The Morning Brief - Lignet
Italy: Berlusconi Drama Could Weaken Fragile Coalition
The never-ending corruption and sex crime cases against Silvio
Berlusconi, the Italian media mogul and former prime minister, could
trigger a deep split between Berlusconi's center-right People of Freedom
(PDL) party and the center-left Democratic Party (PD), undermining the
current, fragile government coalition. Berlusconi has been convicted
three times before yet has managed to forestall or appeal his sentences,
an outcome credited to his popularity among Italian voters.
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Three Things Smartphone Users Can Do to Stop a Hack Attack
The hacking into the networks of some of the largest U.S. banks and
government agencies has made headlines, but the rapidly increased threat
of the hacking of smartphones and tablets should be getting as much
attention, if not more. According to a new report, smartphone users are
at risk of not only losing personal and confidential information, but
also their money, if they do not take a few simple steps to protect
themselves.
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Bulgaria Faces Political Deadlock Amid Slow-Growth Austerity
Under the pressure of self-imposed austerity, Bulgaria’s latest election
has triggered a political crisis after four widely divergent parties
split the seats in the incoming parliament following historically low
voter turnout. The close result makes forming a stable governing
coalition unlikely and threatens to stoke political tensions that could
lead to a renewal of mass public protests, unrest and economic
stagnation.
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North Korea: Chinese Banking Sanctions Largely Symbolic
Several of China’s largest state banks announced they will cease
business and financial dealings with the North Korea Foreign Trade Bank,
but the move is not likely to significantly hamper Pyongyang’s access to
hard currency. Given that North Korea still has a channel to access the
international banking system via smaller banks in China, as well as
through North Korean state trading companies located in China, the move
by China’s larger banks is more symbolic and will have limited practical
impact.
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Will New Flu Epidemics Devastate the Airline Industry?
Ghosts of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in
2003-2004, and the swine flu (H1N1) panic from 2009 rattled across Asia
and Europe early this week. Airline stocks took a hit as traders
predicted a possibly serious impact on air travel worldwide.
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