.

quot;He's deaf, and his name sign, they say, is a violation of their weapons policy," Hunter Spanjer's father Brian told Channel 10/11.

Hunter uses Signing Exact English or SEE — a form of manual communication that uses modified ASL handshapes in an effort to better mimic the spoken English language.

"Anybody that I have talked to thinks this is absolutely ridiculous," Hunter's grandmother told the news outlet. "This is not threatening in any way."



Read more - 
http://gawker.com/5938542/deaf-three+year+old-not-allowed-to-sign-his-name-because-it-violates-preschools-weapons-policy

Fifth-grade Teacher Helps Students Cheat Because She Says They’re ‘Dumb As Hell’ -

Fifth-grade Teacher Helps Students Cheat Because She Says They’re ‘Dumb As Hell’ - 


A former fifth-grade teacher implicated in a cheating scandal reportedly gave students the illegal assistance because she thought they were “dumb as hell.”

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, math teacher Shayla Smith was accused of offering students the answers to a test they were taking at the time. She had reportedly been responsible for supervising them while the tests were being completed.

Schajuan Jones, who taught a fourth-grade class across the hall from Smith’s former room, overheard her talking to another teacher about the test.


“The words were, ‘I had to give your kids, or your students, the answers because they’re dumb as hell,’” Jones was quoted as saying about the interaction between Smith and the unidentified third teacher.

A former student also allegedly accused Smith of cheating, adding that the educator offered the girl, now in eighth grade, the answers to a math test in 2010.

The tribunal deliberated for just one hour before handing down a guilty verdict. Smith had been charged with willful neglect and immorality, and she subsequently lost her job.

Smith’s case was part of a larger investigation that implicated approximately 180 public school teachers in the city, sparked by investigations performed by the newspaper.

Read more - 
http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2012/08/28/school-teacher-helps-students-cheat-because-she-says-theyre-dumb-as-hell/