Danish PM Brings Conservatives Into Gov't

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By JIM PURCELL

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen

In a report posted today by Reuters, Jacob Gronholt-Pederson has reported that Denmark's prime minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, has consented to form a new government that includes the Liberal Alliance and the Conservative Party. Rasmussen's party is in the minority in Denmark and bringing new voices into the government could be essential in negotiations involving a 10-year financial reform plan he is working on. The prime minister, who is in the Liberal Party, holds just 34 seats of Denmark's 179 seats in Parliament.

Lokke Rasmussen, 52, has served as prime minister of the Danish state since June, 2015. Previously, he was prime minister from 2009-2011. However, he has been a member of the Danish Parliament since 1994, when he was just 21 years old.

In May, 2010, Rasmussen's government made the unpopular move of announcing major spending cuts to unemployment insurance, from four years to two. He also enacted measures designed to increase state revenues and has cut foreign aid from .83 percent of GDP to .76 percent of GDP. In addition, he authorized cuts to child support. The intention of the cuts were, reportedly, to save the government 24 billion DKK.

Could Buffett Become Wells Fargo's New Director?

Warren Buffett

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According to a story published today by Staff Writer Dan Freed, from Reuters, "several large Wells Fargo & Company investors" are looking for changes in the company's Board of Directors in the wake of a company scandal that cost the chief executive his job.

There are reportedly 15 members on the board. One top investor, Gamco CEO Mario Gabelli, said he would welcome Warren Buffett, Wells Fargo's top investor, becoming its new director. Most of the 100 leading investors at Wells Fargo declined to comment. However, when contacted about this, Buffett reportedly declined to comment. However, in a CNN interview last week, Buffett said he did not sell any Wells Fargo shares because he has long-term faith in the bank.

A key criticism offered by several board members contacted was reportedly that the board was slow to take on and disclose shady sales practices that led to as many as 2 million accounts being opened without customers' permission.

Wells Fargo is the third largest U.S. bank, and lost as much as 12 percent of the company's value since the scandal eroded. The bank's shares are down 2.1 percent this year compared with a 12.1 percent gain for the S&P 500 Banks Index.

WMO: 2016 Sets Heat Record; Blames Man-Made Warming

By JIM PURCELL

According to a story published yesterday in Reuters, by Alister Doyle and Nina Chestney, reporting from Marrakesh, Morocco, the world knotted a new heat record during 2016. Reportedly, rising temperatures owe some responsibility to man-made pollution, the levels of which are the subject of great controversy in political and scientific circles,

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that this year is the warmest since records began being recorded in the late 19th century. Organization spokespeople have said temperatures are fully 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial times.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas noted that almost 200 nations are discussing ways to slow climate change. He reported that the rising temperatures from a Pacific El Nino weather event earlier this year have had the effect of melting Greenland ice and damaging Australia's Great Barrier Reef.  He ascribed man-made green house gases, from fossil fuels, as having the most blame for this situation.