Here we go with this evening’s edition of the news!

International Developments

❖ Gen. Martin Dempsey, head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff “denounced ex-officers Tuesday for waging a campaign against President Barack Obama, arguing that soldiers had a duty to stay above the political fray.” He added, “That’s how we maintain our bond and trust with the American people.”

❖ The war in Afghanistan claims its 2000th US victim.

International Finance

❖ Chris Mahoney, head of Glencore’s food trading , seems to be high-fivving about the US drought since it “‘will be good for Glencore’ because it will lead to opportunities to exploit soaring prices. . ..” If you want a little insight into Glencore, do check out their wiki entry , then on to the meatier stuff , after which, try muckety and you’ll see none other than Tony Hayward , formerly of BP, is with Glencore, too, as of course is Marc Rich.

❖ Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras , who’ll be meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel tomorrow, insists that “Athens does not want more money from creditors, but indicated it would like more time to enact reforms and spending cuts.” Specifically, he wants to push the deadline for imposing further austerity on the Greek people forward by a couple of years.

❖ News flash: “ Public pension funds to lead ‘London Whale’ JPMorgan lawsuit.” Lead plaintiffs will be AR, OH, OR and Sweden.

❖ Interesting stats: total world’s wealth = $200trillion; own $4,000 and you’re in the wealthiest 50%, $72,000 and you’re in the top 10%, $588,000 and you’re in the top 1%. The top 1% had hidden $21 – $32 trillion in 2010, while 2.5 billion people subsisted on less than $2.00/day in 2008.

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