| [Editorial] Lessons from the IMF’s Bail-Out a Decade Ago
On November 21, 1997, the Korean government officially announced a request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bail-out funds. And on December 3, the IMF and Korea signed on the dotted line. In return for receiving the funds, the Korean economy would be managed by the IMF, which was essentially a loss of economic sovereignty. Seventeen out of 30 large companies, incapable of paying debts amid skyrocketing interest rates, disappeared into thin air. Seventeen out of 33 banks have survived the storm. Some 10,000 people lost their jobs everyday, and around 100 peopled ended their lives. It was a tumultuous time, but observers think that Korea overcame its financial difficulties relatively quickly. Over the past 10 years, per capital income has doubled to around $20,000 and the Benchmark KOPSI stock index has surpassed 2,000.
Developer falls short with panel
JEFFERSON CITY - An attempt to provide additional state tax subsidies for a low-income housing development accused of using illegal immigrants was barely defeated yesterday during a meeting of the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The subsidy increase fell one vote short of passage, but commissioners agreed to reconsider it next month, when it could be approved. They also delayed until then a discussion and vote on new conflict-of-interest rules. "I don�t think the taxpayers should be bailing out companies who have made bad decisions," said Jeff Schaeperkoetter, an assistant attorney general, in a move to block the subsidy increase. Schaeperkoetter, who represents Attorney General Jay Nixon on the MHDC, called the plan the state�s biggest taxpayer-financed bailout since Chrysler.
Fugitive Returned From Cuba Sentenced For Jumping Bail
TAMPA, FL (AP) -- A man who was a fugitive for more than 40 years has been sentenced in Tampa to one year and one day for jumping bail.
A federal judge has ruled that Joseph Adjmi can serve that punishment concurrent with the 10-year prison sentence for mail fraud that he never served. Adjmi was convicted and sentenced in 1963 but disappeared before serving his sentence.
Last year, Cuban officials alerted their U.S. counterparts that Adjmi was in their custody for fraud-related crimes he'd allegedly committed on the island. They intended to expel him upon his release and asked the United States to take him.
The 71-year-old was part of a family that sold fake art in Miami, claiming it was real and then bilking insurance companies by reporting the pieces destroyed in a fire.
Portus co-founder pleads guilty to fraud; gets 2 years
Michael Mendelson, a co-founder of Portus Alternative Asset Management, pleaded guilty to fraud Monday and was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the hedge fund's collapse. National Bank takes $575M hit from credit crunch National Bank became the latest Canadian financial institution to lay out the hit it will take from the credit crunch when it said Monday it will take a $575-million charge. Unions fear U.S. control in CanWest deal for Alliance Atlantis CanWest Global's deal with U.S.-based Goldman Sachs to take over Atlantis Alliance is an attempt to introduce foreign ownership of Canadian media interests by a back door, says a group of unions representing media workers. Loonie loses more ground The Canadian dollar fell more than a full cent on Monday, a day after the head of the Bank of Canada hinted at interest rate cuts to come.
Revised Flood Maps Available
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has updated Hillsborough County's flood maps, outlining areas where federal flood insurance will be required. The revised maps can be seen on the county's Web site at www.hillsboroughcounty.org. The maps reflect modifications made based on appeals and protests to the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency from December 2006 through February. The revised maps reflect about 35 subdivisions where information indicated the areas should return to low-risk flood designation. Small areas near Plant City and Dover have slightly more land ranked as high-risk based on newer information that shows a higher chance of flooding. Also, there were about 100 single-family homeowners who are now known to have some portion of their property in the high-risk area; they will receive notification from the county next month.
Nigeria: Dangerous Driving Lands Man in the Dock
One Mr. Ubadigbo Charles of City Centre Plaza, Karu, Abuja, has been arraigned before a Federal Capital Territory Magistrate's Court sitting at Wuse Zone 6, Abuja on charges of dangerous driving. The prosecutor, Alhassan Abdul accused the defendant for dangerous driving and failure to produce vehicle particulars to a police officer on demand which are contrary to section 18 and 314 of the Road Traffic Act. .
State Probes Melton’s Lawn Crew ... Finally
Seven months after the Jackson Free Press revealed details about Mayor Frank Melton�s young lawn crew, WLBT broke the news last week that the state auditor�s office has requested materials on the enterprise. Councilman Marshand Crisler has raised concerns, and withheld votes to pay for the �Wood Street Lawn Service,� learning early on that many of Melton�s young friends from Wood Street were running it. �[I]f there was ever a reason to pause before making a decision on the claims docket, that company is the most glaring example,� he said. He emphasized that the council �is responsible for what its contractors do.� In March, the JFP revealed that the head of the lawn service had been arrested for armed robbery. Fredrica Brunson told us then that he had taken over the service about eight months before after its original owner, Michael Mayes, had reneged on paying the workers.
2 Men Charged In Burglaries
City and state police joined together Sunday to apprehend two local men suspected in a series of smash-and-grab burglary/larcenies in Durham, Middletown and Middlefield.
State police at the Troop F barracks in Westbrook responded to a series of commercial burglary alarms from businesses along Route 17 in Durham around 6:50 a.m. Troopers received information on a suspicious vehicle that was found less than an hour later at the scene of another burglary at the Cypress Grill, 1265 South Main St., also known as Route 17.
Middletown police responded to the burglary alarm at the Cypress Grill around 7:45 a.m., and joined state police in locating the vehicle crashed into a small stream bed off Route 17. City police, state police, along with state police dogs and the Trooper One state police helicopter converged on the area and apprehended Kyle Youmans, 21, of 41 Silver St., and Brody Murdock, 22, of 1050 Newfield St., hiding in a wooded area.
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