FPF: Week Ending Nov. 9

We at Gradspot.com know how hard it is to stay on top of what’s going on in the world. In order to help you out, we’ve created Front Page Flash, a weekly roundup of the biggest news stories that we think you should know about. We want to make it simple to soak up the top stories, and we want your feeback to figure out how we can make this service most useful to you. Send your questions and comments to fpf@gradspot.com.

Iran’s Nuclear Program “Irreversible” (Reuters)
In another act of public defiance of demands to curtail the Iranian nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that the country currently had 3,000 centrifuges operating at the Natanz plan and that the country’s program was irreversible. That many centrifuges could create enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb within a year. Analysts are speculating that this could be the tipping point to force Israel to act on the “military” option.

Brazil Announces New Oil Reserves (BBC News)

Brazil’s state run Petrobras has just discovered “huge new oil reserves…off its coast” that could enable it to reach the same level of oil production as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. This could lessen the United State’s dependency on the Middle East for oil.

US Could Face Iran Like Situation in Pakistan (The Hindu)
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency over the weekend. The declaration came in response to his perception that the current government was stifling his ability to combat an increasing militancy problem. Some believe this was an attempt for him to hold onto his recent election win, which the pre-state of emergency courts were giving him problems with. Nonetheless, the real story here is that the worst scenario for the United States and other world powers is for Pakistan to fall into fundamentalist hands, because then so does its nuclear arsenal.

Dollar Sinks to New Low Against Euro (Yahoo! )

Although the dollar sank to new lows against the Euro, it has recovered some ground against the British Pound. This occurs in the same week that China stated it would diversify its foreign currency holdings and as oil creeps up to $100. This is partially a result of the Fed’s dropping rates, which can jump-start an economy but also weaken its currency.

Hollywood Writers Go on Strike (Forbes)
The Writers Guide of America has gone on strike. They are demanding the restructuring of royalties on DVD sales (the original deals were struck at a time when DVDs were behind VHSs), as well as profit sharing of their work in new media formats (particularly online). A prolonged strike may force studios to push back the start of new seasons of blockbuster shows (24 has already fallen victim). It has already forced the The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and the late-night talk shows into repeats. The last strike (1988) cost the industry an estimated $500 million and motivated the creation of reality TV. What will happen this time around? (Kimora Simmons, Kim Kardashian, Kid Nation…that’s just the Ks…)

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