Global Economic News

Biofuel Cabal Recolonizing Africa

June 10 (EIRNS)—At the Rome conference of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the representative of Congo-Brazzaville came out in defense of biofuel production, even calling for the expansion of plants and weeds for that purpose. The government is currently negotiating with international investors to sell them vast lands for growing such plants. We have to think about creating jobs, said Macaire Nzomono, the agriculture advisor of President Denis Sassou N'Guesso, according to Germany's telepolis website, in that context.

Finland To Build World's Biggest Nuclear Reactor

June 13 (EIRNS)—Despite opposition by the environmentalists, led by Greenpeace, Finnish authorities are moving ahead with the construction of a 1,600 MW nuclear reactor, the largest ever built; it is an advanced pressurized reactor which can use both enriched uranium and MOX (the mixed oxides of uranium 235 and plutonium) as fuel. The plant is expected to be operational in 2011.

The reactor part is being built by Framtome and Areva, while the peripherals are under contract with Siemens. Indians have built the turbine hall, which will house the largest single turbine ever built.

According to an Indian journalist who was in Finland, the authorities of the OL3, as the plant is named, indicated that governmental authorities from many countries have come to see the plant and find out in detail about the reactor. The Finns said that India and China seem to be most interested in this huge reactor.

U.K. Banks Try To Start Run vs. Southeast Asian Economies

June 13 (EIRNS)—Both the HSBC (formerly the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., the oldest British drug-running financial institution in Asia) and Deutsche Bank (the world's largest currency trader) have issued advisories to get out of Asian currencies and currency bonds, as well as equities, in a clear effort to precipitate a run on the Asian currencies, like that launched by George Soros in 1997. Deutsche Bank told investors that "quickening inflation" is forcing Asian central banks to raise interest rates, according to Bloomberg.

HSBC advised against "exposure to emerging Asian shares as rising inflation threatens to hurt regional currencies," according to Reuters, which called the move "drastic." HSBC has previously advised that 2.5% of any portfolio be in these emerging Asian shares.

Sweden's Role in Global Biofuels Genocide

June 8 (EIRNS)—The Swedish Scania truck company has been at the center of the worldwide ethanol mania since they introduced ethanol-fueled buses 15 years ago. Scania is the only producer of a heavy engine that can burn it, a diesel engine that runs on 95% ethanol (E95). An old factory which produces ethanol from the Swedish pulp industry in the North has taken the lead in producing the ethanol and the necessary 5% ignition-improving additive. Called Svensk EtanolKemi AB-SEKAB, it is now going big into Africa and is running 40% of all Brazilian ethanol into Europe.

The Swedish SEKAB is trying to take the lead in the control of ethanol distribution in especially Northern Europe. SEKAB is owned by three power utilities of the cities around the factory, a regional insurance company and the politically controlled Social Democratic gas station chain OK, which last December was sucked into a huge renewed funding of SEKAB to pay for both research into making ethanol from wood, and aggressive land purchases in Africa.

SEKAB made a deal on April 22, 2008, with the Brazilian construction company Constran, to build an ethanol factory in Ghana that would process and buy all sugar cane from a local producer controlling 27,000 hectares. SEKAB also plans to acquire 400,000 hectares (ha) of land in Tanzania and Mozambique for ethanol crop plantations. They now have 20,000 ha in production in Tanzania and 50,000 ha more under development, with the aim of getting 400,000 ha within 30 years.

Tanzania is the longtime prime receiver of Swedish government aid, which now finances the National Biofuels Task Force of the government of Tanzania.