Trends to Barbarism and Prospects for Socialism
By James Petras
Western societies and states are moving inexorably toward conditions resembling barbarism; structural changes are reversing decades of social welfare and subjecting labor, natural resources and the wealth of nations to raw exploitation, pillage and plunder, driving living standards downward and provoking unprecedented levels of discontent. Continue
Italy passes austerity measures: The Italian parliament has approved an austerity package worth more than $32bn, aimed at cutting the country's budget deficit and reassuring financial markets.
Japan unemployment rises further: Latest economic figures show persisting weakness in world's second largest economy.
US economy shows signs of slowdown as consumer spending falters: "Normally at this stage of the recovery we see confidence returning, but that just isn't happening at the moment. Instead we see anxiety about the future and the outlook for sub-trend growth," he said.
IMF Says U.S. Financial System May Need $76 Billion in Capital: The U.S. financial system remains fragile and banks subjected to additional economic stress might need as much as $76 billion in capital, according to the results of International Monetary Fund stress tests.
Homes keep falling into foreclosure as programs fail to help: In the first half of 2010, more than 1.6 million U.S. properties were hit with foreclosure filings, which include bank repossessions, default notices and auction sale notices.
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