Latest Headlines: Heavy on Greece, Ukraine; CBS Reporter Bob Simon Dead in Auto Accident

Early Bird Headlines 12 February 2015

Updated 5:01 am EST 12 February 2015

Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.

Update:

• Ukraine ceasefire agreed after all-night talks (Financial Times) Agreement signed by Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia. If the cease fire holds (starts Saturday midnight) will it be proof positive that Russia controls the eastern Ukraine “rebels”?

Breaking News

• CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, 1941-2015 (CBS News) Legendary reporter killed in NYC auto accident.

Racial, Class and Ethnic Conflicts

• Jails Have Become Warehouses for the Poor, Ill and Addicted, a Report Says (The New York Times, MSN News)

• Police in Washington state fatally shoot man running away, witnesses say (Al Jazeera) Man had allegedly hurled stones at cars.

Oil

• Goldman: Here’s Why Oil Crashed—and Why Lower Prices Are Here to Stay (Bloomberg Business) Too. Much. Oil. “Equilibrium price in the coming years will be much lower than the past decade.”

Tax Evasion

• UK tax authority downplays allegations against HSBC on tax evasion (Reuters)“Things that get written in newspapers do not stand up to the criminal test of evidence.”

Greece

• Greece, euro zone fail to agree on debt, to try again on Monday (Reuters)

• Greece is trying to recover $2.8 billion through a ruthless crackdown on tax evasion (Business Insider) First target is to recover €2.5 ($2.8) from tax cheats. That is about 1.2% of total tax revenue.

• Greek Economic Tragedy Sets Scene for Varoufakis on Debt (Bloomberg Business) Country is gripped by a deflationary spiral.

Measles

• You Call That a Measles Outbreak? Europe Cases Far Outpace U.S. (Bloomberg Business)

Ebola

• West Africa sees spike in Ebola cases as decline stalls, WHO says (Al Jazeera) News follows US announcement of withdrawal of troops sent to affected countries.

Islamic State

• Obama’s war request ignites debate about scope of ISIL conflict (Al Jazeera) Recognizing Americans’ war-weariness, Obama seeks to sell limited military venture against ISIL to lawmakers.

• Potential Republican candidates tread carefully on Islamic State (Reuters)

Syria

• Syria being tipped off about US-led strikes against ISIL, says Assad (Al Jazeera) Info comes from “third parties“.

Ukraine

• Hopes of agreement after Ukraine peace talks, source says (Reuters)

• In Ukraine, It’s Putin’s Game (The New York Times) “He plays on multiple fronts. We start talking about a military response, and he starts talking about diplomacy.”

• No, a Russian military occupation of Ukraine isn’t on the table (Reuters)

Russia

• Moscow’s Problem: Dealing with Imbeciles and Vassals (Strategic Culture Foundation) Hat tip to Rob Carter. Auhtor refers “to the American and European leaders, respectively.”

China

• Why Lunar New Year Holidays Are a Headache for China’s Central Bank (Bloomberg Business) 1.3 billion Chinese all hit ATMs for an unusual amount of cash.

India

• No, India’s Isn’t Growing Like China (Bloomberg View) Does Bloomberg need a good headline editor?

BECOME A GEI MEMBER – IT’s FREE!

Every every afternoon What We Read Today featured column is available only to GEI members.

To become a GEI Member simply subscribe to our FREE daily newsletter.