By Artur Salles Lisboa de Oliveira Petrobras has been a symbol of Brazilian pride since its foundation back in the fifties. The state-owned oil company attracts all sorts of investors ranging from small time backers pursuing gains by investing their savings for the education of their children to big time players interested in having a say in the decisions of the corporation. However, in the past few years the government has wilfully overlooked rising indebtedness and plunging shares which has created...

By Max J Freeman  My father’s father, Jack Wall, I am told, was a short man.  Not skinny, but not a big man either.  A sinewy man not hewn from rock, but hewn from hard work and relative poverty.  He and his wife Katherine had six boys, only three of whom survived to adulthood. A Liverpool man from Irish stock, with gentle but blistered hands, unskilled but not without intelligence, and a hard-worker. Jack was a Coal-heaver, a Tobacco-turner, and...

Economist Oliver McAninch finds out why the BBC could be responsible for global destruction. ‘Global warming is a load of old rubbish’ is something you’ve probably heard more than once in your local boozer.  ‘Climate has been changing for millions of years – it’s no different now’ was dismissively barked at me by Dave over a beer. Is my mate down the pub correct? When the world’s leading meteorological and environmental scientists, commissioned by the governments of 195 countries (essentially...

By Rob Telford, Green councillor for Ashley ward, Bristol The great democratic hope for General Election 2015 For decades, the UK has essentially been a two-party system, with third parties (whether Liberal/SDP/Lib Dem, SNP/Plaid, Green, BNP or UKIP) not being able to gain enough votes to overhaul the two largest parties (Labour and Conservative) at any General Election. At the same time, fewer and fewer people are choosing to cast their votes for the two largest parties. In 1951, 96.8...

By Alex Vasili   Residents of Balcombe Move to Make Community Self-sufficient in Energy The supporters of fracking make an argument that is difficult to refute. They say shale gas is essential to the UK's energy needs, that it will give us security from troublesome oil barons and gas czars, and that nothing else will do until we have nuclear power stations, and lots of them. So try this as a counter-strategy. Make your community self-sufficient through the clean, green power...

By Luca Foschi, Foschiluca.com It all began with the most classic features of archaeological fairy tales. Two honest ploughmen, Sisinnio Poddi and Battista Meli, were preparing the sowing in the surroundings of Monte Prama, a small and gentle town of west Sardinia in March 1974. Like most years the allotment was leased from the catholic Brotherhood of Santo Rosario. Each year the plowshare drew white fragments of stone on the barren, sandy surface, the odd stone disappearing from the pile...

By Adam Walker, Economics Correspondent  The Two True Stock Market Forces The behaviour of the stock markets and the speculation surrounding them has been a source of debate for decades. Corporations have gained and lost millions in hours due to shifts in trends and demand with a variety of experts claiming to recognise patterns and forecast behaviour changes. There is no doubt that speculation is one of the most powerful forces in financial market behaviour, with events such as the...

By Sally Saar  International perceptions of Bahrain can be deceptive. After two decades of unprecedented change, Sally Saar documents the evolution of the notorious Gulf State, the social tolerance and the role of women in guiding its future.   I have lived in Bahrain for over two decades – half my life. Having spent such an important part of my life here, I call Bahrain home. When I first arrived on the island, the airport was the size of a luxurious mansion with the...

By Haridos Apostolides, US Correspondent Even delayed decisions are giving hope to same-sex couples On Saturday morning hundreds of same-sex couples marched down the aisle to county offices across Michigan in order to exchange vows, only to have that right halted mere hours later by an appeals court. Friday welcomed the northern territory into the growing gang of states which allow same-sex marriages after a voter-approved ban was struck down by Federal District Court Judge, Bernard A. Friedman, for its unconstitutional...