Oil price drops after Iranian nuclear deal

DAX hits another record high as markets welcome Iranian nuclear deal – as it happened

by Graeme Wearden -

The City of London. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal speaks during a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Riyadh. Photograph: Jason Reed/AP

The historic deal over Iran’s nuclear programme agreed yesterday is driving down the price of oil and gold, and giving another nudge to already buoyant stock markets.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude slipped by over 2.5% already today, currently down $2.3 at $108.77/barrel. It follows the news that the tense negotiations in Geneva had delivered an agreement to restrict Tehran’s nuclear work –which some analysts believe could be the most important breakthrough in the region in years.

Hopes that tensions in the Middle East will be diminished by the deal are proving costly to gold bugs too.The bullion price shedding 1% to $1,229 per ounce, its lowest level since July.

The dollar has strengthened, pushing down the Japanese yen — cheering news for the Tokyo stock market where the Nikkei surged 1.5% to almost its highest level of 2013.

Stan Shamu of IG said the Iranian deal could have added to the “risk mood” in Asia today.

If sustained, lower oil prices could give the global economic recovery a helping hand, by lowering fuel costs for consumers and firms.

In Europe, the major stock markets have all opened a little higher – up around 0.5% in early trading.

Our latest news story on the deal, and how it was achieved, is here:

Secret US-Iran talks paved way for nuclear deal

It explains that Sunday’s deal will release restrictions on Iran’s trading of gold, petrochemicals, car and plane parts. In return, it will:

• Stop enriching uranium above 5%, reactor-grade, and dilute its stock of 20%-enriched uranium, removing a major proliferation concern.

• Not increase its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

• Freeze its enrichment capacity by not installing any more centrifuges, leaving more than half of its existing 16,000 centrifuges inoperable.

• Not fuel or commission the heavy-water reactor it is building in Arak or build a reprocessing plant that could produce plutonium from the spent fuel.

• Accept more intrusive nuclear inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, including daily visits to some facilities.

The deal has been cheered in Iran, where negotiators were met by cheering crowds. But with Israel calling it a ‘historic mistake’, caution may still be needed.

 

Ron Bruder; From Real Estate Developer To The Youth’s Advocate

Light from the dark

An interesting listing on the annual Times 100 most influential people list is a certain individual that caught our attention, Ron Bruder. When the city of New York was plunged into chaos with the September 11 happenings many people agonized over loved ones caught in the centre of the devastation and Ron Bruder was at the centre. On the day of the attacks Ron Bruder had no idea whether his daughter Jessica was dead or alive as she worked close to the World Trade Centre. His life was changed forever and so was his career path. From a successful real estate business in some office lease Tucson, Ron Bruder packed his bags and headed to the Middle East.

The light bulb moment

Ron Bruder a Jewish-American entrepreneur planted his roots as an extremely successful real estate developer enjoying many renowned projects, one being a successful integration and evolution of a electric generating plant in Manhattan to a residence. After the September 11 attacks his life was to change forever and so was his career. Instead of turning to resentment for the attacks, Ron Bruder instead embarked on a mission to go to the source and help in any way possible. He spent the next few years of his life travelling through the Middle East looking for ways to help and improve the situation. Through his travels he found a specific need for practical education programs and programs that taught high school and college graduates skills that they could utilize in the work place.

The Change

After Ron Bruder’s findings of the change needed he set off and set up the Education for Employment Foundation (EFE). He first introduced of the program was in Jordan for youths that are at risk and he taught them the skills to repaid air conditioning systems. Ron Bruder then brought the foundation to the war torn Gaza strip and West Bank where he taught engineers to become project managers. Other Middle Eastern and African countries that the foundation was set up in are Yemen, Egypt, Morocco and soon Tunisia. The success of Ron Bruder’s Education for Employment Foundation has seen substantial growth and continues to have the potential to change youth’s lives. In 2011 there were 1,300 graduates recorded and the predictions for this year are 2,000 graduates and 5,000 for 2013.

Social media like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube have now started to infiltrate into Middle Eastern countries and freedom of speech and expression is becoming more prominent in a incredible stringent society. Although these are ideals that the youths should be enjoying and partaking in, Ron Bruder is teaching them more important skills, the importance of finding and keeping productive careers and jobs when the protests and turbulence is over. Some of these youths may even enjoy some work abroad in some serviced office London or anywhere across the world.

Jemma Scott is an avid writer and explorer of influential and inspiring people.

 

Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship in ‘Action Comics’ #900

Apr 27th 2011 By: Laura Hudson

After recently undertaking a journey to walk — not fly — across the United States in the “Grounded” storyline and reconnect with the country and everyday Americans, Superman appears to be taking another step that could have major implications for his national identity: in Action Comics #900……Superman announces that he is going to give up his U.S. citizenship. Despite very literally being an alien immigrant, Superman has long been seen as a patriotic symbol of “truth, justice, and the American way,” from his embrace of traditional American ideals to the iconic red and blue of his costume. What it means to stand for the “American way” is an increasingly complicated thing, however, both in the real world and in superhero comics, whose storylines have increasingly seemed to mirror current events and deal with moral and political complexities rather than simple black and white morality.

The key scene takes place in “The Incident,” a short story in Action Comics #900 written by David S. Goyer with art by Miguel Sepulveda. In it, Superman consults with the President’s national security advisor, who is incensed that Superman appeared in Tehran to non-violently support the protesters demonstrating against the Iranian regime, no doubt an analogue for the recent real-life protests in the Middle East. However, since Superman is viewed as an American icon in the DC Universe as well as our own, the Iranian government has construed his actions as the will of the American President, and indeed, an act of war.

Superman replies that it was foolish to think that his actions would not reflect politically on the American government, and that he therefore plans to renounce his American citizenship at the United Nations the next day — and to continue working as a superhero from a more global than national perspective. From a “realistic” standpoint it makes sense; it would indeed be impossible for a nigh-omnipotent being ideologically aligned with America to intercede against injustice beyond American borders without creating enormous political fallout for the U.S. government.

While this wouldn’t be this first time a profoundly American comic book icon disassociated himself from his national identity — remember when Captain America became Nomad? — this could be a very significant turning point for Superman if its implications carry over into other storylines. Indeed, simply saying that “truth, justice and the American way [is] not enough anymore” is a pretty startling statement from the one man who has always represented those values the most.

It doesn’t seem that he’s abandoning those values, however, only trying to implement them on a larger scale and divorce himself from the political complexities of nationalism. Superman also says that he believes he has been thinking “too small,” that the world is “too connected” for him to limit himself with a purely national identity. As an alien born on another planet, after all, he “can’t help but see the bigger picture.”

Do you think the shift to a more global role makes sense for Superman? If he really is going to renounce his U.S. citizenship in order to function as a more international figure, how do you think it will affect the character?

Read More: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/04/27/superman-renounces-us-citizenship/#ixzz1Kve7ZQE4