The pace accelerates, especially in Greece and Asia, which the Fukushima reactor complex undergoes a tremendously dangerous spent fuel removal. . .after the jump.
We begin at home, via China Daily USA:
China increases US debt holdings
Figures released on Monday showed that after shedding US debt in August and hitting a six-month low at $1.28 trillion of holdings, China picked up $25.7 billion in September, remaining the largest foreign holder of US debt at $1.29 trillion.
From Bloomberg, Bankster Behaving Badly pays the piper:
JPMorgan Reaches Record $13 Billion Mortgage Pact With U.S.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. reached a $13 billion deal with the U.S. Justice Department that ends probes into the bank’s sale of mortgage bonds, the largest amount paid by a financial firm in a settlement with the government.
From Bloomberg, plutocratic kitchen porn:
Espresso Machines at $20,000 Bring High Design Into Homes
“A Kees van der Westen is pretty much the holy grail,” says Dave Ringwood, head of equipment customization, restoration and design at Olympia, Washington–based Espresso Parts LLC.
They’re also among the most expensive on the market. Van der Westen’s smallest, least-costly model, the Speedster, retails for about $8,800, while his largest, the Spirit, goes for $20,000.
Bloomberg also covers reality for the 99%:
Wal-Mart Touts $98 TV in Weakest Holiday Season Since ‘09
U.S. retailers are discounting earlier than ever as they brace for the weakest holiday shopping season since 2009.
From Quartz, a much-needed reminder:
Beware the looming corporate debt cliff
US corporations are issuing more bonds than ever (paywall), rushing to take advantage of rock bottom interest rates before the Federal Reserve winds back its loose monetary policy. But with every binge comes a hangover, and 2018 could be the year when the real impact of this year’s borrowing bonanza begins to hit home.
From the Lodi News-Sentinel, another harsh reality:
Ties to military take a toll on teens, study shows
Teenagers with family members in the military were more likely to contemplate suicide if their relatives were deployed overseas multiple times, according to researchers from the University of Southern California.
After analyzing survey data from 14,299 secondary school students in California — including more than 1,900 with parents or siblings in the military — the researchers found a link between a family member’s deployment history and a variety of mental health problems, including “suicidal ideation,” or thoughts about suicide.
Salon notes another ongoing tragedy:
Privatization is undoing Brown v. Board of Education
Our school system is increasingly “separate and unequal” — and we have Michelle Rhee’s political allies to thank
And from Quartz, great expectations unfulfilled:
US cars won’t be running on low-carbon biofuels next year as planned—because there aren’t any
The US government is bowing to the reality that the biofuel-powered future is not going to arrive as soon as it had hoped. In 2007, Congress passed a law setting quotas for the production of low-carbon biofuels to fight climate change. This year, for instance, the country should be producing 1.75 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels – go-go juice made from the inedible parts of plants. It has not quite worked out that way.
The Contributor covers big box thuggishness:
Labor Board: Walmart Threatened, Disciplined or Terminated Employees for Participating in Strikes and Protests
Federal officials said Monday they are prepared to file formal complaints against Walmart for allegedly violating the legal rights of protesting workers last year.
To Canada next, with a National Post update:
Locked out: Rob Ford loses key staff and office access in mayoral shakeup at Toronto City Hall
‘The locks have been changed, security has been changed,’ Deputy Mayor Kelly said as the mayor’s office was physically split up
And the take from David Horsey, editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times:
BBC News has the latest:
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he has given up alcohol
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he has given up alcohol after a “come to Jesus moment”, as city councillors all but stripped him of power.
A summation from The Guardian:
The political brilliance of Rob Ford
The Toronto mayor took hard drugs and admitted it – and still the voters are fond of him. His ‘typical guy’ act has revealed Canada’s renegade side
The Financial Post covers an interesting development:
OECD calls for Bank of Canada rate to more than double to 2.25% by end of 2015
Just last month, the Bank of Canada dropped a mini-bombshell by adopting a neutral position on interest rates, after long insisting that any eventual move would be up.
A global story from Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
OECD lowers growth outlook on risks for emerging markets
Growth in advanced economies will pick up speed this year and next, but mostly at a slower pace than forecast as new risks loom, especially from emerging economies, the OECD said on Tuesday.
Another from Kyodo News, covering a sorry story continuing:
TPP chief trade negotiators begin talks to sign deal by year-end
From New Europe, the bankster solution:
Organisation predicts modest growth for eurozone but stubbornly high unemployment
OECD: fixing Europe’s banks key for global growth
The Independent carries a similar opinion:
Satyajit Das: Zombie banks are just one of the problems the eurozone still faces
Das Capital: European governments are resorting to tricks to resolve their banking problems
EurActiv covers a seemingly hopeful European sign:
Furore over tax evasion opens door to new EU proposal on corporate tax
EU leaders responding to the public outcry over tax evasion by multinational companies have triggered a quest for pan-European solutions to tax fraud, but the debate has also enabled the European Commission to return to a controversial proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB).
Reuters offers another mixed message:
Eurozone recovery fragile but no deflation risk: ECB’s Praet
There is no risk of deflation visible in the euro zone economy but its recovery is fragile with inflation low and credit subdued, ECB Executive Board member Peter Praet said on Tuesday.
And New Europe points to another weakness:
However, VW is the world’s largest R&D investor
EU firms stay behind in R&D
From EurActiv a rebuff to intolerance:
Commission: Refugee push-backs are illegal
The European Commission indirectly warned Greece and Bulgaria today (19 November) to stop turning down Syrian refugees at their borders with Turkey, after the UN issued a similar call just a few days before.
The London Telegraph takes us to Old Blighty and private security contractors behaving badly:
Government refuses G4S’s £24.1m for ‘wrong’ tagging bills
NAO report finds G4S and rival Serco continued to charge for tagging criminals many years after removing the electronic equipment from their homes
Chris Grayling, the Justice Minister, launched an investigation in July after discovering evidence that the taxpayer had been overcharged, in some cases for tagging prisoners who were dead or back in prison.
And The Independent points to a massive threat:
£1,430,000,000,000: Britain’s personal debt timebomb
Britain faces a timebomb as the cost of living crisis forces more people into crippling debt they will not be able to repay, according to a major study published today.
Another real estate bubble threat-in-the making via the London Telegraph:
Help to Buy must be ‘carefully monitored’, warns OECD
OECD revises up growth UK forecasts by more than any other G7 country over the next two years but warns Government mortgage subsidies could undermine affordability
Ireland next, with hard tiimes ahead for seniors, via the Irish Times:
Pensioners in troubled schemes to face cuts under new law
Insolvent and restructured schemes to balance brunt of cuts between workers and retired members
On to Iceland, with a political dispute from the Reykjavík Grapevine:
Central Bank And Prime Minister At Odds Over Debt Relief
The Central Bank of Iceland believes Iceland’s economy could be greatly damaged if the bank is required to fund government debt relief plans. Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson dismissed the objections as politically related.
Vísir reports that Már Guðmundsson, the chairperson of the Central Bank of Iceland, told reporters that if the government intends to legislate funding to pay down household debts across the country through the use of a Central Bank-funded “debt correction fund”, this would be equivalent to simply printing more money. “And I don’t need to explain to you what effect that would have,” he said.
Norway Next, with Reuters:
Norway needs to wean economy off oil: finance minister
Weak productivity growth is the Norwegian economy’s biggest challenge and reducing reliance on its massive offshore oil sector is the new government’s main priority, finance minister Siv Jensen said on Tuesday.
To Holland next, with bad news from DutchNews.nl:
OECD sees Dutch economy contracting next year
The Dutch economy remains weak and will contract by 0.1% next year, according to new forecasts from the OECD.
On to Germany with a warning from Deutsche Welle:
Denmark’s populists on the rise
The latest surveys indicate that Denmark’s far-right Danish People’s Party is poised to do well in local elections. This could be a boost for similar parties across Europe, which aim to join forces.
An upbeat story from Bloomberg:
German Investor Confidence Rises for a Fourth Month
German investor confidence rose to the highest level in more than four years, signaling that the economic recovery in Europe’s largest economy remains on track even after a third-quarter slowdown.
Spiegel covers another political development:
SPD-Left Rapprochement: A Time Bomb in Merkel’s Government
The Social Democrats sowed mistrust among Angela Merkel’s conservatives last week by declaring themselves open to a future alliance with the left-wing Left Party. Her new government could be more fragile than thought, with the SPD already positioning itself for the post-Merkel era.
And Deutsche Welle points to another obstacle:
German employers’ chief criticizes thrust of coalition talks
The newly elected leader of Germany’s employers’ federation says current talks in Berlin to form a coalition government do not have the right focus. Ingo Kramer fears industry’s interests are being given short shrift.
France next with TheLocal.fr and high anxieties:
France set to reform its ‘unreadable’ tax system
With much recent talk of France being at risk of a “social explosion” over the country’s high taxes, its under pressure Prime Minister made a promise on Tuesday to overhaul the fiscal system, admitting that it was almost “unreadable” and “very complex”.
Xinhua covers a fast shuffle:
France’s Hollande defends policies as popularity hits record low
With record low approval ratings as most of his economic promises in tatters, French President Francois Hollande justified his decisions to fix economic troubles and improve the country’s social welfare in a fresh attempt to convince discontent public.
From TheLocal.fr, yet another anxiety for Paris:
Angry French farmers set to blockade Paris
French farmers are set to bring traffic in the capital to a standstill on Thursday, as their frustration at rising taxes reaches breaking point. Their announcement comes amid widespread protests and an “explosive” social atmosphere in France
RFI English covers a labor action:
French midwives on strike for pay and status
France’s midwives deliver the vast majority of the country’s babies. But since 26 October over 70 per cent of the sector has been on strike. Minister of Social Affairs and Health Marisol Touraine has set up a working group to address midwives’ concerns, including lack of recognition and low pay.
Spain next, with ANSAmed offering a kinder, gentler assessment:
Spain: OECD revises 2013-2015 estimates for the better
Madrid will reportedly make its EU commitments
TheLocal.es covers an admission:
We got it wrong on Spain: Goldman Sachs
Global investment bank Goldman Sachs admitted recently its 2012/13 predictions for Spain had been wrong and that the country had outperformed expectations.
El País has another boost in a bankster endorsement:
One-year bill yield falls to record low at Treasury auction
Demand comfortably exceeds the 4.55 billion euros sold
From TheLocal.es, provocative diversion:
Spain orders arrest of China’s former president
Spain’s National Court authorized on Tuesday the arrest of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin and four of his officials as part of an investigation into the alleged genocide of Tibetans in the 1980s and 1990s
Portugal next, with an austerian landmark from EUbusiness:
Eurozone releases EUR 3.7 bn as Portugal bailout nears end
The eurozone approved Tuesday the disbursement of 3.7 billion euros in rescue loans to Portugal, taking Lisbon’s bailout to its final stage, the EFSF said in a statement.
ANSAmed brings action:
Portuguese subway employees announce more strikes
In wave of anti-austerity public sector protests
Italy next, with an austerian reality from TheLocal.it:
Italians slash spending on food
Italians are spending €2 billion a year less on food, a figure that is expected to remain stable in 2014, according to a study by Unioncamere, Italy’s chamber of commerce.
ANSAmed delivers a message:
OECD joins EU in telling Italy to cut debt
But chief economist says Rome ‘on right track’
And TheLocal.it captures despair:
Almost half of young Italians want to flee
Italy’s stagnant economy is driving its best talent overseas, with almost 50 percent of young Italians wanting to work abroad, according to a new report on Monday.
And a rare Czch headline from EUbusiness:
Czechs award first licence to import medical marijuana
The Czech health ministry said Tuesday it had awarded its first licence to import marijuana, months after the European Union member legalised the drug for medical purposes.
After the jump, Greek disaster deepens, warnings for Africa, Latin American political moves, Indian inflation and industrial weakness, the Chinese neoliberal rush, Japanese economic woes, the latest Fukushimapocalypse Now!, and more. . .
ANA-MPA gives us our first Greek item, an austerian endorsement:
OECD lifts forecasts for Greece
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday revised upwards its estimates for Greece, forecasting a 0.4 pct recession in 2014 and an 1.8 pct growth rate in 2015.
Kathimerini English finds the gap:
Rift between troika and government remains unbridged
Talks continued between government and troika officials on Tuesday but the rift between the two sides remained wide and it appeared inevitable that the draft budget for 2014 will be submitted in Parliament on Thursday with no agreement as foreign envoys leave Athens for a Eurogroup summit scheduled to start in Brussels on Friday.
From Capital.gr a sour note:
Stournaras: Reaching an agreement with troika “is rather difficult”
After the end of a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Monday evening, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras described the current negotiations with the EC-ECB-IMF troika of lenders as tough, but said the government aimed at achieving a deal by December 9, when a Eurogroup meeting is scheduled to be held.
To Vima notes a particular doubt:
Troika not convinced by the government’s real estate taxation plans
Changes to real estate tax necessitate a further 400 million euros – negotiations to resume in December
According to a Finance Ministry officer, the troika has estimated that the changes in the tax bill will require a further 150 million euros in measures, on top of the government estimates of 250 million euros. This means that a total of 400 million euros are needed in equivalent measures for the troika to accept the plan. Furthermore, the troika is not convinced of the Ministry’s proposal to cover the 250-million-euro gap by drawing funds from the Public Investment Program.
From To Vima, a privatization debate:
TAIPED claims troika is blocking DEPA privatization competition
Troika insists that Greece abolishes the concession of exclusive rights to a single natural gas supplier
The troika has claimed that this will increase competition and result in a 5% to 10% reduction in the price of natural gas and as such has pressured the Ministry of the Environment to change the current operating regime of the three natural gas supply companies in Attica, Thessaloniki and Thessaly and to end the exclusive right to supply households and businesses for 30 years.
From ANA-MPA, a threat discerned, given that vast numbers of Greek homes are in arrears:
Lifting foreclosure auctions ban could be ‘second Asia Minor disaster’, justice estimates
Lifting the current ban on foreclosure auctions of first residences could have an impact comparable to the disastrous Asia Minor campaign of 1922, which led to an exchange of populations and flooded Greece with refugees, a senior justice told the radio station Real FM on Tuesday.
Kathimerini English reports salaries:
Greek MPs to receive some 8,000 euros a month in 2014
Greek parliamentarians will receive up to 8,028 euros per month next year in gross wages and expenses, according to details published on the Greek Parliament’s website.
EnetEnglish.gr gives it the downbeat touch:
No austerity, please! We’re MPs
Parliamentary budget keeping deputies’ salaries and bonuses intact passed without a roll-call vote
After a lacklustre debate which attracted little interest from deputies – even from those who had spoken out against the parliamentary salary regime in the media in recent days – the budget was passed without a roll-call vote being requested by either the coalition or the opposition parties
From To Vima,, the downsizing lists are out in academia:
Temporary “suspended” university administrative staff lists published
Administrative employees claim that the suspension lists publicized by ASEP contain numerous errors
One immediate consequence, via To Vima:
University of Thessaloniki employee facing suspension attempts suicide
Administrative employee and mother of two attempted to leap from seventh floor balcony
According to witnesses, the desperate mother of two was discussing her problems in the office of Rector Mylopoulos and attempted to jump from the seventh floor balcony, before colleagues intervened.
More from To Vima:
Admin staff strike continues, academic semester under threat
Ministry of Education refuses negotiation with admin staff unions – tension outside university buildings
And Kathimerini English covers another anti-austerity action with doctors who are paid less than California’s minimum wage:
Strikes threaten to immobilize EOPYY next week
The head of Greece’s main healthcare provider (EOPYY), Dimitris Kontos, pleaded on Tuesday with doctors not to go on strike next week as it would lead to 65,000 appointments being canceled.
EOPYY doctors have called 24-hour strikes for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in reaction to plans to move some of them from their posts and dismiss others.
Macropolis covers life in Austeriana:
Seven in 10 Greeks raiding savings to pay bills, two in 10 have no deposits
Seven in 10 Greeks are raiding their savings in order to make ends meet, while two in 10 say they have no deposits at all, according to a new survey by Public Issue.
Kathimerini English with another grim number:
Over 2,200 arrested over debts to Greek state this year
More than 2,200 people have been arrested since the start of the year in connection to unpaid debts to the state or other tax offenses, Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias informed Parliament on Tuesday.
EnetEnglish.gr reports a ruction:
Pangalos urges mass airborne exodus if Syriza’s Tsipras is elected to power
Pasok heavyweight in another tirade against main opposition party
In his latest outburst, outspoken former Pasok MP Theodoros Pangalos says that were Syriza to come to power, anyone who could leave the country should leave immediately
From Kathimerini English, the Golden Dawn prosecution continues:
Three Golden Dawn MPs to testify next week
Three magistrates who are handling a criminal investigation into the neofascist Golden Dawn are expected to call three of the party’s lawmakers for testimony next week, Kathimerini understands.
Giorgos Germenis, Panayiotis Iliopoulos and Stathis Boukouras, who had their parliamentary immunity lifted last month, are to defend themselves on charges of belonging to a criminal organization, the same charges that have been brought against party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and another five deputies.
Our final Greek item, a chilling find from To Vima:
Police discover hidden arsenal buried outside Athens
Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of another militant attack against police targets
The police recently discovered an arsenal consisting of four Kalashnikov assault riffles, ten hand grenades and about 750 rounds of ammunition of various caliber, all concealed in barrel which was buried in Ippokratios Politia, in the north of Athens.
ANSAmed offers a negative regional assessment:
IMF: negative forecast for Middle East and North Africa
2013 growth rate revised down; uncertainty for future
And The Guardian delivers a panacea-turned-toxin tocsin:
Microcredit has been a disaster for the poorest in South Africa
The finance model was supposed to help the country’s disenfranchised, but has just pushed them further into debt
It is now increasingly clear that the much-lauded market-driven microcredit model has inflicted untold damage on the South African economy and society. Concerned investors are rapidly leaving the bloated microcredit sector, with many users arguing that it is on the verge of a self-orchestrated collapse.
To Latin American and Chilean change from MercoPress:
Chilean leaders of the massive student protests elected to Congress
Vallejo’s victory and those of independent candidates Giorgio Jackson and Gabriel Boric and fellow communist Karol Cariola, former comrade-in-arms in the student movement, who also gained seats in Chile’s lower house on Sunday is significant for presidential front-runner Michelle Bachelet’s bid to have her Nueva Mayoria coalition gain a stronger foothold in both houses of Congress.
The Guardian covers another transition:
Uruguay’s likely cannabis law could set tone for war on drugs in Latin America
State control of marijuana market should be seen as part of long and pragmatic tradition of market intervention and nationalisation
Australia next, with The Guardian:
Poor young women being ‘left behind in life’ as equality gap widens
Forty-six per cent of disadvantaged Australian women between 18 and 24 aren’t in work or in higher education, report reveals
India next, with the Financial Express covering a central bank directive for public sector banks to lend to women’s self-help groups:
RBI orders loans for women at 7 pct
Working women got a boost today with RBI ordering PSBs to offer loans at slashed rates.
Quartz covers tear-inducing inflation:
Indian onion prices are going bonkers—again
Prices for the humble onion, a staple for India’s one-billion plus people, continue to surge higher. Year-over-year prices have jumped 278% in October. That’s less than the 322% year-over-year surge seen in September. But it’s cold comfort to the hundreds of millions of Indians scraping by.
From the Financial Express, a non-starter:
Green shoots hardly visible, industry still in trouble: Study
Green shoots in the Indian economy are visible at best in patches and can be well-spread only when there are signs of pick-up in the investment cycle, says an Assocham study.
The Global Times takes us to China and an Aussie pitch:
Australia pushes for trade deal with China
Australia needs more balance between give-and-take in order to get a free trade agreement (FTA) signed with China within the next 12 months, an Australian economist said Tuesday. Meanwhile, China’s commerce ministry said Tuesday that China hopes to sign an FTA with Australia as soon as possible.
From Want China Times, neolberalism ascendant:
China expected to dominate global wave of mergers
Chinese enterprises have initiated a wave of mergers with overseas companies at the beginning of this year. Over the first nine months, the total value of overseas mergers exceeded US$48 billion, US$33 billion of which were mergers with an individual worth of US$1 billion. Mergers involving Chinese companies this year were on the largest scale ever, statistics from investment banking platform Dealogic show.
From the Global Times, a faint hint of anxiety?:
8-percent trade growth target needs efforts: spokesman
Strenuous efforts are needed if China is to meet its 8-percent trade growth goal as grim circumstances continue both home and abroad, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman said Tuesday. China is facing pressures from flagging external demand, rising overall costs at home and cutthroat competition externally, Shen Danyang told a monthly press conference.
People’s Daily covers the winners:
Chinese mainland ranks second in number of billionaires worldwide
Chinese mainland has 157 billionaires as of 2013, ranking second in the number of billionaires worldwide, a banker said Tuesday. “It follows the United States, which has 515 billionaires,” Jin Jixiang, president of UBS (China) Limited, said at a press conference.
And BBC News covers another winner:
China retains supercomputer crown in latest Top500 list
A supercomputer built by the Chinese government has retained its place at the top of a list of the world’s most powerful systems.
Tianhe-2 can operate at 33.86 petaflop/s – the equivalent of 33,863 trillion calculations per second – according to a test called the Linpack benchmark.
From China Daily USA, getting rich processing the oil of others:
China in midst of oil refinery boom
“China has been in the middle of a major expansion boom in the refining sector, and there’s a lot more coming down the pipe,” said Antoine Halff, head of the Oil Industry & Markets Division at the International Energy Agency (IEA). “This is a major transformation.”
Want China Times notes another attainment:
Founder of ‘China’s Craigslist’ sees assets surge after New York IPO
Chinese classified site 58.com — China’s equivalent of Craigslist — made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 31, propelling its founder and CEO Yao Jinbo’s assets to US$450 million.
Bloomberg Businessweek asks a question:
Foreign Investment into China: Where’s the Money Flowing?
Who’s investing in China? The biggest surge is from the European Union, totaling $6.4 billion January through October, a 22.3 percent increase. U.S. companies, too, upped investment by 12.4 percent to reach $3 billion. And Japanese enterprises put in $6.5 billion, slightly more than the EU sum, a 6.3 percent rise. The largest amount came from Hong Kong due to its historical entrepot role; that totaled $63.5 billion, an increase of 10.5 percent.
And the South China Morning Post on a slowdown:
Hong Kong’s economic growth slows to 2.9pc in third quarter
City’s economy is dragged down by weak overseas markets in the third quarter, as forecast for the year is revised down to 3pc
Japan next, with a taxing problem from the Japan Times:
EU may ax envisioned tariff cuts
The European Union plans to back down on tariff cuts for Japanese automobiles and home appliances unless the country drastically reduces its tariff rates for key products from the EU, such as wine, cheese and meat, a source in the EU said Monday.
Quartz gives a failing grade to Shinzo Abe:
Abenomics did create an export boom—just not for Japan
It clearly promoted higher production and higher net exports … not in Japan, but in the countries that sell to Japan. They should congratulate him.
But Jiji Press offers a glimmer of hope:
OECD Ups Japan GDP Growth Projection for 2014
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday that Japan’s gross domestic product is expected to grow a real 1.5 pct in 2014 from this year, stronger than the 1.4 pct growth estimated by the organization in May.
The Japan Times covers another taxing anxiety:
OECD expects sales tax hikes to hurt economy
Organization of wealthy states voices misgivings about Abe recovery plan
The nation’s economy will stall for the next few years against the backdrop of the planned two-stage sales tax hike, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects in its biannual report released Tuesday.
While Japan Today gives us the finger:
Prosthesis manufacturers offer ex-yakuza members’ best chance at normal life
Yakuza. The word conjures up a host of images from noble anti-hero to vicious thugs to shrewd businessmen manipulating Japan’s financial institutions. While it may be hard to separate fact from fiction with these underworld gangs, one image – that of the sacrificed finger – is utterly real.
And on to Fukushimapocalypse Now!
The Asahi Shimbun covers the corporate:
TEPCO to seek additional loans from megabanks
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is asking three megabanks to extend it additional loans above and beyond the 500 billion yen ($5 billion) already scheduled in late December.
While the Mainichi delivers the major story:
Fuel removal work at Fukushima No. 4 spent fuel pool enters 2nd day
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Tuesday that work to remove fuel from the spent fuel pool at the No. 4 reactor building had entered a second day.
On Monday, workers successfully extracted four unused fuel assemblies from the fuel rack and placed them in a transportation container that will be taken to a different pool at the plant, which will provide more stable conditions for keeping the fuel cool.
And by the close of the day, SimplyInfo had the total:
First Cask Filled At Unit 4 Fukushima Daiichi
TEPCO announced that they have filled the first cask with fuel as of 6:28PM JST Tuesday. A total of 22 assemblies were loaded between Monday and Tuesday.
The Asahi Shimbun gives background:
TEPCO takes on long, unprecedented mission in decommissioning nuke reactors
Workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are in uncharted territory, facing the risk of damaging fuel rods and scattering radioactive materials during a yearlong mission to remove fuel from a storage pool strewn with debris.
The Japan Times raises more anxiety:
Fukushima job feared too perilous for Tepco
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has finally moved into the decommissioning process at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, despite doubt over its ability to manage a highly dangerous effort that will take decades.
The Asahi Shimbun gives more cause for worry:
Insider: Fukushima work slows by lack of on-site supervision, cost-cutting
He goes by the name “Happy” on Twitter, and he has more than 87,000 followers on the social networking site eager to know what is going on inside the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
From the Japan Times, ex post facto plans:
IAEA to review fuel removal work at Fukushima No. 4 reactor this month
The government said Tuesday that International Atomic Energy Agency experts will visit Japan later this month to study such issues as the just-started fuel removal work at a pool inside a damaged reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex.
NHK WORLD covers optimists:
Fukushima fishermen promote their fish in Tokyo
Fishermen from Fukushima Prefecture promoted their local marine products in Tokyo on Tuesday, and stressed their safety.
And from The Guardian, a louder alarm sounds:
Fukushima nuclear disaster is warning to the world, says power company boss
Exclusive: UK government must learn from Japan’s catastrophe as it plans a new generation of plant, nuclear chief claims
And on to our closing stories with Yale Environment 360:
A Scarcity of Rare Metals Is Hindering Green Technologies
A shortage of “rare earth” metals, used in everything from electric car batteries to solar panels to wind turbines, is hampering the growth of renewable energy technologies. Researchers are now working to find alternatives to these critical elements or better ways to recycle them.
From The Guardian, other energy, other problems:
Arctic oil spill is certain if drilling goes ahead, says top scientist
Russia’s push for exploration will devastate pristine Arctic, warns expert analyst of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill
From Salon, the Logos of logos:
Study: McDonald’s to blame for your short attention span
New research suggests there’s a link between impatience and exposure to fast-food logos
A newly published study finds a link between impatience and exposure to fast-food logos, which are arguably the most pervasive reminders of our instant-gratification culture. A research team led by the University of Toronto’s Sanford DeVoe reports seeing such symbols “undermines people’s ability to experience happiness from savoring pleasurable experiences.”
For our final item, a gut feeling from Quartz:
mood on the bottom
Can yogurt cure depression?
Mice that behave like autistic humans saw many of their symptoms disappear when they ate probiotics, the same kind of healthy bacteria found in many yogurts, CalTech biologist Paul Patterson has just told NPR. His research, which will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal Cell, is part of a growing body of evidence that the connection between the kind of bacteria that live in our gut and our psychological wellbeing is important enough that simply changing what we eat can alter, among other things, our mood and levels of anxiety.
