Billy Bragg pins market crisis on Thatcher's 80s attack on miners

Billy Bragg opines in the Guardian that Maggie Thatcher's attack on the miners set in motion the calamity that has beset global financial markets today. It's worth a read -- and includes a fascinating BBC video...

Port Mann P3 scuttled by Victoria over lack of private finance

The B.C. Liberal government has ditched plans to build the new Port Mann bridge crossing through a so-called public-private partnership (P3) and will now finance the project directly. That's a dramatic reversal for...

U.S. Navy warns of future robot rebellion

As if I didn't have enough to worry about. " Autonomous military robots that will fight future wars must be programmed to live by a strict warrior code or the world risks untold atrocities at their steely hands. ...

Port Mann bridge partner reports massive losses on toll roads

The key investor behind the public-private partnership building and operating the new ten-lane Port Mann toll bridge today reported a loss of over $1 billion (CAD). Macquarie Group's infrastructure arm took the...

Stressed out? Brain scans show penning thoughts in diary helps

Interesting study. It also indicates that men get more out starting a diary than women, perhaps because expressing feelings is more "novel" for us guys. " Brain scans on volunteers showed that putting feelings down...

B.C. P3 lender burning through government loan guarantees

The Belgian-French bank that's supplying the financing to several public-private partnership (P3) projects in British Columbia has exhausted half of the government guarantees it received in a September bailout....

Macquarie signals huge losses day after P3 mega-bridge announced

Just a day after the B.C. Liberal government announced plans to supersize the new Port Mann bridge crossing comes news that the project's private partner is facing major write-downs on its other infrastructure...

Embattled B.C. P3 lender to be cut loose by German parent

Depfa Bank PLC, a key source of credit to several British Columbia public-private partnership projects and a financial sink hole for its German parent, will be cut loose according to media sources. The...

P3s cost more, says prominent B.C. forensic accountant

A new study by B.C.'s best-known forensic accountant concludes that so-called public-private partnerships (P3s) for public projects cost more than if they were financed directly by government. The study also finds...

B.C. government bails out Port Mann P3

There's a lot of questions being raised about the future of using so-called public-private partnerships to provide major infrastructure projects like the Port Mann Bridge and Highway 1 expansion. Just yesterday,...

Schwarzenegger's P3 schemes rapped by California treasurer

In an op-ed published in today's Sacramento Bee, California's state treasurer takes on proponents of public-private partnerships and makes the case for funding public infrastructure projects by issuing municipal...

World credit crunch makes local P3 projects risky propositions

The Vancouver Sun has published a major feature that raises serious questions about the financial health of privately-financed infrastructure projects in British Columbia.The investigative report comes a day...

Will the German government become defacto shareholder in BC P3s?

The German bank that's involved in the financing of three high profile public-private partnership (P3) projects in British Columbia may be partially nationalized by the German government. Hypo Real Estate (HRE)...