Coke Cancels $24 Million French Investment After Soda Tax Announced

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Coca-Cola announced today that it will be putting a €17 million ($24 million) investment in a French factory on hold because of the French plan for a tax on sugary sodas, reports the AP.

The French government had hoped that the tax would not only help fight obesity but also help raise €120 million ($168 million).

However, Coca-Cola responded by saying arguing that the tax was unfair as the soda is “not harmful to health.”

On Coca Cola's French website, it says “[obesity] is not linked to the consumption of a particular product, but depends on the global nutritional balance."

Read more at France24 >

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REVEALED: Jamie Dimon Made Threatening Phone Call To UK After Bonus Tax Announced

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Hidden amongst the angry Labour Party barbs of former UK Chancellor Alistair Darling's book is this fascinating nugget about Jamie Dimon.

After Darling introduced 2009's surprise bonus tax, the Chancellor apparently got a call from an irate Dimon (Via Deal Journal):

“[Dimon] pointed out that his bank had not been the cause of this crisis…and said his bank bought a lot of U.K. debt and he wondered if that was now such a good idea….He went on to say they were thinking of building a new office in London but thEY[?]] had to reconsider that now. I knew full well that they were considering consolidating their offices in London and I guessed correctly that to teach us a lesson they would postpone their decision until after the general election. That they did.”

Yes, that sounds very much like a threat from Dimon -- a threat that they actually went through with.

Deal Journal has a response worth reading from sources that deny threats were made.

Over at Faisal Islam's Channel 4 blog, Islam rounds up the other big financial news from the book, including the fact that he ignored official advice when he bailed out British savers who lost £7 billion ($11 billion) worth of savings in Icelandic internet accounts.

The book also blasts "stupid and arrogant" bankers, reports the Daily Mail.

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GOP Lining Up To Oppose Obama's Jobs Plan — Even Before It's Announced

  x You have successfully emailed the post. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered the sharpest critique yet of President Barack Obama's jobs plan — two days before it is to be formally announced.

Speaking on the Senate floor to open the fall legislative session after a five-week vacation, McConnell said he is growing confident that Obama's plan will be bad for the country.

"While I have no doubt the President will propose many things on Thursday that, when looked at individually, sound pretty good, or that he’ll call them all bipartisan," he said. "I’m equally certain that, taken as whole, they’ll represent more of the same failed approach that’s only made things worse over the past few years, and resulted in even fewer jobs than when he started."

McConnell added that Washington needs to stop "thinking it's the center of the Universe," and recenter its policies around job creators. 

He also pushed back on Obama's assertion that opposition to his plan is an expression of partisanship.

"With all due respect, Mr. President, there’s a much simpler reason for opposing your economic proposals that has nothing to do with politics: they don’t work." he said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used his speech to criticize Republican opposition to jobs bills, saying "Republicans have distracted Congress from its most important responsibility – getting our economy back on track – time and again."

Earlier Tuesday, Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor expressed optimism that Republicans and Obama could find some common ground — but restated their opposition to some of the bolder options Obama is considering.

Read the full speech here:

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MSI X460 and X460DX notebooks announced

by Edwin - on August 17th, 2011

MSI has a couple of notebooks up for the masses – and we’re looking at the X460 and X460DX models, where they are both 14? mobile powerhouses that target professionals who are always on the go. Being part of the X Series of ultra-slim notebooks, you can be sure that both units will run on the latest Intel Core processors which are not short on processing horsepower, not to mention coming with a choice between an integrated Intel GMA HD or nVidia GeForce GT540M video card, with Microsoft Windows 7 as the operating system of choice right out of the box.

Since they say that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, MSI does not want all of the Jacks (and Jills, I suppose) end up being dull, cubicle loving drones. No sir, your ears will also be treated to the inclusion of THX TruStudio PRO so that movies and music that you watch and listen to will sound all the more realistic and thumping.

Another interesting addition to these notebooks would be the inclusion of Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) 2.0, where the X460 model will let you hook up your notebook to any TV unit over a standard Wi-Fi connection – letting you live out the wireless lifestyle with ease. There are three distinct configurations to choose from, but common hardware specifications include a couple of high speed USB 3.0 ports to help keep them future proof to a certain extent, HDMI connectivity so that you can watch Full HD movies on a big screen TV when connected, and a 1.3-megapixel webcam that ought to let you hold some decent video calls without missing a beat.

As usual, a standard 1-year warranty will accompany your purchases – with prices starting from $799.99 a pop, it does look like a rather attractive proposition, as it is a step up from the basic mobile workstation model that you get from other manufacturers.

Press Release

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