Obama Taps GE CEO for Economic Panel
President Obama has tapped another top corporate figure for a key White House role. On Thursday, Obama said he is naming General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt to head the newly formed President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. The council will replace the former Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which had been chaired by Paul Volcker, the former chair of the Federal Reserve. Volcker will step down when his panel’s mandate expires next month. Immelt’s appointment has drawn scrutiny in part because he opposed Obama’s presidential candidacy. During the 2008 elections, Immelt donated to Hillary Clinton as well as Republicans John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. His appointment follows the recent hiring of former commerce secretary and JPMorgan Chase executive William Daley as White House chief of staff.
U.S. Cancels “Virtual Fence” with Mexico
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has canceled the “virtual fence” project along the U.S. border with Mexico. The military contractor Boeing was hired to build the network of cameras, radars and fences in 2005. The project has cost more than $1 billion. U.S. officials say it was canceled because it proved to be ineffective and too costly
Fed Discloses Recipients of Bailout Loans
The Federal Reserve has released documents disclosing the corporate recipients of U.S. government aid during the financial crisis. According to Bloomberg News, the Fed handed out $3.3 trillion in bailout loans. The companies extended beyond the financial sector to include firms like Caterpillar, General Electric, Harley Davidson, McDonald’s, Verizon and Toyota. The Huffington Post reports two foreign banks, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, were the largest recipient of the Fed’s purchase of mortgage-backed securities.
Schools to shut for two days against Jaitapur n-power plant
About 70 schools in and around Madhban village, where the Jaitapur nuclear power plant is coming up, will remain closed for two days as part of protests against the project.
The Jaitapur nuclear power plant is a proposed 9,900 MW project of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) at Jaitapur, which was earlier an important port on the Konkan coast. The project will be spread across 968 hectares in five villages of the district.
Protesters said no school in the area would celebrate Republic Day Jan 26. The Jaitapur project is coming up in collaboration with Areva, France.