Lonnggg selection today because. . .well, read ‘em and weep.
First, a global agenda delayed from the Japan Times:
Bridging Japan-U.S. gaps key to keeping TPP ball rolling
After failing to reach a deal by the much-touted 2013 deadline, the 12 economies negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership have pledged to keep striving for solutions to thorny issues, with the prospect of Japan-U.S. talks over farm products and cars as one of the keys for an early conclusion of the free trade pact.
A Japanese official said the TPP members could become even less motivated to make concessions after they missed the pledged deadline at a crucial four-day ministerial conference that ended Tuesday in Singapore, suggesting negotiations could now stretch on.
More from PCWorld:
Secret TPP intellectual property agreement misses deadline
Negotiators on a secret trade treaty, which includes controversial intellectual property proposals, could not meet their year-end deadline for an agreement this week at Singapore.
The intellectual property chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, being negotiated by 12 countries, apparently has controversial proposals that would increase the term of patents and copyright, reduce requirements for patentability and increase damages for infringements of patents and copyrights.
On to the U.S., first with a headline from Independent.ie:
US jobless claims surge, erase prior weeks’ declines
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week, reversing the prior three weeks declines, but a recent strengthening of the labor market likely remains intact.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits surged 68,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the largest weekly increase since November 2012. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.
And their potential plight from Salon:
How GOP neglected the jobless, while giving the 1 percent a raise
Republicans declared extending unemployment a deal breaker, but happily protected wealthy doctors from any hardship
From the Toronto Globe and Mail, another way to the same agenda:
Next U.S. ambassador to Canada will make intellectual rights a priority
Canada can expect increased pressure from the next U.S. ambassador on the vexing issue of imposing tougher intellectual rights protections.
“I know the Canadians are working harder to try and do better in this area,” said Bruce Heyman, President Barack Obama’s pick as the next U.S. ambassador to Canada, said Wednesday.
Postage due no longer from the BBC News:
Canada Post to end home delivery in five years
Canada Post will phase out home delivery in urban areas over the next five years as the postal service struggles to rein in persistent losses.
Under a five-year plan released on Wednesday, the cost of stamps will also rise and as many as 8,000 jobs will be eliminated.
From the Globe and Mail, bubble bubble:
Canada’s housing market most overvalued in the world, Deutsche Bank says
Canada is home to the world’s most overvalued housing market, Deutsche Bank says in a new study that suggests overvaluation to the tune of 60 per cent.
Other groups have put Canada near the top of the list, but the German bank puts it at the top, ahead of Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, France, Britain, Sweden, Finland and Spain, which make up the rest of the top 10.
The Globe and Mail again, with a serious number:
Bank of Canada’s Poloz warns of risk of deflation
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz still expects a soft landing in the housing market and a pickup in exports and business investments.
Sees household imbalances stabilizing, and then gradually unwinding in coming years.
Says it will take about two years to get inflation back up to 2 per cent, adding that a stable financial system is necessary to “limit the risk of falling into a deflationary trap.”
Off to Europe, starting with a regional headline from Independent.ie:
Eurozone industrial output slumps
Industrial output across the 17 countries that use the euro slumped by a monthly rate of 1.1 % in October, official figures showed in the latest sign that the region’s recovery from recession is failing to gather momentum.
The fall reported today by the EU’s statistics office, Eurostat, was unexpected and affected all sectors, notably energy. The consensus in the markets was for overall output to rise by 0.3%.
More from the London Telegraph:
Surprise fall in eurozone industrial output
Worst industrial output figures since height of eurozone crisis show economy is struggling to regain momentum
A companion headline from the Independent.ie:
Economic recovery in Europe still tentative, says ratings giant
STANDARD & Poor’s has warned that the European Central Bank (ECB) may have to take further unconventional measures to maintain recovery in the eurozone.
The ratings giant said that while the currency bloc is climbing out of recession, the recovery will be arduous and unevenly balanced.
EUbusiness opts for a bankster:
MEPs back Frenchwoman Nouy to head new bank supervisor
Frenchwoman Daniele Nouy won approval Wednesday from the European Parliament to head the eurozone’s new bank supervisor, a key element in efforts to prevent failing lenders bringing down the economy.
The 63-year-old Nouy, a senior official at the Bank of France, will head the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) under the European Central Bank, directly overseeing some 130 of the eurozone’s largest banks.
EUbusiness again, with a job for her:
EU nations agree rules on bank bailouts
EU nations agreed new rules for bank bailouts or “bail-ins” late Wednesday, to save taxpayers from paying for the rescue of ailing financial institutions, an official said.
The new directive will eventually dovetail with the EU’s “Banking Union”, which is currently being hammered out.
But then there’s this, also from EUbusiness:
S&P says 50 European banks need EUR 110 bn
The 50 biggest European banks need a total of 110 billion euros ($151 billion) to ensure that their shareholders’ funds are strong enough to sustain their credit ratings, Standard & Poor’s said on Thursday.
S&P acknowledged in a statement that the banks had acted to boost their ratios of shareholder funds to risks, by retaining part of their profits or by reducing their balance sheets.
From EUobserver, confronting intolerance:
Cities show leadership on Roma inclusion
Roma migrants often gravitate towards cities. Like other migrants, they know that metropolitan areas offer greater opportunities for employment and upward social mobility. Cities also offer access to better, more integrated support services.
So when a number of countries with large Roma populations joined the EU in and after 2004, many Roma chose to exercise their right to borderless travel to escape poverty and discrimination and headed to urban centres elsewhere. This has brought a sharp increase in Roma numbers in various cities across Europe. And it has had a fundamental impact in the way these cities now address social cohesion.
Spiegel covers a policy refined by Krupp:
Self Defense: Protectionism Rules in EU Arms Industry
German Chancellor Angela Merkel loves to preach economic prudence to her European Union partners. But she looks the other way when it comes to the bloc’s wasteful defense policy, and Europe’s citizens are footing the bill — to the tune of at least €26 billion a year.
Off to Britain and ornamental umbrage from Sky News:
Cameron: 11% MPs’ Pay Rise Is Unacceptable
A furious Prime Minister slams the proposed increase and warns the parliamentary watchdog to reconsider it.
BBC News has Banksters Behaving Badly:
Lloyds bank fined record £28m for ‘serious failings’
Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £28m for “serious failings” in relation to bonus schemes for sales staff.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it was the largest fine that it or the former Financial Services Authority had imposed for retail conduct failings.
BBC News again, with prices inflating:
We are in a housing bubble, claims economics professor
Most regions of the UK are already in a house-price bubble, according to an economics professor from Warwick University.
Prof James Mitchell said house prices were overvalued when compared with incomes, raising the risk of a fall at some stage in the future.
Sky News catches another painful form of austerian-inflicted inflationary pain:
Spending Squeeze: Household Priorities Shift
Official figures provide an insight on family budgets as weak pay increases fail to keep up with rising prices.
Household spending on housing (excluding mortgages), fuel and power has surpassed transport for the first time in recent years, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. We are cutting back most on transport, only spending £64.10 a week in 2012, compared with £67.20 the previous year.
The Independent catches another austerian symptom:
Stay-at-home drinking and socialising on the rise as Britons avoid paying premium of being served food or drink in pubs and bars
According to the Office for National Statistics last year an average of £7.80 went on wine, beer and spirits brought from the off licence or supermarket – up 50p – compared to £7.40 spent in licensed premises.
The change marks a reversal from 2011 when households spent 10p more drinking in public each week than they did within their own four walls.
From BBC News, profits soar on a privatized commons:
Royal Mail to join FTSE 100 after share price surge
Royal Mail, the newly-privatised postal service, will be joining the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip companies. The company’s share price has surged more than 80% since its first day of public trading on 15 October, giving it a market capitalisation of nearly £6bn.
The privatisation was controversial and opposed by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), even though employees were given shares in the company.
Off to Ireland with another piece of the commons on the auction block. From Independent.ie:
Government to sell Bord Gais for €1.125bn
Independent.ie has learned that it will sell the company to a consortium made up of British Gas owned Centrica, Brookfield Renewables and iCON Infrastructure.
It is understood that Bord Gais has begin contacting staff at the state owned company to update them on how the sale will affect their jobs at the company.
Independent.ie again, with yet more of the public’s assests set for sale:
State will sell more banking assets to claw back cost of bailout – Davy
THE State is set to recoup a substantial portion of the cost of bailing out AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB by selling assets over the coming two years, according to a new report from Davy Stockbrokers.
Selling banking assets to the markets is now the more likely route to recover part of the cost of the bank rescues than a deal to transfer loans to the European Stabilisation Mechanism (ESM), which is being sought by the Government, according to Davy bond strategist Donal O’Mahoney.
Independent.ie one last time, with an end run around landlords in mortgage arrears:
Banks appointing rent collectors to bypass landlords not paying mortgage arrears
Rent receivers appointed on over 2,000 properties
BBC News brings us a pale shade of the joy we’d experience were the hoosegow-bound Wall Street weasels:
Iceland jails former Kaupthing bank bosses
Four former bosses from the Icelandic bank Kaupthing have been sentenced to between three and five years in prison. They are the former chief executive, the chairman of the board, one of the majority owners and the chief executive of the Luxembourg branch.
They were accused of hiding the fact that a Qatari investor bought a stake in the firm with money lent – illegally – by the bank itself.
On to Scandinavia, first with TheLocal.no:
Ethnic Norwegians in population decline
The number of ethnic Norwegians has dropped over the past decade, with Norway’s population growth attributable solely to immigration and children born to Norwegians with an immigrant background, according to figures from Statistics Norway.
“The group without any element of immigration, either from their parents of grandparents, has declined in recent years,” Minja Dzmarija, a researcher at Statistics Norway, told Aftenposten. “This means that among ethnic Norwegians there are more who die or move abroad than those who are born or move back to Norway.”
Swedish neoliberal ploy [arried from TheLocal.se:
Government loses fight over divisive tax cut
Sweden’s minority government coalition on Wednesday lost a fight to lower taxes for high-earners in a vote that may have long-term “ugly free-for-all” consequences for how budget decisions are made.
In a 159-156 vote in the Riksdag, the left-of-centre opposition parties, with the help of the Sweden Democrats, stopped the right-of-centre government’s plans to raise the salary cut-off point after which Swedes must pay state tax, which is imposed on high earners.
Swedish eurodoubts from TheLocal.se:
Swedes ‘less certain’ about EU membership
Swedish eurozone entry is off the cards and its EU membership would be in danger if Swedes went to the polls today, according to a new survey that also reveals increasingly hesitant opinions about European institutions.
Almost one in three Swedes said they were unsure how they felt about Swedish membership of the European Union.
On to Amsterdam with DutchNews.nl:
Student loan plan unlikely to succeed without further changes
The cabinet’s decision to scrap student grants and replace them with loans will be discussed in parliament later on Wednesday but is unlikely to win support in the senate as it now stands.
Education minister Jet Bussemaker wants to scrap grants for Master students from 2015 and for Bachelor students in 2016 but has so far been unable to remove opposition concerns.
The D66 liberals and minor opposition party GroenLinks both want the government to put more cash into education in return for its support. They also want changes to the way interest over the loan is calculated.
EUobserver delivers a blow:
Dutch firm ends Israeli co-operation
Dutch firm Vitens has said it is terminating its partnership with Israeli water company Mekorot due to “national and international law and regulations.” The move comes amid reports that Mekorot is pumping water from Palestinian areas to Jewish settlements. It also follows an EU ban on grants to settler-linked entities.
DutchNews.nl delivers a Dutch rub:
New rules allow ‘unjustified’ bonuses to be clawed back
From next year, financial institutions will be able to claw back ‘excessive bonuses’ from senior staff, the justice ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
The upper house of parliament, or senate, on Wednesday accepted draft legislation which centres on bonuses paid out on the basis of wrong information or which are otherwise ‘unjustified’. Supervisory boards will have the right to amend bonuses and to claw them back if they are higher than acceptable. The boards will also have to justify why bonuses are being paid.
Germany next, with labor delivery woes from Spiegel:
Tepid Welcome: Germany Struggles to Lure Skilled Workers
Germany must look abroad to make up for its shortage of highly skilled workers. But a series of obstacles, including daunting bureaucracy, stand in the way of foreign specialists looking to relocate.
On to French, with a slice from TheLocal.fr:
Crisis leaving the French ‘bitter and divided’
France may be the home of fraternité and solidarité, but according to two recent surveys, the French people are anything but happy and united, as the financial crisis leaves them feeling bitter towards one another, and less trusting of government.
Some 74 percent of the French feel that France is “in decline”, according to a survey published on Wednesday by polling firm Ipsos, in collaboration with left-leaning newspaper Le Monde. What’s more, nearly one third believe that this process of decline is irreversible.
Among the principle targets of this French anger were “scroungers” or “profiteurs” in French – a term referring to those who benefit from social welfare payments – political parties, and the country’s main unions, according to CSA.
TheLocal.fr tracks delays:
French train strike set to cause major disruption
France’s rail network will be hit by a nationwide strike on Wednesday evening and Thursday with passengers being warned to expect delays.
Three main rail workers unions - CGT, UNSA, and Sud-Rail - called their members to strike and will be joined by two others, FO and FiRST, who are protesting against rail reforms as well as working conditions and wages.
On to Spain with an angry response from El País:
Finance Minister goes on offensive over criticism of Tax Agency reshuffle
Cristóbal Montoro accuses media of attempting to divert attention from its own tax bills
The media have reported widely on the issue, and the leftist group United Left even holds that it may amount to a “political purge,” because Montoro himself at one point noted that the agency department that was mostly affected by the reshuffle was “full of Socialists” who had disagreements with the new agency director, Santiago Menéndez.
GlobalPost anticipates:
Spain hopes to export its way out of recession
Overseas sales are surging, but recovery could take years.
The latest figures from the Economy Ministry in Madrid show exports rose 8.3 percent in September compared to a year before, a spurt that’s prompting hopes that overseas sales could drag the Spanish economy out of its deepest recession in decades.
El País depopulates:
Why a drain in Spain will lead to population shrinkage by 2017
In five years’ time, fewer births and more emigration will mean a lower number of inhabitants
Some 2.6 million people are expected to leave the country over the next decade
More from thinkSPAIN:
Spaniards leaving the country to get jobs top 40,000 in six months
OVER 40,000 Spaniards abroad to find work in the first six months of this year, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE)’s Migration Report. Most of them headed to the UK and France, although in terms of residents leaving the country for good, the majority went to Ecuador, since this was where they were originally from. Of the 259,227 people who moved away from Spain between January and June 2013, more than 40,000 were Spanish nationals, whilst 134,312 foreigners moved to the country to live.
As a result, the country’s ‘migration balance’ fell into negative figures – 124,915 more people left than arrived. Those abandoning Spain increased in number by 50 per cent on the previous six months, from July to December 2012, resulting in a fall in immigration of 11 per cent and an increase in outward migration of 10.7 per cent.
El País bottoms out:
Spain at tail end of EU educational mobility ranking
Just half of most disadvantaged citizens improve on parents’ level of studies
In 2011, 50 percent of Spaniards aged between 25 and 59 whose parents received a low level of education had not improved their status, 24 percent had progressed to an intermediate level and 27 percent had reached higher education.
Only Malta (73 percent), Portugal (68 percent), Luxembourg (52 percent) and Italy (50 percent) recorded worse results for their most disadvantaged citizens.
ANSAmed declines:
Financial crisis: Spain, 10% drop on property sales in Oct
The Spanish real estate market continues to spiral downward, with a 10% drop in homes sold in October 2013 compared to October 2012, according to data released Thursday by the National Statistics Institute.
October, with 22,770 total transactions, marks the lowest month of the year following March, and is one of the lowest since 2007, when statistical records began. Compared to September, home sales decreased by 4.4%.
And Sky News stymies:
Spanish PM To Block Catalan Independence Poll
The prime minister says the referendum to create a new independent state between Spain and France is “unconstitutional”.
The Portugal News has a pricey thirst:
Water bills set to soar for 1.3 million people
Water bills could be on the up next year following impending shake-ups within the water and waste treatment sectors which include the re-structuring of national water supply company Águas de Portugal (AdP), new governing statuses, and the privatisation of AdP’s sub-holding company EGF.
Italy next with austerian affliction from ANSAmed:
Italy’s kids stunted by recession, says Save the Children
More teenage moms, obese kids, school dropouts
Italy’s children are growing up physically, emotionally, and intellectually stunted by the recession, which has brought poverty, unemployment, and a lack of emotional, psychological, and environmental support in its wake, according to a new Save The Children report issued Tuesday. Titled ‘’Italy Upside Down’‘, the report documents a 7.4% drop in the country’s fertility rate along with a rise in childhood obesity, teenage motherhood, and the rate of high-school dropouts.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore boosts:
Italy’s Letta wins lower house confidence vote
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote on Wednesday in the lower house of parliament after promising to push a pro-European agenda, boost economic growth and fight against populism.
ANSAmed departs:
Italians flocking abroad soars 70% in two years
Lombardy leads exodus with more than 20% of total
The number of Italians leaving the country rose 70% in two years, from 40,000 in 2010 to 68,000 in 2012, an Italian foundation for multi-ethnic studies reported on Tuesday.
Lombardy has topped Italy’s regions for generating expats since 2007, according to the annual report of the Ismu Foundation, presented in Milan.
After the jump, Greek crisis continues; Ukraine smoulders; Latin American unrest, selloffs, and weedy questions; Indian inflation and electoral upsets; Thai turmoil countdown; Chinese neoliberalism marches on, smoggily; Japanese questions; environmental worries. . .and Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
Neos Kosmos has some relief for the young and more anxiety for the older:
First drop in youth joblessness
For the first time in the last few years Greece’s youth unemployment rate posted a decline – of 4.8 percent – in the 12-month period to end-September, according to a work force survey by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
The seasonally adjusted figures for the general unemployment rate showed a slight increase to 27.4 percent in September from 27.3 percent in August and 26 percent a year earlier.
Macropolis declines:
Fall in industrial production speeds up in October with 5.2 pct drop
The Industrial Production Index (IPI) took on a faster downward trend in October with a drop of 5.2 percent following a 1.3 percent decline recorded in September, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
The October performance led 10-month figure was down 3.8 percent, similar to 12-month moving average levels.
Kathimerini English dickers:
Troika talks resume in Athens but differences remain
The government resumed talks on Wednesday with troika envoys on a series of unresolved matters including the overhaul of state defense firm EAS, the final obstacle to the release of a 1-billion-euro tranche of rescue funding, but little progress was reported in bridging the gap between the two sides.
More from To Vima:
Stournaras preparing for series of critical troika negotiations
Defense industries, mass dismissals, auctions, real estate tax bill and the VAT in food on the agenda
The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras and his staff are racing against time to address as many issues as possible by the end of next week, starting with a series of critical meetings with the troika heads. The government’s goal is to collect the one billion euro loan installment from July, but must first address its bailout commitments.
Kathimerini English offers an alternative:
Tsipras tells Rehn debt relief is only solution
Leftist SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras told European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn on Thursday that Greece must change its economic policy immediately if it is to emerge from its financial crisis and called for a restructuring of the country’s huge debt, a partial writeoff and a moratorium on the repayment of the rest.
In a meeting in Strasbourg with Rehn which lasted 30 minutes, and sources said was conducted in “a very good atmosphere,” Tsipras cited estimates by international organizations according to which Greece’s debt would remain at around 160 percent of gross domestic product, only slightly lower than the current level, unless there is some kind of writeoff.
To Vima denies:
Vroutsis denies the troika sending an email about pensions
Minister of Labor claims the rumored suspension of new pensions in 2014 is a “science fiction scenario”
From the stand in Parliament, the Minister of Labor Yannis Vroutsis formally denied reports that the troika has sent an email asking about the possibility of the Greek government not paying out any new pensions in 2014. Mr. Vroutsis claimed that such a report was a “science fiction scenario”.
Keep Talking Greece acts with profligacy:
Government spent €1 billion euro for financial consultants and advisers
Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy
Breathtaking sums totaling one billion euro was given by several Greek governments to banks, law firms and financial advisers during the years of loan agreements 2010-2012 . Alexis Tsipras, leader of main opposition party left-wing SYRIZA posed an official question to Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras.
Citing figures from the state budget, Tsipras said that the relevant expenditure “has risen sharply during the years of loan agreements, while the country has been excluded form the markets. Specifically, the cost has more than tripled in the first two years of memoranda and has increased tenfold by 2012. “
And Kathimerini English amputates labor:
EOPYY doctors to join mobility scheme
A government reforms council overseen by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Thursday gave the go-ahead for the immediate induction of 8,500 doctors and employees of EOPYY, the country’s main healthcare provider, into a mobility scheme which will see the staff transferred to the National Health System (ESY) or dismissed.
Some 1,100 EOPPY employees will be kept on for EOPYY’s central administration and its 26 pharmacies.
Greek Reporter concludes:
Athens University Finally Ends Strike
After today’s meeting, the board of administrative employees of Athens University, announced the end of the strike.
Following this decision it is expected that the institution will start operating as of Friday, December 13. According to the Senate, courses will begin on Monday, December 16.
EnetEnglish.gr acts with compassion:
Pupils help classmate who was living in home without electricity or heating
Thessaloniki’s mayor dismisses government’s promises to provide electricity to poor as ‘bullshit’
School pupils in Thessaloniki, where an estimated 15,000 households have had their power cut off, raise money to help a classmate - who was a friend of the girl who died of carbon monoxide poisoning last week - buy a gas heater
Greek Reporter shivers:
One in Three Greeks Can’t Heat their Homes
More research, this time conducted by the think tank Vaasaett, confirming the difficult situation that hundreds of Greek households are faced with. Greeks are unable to obtain even the basics, such as heating.
Greece was ranked fifth on the list of countries whose residents cannot provide efficient heating for their homes. The only countries that are ranked before Greece are: Bulgaria, Lithuania, Cyprus and Portugal.
Greek Reporter covers egregious denial:
Greek Neo-Nazi Leader: Nobody Was Killed During the Athens Polytechnic Uprising
Among the documents that were seized by the Greek anti- terrorism police officers, on Wednesday, when they raided the houses of several MPs and Golden Dawn’s offices, a video was found with Greek Golden Dawn’s chief Nikos Michaloliakos stating that there were no victims in the Athens Polytechnic Uprising in 1973. He appears saying that “some claim that the casualties from the Polytechnic Uprising are 12; some others claim that there were 16.” He continued his provocative speech by saying that “they were all killed by accident, by bullet ricochet.” This video will be incorporated in the case file of Golden Dawn.
From To Vima, Ilias Panagiotaros explains:
Golden Dawn MPs claim controversial photographs taken out of context
Panagiotaros claims Nazi-saluting Klu Klux Klan photographs were taken at a “fancy dress party”
The police published a number of shocking digital images it recovered from the personal computers, laptops and USB drives of Golden Dawn MPs. The police also reported that in some cases efforts had been made to erase the digital files, but computer experts were able to restore the data.
In some of the recovered pictures, MPs and members of the ultranationalist party are shown firing weapons and engaging in what appears to be military training, while other pictures show members clad in Klu Klux Klan uniforms and openly giving Nazi salutes to one another. Golden Dawn’s spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris appears in many of the pictures posing with various fire arms, as well as leading what appear to be training sessions of other Golden Dawn members.
Hustling, via Greek Reporter:
Golden Dawn Recruits Minors
Police published new shocking photos showing Golden Dawn’s youngest members during military type training.
The first photograph shows a young boy making a Nazi salute, while the second is of a Golden Dawn member showing children at a kindergarten how to draw swastikas and other Nazi symbols.
Neos Kosmos preaches:
Same-sex marriage ‘risk for society’
Holy Synod criticizes civil unions, saying they ‘undermine’ family
The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church on Wednesday spoke out against a law allowing unmarried couples to have their partnership legally recognized, claiming that such civil unions “undermined” the family and posed risks for Greek society.
Referring to an “incipient cohabitation agreement,” the Synod referred to “deviations from the institution of the family” and expressed regret that the family is no longer regarded as “a small Church.” As the law granting unmarried couples legal rights was passed in 2008, the Synod seemed to be referring to the government’s plans to extend the legislation to same-sex couples.
Off to Eastern Europe for another hard times intolerance tale from Spiegel:
‘Only in the Chimney’: Anti-Semitic Carol Causes Uproar in Romania
Advocacy groups are incensed after a Romanian government-owned channel broadcast a Christmas song glorifying the Holocaust and calling for Jews to be burned. The channel is blaming a local group for the performance.
Outrage has erupted among advocacy groups in Romania after the state channel TVR broadcast an anti-Semitic Christmas song calling for Jews to be burned in a chimney. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), the song ran on a Dec. 5 broadcast by the rural-targeted TVR3 channel.
And on to the Ukraine, first with BBC News:
Kiev riot police retreat after storming protest bastions
Police have abandoned an attempt to dislodge anti-government protesters from their strongholds in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
Clashes erupted at the occupied city hall hours after riot police tried to clear nearby Independence Square - prompting the US to express “disgust”.
Associated Press retreats:
Ukraine police stand down after protest grows
Ukrainian police on Wednesday pulled back as protesters claimed victory after an overnight face-off in which authorities removed barricades and tents and scuffled with demonstrators occupying Kiev’s main square.
Squadrons of police in helmets and bearing metal shields converged at about 1 a.m. on Independence Square, but thousands of protesters put up fierce resistance for hours, shoving back at police lines to keep them away from key sites.
The Ukrainian chief of police issued a statement insisting there would be no attempt to break up the demonstrations. Protesters have been gathering around the clock to demand the resignation of the government in a crisis that threatens the leadership of President Viktor Yanukovych.
USA TODAY denies:
Ukrainian leader offers talks, protesters say no
Opposition leaders in Ukraine rejected President Viktor Yanukovych’s offer of talks Wednesday, saying they will not sit down with him until he fires his government and releases all arrested demonstrators.
That stance reflected their growing confidence after the abrupt withdrawal of riot police from parts of Ukraine’s capital early Wednesday raised protesters’ hopes that weeks of demonstrations have eroded police support for Yanukovych and his government.
From euronews, hints:
US considers sanctions against Ukraine as Yanukovych’s offer of talks with the opposition is rejected
And the latest from EUbusiness:
Ukraine opposition calls mass weekend rally as pressure mounts
Ukraine’s opposition called Thursday for a mass weekend rally, as pro-European demonstrators sought to increase the pressure on President Viktor Yanukovych following a failed police raid.
Off to Latin America, first with another kind of occupation from the Rio Times:
Militia Gangs Control Nearly Half of Rio Favelas
Illegal militia gangs control nearly half of the estimated 1,001 favela communities in Rio de Janeiro.
A recent report came to light last week (December 4th) stating that of the estimated 1,001 favela communities in Rio, nearly half are being controlled by illegal militia gangs – organized crime rings typically composed of current or ex-police. Five years after the UPP (Police Pacification Unit) program launched, the study illustrated how much further there is to go to achieve peace in the city’s most violent communities.
euronews mourns:
At least eight dead in Argentina after looting
At least eight people have been killed during a wave of crime and looting in Argentina while local police have been on strike.
In Cordoba, where the wildcat strikes began, police have managed to negotiate a 50 percent pay rise. Officers in up to 17 other provinces are now refusing to work in the hope of achieving the same.
In the northern province of Tucuman, citizens protesting against the looting and calling for more protection were fired on by police with rubber bullets and tear gas.
The Argentina Independent updates:
Police and Governments Reach Agreements Yet Unrest Continues
Today, more deaths and lootings were registered as a result of the police strikes which have shaken the whole of Argentina. The exact death toll is unclear, some reports claim that eight people have died whilst others say the number is as high as 12.
Yesterday, salary agreements between the police and provincial governments had been reportedly reached in 15 out of the 20 provinces where revolts were carried out, including the provinces of Santa Fe and Tucumán, where police have now returned to service. In spite of these agreements, violence and lootings continued throughout the night in several provinces such as Chaco and Tucumán.
MercoPress fumes:
Cristina Fernandez blasts police: “I don’t believe in coincidence nor in contagious events”
Marking the 30th anniversary of the return of democracy to Argentina, President Cristina Fernández referred to the wave of lootings across the country and police force protests, and stated that “they were no coincidence”, during a rally from the Government House in Buenos Aires on Tuesday evening.
Weed worries from GlobalPost:
Uruguayans not all that happy about government’s decision to legalize weed
Uruguayans didn’t get to vote for the new law. And about 61 percent of them, doubtful it will improve security, are opposed to it.
The International Narcotics Control Board castigates, via the Buenos Aires Herald:
INCB: Uruguay marijuana law breaks international treaty
Uruguay’s decision to legalise marijuana is in violation of an international convention on drug control, a Vienna-based body set up to monitor government compliance with such treaties said today.
A government-sponsored bill approved in the Senate yesterday provides for regulation of the cultivation, distribution and consumption of marijuana and is aimed at wresting the business from criminals in the small South American nation.
Bloomberg has a commons sale:
Mexico Congress Approves Oil Bill Ending 75-Year Monopoly
Mexico will end 75 years of government control of its vast oil reserves after Congress approved the nation’s most significant economic reform since the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Asia next, with an Indian promise from the Economic Times:
Inflation control high on agenda of government, Reserve Bank
With high inflation being blamed for the defeat of the Congress in assembly elections, the government today said containing spiralling prices was among the top priorities on its agenda, while the Reserve Bank too made it clear that efforts on this front would continue.
Apparently admitting that the price rise was one of the reasons for the Congress defeat in the recent elections, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said it was common knowledge that the government of the day pays the price for persistently high inflation.
Firstpost covers a new incentive:
Shocker: Inflation rises to 11.24% on rise in food prices; rate hike inevitable?
Inflation in India increased to 11.24 percent in November against expectations of 10.1 percent, putting further pressure on the RBI to follow up on its back-to-back interest rate hikes despite slowing economic growth.
Food inflation ( egg, meat, fish , fruits and vegetables), which rose to 14.72 percent against 12.2 percent in October, is certainly the biggest factor responsible for the spike in inflation.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore covers another source of anxiety:
India’s October industrial output shrinks by surprise 1.8%
India’s industrial output shrank by a surprise 1.8 percent in October from a year earlier, its first contraction in four months, reflecting the still fragile state of Asia’s third-largest economy, data showed on Thursday.
From the Financial Express, $14.8 worth of anxiety:
Raghuram Rajan-headed FSDC panel expresses concern over bad loans
The Sub Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), headed by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, today expressed concern over the rising bad loans of banks.
Top 30 loan defaulters of public sector banks (PSBs) account for more than one-third of total gross non-performing assets of state-run lenders. The gross non-performing assets (GNPA) amount these accounts of public sector banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 72,174 crore, while for all banks it was Rs 91,667 crore at the end of September, 2013.
Formed barely a year ago the Aam Aadmi [Common Man’s] Party became the number two party in the Delhi state legislative assembly, with 31 seats compared to the nationalist and neocon BJP. Congress, the nation’s founding and once dominant party, managed only eight votes. Firstpost covers on response:
Corporate India’s deafening silence on AAP, says it all
The AAP is perhaps the first political party which has refused corporate funding in elections in India. It has already run campaigns against some of the top most business houses and asked searching questions on black money stashed abroad. If AAP indeed were to form a Government in Delhi or become the largest Opposition party and then look to gain a national foothold, it may perhaps leave many large corporate houses and big businesses squirming.
Press Trust of India has a response:
Govt will not compromise on fiscal discipline: Chidambaram
Allaying fears of a spurt in public expenditure ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said government will not compromise on fiscal discipline, notwithstanding the defeat of Congress in four states, including Delhi and Rajasthan.
Inaugurating the Delhi Economic Conclave, Chidambaram blamed the states for “inaction” to check hoarding and said the incumbent government pays a price for high inflation.
On to Thailand with Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Thai PM sees little risk of another coup
Thailand’s premier said Wednesday she was confident the military would not launch another coup to try to end the kingdom’s political crisis, despite a history of seizing power.
An initial development via the Buenos Aires Herald:
Thai crisis deepens as PM’s supporters weigh in
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s red-shirted supporters said they were ready to defend her government in the streets from an elite-backed protest movement seeking to install an unelected “People’s Council”.
The warning highlights the risks of a crisis centred on the electoral and legislative power of the Shinawatra family, revered by the rural and urban poor but reviled by Bangkok’s royalist elite as inept and graft-ridden.
Another response from Bangkok Post:
Military leaders rebuff Suthep Armed forces wary of siding with protesters
Top military leaders decided last night not to meet a group of anti-government protest leaders, saying it would be highly dangerous for the country if the military were seen as taking sides.
The decision was made after protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban announced his group was seeking a meeting with senior military and police leaders today in an apparent attempt to gain their support for his “political reform” push.
Bangkok Post proposes:
PM proposes reform forum to end unrest
Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday proposed a new forum to work on political reform to be implemented by the next government after the Feb 2 general election.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore evokes a ghost from similar times past:
Ex-Thai PM Abhisit indicted for murder over rally crackdown
Former Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was indicted for murder on Thursday in connection with a deadly military crackdown on mass opposition protests in Bangkok three years ago, prosecutors said.
On to China with financial anxieties from South China Morning Post:
Tightening fears recede as mainland lending spikes
Bank loans accelerate on the mainland despite central bank’s bid to reduce liquidity, bolstering confidence that economy is recovering
Banks made 624.6 billion yuan (HK$797.5 billion) worth of new yuan loans in November, higher than a forecast of 590 billion yuan and well above the previous month’s 506.1 billion yuan, data released yesterday by the People’s Bank of China showed.
The mainland’s total social financing aggregate, a broad measure of liquidity in the economy, jumped to 1.23 trillion yuan last month, up from 856.4 billion yuan in October.
People’s Daily covers outside money:
Foreign-funded companies in China total 446,400
The number of foreign-funded companies in China rose 0.37 percent from a month earlier to 446,400 by the end of November, according to official data released Wednesday.
Total registered capital of foreign-funded companies increased 0.88 percent from a month ago to 12.32 trillion yuan (2.02 trillion U.S. dollars), the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said in a report.
Outflowing with China Daily:
Overseas investment set for ‘golden era’
China’s overseas investment will maintain robust growth in the coming year thanks to the central government’s reform plans, officials said on Wednesday.
“The government’s reform plans suggest that China will further open up the overseas investment of Chinese enterprises. Policies will be optimized, and support will be increased. It’s certain that the robust trend of China’s overseas investment will continue,” said Zhang Wei, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the China Chamber of International Commerce.
Box office news from Global Times:
Movie biz sees bumper year
Cinema in China has reported a bumper year, with box office receipts soaring to a high of 20.32 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) as of Sunday, the highest ever.
The domestic film sector made a strong showing, earning over half of the takings, 11.12 billion yuan, 55.5 percent of the box office, the People’s Daily reported Tuesday. China produced 531 films in 2013, 31 of which had earned over $11 million by Sunday
Want China Times relies:
China’s staple food supply relies heavily on imports
The net imports of three major food staples — rice, wheat and corn — consumed in China was about 19 million tonnes in 2012, and the figure stood at 11.44 million tonnes during the first seven months of this year.
After China’s corn consumption came to depend almost entirely on overseas supplies in 2011, the country is expected to outpace Egypt in becoming the world’s largest wheat importer this year. China National Grain and Oils Information Center predicted that total wheat imports will reach 6.5 million tonnes this year.
While RT rejects:
China rejects fifth US corn cargo in a month, citing GMO strain
China has blocked a fifth cargo of US corn since mid-November after testing found a strain of genetically-modified (GMO) corn not yet approved for import. Three more cargoes may also be refused.
A cargo of 59,100 tons was turned away on Tuesday in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang after quarantine officials found MIR 162 — an insect-resistant GMO strain which the country’s agriculture ministry has yet to warrant, Reuters cited an official as saying.
People’s Daily rings registers:
China’s online sales to reach 1.8 trillion yuan in 2013
It is predicted that China’s online retail volume will amount to 1.8 trillion yuan (around $300 billion) in 2013 and will exceed 3 trillion yuan (around $500 billion) in 2015, accounting for more than 10 percent of the total retail sales of social consumer goods, said Chinese commerce minister Gao Hucheng Monday.
Desperate measures from the Japan Times:
Chinese drink pesticide in Beijing protest over failed petitions
A dozen people protesting the demolition of their homes in central China drank pesticide in Beijing in a desperate bid for attention that underscores the failures of a decades-old petitioning system.
The