On today’s agenda: Economics, politics, more neo-Nazis busted in Greece, warning bells in Russia and India, changes in China, and the ongoing Fukushima debacle, and more.
Just because it’s so damn powerful, this depiction of the Golden Dawn debacle in Greece from Eleftherotypia’s Sketchophrenia via EnetEnglish.gr:
Loots more Greece after the jump. . .
For our first headline, we start here in the U.S. with this most intriguing offering from the Christian Science Monitor:
Amid surge of the cut-rate ‘sharing economy,’ a backlash grows
They call it the ‘sharing economy’: people going online to rent out rooms in their homes, set up informal ride-shares, or repair car brakes in your driveway. Even as the trend booms, it is meeting resistance from established businesses, city officials, and even neighbors. Can they stop it?
The Los Angeles Times goes minimalist:
‘Sharing economy’ is here to stay, so get used to it
Sounding a companion note, from the Federal Reserve Board’s FEDS Notes:
Why Have Americans’ Income Expectations Declined So Sharply?
Data from the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers (Michigan survey) suggests that Americans’ income expectations declined sharply in the 2008-09 recession and remain depressed. The reasons for this marked increase in pessimism are important because theory suggests that income expectations are a fundamental determinant of consumer spending and may help us understand the slow economic recovery.
But fear not, Gentle Reader! Some folks are consuming. Conspicuously. From CNBC:
Private jet gets $2 million gold-plated makeover
When the super rich want to give their private jets an extreme makeover, one of the designers they turn to is Eric Roth at International Jet Interiors in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. A private jet is one of a billionaire’s ultimate luxuries and Roth’s clients take “super rich” to a whole new level.
And our schools are being turned into indoctrination centers for the corporateer’s desideratum. From The Guardian:
The copyright cartel’s plot to indoctrinate California kindergartens
Sharing is the essence of digital creativity, but its enemies want to brainwash grade-schoolers with their commercial interests
And from The Guardian, the press pass as a target:
San Francisco Bay Area TV news crews hit by spate of brazen robberies
In latest incident, KRON 4 reporter, filming in high crime neighborhood, set upon by armed men demanding equipment
And whilst we’re in the Golden State, a blast from the past from Salon about a secular saint:
Ronald Reagan’s shameful legacy: Violence, the homeless, mental illness
As president and governor of California, the GOP icon led the worst policies on mental illness in generations
North of the border for a CBC report on a growth industry:
$1.3B medical marijuana free market coming to Canada
New system will use large indoor marijuana farms certified by RCMP
And off across the pond, for bubbly British news from The Independent:
Fears of debt and a housing bubble after David Cameron hurries out second phase of Help to Buy three months early
Vince Cable and Sir Mervyn King among those concerned that the Government could be exposed to billions of pounds of future housing debt whilst inflating the property market
An Irish question equally applicable on this side of the pond from TheJournal.ie:
Five years older and deeper in debt… So why don’t the Irish protest more?
In the last few years, there’s been a noticeable decrease in the numbers taking to the streets to voice their anger. We asked the experts — why are the Irish so reluctant to protest?
Next to Germany, with news of what we’re told are job changes rather than layoffs, via Bloomberg:
Siemens CEO Kaeser Cuts 15,000 Jobs to Catch Up With GE
And from Bloomberg again, Austria’s Social Democrats retain a very thin edge on power as voters shift rightward:
Austrian Ruling Parties Eke Out Win With Record-Low Support
And one name familiar in the San Francisco Bay Area won a seat in the Austrian parliament, Frank Stronach, the 81-year-old owner [via his Magna Entertainment] of Golden Gate Fields horse racing track. Yahoo! News reported on his anti-euro conservative candidacy:
Canadian throws money, ego into Austrian election
On a cool day in Eisenstadt, far from the prairies of Canada where he made his fortune, billionaire Frank Stronach rails against corrupt politicians, posing as the prodigal son who has returned to save Austria.
On to Spain with politic economics from El País:
Cabinet approves “recovery” state budget for next year
Austerity drive to continue but with no new tax hikes and the expectation of job creation for the first time since the start of the crisis
El País again, with some austerian detail:
Wage freeze for 2.8 million public workers extended into next year
Administrations will be allowed to replace one in 10 state workers who retire in education and health
Labor unions say that workers have lost 20 percent of purchasing power
And some cultural news via thinkSPAIN:
‘Morning after’ pill users are ‘predominantly Catholic’, says survey
The Independent covers lost regal luster:
The rise and fall of King Juan Carlos, ‘saviour of Spain’
A series of PR gaffes and the whiff of financial scandal in the midst of recession have left the monarchy’s popularity at an all-time low
El País covers a consequence:
Demonstrators brave heavy rain to demand an end to the monarchy
Police prevent around 1,500 protestors from setting up camp at Oriente Palace
Next up, Bunga Bunga revenge via the London Telegraph:
Italy in chaos as Silvio Berlusconi removes ministers from government
Italy has been plunged into chaos after former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi pulled his centre-right ministers out of the cabinet on Saturday, effectively bringing down the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
More form the Buenos Aires Herald:
Italian president hopes to solve political crisis without new vote
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will meet the president today to try to chart a way out of a deep political crisis after Silvio Berlusconi pulled his ministers out of the government and called for new elections.
Reuters covers maneuvers:
Italy to face international pressure if crisis drags on
Italy could face pressure from international partners if the current political crisis persists and reverberates through the euro zone, Labour Minister Enrico Giovannini said on Sunday.
The Independent covers the response from the toppling top:
Italy political crisis: Crisis talks aim to save Enrico Letta’s coalition from Berlusconi exit
Premier Enrico Letta accuses People of Liberty party of ‘a big lie and attempt to distort reality’
And it’s not just the government that’s on the verge of collapse. From New Europe:
Alitalia seeks more funding to avoid collapse
After the jump, arrests and uproar in Greece, warnings in India and Russia, China, Japanese economic rumbles, and Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
First,Troikarchs call timeout in Athens, via Kathimerini English:
IMF and EU mission to Greece takes breather after progress
Now for the big story, the latest developments in the Golden Dawn [Chryssi Avgi] crisis from ANA-MPA:
Supreme Court Dep. Prosecutor Vourliotis’ findings on the Chryssi Avgi structure, operation
The findings of the investigation conducted by Supreme Court Deputy Prosecutor Haralambos Vourliotis include hard evidence on the ultra-right Chryssi Avgi (GD) structure and operation, it was announced on Sunday. The Supreme Court deputy prosecutor referred to the background of the organization, stressing that it has a pyramid structure, with a powerful leader modeled after the Nazi organizations. He noted that GD recruits individuals with martial arts knowledge who undergo training in Attica regions such as, Malakassa, Mandra and Salamina.
More from Kathimerini English:
Prosecutor’s report: Golden Dawn operated subject to Nazi Fuehrerprinzip
Golden Dawn operated as a criminal organization under the absolute supervision of its leader Nikos Michaloliakos in accordance with the Nazi Fuehrerprinzip dogma which dictates that all subordinates must be appointed by their superiors, according to a nine-page report compiled by Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Haralambos Vourliotis which found that the party sought supporters with martial arts skills and recruited young Greeks for its hit squads.
A proclamation from a once-reluctant government, covered by ANA-MPA:
Public Order minister: ‘A historic day for Greece and Europe’
There is no place in Greece for criminal organisations operating under the mantle of a political party, Public Order and Citizen Protection Ministry Nikos Dendias said on Saturday evening, referring to the arrests of 20 people affiliated with extreme-right Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) party, including its leader and another four deputies on Saturday morning.
Another arrest, reported by the BBC:
Golden Dawn deputy Christos Pappas arrested in Greece
A sixth politician from Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party has been arrested after handing himself in to police in Athens.
The latest on the legal front from euronews:
Golden Dawn leader to respond to charges in Athens on Tuesday
A political development from Kathimerini English:
Probe into Golden Dawn continues as bill to halt funding heads for Parliament
From ANA-MPA, public opinion shifts, but to the right, with the leftist Syriza dozen and the neoliberal New Democracy reaping the benefit from disaffected Golden Dawners:
Opinion poll: ND leads; drop in Golden Dawn’s percentages
With that, a lone Latin American report from the Argentina Independent:
Peru: Workers Strike to Protest President’s ‘Unfulfilled Promises’
Next, to Russia, with another grim pronouncement from the top via the Moscow Times:
Medvedev Bets on Private Business in Hard Economic Times
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned Friday that the economy has fallen on hard times and identified the private sector as the engine for future growth.
On to India, with notably negative numbers from the Financial Express:
Private companies record 10.9 pct decline in net profit in Q1: RBI study
India’s GDP growth had slumped to 4.4 per cent in first quarter of the fiscal, slowest in four years.
And another corporate conquest, via International Business Times:
Indians Prefer Pizza, Specifically Domino’s, Over McDonald’s, Subway And Everything Else, In Booming Fast Food Market
Next up, China. From Want China Times:
Local government debt in China exceeds US$3tn
China’s local government debt “black hole” has exceeded 20 trillion yuan (US$3.3 trillion), according to a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
From Xinhua, coverage of the opening of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone:
Shanghai FTZ a fresh commitment to reform
It launched a test bed for the Chinese leadership’s drive of deepening market-oriented reforms and boosting economic vitality.
Want China Times covers a landmark event, and Mao spins a few more time in his crypt:
Christie’s first mainland China auction fetches US$25m
The auction, which took place in Shanghai’s Shangri-La Hotel, auctioned 40 lots including wine, jewelry and paintings.
Another sign of change, from Business Insider:
China’s Renminbi Is Well On Its Way To Becoming A Global Reserve Currency
Anext up, Japan, starting with this non-nuclear report from Kyodo News:
Economy may take blows from imminent price hikes, higher taxes
Bloomberg covers a potentially very significant shift:
Nomura Sees Tax Breaks Driving $690 Billion Into Stocks
Japanese savers are poised to pump $690 billion into stocks to benefit from new tax breaks as the government tries to avert a retirement cash crunch in the nation with the world’s oldest population and lowest interest rates.
For our first nuclear item, Just say no from the guy they once called ‘Elvis,’ via the Asahi Shimbun:
Former Prime Minister Koizumi urges Abe to end nuclear power immediately
But the company says hang lose, via the Mainichi:
Improvement of TEPCO’s financing in sight: Motegi
The financing situation of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, is stabilizing, industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Sunday.
The Asahi Shimbun offers a more dramatic approach:
TEPCO head expects return to the black through cost cutting
One measure, with potentially enormous cost, from Jiji Press:
TEPCO to Decide Early to Scrap No. 5-6 Reactors: Motegi
Industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Sunday that he believes Tokyo Electric Power Co. will make a decision shortly to decommission the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors at the stricken nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.
But the Asahi Shimbun offers a more caustic assessment:
TEPCO flounders as leaks of contaminated water, problems with ALPS continue
And leak, leak. From Jiji Press:
Radioactive Water Oozes thru Fukushima Tank
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has said that it confirmed low-level radioactive water was oozing through a joint of one of tanks that store low-level radioactive water at its Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant.
Our final item, another corporation, another problem. From Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Japan to raid Novartis over alleged data fabrication
Japanese authorities are preparing to raid the local arm of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis over data fabrication claims, after experts concluded that it should be held responsible for studies that used manipulated data on popular blood pressure drug Diovan.
