Bernard Madoff, the man behind the notorious ‘Ponzi’ scheme was sentenced to 150 years of imprisonment by the US District Court on Monday.

Denny Chin, the US District Judge said that he hoped the sentence would serve as deterrence, retribution and symbolism for the victims of Madoff’s nefarious fraudulent schemes. The sentence effectively means that Madoff will be spending the rest of his life behind bars. After the judge read out the sentence, cheers erupted from the court and two other rooms packed with victims, legal representatives as well media personnel.

Bernard Madoff, a former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange, had been charged by federal prosecutors on eleven counts of fraud, theft, money-laundering as well as perjury. Prosecutors estimate that victims lost at least $65 billion as a result of his fraudulent financial schemes while Madoff’s firms continued to collect and pay more than $171 billion over several years.

In March, Madoff had pleaded guilty to the federal charges leveled against him. Yesterday after victims recounted the financial loss inflicted upon them and their families, Madoff addressed the victims directly saying that the Ponzi scheme was a “terrible mistake”. After the sentencing, his wife Ruth Madoff said that she felt “betrayed and confused” by her husband’s actions.

The Bank for International Settlements has warned that if central banks delay too long in raising interest rates, inflationary trends might set in motion.

Located in Basel, Switzerland, the Bank of International Settlements is the oldest international financial organization. The BIS oversees the operations of all the central banks and acts as a counterparty of central banks in their financial transactions. In its annual report published on Monday, the BIS said that central banks ran the risk of triggering off inflationary conditions if they failed to raise interest rates or withdraw emergency liquidity for too long. The central banks’ policies were motivated by fear of tightening monetary policies too early or too severely for the welfare of the economy.

The Central banks of most nations were compelled to lower borrowing rates to record lows and pump in huge amounts of cash into the financial system in an attempt to deal with the worst recession to cripple the global economy since the Second World War. It was hoped that the infusion of capital and lowering of interest rates would thaw credit channels and revive economic growth. However many economists have stressed the importance of withdrawing emergency liquidity with the first signs of economic recovery.

General Motors Corp has decided to end a joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp after negotiations failed on which type of vehicle to manufacture.

The world’s two largest automakers, GM and Toyota, have been jointly operating an auto assembly plant, the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc or Nummi since 1984. In April this year, GM CEO Fritz Henderson announced that the automaker would stop making the Pontiac Vibe, the only GM vehicle to be assembled at the Nummi plant. This was followed by yesterday’s announcement that GM will be shedding its stake in the assembly unit.

The decision by General Motors to pull out of the Nummi joint venture hardly comes as a surprise, considering the dire straits that the Detroit-based automaker finds itself in. last year’s market meltdown, hike in gas prices and the continuing recession have all led to severe decline in auto sales. This has compelled GM to shut many SUV and truck-making plants, besides laying off workers and seeking billions of dollars in federal aid.

Reacting to the news Toyota’s Tokyo-based spokesman Hideaki Homma said that Toyota had hoped to continue the joint venture and GM’s pull-out would create additional burden for Toyota at a time when auto makers across the globe are struggling with recession.

Argentina, one of the biggest exporters of wheat, may pull out from the world market due to drought-like conditions back home.

Argentina is not only one of the largest wheat growing nations but also the fourth-largest exporter of wheat in the world. However continuing dry weather till September is likely to slash the national output of wheat for 2009-2010 by as much as 28%. This means that for the first time in a century, Argentina will probably be not exporting wheat since the expected harvest of 6 million tons for 2009-2010 will be equal to the amount purchased by local millers, according to Eduardo Anchubidart who is an economist with the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange.

Statistic yearbooks at the Exchange show that Argentina has been exporting wheat ever since 1910, the year when the Exchange began keeping records. last year Argentina shipped 11.2 million tons to the overseas market and is expected export 4.5 million tons in 2009 according to figures from the US Department of Agriculture. The produce from this year’s wheat harvest will put to the market in 2010.

If Argentina decides not to export wheat, one of the worst-affected nations will be neighboring Brazil which will be forced to look outside the continent for purchase of wheat.

One of the most high-profile events in the world of horse-racing is the Royal Ascot which got over on 20th of this month. The presence of the British royal family as well as the best riders from UK and across the world shows that this event of the elite has lost none of its past significance.

Day one of the Royal Ascot 2009 began on the 16th and was graced by the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The event which went on till Saturday showcased some of the best riders and racing horses of England. Even though Royal Ascot stages only 2% of the British races, the event makes for 10% of all attendance and garners 10% of the media coverage.

The Royal Ascot Meeting is the world’s oldest and its earliest history goes back to 1711 when it was established Queen Anne in wide open space in the Windsor Forest. However in its present form the Royal Ascot Meeting began to be organized from 1768 onwards.

Together with the horse races, the Royal Ascot is also reputed for its traditions. Men are still required to be dressed in morning suits replete with top hats while the Ladies’ Day sees a veritable fashion parade in ladies’ hats. though the event has already concluded, for a feeling of an event of the royals, a stay in Ascot is still something to get excited about. Check out www.ooaha.com for best Ascot hotel deals.

Japan’s industrial production climbed for the third straight month in May, ushering in hopes that the economy was finally emerging from the worst recession since the Second World War.

Industrial output in Japan rose by 5.9% in May according to a report released by the Ministry of Trade in Tokyo on Monday. This was the fastest rate of industrial growth since 1953 and analysts expect that output will continue to advance this month as well as the next.

However the growth in industrial production was still lower than what had been forecast by economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who had expected the growth rate to touch 7%. Moreover industries were still manufacturing at 29.5% less than what they had been doing in May 2008.the most crucial requirement for the economy to bounce back will be an increase in consumer demand, both local and international, which drives the largest segment of the Japanese economy.

Despite the slow rate of recovery, finance experts believe that the worst phase of post-war recession might be finally over as manufacturers clear inventories and industrial output rate picks up. The global recession had seen governments coming up with extensive stimulus plans in order to prop up demand and revive capital flows.

Investigations have linked a Colorado meat company to around 18 cases of suspected E.coli contamination in the US following which the company has issued recall of the beef supplied by it.

The US Agricultural Department said on Sunday that the beef supplied by JBS-Swift Beef Co may be the cause of at least 18 cases of suspected E.coli O157:H7. The investigations were carried out by the officials of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service alone with agents from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sunday’s announcement led JBS-Swift Beef Co issue a recall of assorted beef products totaling 4,21,000 lbs which includes an additional 3,80,000 lbs to the first recall announced on June 24th. The suspect beef was produced on April 21 and then distributed through both national as well as international routes. Though the company has said that the recalled assignment is mostly used for steaks and roasts, it is suspected that some other companies may have processed them into ground beef products. JBS also said that it will be getting in touch with customers to know how the contaminated product was distributed.

JBS-Swift Beef Co is based in Greeley, Colorado and is a division of the South American meat company JBS S.A., based in Brazil.

Tata Motors, India’s biggest vehicle manufacturers, launched luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover in the country on Sunday.

Tata Motors makes about 60% of all the trucks and buses made in India and in recent times it has sought to expand its presence in the global markets. Last year it bought the marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motors.

Announcing the launch of the luxury cars in India, Tata Motors Chairman, Ratan Tata said that he was proud to facilitate the extension of brand penetration in India. Though the luxury car segment is just 1% of the total car market, still this is a niche market and relatively unaffected by the global recession which has led to crippling slumps in demand for the auto industry in other countries, most notably the United States.

With the launch, India will see the entry of the first Jaguar luxury coupes and convertibles belonging to the XF and XK range which carry a starting price tag of $1, 30,977 or 6.3 million rupees and go up 9 million rupees. Among the vehicles being introduced by Land Rover in India are the Range Rover Sport and the Land Rover Discovery 3, also belonging to the same price bracket.

A tour of the Australian outback is not for the fain-hearted and yet those who venture through the endless plains find themselves under the spell of its wild beauty.

Australia’s Queensland region is the place to head for if you feel like having a journey on the wild side. Travelling through The time-worn landscapes and the vast open horizon is an experience never to be forgotten. There are also other ways to enjoy the outback, kike going for a camel ride, staying in one of the cattle ranches or even joining a cattle muster. Those with deeper pockets can take a scenic flight over some of the most fantastic points in the outback like Uluru, Kata Tjutu and the Kimberley.

Some of the main outback towns in Australia stretch from Broken Hill in New South Wales to Longreach in Queensland. Here unending vistas of scorched and arid landscape are dotted by unexpected patches of purple vegetation or lush green waterholes. And if the isolation gets too much for the visitor, there are rustic pubs where locals spin out timeless yarns and time seems to stand still.

A good site to check out accommodation for outback towns in Queensland is www.ooaha.com where one can find the best Longreach hotel deals.

Crude oil futures leaped above $70 a barrel on Thursday in the wake of signs that the worst of the recession seems to have passed and the economy could now look ahead to better days.

Benchmark rates of crude oil for August delivery rose by $1.56 to cross the $70-mark and finally settle at $70.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A separate Nymex trading recorded an increase of 5.58 cents to $1.8983 a gallon in the prices of gasoline for July delivery while the price of natural gas rose by 8.3 cents to rest at $3.844 per million British thermal units.

A rise in the prices of oil came after market analysts appeared optimistic about the state of economy and a decline in the rate of contraction. Investors were relieved by better than expected quarterly results of home furnisher Bed Bath & Beyond as well as house builders Lennar Corp. in the US Dow Jones Industrial Index too rose by 2.1% while many stock indices in Asia too showed an optimistic start on early Friday trading.

Another reason for the spurt in oil prices might be the trouble in Nigeria where militants had blown up oil pipelines belonging to Royal Dutch Shell Oil.