Palestine: World Bank Hands Out Urgent Political and Economic Advice

So an economic report from the World Bank gives clear advice to Ramallah not to insist on the UN vote on statehood, in the face of the resistance from Washington: with continuing, sustainable advances in its economy, the West Bank is an excellent candidate to become a state. In the meantime, there are steps to be taken: donations, an easing of Israeli restrictions, and a Palestinian Authority focused on institution-building. And the negotiating table is the "best" way of achieving the sustainable economy as well as political settlement.

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Iran Transcript: President Ahmadinejad's TV Interview

A transcript of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's live interview on Sunday night on the State broadcaster IRIB Channel 2:

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What do you think about the execution of the laws in the past five months?

My assessment is very positive. The people of Iran have accomplished something here. Everyone thought that that the economic situation would not improve. But we have accomplished this and we have proud results to show. I will describe some of them to you.

One of the main things was to cut down the costs. One of the major issues was the cost of bread. I can tell you that we have cut down the costs to about 30 percent. In a short time, we have managed to do this. I won't say that the quality of bread everywhere is better than before, but it will be.

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Wikileaks and Oil Special: Does Shell Really Have A Grip on Nigerian Government?

The Guardian of London featured this October 2009 cable in their WikiLeaks coverage on Thursday: "Shell's Grip on Nigerian Government Revealed".

Well, not quite.

This is a significant document but not in the black-and-white portrayal of The Guardian. Instead, it reveals how Shell has made its political moves --- including putting its own people inside Nigeria's ministries --- precisely because it cannot be sure of "control" over Nigerian policy. 

And this is also a forthright revelation of the US Government as accomplice to Shell's efforts: "The Ambassador asked what the Embassy could do to help" the oil company with the pressure on Nigeria's legislators over the Petroleum Industry Bill.

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China Economy Weekly: Trade Battles with US, Power to Tibet, Investing In General Motors

Beijing Buys More US Debt:  China slightly increased its holdings of US Treasury debts in July, to $846.7 billion, after two months of net sales.

The news allayed concerns that Washington's largest creditor was moving away from investing in dollar assets.

Coincidentally, the debt data came out as two US Congressional hearings were being held on China's exchange rate policy. 

The hearings were attended by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who acknowledged that the two countries "have significant economic interests" in their relationship and highlighted the importance of the Chinese market on the US economic recovery. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the yuan's appreciation.

China responding by warning that obsessing over yuan appreciation would not solve trade problems in the US and "might make things even worse"

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