British Hope their 'Green Deal' will cut Energy Imports by $5 Billion a year

The cost of higher education has exploded while its value has increased. Your lifetime earnings could be 84% higher if you graduate from college. This leaves many young people debt-wracked. In America, the percentage of households, headed by under-35 year olds, with education debt increased from 17% to more than 40% between in 1989 and 2010. The figure below shows their average debt:

CALGARY, Alberta — Nexen Inc’s chief executive said on Monday that the $15.1-billion acquisition of the Canadian oil producer by China’s CNOOC Ltd was not yet wrapped up despite the Canadian government’s approval last week. In his first brief remarks following Ottawa’s green light for the contentious takeover by the Chinese state oil company, interim CEO Kevin Reinhart declined to give a reaction to the decision, which came following months of deliberation.

As Hurricane Sandy continues to batter the Eastern seaboard of the United States, one thing is for certain: Insurance companies will be ponying up for billions of dollars in property damage caused by high winds.  Last summer’s Hurricane Irene cost insurance providers more than $4 billion in damage claims, with flood insurance payments totaling nearly $1.3 billion. But what many Americans may not know is that this $1.3 billion was a bill footed by the federal government, which underwrites the vast majority of flood insurance across the nation.

Guest Blog Post by Brian McGowan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.I’m excited to report that it was a very productive and successful five days for the 21 organizations that joined the U.S. Department of Commerce last week for an exciting exporting opportunity. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)/International Trade Administration (ITA) Trade & Investment Program to Hannover Messe 2011 ended on Friday with promising leads for U.S. economic development organizations (EDOs) pursuing potential foreign investors and trading partners. The program is the product of a unique partnership formed by EDA and ITA and its U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) and Invest In America (IIA) programs. This type of interagency collaboration is very important as we work together to increase the global competitiveness of America’s regions. The mission aimed to promote the Obama Administration's National Export Initiative (NEI) and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the United States.  In total, our participating EDO’s held more than 400 meetings with potential foreign investors.  These connections are the first step in building relationships that can support regional growth and help create new jobs here at home.

On Monday the IEA released its World Energy Outlook 2012. This includes an optimistic assessment of the situation in the United States:

The Office of Senator Jim DeMint has done some worthwhile digging into the Obama administration's new US tourism promotion effort, "Brand USA," and what they've uncovered is actually more ridiculous than you'd expect.

This is... just perfect: Ex-employees of the failed solar panel company Solyndra have applied for aid under the federal government’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program, the Labor Department has confirmed. If approved, the employees of what was once touted as a leading exemplar of the White House’s green jobs program will be eligible for more federal funds to enable them to be retrained for other jobs.