Long, long collection today, again because we were a tad under the weather Friday, so let’s get right to it. And don’t forget, after the jump we’ve got the latest Greek mayhem, news from Latin America and Asia, plus the latest chapter of Fukushimapocalypse Now!
We begin with a warning from CNBC:
Playing with fire? Margin debt most since crisis
As investors feel emboldened by the seemingly unstoppable stock market rally, they’re borrowing money at record levels to keep things going.
Margin debt—a measure of how much market participants are borrowing to buy stocks—has soared to $412.5 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. The number represents a 13.2 percent gain from the beginning of 2013 and is fully 50 percent higher than the level in January 2012.
CNBC again, with a skewed perspective:
Rosier view for the wealthy boosts consumer sentiment
U.S. consumer sentiment rose in November as wealthier Americans’ outlook on the economy improved, a survey released on Wednesday showed.
From the Los Angeles Times, bubbles brewing:
Silicon Beach housing prices surge as techies move in
Home prices in Santa Monica, Venice Beach and surrounding areas have risen sharply this year, pricing even some tech workers out of that Westside market.
Amid last decade’s housing bubble, the median home price in Silicon Beach — the area west of the 405 Freeway from Santa Monica south to Marina del Rey — peaked at $925,000 in the second quarter of 2007 before plummeting 25% to $694,000 in the first three months of 2010, according to research firm DataQuick.
But Silicon Beach prices have risen sharply this year. The median price in that area reached $952,500 last quarter, 19.2% higher than in the same period last year.
From Salon, an enlightened message:
Senators blast Wal-Mart “trampling” workers’ rights as dozens of activists are arrested on Black Friday
“It is time that Walmart pays its workers a fair wage and stops trampling on their rights,” say Sherrod Brown et al
No surprise here, via the Washington Post:
Push for minimum wage hike led by localities, Democrats
States and municipalities across the country are leading a localized push to raise the minimum wage, driven largely by Democrats, who see an opening to appeal to working-class Americans at a time of growing inequity.
Efforts in Congress to raise the national minimum wage above $7.25 an hour have stalled. But numerous local governments — including those of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and the District — are forging ahead, in some cases voting to dramatically increase the pay of low-wage workers.
My Budget 360 makes it plain:
The average American is broke and buying things they cannot afford with debt again. Debt based consumer financing again filling the gap of a shrinking middle class.
From CNBC, even plainer:
The Fed has created a huge global bubble: Stockman
Former OMB Director David Stockman says the actions of the Fed and central banks around the world have led to a massive bubble, and the end result won’t be pretty. With CNBC’s Jackie DeAngelis and the Futures Now Traders.
The actions of the Federal Reserve have created a massive bubble not just in U.S. stock prices, but in a variety of assets all across the world, contends David Stockman, who served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget under Ronald Reagan.
“The Fed is exporting this lunatic policy worldwide,” Stockman said, referring to the Federal Reserve’s asset-purchasing program. “Central banks all over the world have been massively expanding their balance sheets, and as a result of that there are bubbles in everything in the world, asset values are exaggerated everywhere.”
And USA TODAY covers a reverse flow:
Mexican shoppers head to Texas to avoid higher tax
Mexican residents typically account for $4.5 billion in retail sales in Texas counties along the border. That number is likely to jump by $225 million due to the tax hike.
And then there’s annual greed-n-grab orgy, first here in the U.S> via the London Daily Mail:
It’s Black-eye Friday! Man stabbed in row over parking space and shopper shot for his new TV as violent bargain-hunters come to blows
The rush for Black Friday bargains has resulted in outbreaks of violence as shoppers clash over reduced price goods
Police in Virginia have reporting a stabbing incident after two men got into a fight in the car park over a space
In Las Vegas, thief shot shopper in his leg and stole his television, while cops in Chicago shot a man as he scuffled with a police officer
Shoppers cutting in line sparked a Black Friday Brawl at another Walmart
Several clips have already appeared on YouTube of the carnage at various Walmart stores
Some retailers opened their doors as early as 6am on Thanksgiving Day
But the “tradition has metastasized, first to England [via the Daily Mail again]:
Black Friday frenzy: Man arrested as shoppers across the UK fight it out for the best bargains with shelves cleared in just ONE MINUTE
Male shopper arrested following a row at Asda store in Bristol this morning
Trouble flared up when man, 35, was told he couldn’t buy two 60-inch TVs
Frenzied shoppers across the country clear shelves within minutes
Televisions, DVD players, phones and tablets discounted by up to 70%
‘They were like locusts. It was madness,’ one witness said
‘It was like a pack of savages looking for a bargain,’ said another
And on to France, via TheLocal.fr:
Black Friday seduces France amid US backlash
Will we soon see thousands of French people lined up in sleeping bags outside stores across Paris the morning after Thanksgiving? The once uniquely American phenomenon is certainly taking off in France. Find out where to find the best bargains on “Vendredi Noir”.
And Spain, via TheLocal.es:
US-style Black Friday retail chaos hits Spain
Spanish shops and department stores are importing the traditional post-Thanksgiving Day ‘sales madness’ seen in the US every year as a way of getting Spanish shoppers to splash out in the lead up to Christmas.
And even Brazil as Xinhua reports:
Consumers embrace “Black Friday” in Brazil
On to Canada, via CBC News:
GDP expands at 2.7% pace in 3rd quarter
Canada’s economic growth was stronger than expected in the third quarter. Statistics Canada says the national gross domestic product grew at a 2.7 per cent annual rate, two-tenths of a point above estimates.
The pace of growth was the fastest in two years, when the economy expanded by 3.5 per cent. For comparison purposes, the U.S. economy is expanding at a 2.8 per cent annual pace.
And on to Europe, first with a regional headline from Bloomberg:
Euro-Area Inflation Holds at Less Than Half ECB Ceiling
Euro-area inflation stayed below 1 percent for a second month, less than half the European Central Bank’s ceiling, underscoring the weakness in parts of the euro region’s economy.
The annual rate rose to 0.9 percent from 0.7 percent in October, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said in a preliminary estimate today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 44 economists was for 0.8 percent. Separately, unemployment unexpectedly dropped to 12.1 percent.
Another from Reuters:
Price growth and jobless fall eases pressure on ECB to act
A pick-up in inflation this month eases pressure on the European Central Bank to act next week, and the first fall in unemployment in almost three years shows a tentative euro zone recovery is gaining traction.
And The Guardian:
Eurozone youth unemployment reaches record high of 24.4%
With 3.58 million under-25s in the euro area jobless in October, youth unemployment is a scar that shows little sign of healing
Here’s the numbers, via Eurostat [PDF]:
In October 2013, 5.657 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 3.577 million were in the euro area. Compared with October 2012 youth unemployment decreased by 29,000 in the EU28, but increased by 15,000 in the euro area. In October 2013, the youth unemployment rate was 23.7% in the EU28 and 24.4% in the euro area, compared with 23.3% and 23.7% respectively in October 2012. In October 2013, the lowest rates were observed in Germany (7.8%), Austria (9.4%) and the Netherlands (11.6%), and the highest in Greece (58.0% in August 2013), Spain (57.4%) and Croatia (52.4% in the third quarter of 2013).
From CNN, advice from across the pond:
General Electric boss to Europe: Open your borders, create jobs
Europe must stop being nationalistic if it wants to help a lost generation of workers, the regional boss of U.S. conglomerate General Electric says.
Speaking with CNN’s Max Foster, Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco, chief executive officer of GE Europe, said: “You have some areas of Europe where unemployment is 30, 40, 50%,” he added, “that drives the thinking that if you go nationalistic you’re going to solve the problem.”
And clouds on the horizon from the London Telegraph:
Student loans: thousands of Europeans ‘failing to repay debts’
The National Audit Office warns that the total university student loans bill will balloon to £200bn within 30 years as it emerges that thousands of EU students are avoiding repayments
Reuters takes us to Britain and bankster greed run riot:
London leads 11 percent jump in bankers earning 1 million euros
More than 3,500 bankers in Europe earned 1 million euros ($1.4 million) or more last year after a big jump across the continent and in Britain, which had 12 times as many high earners as any other country.
Figures from the bloc’s banking regulator on Friday showed that London-based bankers would have easily bust the European Union bonus cap rule coming into effect next year. Bonuses for the highest earners were almost four times fixed pay.
From the London Telegraph, another debt-fueled bubble rapidly inflates:
UK mortgage approvals near six year high in October
Amid renewed concerns that Britain’s economic upturn is being fuelled by debt, Bank of England data yesterday showed total net lending in the UK increased by £1.7bn in October, following an rise of £2.2bn in September. Including mortgage payments, Britons now owe a total of £1.4296 trillion, or around £22,000 for every man, woman and child in the UK. The previous high was £1.4294 trillion in September 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed.
And the central bankster pronounces, from Bloomberg:
Carney’s Housing Alarm Bell Nudges BOE Toward Stimulus Exit
Mark Carney is moving the Bank of England in a direction it hasn’t taken in more than six years.
The governor took steps yesterday to head off a potential housing bubble by diluting a credit-boosting program, two weeks after raising growth forecasts and signaling interest rates might increase sooner than previously projected. Underpinning the need for the move were data today showing house values at the highest level in more than five years, and banks approving the most mortgages since 2008.
Meanwhile, hints of a divorce in the works from Reuters:
Lawmakers push Britain closer to European Union referendum
Britain took a step towards holding a public vote on whether it should remain in the European Union when members of parliament backed an effort to enshrine the referendum promise in law.
Prime Minister David Cameron is backing the draft legislation as a way to help bridge damaging divides over Europe in his Conservative party. It is also designed to counter the threat of euro-skeptic voters defecting to the anti-EU UK Independence Party at the next general election in 2015.
Rising sentiment from The Observer:
Shock four-country poll reveals widening gulf between Britain and EU
Poll of France, Germany, Poland and the UK shows British hostile to EU, and other nations hostile to Britain
Bloomberg takes us to Iceland and a sensible policy:
Iceland Reveals $1.25 Billion in Mortgage Cuts to Aid Recovery
Iceland has announced plans to write down mortgages linked to inflation by 150 billion kronur ($1.25 billion) to speed the nation’s recovery after economic collapse in 2008.
The government plans to provide homeowners with as much as 70 billion kronur in direct writedowns of home-loan debt and give 80 billion kronur of tax exemptions over three years, according to a statement handed out in Reykjavik today. The deal is equivalent to 9 percent of Iceland’s $14 billion economy.
Norway next, and cramped coolers via TheLocal.no:
Jam-packed jails force Norway to free criminals
Police in northern Norway are being forced to release criminals back onto the streets because of a shortage of prison spaces, the acting head of police in the city of Tromsø warned this week.
Sweden next, and a slowdown via TheLocal.se:
Swedish economy continues to sputter
Swedish economic growth failed to meet expectations in the third quarter of 2013, reaching a meager 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter, new figures reveal. But the possible effects on the repo rate remain unclear.
Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast quarterly GDP growth of 0.2 percent, while Reuters’ survey revealed analysts expected growth of 0.5 percent.
The Copenhagen Post borders on the costly
Immigration laws render billion kroner investment worthless
Foreign scientists not allowed to work at Swedish facility, despite Denmark paying tenth of the cost to build it
From EurActiv, a Dutch treat:
The Netherlands has the best healthcare in the EU: Survey
The Netherlands has retained its position at the top of the annual Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) which compares healthcare systems in Europe.
On 48 indicators such as patient rights and information, accessibility, prevention and outcomes, the Netherlands secured its top position among 35 European countries for the fourth year in a row, scoring 870 of a maximum 1,000 points.
But DutchNews.nl hints at darker times ahead:
Cancer treatment threatens to become unaffordable (update)
The cost of caring for cancer patients threatens to become unaffordable, leading doctors, economists and patient groups to call for a ceiling on medicine costs, the Volkskrant reports on Friday.
And a Dutch embrace for British Torynoia from DutchNews.nl:
British PM’s calls for EU migration restrictions are ‘interesting’: Asscher
Dutch social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher thinks British calls for limits to EU migration are ‘potentially interesting’ and plans to study them further, the Telegraaf reports on Friday.
British prime minister David Cameron has suggested a raft of measures to limit inter-EU migration ahead of the end of restrictions on people from Bulgaria and Romania at the beginning of next year.
Followed by a Ja Wohl! from Spiegel:
Poverty Migration: Berlin Backs UK’s ‘Benefit Tourism’ Offensive
David Cameron: “Free movement within Europe needs to be less free.”
Germany has now stepped into the UK-triggered fray over introducing new restrictions on migration within the EU. The European Commission is enraged, and even conservative EU parliamentarians warn of pandering to populists.
And a supposition from euronews:
Minimum wage could ‘threaten Germany’s jobs miracle’
The German government’s plan to introduce a nationwide minimum wage has raised concerns among the business community in the eurozone’s most powerful economy. Will the measure hinder as much as it helps?
Quartz finds another cause for concern:
Germans keep losing their jobs with worrying regularity
For those pinning their hopes on a strong German economy to pull the euro zone out of its malaise, some bad news: Germany’s job market is in a bit of a slump.
The number of jobless jumped by 10,000 in November, well above expectations, according to data released today. It was the fourth consecutive monthly rise in the ranks of unemployed; there are now 52,000 more Germans out of work than there were at the start of the year. Some economists worry that the proposed introduction of the country’s first-ever minimum wage will discourage hiring even further.
From Berlin, an opportunity to cool it via RT:
Berlin borough pushing for Germany’s first cannabis coffee-shop
Berlin could soon be enjoying its very own legal marijuana, as the parliament of the trendy and hip Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district voted overwhelmingly in favor of a measure that could see the first legal coffee shop in the country.
After barely a month in office, the then-newly elected Mayor of the area, the Green Party’s Monika Hermann, came up with the idea in September to turn her district into a zone free of cannabis laws, akin to Amsterdam’s coffee shops or Copenhagen’s famed Christiania district.
France next, with an anti-tax action from euronews:
France: Truckers disrupt traffic in green tax revolt
Truckers have been disrupting traffic on major roads across France to demand that a planned green tax be buried once and for all. Partial roadblocks were set up around several cities with organisers saying 4,500 lorries were involved.
After earlier protests, the government suspended the so-called ‘eco-tax’ on heavy road transport. But the truckers say that is not good enough.
From France 24, a radical move:
French lawmakers back ban on buying sex
French lawmakers voted on Saturday to back a highly controversial provision in a bill that imposes a €1,500 euro fine on clients of sex workers.
On to Spain, and repression ahead from El País:
Safety bill calls for 30,000 euro fines for “offenses against Spain”
Cabinet sends proposed citizens’ security law to Congress for debate
“Offenses against Spain” include any public acts, such as shouting or carrying placards “that are harmful or abusive of Spain or any region” during a protest or demonstration, Fernández said.
El País again, with reassurance:
Consumer price figures for November dispel fears of deflation
Household spending picked up again as Spain emerged from recession
ANSAmed offers another Salud!:
Crisis: S&P upgrades Spain’s credit to ‘stable’
Economy in recovery, BBB- rating unchanged
While El País covers an austerian action killing a commons:
Valencia TV signs off with police eviction of workers and power cut
Broadcaster’s staff had pledged to stay on air
After more than 12 hours of resistance by workers, police were called in Friday to help close down Valencia’s loss-making regional television station RTVV. The Popular Party (PP) regional government sought a court order to evict the diehard broadcasters from the channel 9 studios, where they had been continuing their transmissions throughout the evening.
More from TheLocal.es:
TV tech turns folk hero in network switch-off saga
A technician at a debt-laden Spanish regional television station became a folk hero in a matter of hours on Friday morning after he ignored an order to switch the network signal off.
Workers at the government television station on Friday defied an order to close the broadcaster by airing their own live protest programme.
On to Lisbon and corporate good cheer from the Portugal News:
“Best year ever for exports” – deputy PM
Portugal’s deputy Prime Minister, Paulo Portas, said on Wednesday that exports were expected to represent 41 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of the year making this “the best year ever for exports”
From ANSAmed, yet another piece of the commons goes, one that’s high on the neoliberal list:
Portuguese postal services strike against privatization
83% taking part; 5% of shares reserved for employees
The Portugal News covers coming austerity:
Shoestring Budget
Unprecedented reductions in public spending, tax surcharge on all incomes and salary cuts of up to 12 percent caused widespread civil unrest for much of the past week, including the occupation of several government ministries.
And Channel NewsAsia Singapore reports an action:
easyJet’s Portugal pilots to strike Christmas-New Year
On to Italy and ominous numbers from TheLocal.it:
Italy’s youth jobless hits record high
Youth unemployment in Italy has hit a record high of 41.2 percent, while overall 12.5 percent of Italians are out of work, the national statistics agency Istat said on Friday.
The October figures point to a worsening situation for Italy’s 15-24-year-olds, with the number of unemployed young people up from September’s 40.4 percent.
From TheLocal.it again, Bunga Bunga political media baron sets media record:
Berlusconi breaks social media record
The ousting of Silvio Berlusconi from Italy’s parliament on Wednesday attracted more Facebook and Twitter posts than any other political event, a social media monitoring agency has said.
Between 7.00am and 6.00pm on Wednesday, the former prime minister was mentioned 255,000 times on the two websites, Blogmeter said. Of these there were 100,000 mentions of Berlusconi on Facebook and 155,000 on Twitter.
From TheLocal.it once again, Bunga Bungan liabilities:
Berlusconi risks fresh trial for bribing witnesses
Italy’s embattled Silvio Berlusconi, ousted from parliament and stripped of legal protection this week, risks arrest and a fresh trial after a court on Friday accused him of corrupting witnesses in a sex case.
Judges in a Milan court said Berlusconi “gave, and still gives, money” to call girls to provide false testimony in his favour, one of whom included the then-underage dancer nicknamed “Ruby the Heart Stealer”.
After the jump, Grecomeltdown, Russian debt, Ukrainian anger, Latin polls and protests, Indian uncertainty, mixed Chinese signals, a Japanese uptick, and the latest Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
Our first Greek headline, from Kathimerini English:
Greece aiming for troika agreement by EU leaders’ summit on Dec 20
Athens is hoping to make substantial progress in its efforts to conclude the latest review of its adjustment program in time for the Eurogroup meeting due to take place on December 18 and the European Union leaders’ summit two days later, Kathimerini understands.
And a major job action nears an end, from To Vima:
University administrative employees appear to end their strike
General Secretary of Administrative Employees of Attica reports that 50% have returned to their jobs
University administrative employees appear to end their strike
According to the General Secretary of the administrative employee union of Athens Dimitris Sakatos, about 50% of the administrative staff at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens has returned to work.
Macropolis reports a major downturn:
Greek retail sales tumbled another 6.4 pct in September
Retail sales headed south for yet another month with the contraction rate decelerating to 6.4 percent in September from 8.9 percent in August, according to Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). A broadly similar trend and drop of 5.4 percent was also evident in retail volumes.
From Greek Reporter, political action in Athens:
Greeks Put on Major Protests in Athens
Golden Dawn supporters gathered in Syntagma square in front of the Greek parliament, demanding the release from Golden Dawn_Sidagmapre-trial custody of the party’s leader Nikos Michaloliakos and another two MPs two months ago.Clad in black clothes, carrying torches and Greek flags, the ultra-right party’s supporters shouted slogans such as “hands off Golden Dawn, don’t jail nationalists” to the sound of Greek folk and marching songs.
From To Vima, the price paid by youth:
High schools complain about critical teacher shortages
Vocational schools face biggest problems – Teacher unions blame drastic budget cuts for teacher shortages
But to the banksters, it’s looking better. From Bloomberg:
Greece Raised to Caa3 by Moody’s on Fiscal Progress
Greece’s credit rating was raised two levels by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited the country’s progress in fiscal consolidation and an improving economic outlook.
The country’s government bond rating was raised yesterday to Caa3 from C and given a stable outlook, Moody’s said in a statement. The ratings company said it expects Greece to “achieve (and possibly outperform) its target of a primary balance in 2013, and record a surplus in 2014.” A “cyclical recovery in the economy” is another reason for the credit grade increase, Moody’s said.
From Kathimerini English, the subject of our Charts of the day:
Number of Greek families at risk of poverty on the rise
Just over 23 percent of Greek households were at risk of poverty last year, up from 21.4 percent in 2011 and 20.1 percent in 2008, according to new figures published by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
The agency found that in 2012, 914,873 families with about 2.5 million members were at risk of poverty.
The age group that is most at risk of poverty is children up to the age of 17. The poverty threshold is set at an annual income of 5,708 euros per person and 11,986 euros for a family of two adults and two children.
From Greek Reporter, bad news for non-banksters and corporateers:
Drop in Greek Minimum Wage Predicted for 2013
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) (released by Kathimerini), there is a large decrease in the net salary of the Greeks.
Net salaries of all employees have increased by 23.2 percent during the period 2000-2009. In the next four years, the net remuneration has dropped by 20.2 percent. Thus, the total loss for the period 2000-2012 stands at 1.7 percent
More bad news for the great majority from Greek Reporter:
Greeks Piling Up Debts
Some recent findings showed that the majority of Greek citizens are drowning in debts and find it hard to fulfill their obligations to the Greek State. The overdue debts have increased by 1.1 billion euros during October, while in 2013, 7.2 billion euros had accumulated in debts.
Data reports revealed, the majority of Greeks are leaving their most recent bills unpaid in order to pay older debts.
To Vima delivers a medical chop:
Ministry of Health suddenly ends contracts with 850 EOPYY doctors
Decision affects EOPYY doctors with private clinics who treated EOPYY policyholders in the afternoons
Ministry of Health suddenly ends contracts with 850 EOPYY doctors
On to Russia with the Moscow News:
Russian bank debt to reach 10 trillion rubles in 2013
The total amount of money Russians owe to banks will rise to 10 trillion rubles ($300 billion) by the end of this year, a Russian newspaper reported Friday citing the central bank.
A boom in consumer lending in Russia this year has sparked concern that the market may be overheating, with officials warning of possible financial volatility if the trend is not checked.
The Moscow News notes a sign of the times:
Disabled Kyrgyz sold to begging ring, sent to Moscow
The head of a care institute for people with mental disabilities in Kyrgyzstan has been charged with selling patients to a street beggar gang, local prosecutors said Thursday.
Bloomberg takes us to the Ukraine:
Ukrainians Called to Streets After Violent Crackdown
Ukrainian politicians opposed to President Viktor Yanukovych called on supporters to gather in downtown Kiev at noon tomorrow after the government violently dispersed a protest last night.
Some 40 people were injured when Ukrainian police began breaking up the rally on Independence Square after midnight, prompting opposition leaders to call for Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko’s resignation. At least 1,000 protesters regrouped near a monastery at Mykhailivska Square, also in downtown Kiev.
Latin America next with RT:
Anti-Monsanto activists assaulted in Argentina
At least 20 people have been injured in clashes in Argentina between union members and environmental activists, who were protesting the construction of a plant by the biotech giant Monsanto.
The clashes happened outside of the construction site in Cordoba province on Thursday.
Some 60 workers from the Argentine Construction Union attacked the protester camp, beating the activists and stealing from them, Environmentalist Vanina Barboza charged in comments to local TV.
The New York Times notes a Brazilian uptick:
Brazil’s Rousseff Improves Odds of 2014 Re-election: Poll
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has improved her odds of re-election since last month, while her potential rivals have lost ground, according to a Datafolha opinion poll published by Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Saturday.
Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist expected to seek a second term next October, won 47 percent support in the most widely expected matchup – up from 42 percent in last month’s poll.
While BBC News covers the darker side of the Brazilian economic story:
Brazil National Force sent to land dispute region
A task force of the Brazilian National Force is to be deployed in areas disputed by indians and farmers in the western state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
The federal force is due to arrive in the region just ahead of an auction to raise funds for the farmers’ private security personnel.
Asia next, with our first Indian story from the Financial Express:
India registers better-than-expected GDP growth rate of 4.8% in Sept quarter
Staging a small recovery, the economy grew at an estimated 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of the fiscal, helped by “significant growth” in some sectors such as agriculture, selected infrastructure, construction, and financing and insurance.
The Economic Times offers a mixed review:
GDP above forecast, but risks in H2 on spending cut: Analysts
Analysts welcomed the better Q2 GDP readings of 4.8 per cent, which came in above their expectations, but warned that the planned expenditure cuts by the government will be the key thing to watch out going forward.
The Financial Express covers privatization pondering:
Air India privatisation: Ajit Singh says, ‘Buy an airline for billions, become a millionaire’
“If you want to become a millionaire, you buy an airline worth a billion dollars and you become a millionaire.” This was a joke narrated by Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh when he reiterated his “personal” view on privatising Air India.
And the Times of India coveys a shove:
Why no rate hike, RBI asks banks
The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks why they have not raised interest rates despite the central bank hiking policy rates twice since September 2013. The central bank has also expressed concerns over the increase in bank loans to commercial real estate, which is considered a “sensitive” sector susceptible to high price fluctuations.
Thailand next, with an RT report on ongoing disorder:
Thai protesters capture army HQ in countrywide anti-government protests
Some 1,500 anti-government protesters in Bangkok have broken into the compound of the Royal Thai Army headquarters in their bid to topple the current government. The largely non-violent action could escalate, police say.
More from Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Thai political protests turn violent, one dead
Mass opposition protests aimed at overthrowing Thailand’s embattled prime minister turned violent on Saturday with one person shot dead and several wounded as the government called on the army to protect key state buildings.
Xinhua gives us a regional headline:
Most Asia-Pacific businesses face cash flow problem in 2013: survey
Most Asia-Pacific businesses encountered cash flow problem this year, with about 30 percent of total volume of invoices paid late, according to a regional survey issued Saturday by Atradius Group, a company that provides trade credit insurance, surety and collections services.
According to the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer survey, most customers, particularly foreign customers, took almost twice the extended payment term to pay for their credit purchases.
And the China Post takes us to Taiwan:
Gov’t cuts 2013 growth forecast to less than 2%
Taiwan will see 1.74 percent growth in GDP this year, a 0.57-percent downward adjustment from the previously estimated 2.31 percent, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
On to the mainland with the Global Times:
China’s major enterprises see slower Oct growth
China’s major industrial enterprises reported slower profit growth in October, official data showed Thursday.
Last month, profits earned by industrial enterprises with minimum annual revenues of 20 million yuan ($3.28 million) jumped by 15.1 percent year-on-year to 581.04 billion yuan, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement posted on its website.
The growth rate shrank by 3.3 percentage points from September, the second month in a row of falling growth.
A rejection from Want China Times:
China rejects imported US transgenic corn
China’s quality watchdog said on Friday that China has recently rejected 60,000 tonnes of corn imports from the United States which contains unapproved transgenic content.
Local authorities in the southern port city of Shenzhen found MIR162, a type of insect-resistant transgenic corn, among a batch of over 60,000 tonnes of corn imported from the United States, said Chen Xitong, spokesman for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).
And Xinhua suggests contagion:
President Xi stresses fight against HIV/AIDS
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for legal and scientific prevention and control of HIV/AIDS as well as various social support for carriers and patients.
Xi made the remarks in a recent written instruction on the country’s anti-HIV/AIDS work before the World AIDS Day, which falls on Dec. 1.
And the Global Times suggest a supporting role:
China could have key role to play in TPP
As of 2011, 124 countries count China as their largest trade partner, compared to just 76 for the US. But in 2006, those numbers were almost reversed. Without China’s market and trade size – the valuable assets most TPP members are highly dependent upon – how will the TPP grow to be a real free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region?
Japan next, starting a major change from the London Telegraph, an easing of stagnation:
Japan inflation rises at fastest pace in 15 years
Key index for consumer inflation in Japan rose at fastest pace in 15 years last month in boost to Government of Shinzo Abe
The findings are likely to be welcomed by the prime minister Shinzo Abe, who has become renowned for his economic policies of so-called Abenomics aimed at pulling the nation out of 15 years of deflation.
And Jiji Press hints at expansion:
Japan Minister Welcomes S. Korea’s Interest in TPP
Akira Amari, Japanese minister in charge of Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, welcomed South Korea’s interest, expressed Friday, in joining TPP talks.
South Korea’s entry would come after a conclusion of negotiations among the 12 existing member countries including Japan and the United States, Amari noted. With the aim of reaching an accord by the year-end, the 12 countries will hold a ministerial session in Singapore Dec. 7-10.
JapanToday delivers an injection:
Japan to spend Y1 tril on public works for stimulus
Japan will spend around 1 trillion yen on public works in a stimulus package to be finalized next month, sources said Thursday, to help offset the impact of an increase in the sales tax.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet is expected to approve the stimulus package, which will total around 5 trillion yen, on Dec 5.
Next, Fukushimapocalypse Now!
From Jiji Press, the top story:
TEPCO Transfers 22 Spent Fuel Assemblies at Fukushima N-Plant
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday that it has finished the transfer of 22 spent fuel assemblies from the storage pool at the No. 4 reactor of its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station to a common pool at another location within the premises of the plant.
The 22 assemblies were placed into the common pool located at a building some 100 meters from the No. 4 reactor building Saturday afternoon.
NHK WORLD instructs:
Fukushima people learn how to deal with radiation
Experts on radiation protection have met with residents around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to discuss how to deal with daily exposure to harmful substances.
The International Commission on Radiological Protection on Saturday opened a two-day seminar in Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture. About 80 people took part on the first day.
From France 24, suspicions confirmed:
Typhoons spread Fukushima fallout, study warns
Typhoons that hit Japan each year are helping spread radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the country’s waterways, researchers say.
Contaminated soil gets washed away by the high winds and rain and deposited in streams and rivers, a joint study by France’s Climate and Environmental Science laboratory (LSCE) and Tsukuba University in Japan showed.
Mainichi has the labor scene at the scene:
Ex-Fukushima plant worker accuses TEPCO of refusing collective bargaining
A former worker at the disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has accused its operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) of unjustly refusing collective bargaining over his dismissal.
The Haken Union, a labor union for temporary and contract workers, filed for support from the Labor Relations Commission of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Nov. 28 on behalf of Tetsuya Hayashi, a 41-year-old resident of Nagano Prefecture who worked at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant as a subcontract worker. The Haken Union accused TEPCO, its prime contractor and other companies of engaging in unfair labor practices by refusing to respond to collective bargaining.
And NHK WORLD notes a closure:
Fukushima school to close due to lack of students
A private senior high school in Fukushima Prefecture will formally close down at the end of March due to a lack of students in the wake of the 2011 nuclear accident.
Shoei High School in Minamisoma City will be the first of the prefecture’s schools to close since the accident.
While the Japan Daily Press has some resistance:
Supporters ask central government to stop shutdown of Fukushima high schools
The parents and alumni of several high schools located around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have filed a request with the central government, asking them to stop the imminent shutdown of five high schools in the district. The schools are scheduled to be closed down permanently as the number of students has declined rapidly since the 2011 disasters that forced a massive evacuation of residents and the high schools moved to temporary facilities.
Jiji Press notes a replacement:
TEPCO to Build Latest Coal-Fired Generators in Fukushima
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it will build two of the most advanced coal-fired power generators in Fukushima Prefecture to reduce costs through efficient power generation and to create job opportunities in disaster-hit areas.
The company plans to start operating the generators by 2020, with total investment of more than 200 billion yen.
While we’ve been covering the emergence of Japan’s evolving official secrets act in our spooky edition of Headlines of the Day, this Bellona headline seems appropriate here:
Japan tries to plug leaks about leaks, donning Russia’s mantle of nuclear and Olympic explosions
The Japanese government’s powerful lower house of Parliament passed a stiff new secrecy bill that would visit harsh penalties on bureaucrats who leak information, and reporters who seek it – a move environmentalists fear would allow official collusion and corruption of the kind unearthed during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster to flourish.
From other fuels/other problems we have this from SINA English:
PetroChina sued over pollution in NE China
A Chinese environmental group is suing PetroChina, the nation’s largest oil and gas producer, for what they claim is severe pollution in northeastern Jilin Province.
The All-China Environment Federation said today that it has filed suit in the Beijing Municipal No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court against the oil producer and its Jilin subsidiary for illegally discharging waste drilling water which poisoned local groundwater and farmland.
And The Contributor notes a passing:
‘In twenty years many glaciers will be gone’
Norway’s glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate, the latest annual statistics have revealed, with scientists warning that some could soon disappear completely.
No fewer than 26 of the country’s 33 largest glaciers retreated in 2013, according to the annual survey from the Norwegian Water Resources Directorate, with four remaining unchanged and only three gaining length.
And The Guardian yields to pressure:
Food-based biofuels allowance to rise by 50% under EU plans
Planned EU cap on biofuels produced from food crops to be raised from 4.7% to 7% for 2020
For our final item, lethal arrogance from The Contributor:
Tea Party Bill Would Gut Endangered Species Act
Tea Party senators introduced a bill last week that would effectively end the protection of most endangered species in the U.S. by gutting some of the most important provisions of the Endangered Species Act.
Senate Bill 1731, introduced by Tea Party members Sen. Paul (R-KY), Sen. Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Heller (R-NV) would end protections for most of the species that are currently protected by the act and make it virtually impossible to protect new species under the law. It would also eliminate protection for habitat that’s critical to the survival of rare and struggling animals and plants around the country.
