Whole heckuva lot happenin’, including the deepening of the Greek implosion, the Chinese neoliberal revolution, Ukrainian furor, That troubles, and lots more.
We begin with global stories, starting with this headline from La Via Campesina:
The WTO pushes through bad deal in the final hours; Developed countries and TNCs are the big winners
Hailed as a victory by the WTO for unlocking the deadlocked negotiations, the Bali Package delivers a legally binding agreement on Trade Facilitation that is costly to developing countries and ensures easier access and profits for Transnational Corporations (TNCs). Trade Facilitation, or the easing of customs procedures and borders, clearly benefits only the big TNCs that already control exports and imports. As the 2013 World Trade Report data shows, “80% of US exports are handled by 1% of large exporters, 85% of European exports are in the hands of 10% of big exporters and 81% of exports are concentrated in the top 5 largest exporting firms in developing countries.”
From Kyodo News, a deadline in doubt:
TPP countries to miss year-end deadline, continue talks
Countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks will miss the pledged deadline of reaching a full agreement by year-end, failing to find political solutions on contentious issues, a source familiar with the negotiations said Monday.
Ministers from the 12 TPP countries, who are holding a four-day meeting through Tuesday in Singapore, shared a view Monday that it is impossible to solve all remaining issues during the latest session including tariffs and intellectual property rights, adding the countries will have to continue negotiations next year, the source said.
PCWorld covers the latest bombshell from WikiLeaks:
Wikileaks exposes secret, controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations
Anyone not closely connected to the talks is being kept in the dark about the exact proposals being discussed. The Australian government, for instance, refused to give the Senate access to the secret text of the draft treaty being negotiated in a final round of talks in Singapore, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Monday. The results of the negotiations will only be made public after the treaty has been signed, the Australian government said, according to the paper.
But texts of purported drafts of the treaty have been leaked to the public, most recently on Monday by Wikileaks, which published two documents said to show the state of negotiations after talks held in Salt Lake City from Nov. 19 to 24.
More from The Daily Dot:
WikiLeaks reveals every country’s negotiating positions on the TPP
They certainly show that the U.S. disagrees with other TPP countries on a number of issues. It’s the sole country to refuse to eliminate subsidies for economic exports, for example. It also stands alone in its opinion on a few issues that aren’t fully clear from the document, on subjects are varied as agreeing on a “central reserve bank” in the investment chapter, technical consultations on the “sanitary and phytosanitary” chapter, and how to settle disputes when a country violates the environmental chapter.
Techdirt has the bottom line:
Latest TPP Leaks Reveal That US Is Isolated In Its Desire To Push Through Corporate Exceptionalism
from the good-to-see dept
Wikileaks has posted its latest bombshell here.
MintPress News covers another sorry aspect of the global neoliberal agenda:
Justice Increasingly Distant for Victims of Corporate Abuse
Some countries’ legislatures have proposed laws to shield companies of liability for foreign abuses, or create obstacles to victims seeking redress.
Two years after the international community unanimously agreed to a landmark safeguards framework known as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, scholars and rights defenders are warning that governments have either failed to implement or gone backward on a key provision of this agreement.
And heading to the U.S., Gawker outFoxes:
Fox News Paid Fired Executive $8 Million to Keep Quiet
Roger Ailes’ secrets command a heavy price. Last week, the New York Times reported that Fox News had reached an out-of-court settlement with Brian Lewis, the former Roger Ailes aide who was abruptly fired in late July. A Fox News executive with knowledge of the negotiations told Gawker that Lewis was paid approximately $8 million in hush money.
While The Hill throws the jobless under the Obama bus:
Durbin: No ultimatum on jobless benefits
The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate and a Republican member of the budget conference committee on Sunday strongly signaled that an emerging budget deal would not include new spending on unemployment benefits.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that he hopes extended jobless benefits will be part of the budget deal, but Democrats are not, at this point, insisting on it.
From Reuters, them that has got even more:
Household net worth hits record high in third quarter
U.S. household net worth hit a record high in the third quarter as home prices marched higher and the value of stocks and mutual funds surged, boosting the economic outlook.
The Federal Reserve said on Monday net worth increased $1.9 trillion to $77.3 trillion in the third quarter, the highest level since records started in 1945.
Bloomberg covers a bubble diagnostic:
Jumbos Surge 34% With Record ARMs Belying ‘08 Anxiety: Mortgages
Jumbo loans, both adjustable and fixed-rate, increased by 34 percent to $216 billion in the first nine months of this year, with ARMs comprising the majority of the gain, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication in Bethesda, Maryland. Cash-rich banks, including Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp., are using ARMs as a hedge: the loans’ longer-term payments will move in tandem with the lenders’ expected increases in borrowing costs as interest rates rise, said Greg McBride, a senior analyst at mortgage-data firm Bankrate Inc.
From the London Telegraph, a warning:
World’s biggest investor BlackRock says US rally nearing exhaustion
BlackRock has advised clients to be ready to pull out of global stock markets at any sign of serious trouble
The McClatchy Washington Bureau covers a downturn:
McClatchy-Marist Poll: Obama gets worst ratings of his presidency
The American public is unusually pessimistic about the direction of the country and increasingly fed up with Washington gridlock, a sour mood reflected in the worst disapproval ratings for President Barack Obama since he took office nearly five years ago.
People give elected officials unusually low grades – 31 percent rated them “D” and 38 percent gave them an “F,” according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.
CBC News merges:
American Airlines comes out of bankruptcy as No. 1 airline
$11B merger goes ahead despite challenges with consumer groups worried about higher fares
American Airlines emerged from bankruptcy protection Monday as the world’s largest airline after completing its long-awaited $11-billion US merger with US Airways.
From the London Daily Mail, more than liking:
Is ‘sympathize’ the new ‘like’? Facebook boffins come up with new emotion button for sad occasions
Users would select a negative feeling like ‘depressed’ from a set list of emotions when commenting on something. Instead of ‘like’, your status would then be changed to ‘sympathise’ instead.
Bloomberg Businessweek discovers the obvious:
Harvard Study Finds: The Rent Is Way Too High
If you can’t afford to own, you can rent. But what if you can’t afford to rent, either? Millions of Americans are in precisely that situation, according to a study released today by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The availability of apartments, especially cheaper ones, hasn’t nearly kept up with demand, and the problem has worsened since the 2007-09 recession, the study says.
“In 1960, about one in four renters paid more than 30 percent of income for housing. Today, one in two are cost burdened,” according to the study, America’s Rental Housing.
And MintPress News counts Tea Party casualties to come:
Budget Cuts Could Lead To Surge In Homeless Vets
Officials warn that the number of homeless may soon skyrocket as budget cuts negatively impact federal agencies’ ability to work to end homelessness.
While Oakland Local notes a California austerian toll:
Majority of Oakland Public School libraries are closed, FOPSL hosts community dialogue series to restore them
The nonprofit Friends of the Oakland Public School Libraries, or FOPSL, works to fill the funding void for in-school libraries that often is supplemented in more affluent neighborhoods by the PTA.
From Talk to Action, a blast from the past:
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Worked at Group Vilifying Mandela & Supporting Apartheid
On to Canada with CBC News and notable omissions:
TSB says CN Rail failed to report hundreds of derailments, collisions
Authorities first noticed discrepancies in 2005
A continuing CBC News investigation into rail safety has found that Canada’s largest freight carrier CN Rail did not report to authorities more than 1,800 derailments and accidents, including 44 on key rail arteries.
New Europe takes us across the pond:
Extreme poverty: a contemporary plague for the EU
But is homelessness a problem only in the Southern European countries, which have been criticised with contempt by politicians in the rich northern countries?
No. Even the rich northern European countries are struggling to cope with a growing army of poor and homeless.
Reuters notes the obvious:
Analysis: ‘Brussels consensus’ widens gulf with EU electorates
Call it the Brussels Consensus. A system of beliefs rooted in European Union treaties helps explain the growing gulf between policy elites and ordinary citizens that may cause a political earthquake in European Parliament elections next May.
These articles of faith are widely regarded as self-evident truths in the European Commission and the European Central Bank but are often regarded by voters as the cause of their misfortunes rather than the solution to them.
And EurActiv captures corporations acting the way corporations act:
EU losing power struggle with national telecoms bodies
The European Commission will this week issue a rebuttal against the Italian telecoms regulator for its proposed reduction of broadband fees. The move comes after several similar actions aimed at asserting EU powers against national authorities, but it risks proving ineffective.
From Reuters, bankrolling bad bank shutdowns:
Exclusive: Euro zone bailout fund should be allowed to help close failing banks – document
The euro zone’s bailout fund should be allowed to lend to help finance the closure of banks in the bloc, a proposal prepared for euro zone finance ministers showed on Monday.
European countries are seeking to reach a deal before the end of the year on how to close failing lenders, as part of an ambitious plan to create a banking framework and fix broken banks, whose problems have festered since the financial crisis.
And New Europe notes the enshrinement of yet another corporate desideratum:
Council backs unitary patent protection directive
The Justice Ministers of the EU Member States endorsed the unitary patent Directive which will establish the first European patent court (the Unified Patent Court.)
The European Commission announced that the Unified Patent Court will be specialised in solving patent protection issues, avoiding multiple litigation cases in up to 28 different national courts. This will cut costs and lead to swift decisions on the validity or infringement of patents, aiming to ensure unitary patent protection in the Single Market.
On to Britain and grim news from The Independent:
The poorest pay the price for austerity: Workers face biggest fall in living standards since Victorian era
The biggest drop in living standards since the Victorian age is seeing low and middle earners suffering an unprecedented squeeze on their incomes as austerity measures continue to bite, with women and part-time workers disproportionately affected, research reveals today.
The London Telegraph has more banksters behaving badly:
Pensioners are being ‘burgled’ by insurers on annuities
A scathing report calls for regulators to launch an unprecedented investigation into the “excessive” profits insurers are making from consumers dazed and confused by the retirement market
From the ‘Oh, poor baby’ department, via The Independent:
‘I’m experiencing austerity as well’, says Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent has explained how she and her husband have been hit by austerity; meaning they can no longer dine out as it’s “too extravagant”.
The Princess, who is an interior designer and author, told The Times in an interview to promote her debut novel: “I am in very austere economic times too, thank you very much!”
From Want China Times, mammon on a mission:
UK top European destination for Chinese investment
The United Kingdom has become China’s top destination for investments in Europe due to its comparatively looser labor regulations and market liberalisation.
British Prime Minister David Cameron concluded a three-day trip to China on Dec. 4, leading a group of representatives from over 130 UK businesses, with deals signed that reached ?6 billion (US$9.8 billion).
Sky News takes us to Scotland and a warning:
Independent Scots ‘Will Pay More For Food’
Supermarket bosses say the cost of doing business is higher in Scotland and they fear that burden will rise if it leaves the UK.
And the Irish Times brings us the most outrageous austerian measure yet:
Batteries not included: patients asked to bring AAs for monitors
Blood pressure machines require two batteries
It was confirmed last week that Ennis General Hospital in Co Clare had been telling patients who required to be fitted with mobile blood pressure monitors, to bring two AA batteries. The hospital has since stopped the practice under instruction from the HSE.
On to Sweden and a schooling call from TheLocal.se:
Swedes’ support for nationalization high as school choice debate rages
Over 60 percent of Swedes think schools should once again be controlled by the state amid a debate about school choice following Sweden’s poor showing in the OECD’s Pisa rankings.
Sweden’s schools are currently run at the munipality level, meaning that each of the country’s 290 municipalities take responsibility for everything from pre-school to adult education. Each municipality funds the schooling through local tax revenues, with the help of a general government grant.
DutchNews.nl notes a modest shift:
Central bank sees 0.5% growth in 2014, spending power to rise in 2015
The Dutch economy will return to modest growth of 0.5% next year after contracting 1% in 2013, the Dutch central bank said on Monday.
Growth will reach 1% by 2015, when employment will also rise for the first time since 2011, the bank said in its latest half-yearly statement.
DutchNews.nl again, this time with deception:
Graduates often keep student loan quiet in mortgage applications
Four out of 10 graduates do not tell their bank they have an unpaid student loan when applying for a mortgage, according to research by debt registration agency BKR.
Switzerland next, with a handover demand via TheLocal.ch:
Swiss banks urged to hand records to US
Three hundred or so Swiss banks had until the end of Monday to decide whether to hand over records to Washington, in a bid to skirt US legal action for assisting American tax dodgers.
“I can confirm that the deadline is this evening, at the end of the business day,” a spokesman for Swiss financial market regulator FINMA, told AFP, refusing to say how many banks had already signed up to take part in the programme.
Numbers tell the tale, via TheLocal.ch:
Expats continue hardest hit as jobless rate grows
The overall jobless rate increased in November for the second consecutive month, rising to 3.2 percent from 3.1 percent in October and the same period a year earlier, the state secretariat for economic affairs (Seco) said.
The unemployment level among foreigners jumped to 6.2 percent, up from 5.8 percent in October and 5.6 percent in September, Seco said. The rate among Swiss citizens inched up to 2.3 percent from 2.2 percent.
From TheLocal.de, a German uptick:
Record German exports exceed €99 billion
Germany exported more than €99 billion worth of goods in October, a record high – but its trade surplus shrank as imports rose faster than exports.
Federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement on Monday that exports grew by 0.6 percent compared to October 2012 to reach €99.1 billion. This pushed the figure above the previous record set in March 2012.
Although imports were down by 1.6 percent over the figure from last October, they have accelerated hugely since then, and reached a value of €81.2 billion this October – an increase of 2.9 percent since a month previously.
Contrarian indications from Europe Online:
German industrial output slows at onset of fourth quarter
German industrial output was down at the start of the fourth quarter of 2013, with a 1.2-per-cent drop recorded for the month of October, data released Monday showed.
The industrial output data comes alongside a 1.9-per-cent drop in energy production, as well as a 1.7-per-cent decrease in the construction sector. Investment goods production dropped by 3 per cent in October, while consumer goods production contracted by 0.8 per cent.
On to France and some optimism from BBC News:
Bank of France ups quarterly growth forecast
President Francois Hollande French President Francois Hollande’s government predicted economic growth of at least 0.1% during 2013
The French economy will grow by 0.5% in the final three months of the year, said the country’s central bank.
Rising industrial production prompted the Bank of France to raise its quarterly growth forecast from 0.4%.
TheLocal.fr delivers the ax:
Airbus-maker EADS set to cut 1,000 French jobs
Some 1,000 jobs are set to to be lost in France, after European aerospace giant and the maker of Airbus aircraft, EADS announced on Monday that it would be cutting some 5,800 European posts from its defence and space division.
TheLocal.fr again, this time with a grim depiction:
‘Paris is becoming like the Bronx’: ex-top cop
Just months before mayoral elections in Paris, focus has turned to the city’s crime rate, after a former French police chief-turned-election candidate caused a stir by comparing the French capital to the notorious New York borough of the Bronx.
Frédéric Péchenard, the former chief of France’s national police, and candidate for mayor of the 17th arrondissement of Paris, has caused controversy with comments comparing crime in the French capital with that of the New York borough of the Bronx, with its reputation – outdated according to some – of being a hotbed of violent crime.
On to Spain and an austerian mantra via TheLocal.es:
‘Falling wages are saving Spanish jobs’
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Sunday that falling wages had allowed Spain, which is grappling with an unemployment rate of nearly 26 percent, to save jobs.
Lower wages were “one of the keys” to overcome the economic crisis, he said in an interview with several European newspapers including Spain’s left-leaning El Pais daily.
The New York Times covers a sale:
Spanish ‘Ghost Airport’ Goes on the Block
A barely used Spanish airport that cost some 1.1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to build and became a symbol of the country’s wasteful spending ahead of an economic downturn has gone on sale for a minimum price of 100 million euros.
Ciudad Real’s Central airport, about 235 kilometers (150 miles) south of Madrid, opened in 2008. The airport’s operator went bankrupt last year after it failed to draw enough traffic, becoming known as one of the country’s “ghost airports.”
While El País finds banksters bemoaning:
International offensive launched against Madrid over renewable energy cutbacks
Two major investment funds take Spanish government’s decision to cut subsidies to World Bank’s arbitration agency
Investors may sue Spain over green energy subsidy cuts
From thinkSPAIN, a closure of the commons contested:
Socialists’ appeal over Canal Nou shutdown accepted by Constitutional Court
SPAIN’S Constitutional Court has accepted an appeal from the socialist party over the closure of Radio Televisión Valenciana (RTVV) which led to the region’s Channel 9 (Canal Nou) being taken off air.
The shutdown means several thousand reporters and support workers will be on the dole from February, although they will be paid up to then ‘for doing nothing’, say staff.
TheLocal.es blows smoke:
Deadly pollution ‘a threat’ to Spanish cities
The health risks of long-term exposure to air pollution are more serious than previously thought, a high-profile new study shows. The Local spoke to one of the researchers to find out what this means for Spain.
On to Portugal with another Chinese play from the Portugal News:
Renewables firm sells 49% stake to China Three Gorges
EDP Renováveis announced Friday that it had agreed the terms of sale of a 49% stake in the ENEOP – Elétricas de Portugal consortium with China Three Gorges, a key shareholder in Portugal’s EDP electricity generating company.
Renewables firm sells 49% stake to China Three Gorges
In a statement sent to the CMVM stock market authorities, EDP Renováveis said that the sale for an undisclosed amount fell under the auspices of the deal that saw China Three Gorges acquire its stake in EDP as the government sold off its remaining stake in the once state owned firm.
From the Portugal News again, this time with less drive:
Tolls down a quarter since 2008
Portugal’s largest motorway operator, Brisa, has said it had lost about a quarter of its traffic over the past five years, but there were signs that business was slowly picking up again in 2013.
On to Italy with The Independent and a search for an analogue:
Is this Italy’s Tony Blair? Meet Matteo Renzi, the rising star of Italian politics
Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD) is celebrating after rising star Matteo Renzi was crowned as its secretary at the party primaries on Sunday night with a crushing 68 per cent of the vote.
The big question now is whether the charismatic, 38-year-old “post ideologue” can live up to his reputation as the new Tony Blair and finally give Italy’s centre-left – and its political system – the credibility it’s been missing for decades.
More from TheLocal.it:
Renzi leads youthful overhaul of centre-left
The new head of Italy’s Democratic Party on Monday signalled his determination to push for change as he unveiled his leadership team for the centre-left party, a key force in the coalition government.
euronews covers one protest:
Italy: ‘Pitchfork protesters’ disrupt road and rail travel in protest at state of economy
Thousands of farmers, lorry drivers, pensioners and unemployed people have taken to the streets in Italy as part of a series of protests against the government and the European Union.
Demonstrators stopped train services by walking on the tracks while striking lorry drivers disrupted traffic by driving slowly and blocking roads.
And TheLocal.it covers another:
Police clash with anti-tax protesters in Turin
Stone-throwing protesters clashed with police in the northern Italian city of Turin on Monday, in one of dozens of rallies called to demand tax cuts for small businesses, media reported.
After the jump, Greek crisis intensifies, Ukrainian turmoil, Russian media crackdown, a Venezuelan victory, Indian upsets, Thai elections, Chinese neoliberalism deepens, Jpanaese anxieties, and the latest edition of Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
Kathimerini English takes us to a driven protest:
Protest against toll hikes in central Greece
Local government officials and motorists from the central Greece area of Fthiotida on Monday protested against government plans to raise charges at the Aghia Triada toll station.
The government recently announced hikes in toll charges across the country, in some cases by up to 60 percent.
EUbusiness has a Troikarch’s admonition:
EU urges Greece to stick to reform path
The head of the eurozone finance ministers warned Greece on Monday to push ahead with reforms but expressed confidence the debt-wracked country would soon win a much-needed slice of bailout cash.
“We hope that the necessary conditions will be fulfilled quite soon for the euro working group to be in a position to agree on the disbursement of 1.0 billion euros ($1.37 billion) by the year end,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
Greek Reporter covers belated resistance:
Financial Times: Samaras is Unwilling to Obey Troika
An article in the “Financial Times,” published today, referring to the Greek Prime Minister and his negotiations with Troika, reported that Samaras is no longer willing to succumb to the demands of the creditors.
According to the article, the Greek government might adopt a more assertive attitude towards Troika due to the achievement of a primary surplus and the admiration of the European leaders for the efforts and sacrifices of the Greek people.
From Capital.gr, a bankster boost:
Moody’s takes positive rating actions on five Greek banks
Moody’s Investors Service has today upgraded the long-term deposit and senior debt ratings of Piraeus Bank SA, National Bank of Greece SA and Alpha Bank AE by one notch to Caa1 (stable outlook) from Caa2 (negative outlook) and increased the banks’ baseline credit assessments (BCAs) to caa2 from caa3, within the bank financial strength rating (BFSR) range of E.
At the same time, Moody’s has affirmed and changed the outlook to positive from negative on Eurobank Ergasias SA?s Caa2 deposit and senior debt ratings, and affirmed and changed the outlook to stable from negative on Attica Bank SA?s Caa2 deposit rating. The BFSR of these banks was also affirmed at E (stable outlook), equivalent to a BCA of caa3.
From Greek Reporter, deflationary:
New Data Shows Decrease in Greek Inflation
According to data presented on Monday by the Greek statistics service, the inflation in Greece has significantly decreased, while it is the ninth consecutive month that a negative inflation rate is recorded due to the 2.9% drop of consumer prices, on an annual basis.
The deep recession the country experiences, in combination with wage cuts and substantial spare capacity in the economy have led to the fall of the prices, causing internal devaluation that could make the Greek economy more competitive.
Macropolis has shrinkage:
Greek GDP shrinks 3 pct in Q3, on course to contract by 4 pct in 2013
Greek non-seasonally-adjusted GDP contracted 3 percent in the third quarter of 2013, confirming flash estimates released on November 14, according to provisional data published by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on Monday.
The GDP data indicated that the recession reached 4.0 percent in the first nine months of the year. Greece has experienced negative growth since the third quarter of 2008 but the contraction has been slowing for the last year. This year’s Q3 was the fourth consecutive quarter that the rate of contraction slowed year-on-year.
ANA-MPA covers resistance from another quarter:
Stopping austerity the key issue, SYRIZA’s Milios tells ANA-MPA
The key issue for Greece and Europe is not the currency but stopping austerity, according to main opposition ‘Coalition of the Radical Left’ (SYRIZA) MP Yiannis Milios, during an interview with the ANA-MPA on Monday.
A senior party official in charge of economic policy for the party, and member of SYRIZA’s Central Committee, Milios underlined that the issue was not the currency but the policy, noting that the same austerity policies were being implemented in non-euro countries, such as Britain and Bulgaria.
To Vima thinks the unthinkable:
Lafazanis: “A Grexit is not necessarily a catastrophic choice”
Left Platform head claims Greece should not succumb to Eurozone pressure and consider an organized exit
The head of SYRIZA’s Left Platform Panagiotis Lafazanis spoke to ANT1 on Monday morning about his party’s plans regarding the euro and the proposal he submitted at his party’s recent central committee meeting. Mr. Lafazanis explained that “it is SYRIZA’s choice to follow an anti-bailout progressive policy [to remain] within the Eurozone, however if it is extorted, the implementation of its program will prevail”.
From Greek Reporter, grim austerian reality:
Millions of Greeks Can’t Afford Health Care
This Monday, a medical aid group said that more than 3 million Greeks — that is 27.2 percent of the total population — cannot afford to pay their social security contributions and are therefore left with no health coverage.
The Head of the Doctors of the World Greek branch, Anna Maili commented that they are worried about the increasing number of people without any health or social insurance. They are also afraid of the consequences this will have on certain population groups, such as pregnant women and children, especially if families aren’t able to vaccinate the infants.
EnetEnglish.gr keeps you in the dark:
Unhappy lives in the dark
Up to 20,000 households had their electricity cut off every month of this year
While took three people to die in their own homes for the government to act to allow electricity to be restored to needy households cut off for failing to pay their bills, an underground group has been quietly returning power, light and heat to some of the estimated 20,000 households who lose their power every month
ANA-MPA conveys a promise:
Venizelos: “No household in Greece will be left without electricity”
Government Vice President Evangelos Venizelos met on Monday with Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Yiannis Maniatis to promote the implementation of government’s decisions in order that “no household in Greece be left without electricity.”
Referring to a series of measures to be implemented, Venizelos noted that people to be included in the social rate pay scale will have the best possible treatment from the Public Power Corporation.
From ANA-MPA, temporary measures:
University staff temporarily suspend mobilisations
The federation of university staff decided on Monday to temporarily suspend their mobilisations, which began with the start of the academic year, noting however that they “remain in fighting alertness until the government applies its commitments immediately.”
The university employees demand among other things that not a single university staff employee placed under the mobility scheme lose its job, that no employee who is not registered will be suspended or sent to the disciplinary board and, if placed under the mobility scheme, they will come under the conditions as their colleagues, to safeguard the smooth operation of the universities.
But only temporarily, as Greek Reporter notes:
Two More 24hr Strikes for University of Athens
The University of Athens, Greece administrative employees announced their decision to go on two more 24-hour strikes against the Board’s recommendation. Yesterday, the University of Athens Law School President, Mr. Fortsakis, announced the beginning of courses. However things didn’t go as planned.
Another action, via To Vima:
Thessaloniki Metro employees announce 24-hour strike
Subway construction in Thessaloniki is halted over the dismissals in project’s archeological department
And Quartz finds a bottom line:
Greece has lost more than one-fifth of its pre-crisis economy
A report from the Hellenic Statistical Authority today showed the country’s economy continued to shrink in the third quarter, with economic output down just shy of 3%. If there’s any silver lining to be found, at least the economy isn’t shrinking at quite the terrifying pace of just a few quarters back. (During the first quarter the economy shrank by 5.5%.)
While the New York Times finds decline:
Greece’s Dismal Demographics
The Greeks are in a struggle for survival. And the odds are piling up against us. The fight is not only on the economic front, as we try to meet our commitments under an international 240-billion-euro bailout deal that has resulted in greatly reduced incomes, higher costs and taxes, and an overriding sense of insecurity. The danger is even more basic: Deaths are outnumbering births, people are leaving the country, and the population is aging so fast that in a few decades Greece may be unable to produce enough wealth to take care of its people and may cease to be a viable nation state.
Off the the Ukraine with EUbusiness:
Biden ‘concern’ to Ukraine leader over protests
US Vice President Joe Biden on Monday conveyed Washington’s “deep concern” to Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych as tensions escalated in the country’s political crisis.
Biden had called Yanukovych and emphasized the “need to immediately de-escalate the situation and begin dialogue with opposition leaders,” the White House said in a statement.
Mission impossible? From EUobserver:
Ashton in two-day visit to Ukraine
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will travel to Kiev Tuesday (10 December) to bring “clear EU messages” as thousands of Ukrainians continue to protest President Viktor Yanukovych’s rejection of closer ties with Europe.
“She is travelling there to support a way out of the political crisis in Ukraine,” said her spokesperson, adding that Ashton will meet figures from the government, the opposition and civil society on her two-day visit.
A counter-action from BBC News:
Ukraine police dismantle Kiev Euromaidan protest camps
The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg said priests have been blessing riot police
Ukrainian police have begun dismantling protest camps in front of government buildings in Kiev. An opposition party said the police had also raided their headquarters.
And the jokers in the deck, from EUbusiness:
Ukraine’s oligarchs, a hidden threat for the regime
Ukraine’s powerful oligarchs have been keeping quiet in public during the pro-EU rallies rocking the country but they could pose as great a danger to the future of President Viktor Yanukovych’s regime as the protesters themselves.
The demonstrations have coincided with an apparently bitter power struggle inside Yanukovych’s inner circle between older tycoons traditionally loyal to his Regions Party and a group of younger businessmen known as the “Family”.
On to Russia with a major media move via Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Putin stokes controversy with news agency shake-up
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday unleashed a wave of controversy by dissolving the renowned state news agency RIA Novosti and naming a news anchorman notorious for his anti-gay views to head a revamped media group.
The Christian Science Monitor raises a question:
Kremlin spin: does media overhaul herald new propaganda push?
A government decree restructuring two major state media outlets comes amid Kremlin efforts to hone its PR messaging. The upcoming Sochi Olympics may have something to do with it.
From RT, some good news:
Leaked: Pussy Riot, Greenpeace activists will be freed under amnesty
The members of the Pussy Riot punk band, Greenpeace activists and protesters jailed after the May 2012 Bolotnaya demonstration will be freed in an amnesty dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, Russian media report.
A total of 25,000 people will be freed under the amnesty initiated by President Putin, Interfax cited Vladimir Vasilyev, deputy speaker of parliament, as saying.
And from shakeup victim RIA Novosti, they’re making up lists:
New Battle Looms in US-Russian ‘War of Blacklists’
The United States and Russia face a potential renewed blacklist war as a deadline looms this week for Washington to report on controversial sanctions against alleged Russian rights abusers.
The US administration has until Saturday to submit to Congress its inaugural annual report on any additions to the so-called “Magnitsky List” of Russians deemed by Washington to be complicit in human rights abuses and subject to US travel and financial sanctions.
From the Moscow News, yet more anti-immigrant moves:
Moscow mayor to cut migrant jobs in housing services
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin plans to slash job opportunities for migrant workers in an effort to address the capital’s problematic relationship with migrant labor, a Russian newspaper reported Monday.
Sobyanin told city newspaper Vechernyaya Moskva that next year, authorities will cut by a third the number of jobs for migrant workers in the housing services and public utilities sector.
More from New Europe:
Moscow migration chief blames large numbers for tensions and attacks
Russia needs just 6 out of 11 mn migrants
Russia today said that around five million migrants within its borders are unneeded and officials attributed recent attacks against immigrants on the discrepancy between the number of people the country needs and their actual numbers.
Off to Latin America and an upsetting action from MercoPress:
As protests spread, Argentine government yields to police forces demands
The Argentine police crisis in demand for higher salaries and better working conditions and which prompted protests and further lootings in several provinces last week and during the weekend rapidly spread on Monday to other districts.
From The Guardian, a victory in Venezuela:
Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro cements power with victory in local elections
President’s party thwarts opposition hopes of denting Maduro’s power in what it called a referendum on his performance
More from Reuters:
Venezuela’s Maduro to raise pressure on business after local vote
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pledged to deepen his “economic offensive” to force businesses to cut prices after his ruling Socialist Party won the most votes in weekend municipal elections.
With three-quarters of the 337 mayoral races counted by Monday morning, the Socialists and their allies had 49 percent of votes, compared to 43 percent for the opposition coalition and its partners.
On to Asia, first with the Financial Express and a victory celebration:
99 stocks hit 52-week high as Bharatiya Janata Party triumphs in Assembly polls, Axis Bank shares a hit
Bharatiya Janata Party is perceived as business friendly, expected to have positive impact on BSE.
More on the election from Press Trust of India:
Uncertainty continues over govt formation in Delhi
Delhi may be staring at the possibility of a spell of President’s rule with both the major parties BJP and AAP saying they will not stake claim to form the government as they do not have the mandate. Hectic consultations were on in both parties a day after the assembly elections returned a split verdict that gave majority to none in the 70-member assembly.
The Hindu offers excuses:
Price hike, factionalism did us in: Congress
Spiralling prices of everyday commodities and factionalism have been identified by Congress functionaries as the two biggest reasons for the party’s disastrous showing in the just-concluded elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi. Clean, good governance, on the other hand, helped the Congress keep power in the north-eastern Mizoram, the functionaries said.
From the Economic Times, austerian pronouncement:
Raghuram Rajan expects a spending squeeze as India aims to cut deficit
Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said the government may squeeze spending as it aims to reduce fiscal deficit to 4.8%, raising further concerns over the recovery of a slowing economy.
Rajan said the 4.8% target for FY14 would likely to be met but this could result in a contraction in spending, depending on the extent of revenue shortfall. He was addressing investors in New York at a Citi event.
The Financial Express has more:
Raghuram Rajan blames global financial crisis for Indian economy’s woes
Attributing the current economic woes to stimulus provided by the government to tide over the global financial crisis of 2008, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said it eventually led to an overheated economy, high inflation and uncomfortable fiscal and current account deficits.
On to Thailand with electoral news from Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Thai PM calls elections as 140,000 join protest
Thailand’s premier called a snap election on Monday to try to defuse the kingdom’s political crisis, but protesters kept up their fight to topple the government with an estimated 140,000 demonstrators flooding the streets of Bangkok.
The Jakarta Globe covers inequity:
Papuans Face Job Inequality
Indigenous people in Papua are struggling for employment as most jobs in the gold-rich region go to migrants, despite government efforts to tackle growing income inequality.
Service industry jobs in the provincial capital, Jayapura, are taken mostly by non-indigenous Papuans, who make up half the province’s 2.8 million people.
On to Beijing with China Daily:
Trade surplus hit record high in Nov
China’s acceleration of exports and slowdown of imports in November left the country with its largest trade surplus in more than four years.
The improvement of overseas demand increased China’s chances of securing an 8 percent trade growth target this year. It also gave the new leadership more room to advance reforms and ensure that markets play a decisive role in the economy.
A new high, via Want China Times:
China yuan hits new high against USD
The renminbi strengthened 102 basis points to a record high of 6.113 against the US dollar on Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.
From China Daily, downtick in an uptick:
China’s inflation up 3% in Nov
China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 3 percent year-on-year in November, down from 3.2 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
In breakdown, inflation rose 3 percent in cities, and 3.1 percent in rural areas. Food prices rose 5.9 percent from a year ago, while prices of non-food products edged up 1.6 percent, according to the NBS.
And a currency innovation from Want China Times:
Beijing authorizes first Russian ruble pilot zone
Beijing has authorized Suifenhe city — which sits on the China-Russia border — as the country’s first pilot zone where Russian ruble can function equally as renminbi, local government sources told Xinhua on Sunday.
Under the new policy, the Russian ruble can be freely deposited and withdrawn at local banks in Suifenhe, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, while people can also pay their bills with rubles.
The Global Times has the latest neoliberal agenda:
China trials new interest rate reform
China’s new guideline on deposit certificates in the interbank market became effective on Monday, with the latest edition of the Shanghai Securities News hailing this as a major trial in pushing interest rate liberalization.
The paper said the guideline published on Sunday by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will help increase the range of debt products offered by financial institutions, so as to better prepare for the gradual liberalization of interest rates.
People’s Daily gets shifty:
China shifts away from economy-obsessed assessments
Chinese officials should downplay their obsession with economic growth and focus more on people’s livelihoods and the environment, as the country trumpets a more balanced work evaluation system.
A circular on improving the work evaluation of local Party and government leaderships and officials stressed that “gross regional product (GRP) and its growth rates should not be the only main indices for the evaluation of local officials’ work achievements, and charts with these data must be banned.”
From TheLocal.ch, Sinovation:
China drives increase in patent filings: WIPO
Global patent filings grew at their fastest pace in almost two decades in 2012, with China the driving force, the UN’s Geneva-based intellectual property agency said on Monday.
In its annual report on patents, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said patent filings rose by 9.2 percent last year, representing the fastest growth in 18 years, reaching an estimated 2.35 million.
South China Morning Post covers death by demography:
Hebei farmer commits suicide over fines for children
Liangerzhuang farmer drinks fatal dose of pesticide after officials seize family’s annual food supply for violating one-child policy
A Chinese farmer with five children drank a fatal dose of pesticide at a communist chief’s house after officials seized his family’s annual food supply for violating the one-child policy, reports said on Monday.
And the Japan Times reports on media repression:
China withholds visas for NYT, Bloomberg reporters
Chinese authorities have been withholding residence visas for reporters working for The New York Times and Bloomberg in apparent retaliation for the agencies’ investigative stories on wealth accumulated by leaders’ families.
If authorities do not soon start approving renewals for visas due to expire by the end of the year, it would effectively shut down the two organizations’ news-gathering operations in the country.
Corporate misconduct alleged, via Want China Times:
Shanghai health official suspended following GSK scandal
Huang Fengping, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, is said to have been suspended following an investigation into his alleged involvement in economic crimes related to British pharmaceutical and healthcare giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), reports the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald.
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