Our daily wrap-up of economic and environmental news. It’s late, so the order will have to covet the sense of narrative flow.
CBC News:
Detroit awaits direction on options to art gallery sell-off
Detroit may have to rely on the generosity of strangers to keep its impressive art collection that was amassed with taxpayer dollars in better times.
The bankrupt city is expected to learn this week the value of roughly 2,800 of its pieces at the Detroit Institute of Arts when New York auction house Christie’s delivers its final report to Kevin Orr, the state-appointed emergency manager who runs the Motor City’s finances.
Reuters:
Factory activity gaining steam as production broadens
U.S. manufacturing output rose for a fourth straight month in November as production increased almost across the board, in the latest suggestion the economy is gaining steam.
Production at the nation’s factories advanced 0.6 percent last month, building on October’s 0.5 percent gain, the Federal Reserve said on Monday.
The New York Times:
Stern Words for Wall Street’s Watchdogs, From a Judge
It used to be common for the federal government to prosecute prominent people responsible for debacles that rattled the financial system. Michael R. Milken, the junk bond artist, went to prison in 1991; Charles H. Keating Jr., the face of the savings-and-loan crisis, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud in 1999; and it looks like Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron, will be in prison until 2017.
And what of the recent financial crisis? The statute of limitations on most plausible charges is running out, and it seems there will not be a single prosecution of a prominent figure in the entire mess.
Judge Jed S. Rakoff wants to know why. In a blistering essay in the issue of The New York Review of Books that arrives this week, he argues that the Justice Department has failed in its rudimentary responsibilities, offering excuses instead of action.
And for one clear sign of the times, consider this from Lehigh Valley Live:
Homeless students suing Easton Area School District can return to school pending judge’s ruling
Two Easton Area School District students who were kicked out of the district on Monday because they are homeless and staying outside the district will be allowed to return to school pending a judge’s ruling on their lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit filed by a nonprofit legal advocacy and educational organization earlier this week, the district violated federal laws when it kicked the eighth- and 12th-grade students out of the district they had attended all of their lives.
The students and their parents were forced to move to a campground in the Brodheadsville section of Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County, after the family lost its Forks Township home in 2011 due to foreclosure, according to court documents. The family, which includes a mother who works part time at the school district, now lives in a 9-year-old, 24-by-7-foot camper that was used for vacations.
CBC News:
Average home price rises almost 10% to $391,085
New data released Monday from the organization that represents home sellers shows Canada’s housing market continues to hit new highs, with the average price increasing by almost 10 per cent in the last 12 months to $391,085.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said the strong gain was in part because this time a year ago, sales were down in some of the largest housing markets.
From the Financial Post:
Canadian banks’ Caribbean mystery: Little known about how giants make money in paradise
As Canadians we take it for granted that we only need to walk a few blocks in virtually any city in the country before we come across at least one branch of one of the major banks, or maybe more.
But it may come as a surprise to many that this isn’t the only country where Canadian banks are so dominant. Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are almost as ubiquitous across much of the Caribbean. Indeed, the Canadian banks have managed to dig themselves so deeply into the local financial system that the region now faces increased risk of exposure to foreign financial crises, according to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund.
EUbusiness:
US, EU hold third round of free-trade trade talks
The United States and the European Union entered a third round of trade negotiations Monday in Washington aimed at creating a powerful free-trade bloc to boost their economies and jobs.
US and EU trade officials returned to the US capital, where the talks began in July, to hammer out the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, an ambitious agreement to expand trade, investment and regulatory cooperation
Two contrasting headlines on the Transatlantic talks, first from Euractiv:
EU, US trade talks could usher in cheaper energy imports
And the second, from EUobserver:
EU and US both threatened by secret trade talks
Techdirt:
TPP Negotiators Completely Ignored Public Interest Groups At Last Negotiations
from the they-don’t-care dept
We’ve noted in the past how little the USTR and other country negotiators wanted to hear from various “civil society” or public interest groups during the various negotiating rounds. However, at least they made some attempt to set up “stakeholder engagement” periods, in which concerned organizations could present their arguments. However, it appears that all that went completely out the window at the last negotiations in Singapore.
On to Europe with EUobserver:
Troika consultancies: A multi-million euro business beyond scrutiny
Alvarez and Marsal, BlackRock, Oliver Wyman, Pimco: The names mean nothing to the average European.
But the financial consultancies have played a central role in all the eurozone bailouts and have so far invoiced taxpayers in Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain over €80 million.
Their “independent” expertise is used by the “troika” of international lenders – the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – to decide how much countries or banks need to prevent a default.
They are often hired without a public tender, posing questions on transparency and accountability.
BBC News talks Turkey:
EU and Turkey agreement on deporting migrants and visas
Turkey and the EU have signed a deal enabling EU countries to send back illegal migrants who entered the 28-nation bloc via Turkey.
The deal also establishes a roadmap for lifting visa requirements for Turks travelling to the EU. Visa-free status is expected in three years’ time.
Reuters:
‘Doom loop’ tying European banks and governments reinforced
European banks have filled their balance sheets with national debt since 2011, bringing them easy profits but reinforcing a “doom loop” linking weak banks to governments with shaky finances.
The euro zone debt crisis showed banks can suffer big losses from holdings of their own countries’ bonds, which in turn can torpedo state finances if banks need to be bailed out.
Policymakers have been trying to loosen the mutual exposure of banks and governments that ensured they dragged one another down during the crisis.
But the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Union’s banking watchdog, said on Monday the share of bonds issued by sovereigns under stress held by their domestic banks had “increased markedly” between December 2010 and June 2013.
The London Telegraph:
Eurozone plans to wind up failing banks ‘too complex’, says Mario Draghi
European central bank chief says plans to wind up failing eurozone banks may be overly complicated and inadequately funded
Spiegel:
‘Brutal Power Politics’: Merkel’s Banking Union Policy Under Fire
Top officials in Brussels have told SPIEGEL that they disagree with Berlin’s approach to creating the planned banking union. Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to give big member states too much power, they say.
According to the German policy, a single bank resolution authority and an accompanying fund would be run primarily through an intergovernmental body, rather than through existing EU structures. This has led to suspicions within the European Commission and European Parliament that Berlin is applying systematic pressure on such matters.
Britain next with EUobserver:
Mooted UK migrant cap would be ‘illegal’
The European Commission has said reported UK plans to cap the number of EU migrants entering the country to 75,000 annually would be illegal.
“Any such restrictions would be illegal under the current rules,” European commission spokesperson Jonathan Todd told reporters in Brussels on Monday (16 December).
Deutsche Welle:
Eating or heating: the stark choice for many Brits as energy prices soar
In the UK thousands are struggling with rising energy costs. After last winter’s record number of deaths from cold weather, pressure is mounting on the government to force energy companies to help the most vulnerable.
Ireland next, with TheJournal.ie:
Irish banks still a source of ‘some concern’ says Mario Draghi
He said swift and decisive action is needed to address some of the issues in the Irish banking system.
JUST A DAY after Ireland’s exit from the bailout programme, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Mario Draghi said the Irish banking system is still a source of “some concern”.
Speaking in the European Parliament today, he said the Irish balance sheet assessment, which is carried out by the Central Bank of Ireland “falls short” of stringent stress testing that he feels is needed.
The Independent:
Unemployed told to leave Ireland in desperate move to slash welfare costs
Ireland is asking its citizens to leave the country if they can’t find a job in a desperate bid to slash welfare costs.
The Irish government has sent letters to approximately 6,000 unemployed people suggesting they should take jobs in other European countries in an effort to reduce unemployment benefits, the Financial Times has reported.
The Reykjavík Grapevine:
Asylum Seekers Arriving In Iceland Often Jailed
Statistics from prison officials show that refugees who arrive in Iceland are often charged with carrying false and forged passports and jailed – despite this being a violation of international law.
DV reports that, according to data from prison officials, some 166 foreigners have been given jail sentences for false or forged passports since 2006. The vast majority of these are from outside of Europe; most typically, from the Middle East and Africa.
CNN:
Neo-Nazis attack anti-racism demonstrators in Sweden
A vicious attack at an anti-racism demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday proved the protesters have a legitimate concern.
A group of 40 far-right extremists threw stones, bottles and fireworks at a group of 200 people holding an organized, legal demonstration to oppose racism and growing neo-Nazi sentiment in the area, Stockholm police spokesman Sven-Erik Olsson said Sunday.
Two demonstrators and two police officers were injured and taken to the hospital, Olsson said.
Here’s raw video via TheLoical.se:
TheLocal.se:
Sweden fears import of Syrian terrorism
Sweden’s security police said they fear that terrorism could be imported by some 75 people who have left Sweden for Syria over the last two years to train or fight with al Qaeda-inspired groups.
The Swedish intelligence service Säpo on Monday released several key figures from the past year that testified to an increase in the number of persons commuting between Sweden and the bitter Syrian civil war, where numerous factions are fighting for power. In its last annual report, published in March, Säpo researchers said about 30 Swedes had made the trip south. That figure has now more than doubled.
There could also be several unconfirmed cases of militants-in-training, but the agency said it would not release the number of individuals it was looking into.
The Copenhagen Post takes us to Denmark:
Unemployed have difficulty staying in work
More than half find jobs within three months on benefits, but the progress is short-lived
Young unemployed people on welfare benefits return quickly to state support after finding work, new figures from the employment agency, Arbejdsmarkedsstyrelsen, reveal.
Spiegel takes us to Germany:
Complaint to EU: German Banks Try to Torpedo Transaction Taxes
German banking associations have sent letters to the European Commission urging it to forbid the new financial transaction taxes imposed by France and Italy. Insiders believe the letters are an attempt by the banking lobby to block a planned EU-wide financial transaction tax.
To Holland with DutchNews.nl:
Unskilled worst hit by unemployment, jobs scarce outside Randstad
The rise in unemployment between 2008 and 2012 has hit the low-skilled much harder than people with college or university degrees, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday.
In 2012, 8.8% of people with no or little further education were without work, up from 5.3% in 2008. But just 4.1% of people with a university degree were unemployed last year, up from 2.4% the year the crisis started.
Deutsche Welle:
Verdi labor union widens walkout at Amazon in Germany
German labor union Verdi has intensified its strike action against online retailer Amazon, seeking to slow deliveries in the middle of the crucial Christmas holiday season. Amazon is rejecting a demand for higher pay.
France next, first with Associated Press:
Horses used in labs end up on French dinner tables
Meat from horses used in laboratory procedures was illegally sold as fit for human consumption and landed on French dinner tables, authorities said Monday.
Police, food safety and veterinary investigators carried out pre-dawn raids in 11 regions around southern France, arresting 21 people. The complex case raised new concerns about how this country, with its rich culinary reputation, polices its food supply.
BBC News:
PMI surveys raise fears that France may be back in recession
The eurozone’s recovery is continuing, a survey of businesses has suggested, but it has also revealed a widening divergence in economic performance between France and Germany.
The latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit rose to 52.1 in December from 51.7 last month. A figure above 50 indicates expansion
On to Spain with El País:
The troika gives Spain a positive report in last review of fulfillment of bank bailout terms
But ECB, EC and IMF point to the need for more reforms
Spain will exit its bailout program for the cleaning up of its banks in January without the need for any safety net after the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the IMF gave the country a pass mark in its last report on the fulfillment of the commitments it acquired, albeit with provisos.
ThinkSpain:
Three members of same family die of food poisoning after raiding bins
A FAMILY has died after eating out-of-date food they found whilst raiding bins because they could not make ends meet.
Both parents – E.C., 61, an unemployed plumber and C.B., 50 – perished after suffering nausea and vomiting, as did their 14-year-old daughter.
El País:
House prices rise on quarterly basis for first time in three years
But market still down on an annual basis and experts doubt prices have bottomed out
House prices in Spain rose on a quarterly basis for the first time since the middle of 2010 in the third quarter of this year, but experts said that did not mean that the housing market has started to emerge from trough it plunged into around the start of 2008.
TheLocal.es:
‘Catalonia is Spain’s next crisis’: Financial Times
The recent decision by the president of Catalonia to call an independence poll in 2014 was “tilting Spain towards full-blooded constitutional conflict”, the UK’s Financial Times said on Sunday
Catalonia President Mas announced on Thursday that Catalonia planned to hold a referendum on November 9th.
Portugal next, first from the Portugal News:
Bankruptcies – 35 companies going under each day
During the first 11 months of this year an average of 35 companies went bankrupt each day.
Between January and November more than 8100 companies were forced to closed their doors, 13.4 percent more than last year.
BBC News:
Portugal passes ‘troika’s’ bailout review of its economy
Portugal has moved a step closer to exiting its bailout programme after the international lenders that saved the country from bankruptcy approved a review of the economy six months early.
The European Union and International Monetary Fund have been monitoring the country’s economic reforms, a condition of the 2011 78bn-euro (£66bn) bailout. Portugal hopes to leave the bailout agreement in the middle of next year.
The Portugal News:
Golden visas bring in €240m
For the first time since their introduction, two of the so-called Golden Visa residence permits have been renewed by Portuguese authorities.
Introduced in October 2012, a total of 388 of these visas have been issued, generating investment in Portugal of close to 250 million euros, mostly in the real estate industry. Almost three-quarters of these visas have been granted to Chinese nationals.
TheLocal.it:
Italy’s professionals see their salaries fall
Self-employed professionals in Italy saw their salaries fall over five years, with notaries and engineers among the hardest hit, national media reported on Monday.
The fall in real income between 2007 and 2012 ranged from 3.1 percent for accountants to 45.1 percent for notaries, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
ANSAmed:
Almost one in three Italians threatened by poverty
Poverty risk in Italy higher than European average, says Istat
Amid the deepest recession since the Second World War, almost 30% of Italians were at risk of falling into poverty and social exclusion last year, national statistics agency Istat said Monday. It concluded that in 2012, 29.9% of Italians were at risk – an increase of 1.7% over 2011 figures and fully 5.1% higher than the European average of 24.8%, the agency said.
TheLocal.it:
Neo-fascist leader arrested for anti-EU stunt
The vice-president of neo-fascist group Casapound has been arrested after climbing onto the European Commission building in Rome and tearing down the EU flag.
Simone Di Stefano was charged with aggravated theft, resisting a public official and unauthorized protest, Corriere della Sera reported on Saturday.
TheLocal..it:
Anti-EU Northern League party gets new leader
Italy’s separatist Northern League party on Sunday named as its new leader Matteo Salvini, who said the European single currency was “a crime against humanity” and called for independence for northern Italy.
“We will not stop until independence,” Salvini, who is a lawmaker in the European Parliament, told a party congress in Turin which confirmed his election victory last week against the party’s founder Umberto Bossi.
After the jump, devastated Greece awaits judgment, Ukrainian turmoil, Latin American elections, trade pact pushes, Chinese neoliberalism, and lots more — plus Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
New Europe gives us our first Greek headline:
He was nominated after winning 84.1% of the vote in the European Left Party congress
Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras nominated for EC President
The European Left Party has nominated Greece’s opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, as its candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission. Tspiras was chosen during the party’s Congress in Madrid, winning 84.1% of the vote.
Tsipras said that it is essential to fight what he called the “barbaric neo-liberalism,” and the rise of the right across Europe.
The Guardian makes a comeback:
Greece’s former king goes home after 46-year exile
Constantine II stuns Greeks by moving back to his crisis-plagued homeland with his wife Anne-Marie
Kathimerini English:
Greece and troika reach compromise on EAS, not on foreclosures
The troika concluded its latest visit to Greece on Monday with an agreement apparently having been reached with regard to the future of Hellenic Defense Systems (EAS), which should be enough to trigger the release of another 1 billion euros in bailout loans, but with no deal on home foreclosures and value-added tax in the food service sector.
The proposal for EAS foresees the retention of three factories to produce military equipment, with the remaining two closing in June and September next year. There will be a resolution of the section of the company responsible for civilian projects and it will also be lumbered with the illegal state aid that EAS had received so far.
ANA-MPA:
Gov’t optimistic on approval of bailout loan tranche in Tuesday’s Eurogroup
Greece’s troika of lenders on late Monday evening gave a positive response to the restructuring of the Hellenic Defence Systems (EAS), as well as to the disbursement of the 1.0-billion-euro bailout loan tranche, making things easier for Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras at Tuesday evening’s Brussels meeting of the Eurogroup.
A high-level Finance ministry source said after the end of talks with the troika that “we are certainly optimistic” for Eurogroup’s approval, adding that “we hope that there will be no veto by an EU partner.”
ANSAmed:
Greece: exports run out of steam due to cash flow problems
The rise of Greek exports sadly proved short-lived, as the momentum observed in the last couple of years has all but vanished, as daily Kathimerini reports.
Exporters estimate that 2013 will end with a rise of 3 to 4%.
But that figure includes fuel products, and when they are taken out of the equation it turns into an annual drop of 2 to 3%.
EnetEnglish.gr:
Athens’ lace curtain poverty
The crisis has also hit many in the city’s upper middle class
In the upmarket, old-money Athens suburbs of Paleo Psychiko and Filothei, pensioners and unemployed executives are left struggling in houses they cannot sell and faced with property tax bills that they will never be able to afford
“I’m in a tragic situation. And I am not alone,” K says, staring out at his 835m2 garden, behind his detached house in Paleo Psychiko.
To Vima:
EOPYY doctors discuss healthcare reforms with Prime Minister
Defiant EOPYY doctors continue strike despite the Minister of Health’s ultimatum on enforcing suspensions
EOPYY doctors discuss healthcare reforms with Prime Minister
In spite of the Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis’ ultimatum on Thursday, when he pleaded the doctors to end their strike or face suspension, the EOPYY doctors defiantly decided to continue their strike over the suspension and dismissal scheme until the 19th of December.
ANA-MPA:
Employment shows signs of stabilisation, Labour minister says
The Labour Ministry said on Monday that recruitments outstripped dismissals in first eleven months of 2013 for the first time since the crisis began.
More specifically, recruitments came to 1,039,397 in the January-November period, up 29.9 percent on a year-to-year basis, while dismissals reached 925,908.
To Vima:
Student occupations begin as administrative employee strike subsides
Education Minister calls meeting with University Rectors at noon to discuss implementation of suspensions
With the administrative employees at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens deciding to continue their strike, but allowing everyone else to return to their posts, teaching was expected to resume today. However, student occupations have meant that in many cases, such as the Law School, teaching could not begin.
Kathimerini English:
Leading Greek politicians retain wealth during crisis
Ample incomes, mostly declining deposits and some spectacular declarations is probably the best way to sum up the plethora of financial information published on Parliament’s website on Monday as part of the annual process of making politicians’ origin of wealth, or “pothen esches” in Greek, forms public.
The documents, which reveal the state of politicians’ personal finances in 2011, show all of Greece’s main political leaders reducing their savings, despite receiving substantial salaries.
ANA-MPA:
SYRIZA calls on gov’t to brief Parliament on contracts with troika’s ‘bailout’ consultants
Responding to a news report run by euobserver.com entitled “Troika consultancies: A multi-million-euro business beyond scrutiny,” main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) on Monday demanded that the government present the contracts of any ‘financial experts’ hired to design the country’s bailout programme to Parliament.
According to the main opposition, the news report has unveiled a huge political scandal linked to the financial consultancies that have played a central role in all eurozone bailouts, leaving both the EU-IMF troika and the governments of those countries exposed.
A Cypriot item from ANSAmed:
Cyprus’ GDP to shrink by a further 8% in 2014
The Cypriot economy is not expected to return to growth before 2017, according to a winter Eurozone Forecast put together by professional services firm Ernst and Young and reported by Cyprus Mail.
“After falling by an estimated 7.4% in 2013, Cyprus’ Gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to shrink by a further 8% in 2014 and 2.7% in 2015, against a backdrop of shattered consumer and investor confidence, soaring unemployment, and a credit crunch,” Ernst and Young said.
On to the Ukraine, first with New Europe:
Most EU foreign minister insist that “the door remains open” for Ukraine to sign the agreement with the EU.
EU still undecided about Ukraine
With Ukraine on the menu, the meeting of the EU’s 28 with their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov is taking place inauspiciously on Monday 16 December in Brussels, with each side proffering harsh words about the other.
EurActiv:
EU stops work on Ukraine pact, Washington pushes for sanctions
The European Commission announced yesterday (15 December) it was halting work on a landmark trade and political pact with Ukraine, meanwhile details emerged of the sanctions the United States and the EU would impose on President Viktor Yanukovich and oligarchs if there was a crackdown on demonstrators.
Europe Online :
Russia ready to offer fresh credit to cash-strapped Ukraine
Russia said on Monday that it is ready to offer fresh credit to Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin’s chief economic adviser Andrei Belousov said that credit would be offered “if it is requested,” the Itar Tass news agency reported.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said on Sunday that his country hopes to get cheaper gas from Russia and for the further lifting of trade barriers with its eastern neighbour, at high-level talks in Moscow on Tuesday.
Deutsche Welle:
Kyiv protests: ‘No agreements with Russia!’
President Yanukovych’s planned trip to Moscow worries Ukrainians at the EuroMaidan protests in Kyiv. They are warning him against signing any deals with Russia that could harm Ukrainian ties with the EU.
A side trip to Israel and political desperation from New Europe:
Israel reaches out to US Jews in bid to halt assimilation
More than 100 Israeli leaders gathered with Jewish-American counterparts in Jerusalem last month with a daunting mission: to save Jewish life in North America.
Jewish American leaders have known for years that assimilation and intermarriage were slowly shrinking their communities, but the early November gathering took on an extra sense of urgency. Just weeks earlier, a landmark study had found that young American Jews are growing increasingly estranged from Judaism.
As these efforts press ahead, they are being complicated by a new issue: What role can Israel play in Jewish American life at a time when many American Jews, who tend to be socially liberal, have misgivings about some of Israel’s policies
Latin America next, first with a remorseless agenda from Tico Times:
US mulls wider trade pact with Latin America
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry: “We could do more within the hemisphere.”
“I believe we could look to a stronger set of initiatives between Canada, the United States, Mexico particularly, and the rest of Latin America. We could do more within the hemisphere,” Kerry told CNN Español.
The Guardian:
Chile election victor Michelle Bachelet pledges major reforms
New president to raise corporate tax and overhaul education after landslide win over conservative Evelyn Matthei
The centre-left candidate won with about 62% support, the highest share of votes for any presidential candidate since the country returned to holding democratic elections in 1989.
The Buenos Aires Herald:
‘Government will guarantee price controls’
In his daily and early press conference, Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich today assured the government wants to “look after the consumers’ pockets.” “We will identify the mass consumption goods and we will ensure price controls are respected,” he said.
From the Government House, Capitanich informed a deal was reached with supermarkets to create a Christmas basket of products with a higher quality than the one sold last year. He added it will cost 39 pesos.
He went on to speak about the inflation denying that “fiscal results generate inflation” and criticized those who claim this is “the end of the party” asking them if having pension mobility or a 100 percent social security coverage, among other measures, is a party.
Tico Times:
Guatemalan president: Pot legalization in Uruguay is ‘an important step’
“We hope [Uruguay’s] experience” will be adopted in “all countries,” Otto Pérez Molina said.
Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina said this Saturday in Panama that Uruguay’s decision to legalize marijuana is “an important step” that could serve as a “pilot plan” to fight drug trafficking in Latin America.
“I think the step Uruguay took is an important one and is a valuable experience,” Pérez Molina said during a summit of the Central American Integration System, held this weekend in Panama. “It could serve as a pilot plan for all of Latin America, and we hope it will be an experience that eventually all countries can adopt,” he added.
The Guardian takes us to Australia:
Coal’s grim forecast: projects may be ‘stranded’ by falling Chinese demand
Oxford report finds Australian mines could become uneconomical and end up being ‘mothballed or abandoned’
The study, commissioned by HSBC’s Climate Change Centre of Excellence, found that coal projects could be “stranded” by a range of Chinese measures, including environmental regulation, carbon pricing, investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
India next, with the Financial Express:
Despite high inflation, India Inc wants ‘accommodative’ stance from Raghuram Rajan
Spurt in WPI inflation in 2013 to a 14-month high of 7.52 per cent in November should not come in the way of the Guv Raghuram Rajan’s Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) formulating an “accommodative” monetary policy, India Inc said today.
“The rise in inflation should not come in the way of an accommodative monetary policy announcement on December 18, as it is of utmost importance to strengthen investor sentiments which have been adversely affected by high interest rates,” CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement.
The Economic Times:
India did not yield any ground at WTO: Commerce Ministry’s Special Secretary
India did not yield any major ground on trade facilitation while it managed to successfully push its stand on food security issues through the WTO meeting in Bali, a top official said.
“India has concerns about taking binding commitments (in TFA), so our position was respected…about 80 per cent of what we wanted was adjusted and 20 per cent could not be adjusted,” Special Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Rajiv Kher said dismissing concerns being raised by political parties and a few NGOs.
The Financial Express:
Natural gas: Reliance Industries under spotlight as FinMin wants cap on price hikes to protect consumers
The Finance Ministry has strongly pitched for putting a cap or limit to which natural gas prices can be hiked following a new pricing formula that will come into effect from April 1.
The ministry said a ceiling on the gas price is necessary to protect the interests of government/consumers in case of an unreasonable upswing in the prices.
The Times of India:
Diplomat Devyani strip-searched, India snubs US team
India’s deputy consul general in New York Devyani Khobragade was strip-searched and confined with drug addicts after her detention in a visa fraud case. She was also subjected to DNA swabbing.
On Monday, India retaliated against the US for the humiliation of diplomat with Speaker Meira Kumar and NSA Shivshankar Menon refusing to meet a Congressional delegation on Monday.
South China Morning Post:
Vietnam hands out death sentences in Vinalines corruption case
Hanoi court rules two national shipping company executives stole US$1.5 million
Vietnam on Monday sentenced two former top executives at scandal-hit national shipping company Vinalines to death for embezzlement as authorities try to allay rising public anger over corruption.
State-owned Vinalines nearly collapsed under some US$3 billion of debt, according to official media, in one of several high profile scandals at large state-run companies that are a pillar of the economy.
People’s Daily takes us to China:
China eases access to financial leasing
China’s top banking regulator announced on Monday that it will give the market easier access to financial leasing companies by revising regulations.
Financial leasing companies will be allowed to expand business and set up trial subsidiaries, according to a statement from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).
The Global Times:
Regulator releases new details about IPO plans
China’s securities regulator issued fresh details on its plans for the resumption of initial public offerings (IPOs) early next year, eliminating pricing and turnover controls for IPOs while detailing how investor participation will be managed.
The central government is moving to reinvigorate its stock markets to make them more responsive to market forces in order to help lessen Chinese firms’ overdependence on bank loans for fundraising.
Chinese investors frequently deride the stock markets as hives of speculation, manipulation and insider trading.
China Daily:
Beijing to reform pricing system for subway tickets
The Beijing municipal government has announced that it plans to reform the current low-cost subway ticket system in an apparent bid to cut the overall cost of transport subsidies in the city.
Plans will involve a differential pricing system during peak hours to ease the pressure of passenger volume, the government said in a statement on Friday.
SINA English:
Tianjin to curb car ownership in anti-smog drive
China’s northern municipality of Tianjin will restrict traffic and issue new car license plates via bidding and lottery in a drive to fight traffic jam and air pollution.
The city will impose quota on its new car plates starting Monday, requiring buyers to join lottery or bid in auctions to win a plate, according to a notice issued by the city government on Sunday evening.
Quartz:
capitalism with chinese characteristics
China may actually be the most materialistic country in the world
A recent survey conducted by global research firm IPSOS across 20 countries, found that a whopping 71% of Chinese say they gauge their success by the things they own. That’s significantly higher than it was for every other country included in the survey.
On to Japan with upbeat news from the Yomiuri Shimbun:
Smaller firms upbeat for 1st time in 22 years
Business sentiment among small and midsize companies improved in the three months to December, with the diffusion index of the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey turning positive, the central bank said Monday.
It is the first time in about 22 years that the DIs among small and midsize manufacturers and nonmanufacturers have entered the positive territory together.
Kyodo News:
Nearly 4,200 companies ordered to address problematic labor practices
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced Tuesday that it has found 4,189 businesses in labor law violations such as forcing extended work hours on employees and failing to pay overtime wages and ordered them to redress the situations, following an audit conducted in September.
They represent 82 percent of a total of 5,111 companies selected for the oversight action, based on tips and employment data, against so-called black companies known for abusive employment practices especially against young workers, the ministry said.
On to Fukushimapocalypse Now!
NHK WORLD:
TEPCO to cut power bills, restart nuclear plant
Tokyo Electric Power Company is drawing up a business plan to cut electricity rates by restarting all the reactors at a nuclear power plant in central Japan.
TEPCO raised the rates to cover its losses after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011. The increases averaged about 8.5 percent for households, and 17 percent for businesses.
The Mainichi:
Contaminated waste at public apartments shocks Fukushima residents
The Fukushima Prefectural Government failed to check the process of decontamination work at local public apartments here, possibly exposing children to radiation from contaminated waste left at parks in the area, it has been learned.
A Shirakawa resident in her 70s called the Fukushima government in the middle of November when she saw children playing on a pile of bags, in which contaminated waste was stored, at a park in a public apartment complex. According to her, the prefectural government did not take any action about the matter.
The Mainichi:
Shoddy management of radioactive soil uncovered at five locations in Fukushima Pref.
The prefectural government has been sloppily managing radioactive soil in at least five locations, leaving bags containing such soil on the ground without shielding radiation, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.
Children could have easily approached the soil in some of the locations, and radiation levels were around 10 times the national safety standard at their highest readings. The prefectural government failed to fully follow the rules of a special measures law for management of radioactive waste, leaving the management of the waste storage locations to private businesses. As such, the prefectural government may have violated the special measures law.
The Asahi Shimbun:
Government asks Fukushima to accept intermediate storage facilities
Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara and reconstruction minister Takumi Nemoto on Dec. 14 asked the Fukushima governor and mayors of three towns in the prefecture to accept facilities to temporarily store soil and other materials contaminated with radioactive substances.
The government hopes to buy a total of 19 square kilometers of land in Futaba, Okuma and Naraha for the construction of the intermediate storage facilities and start hauling the materials there from January 2015. However, the effort could face opposition from residents and local officials.
Jiji Press:
No Solution in Sight for Fukushima N-Plant Tainted Water
No solution is in sight as Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s struggles with ever-increasing amounts of radioactive water at the accident-hit Fukushima No. 1 power station.
The situation has improved little in the six months since the power company on June 19 announced the contamination of groundwater under the northeastern Japan power station, where an unprecedented triple reactor meltdown occurred in March 2011.
NHK WORLD:
Seabed contamination research to start on Monday
Researchers plan to investigate radioactive contamination in the seabed off the coast of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Officials at Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority asked University of Tokyo researchers to cooperate to map out how radioactive substances are distributed on the sea bottom.
The Asahi Shimbun:
Banks look to cut off new lending to TEPCO after 300 billion yen loans
Commercial banks that have extended loans to Tokyo Electric Power Co. have agreed to offer an additional 300 billion yen ($2.91 billion) to the struggling utility, while considering ending any future lending to it.
With TEPCO’s debt from 77 private financial institutions swelling to an unprecedented level by month’s end, the creditor banks are weighing capping their loans to the utility at 4.5 trillion yen, sources at the banks and the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund said.
The Guardian:
Only legislation will stop minerals being traded at the expense of human rights
Conflict minerals found in cars, electronics and other products will only be eradicated with new laws and business buy-in
The Associated Press:
Antibacterial soap could pose health risks, FDA says
Under a proposed rule, manufacturers will need to prove antibacterial cleaners are safe
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says there is no evidence that antibacterial chemicals used in liquid soaps and washes help prevent the spread of germs, and there is some evidence they may pose health risks.
The agency said it is revisiting the safety of chemicals like triclosan in light of recent studies suggesting they can interfere with hormone levels and spur the growth of drug-resistant bacteria.
Los Angeles Times:
China suspends imports of shellfish from U.S. West Coast
China has blocked imports of shellfish harvested from the U.S. West Coast over reports of arsenic and toxins found in geoduck clams.
The shellfish are believed to have originated from waters off Washington or Alaska, according to KUOW public radio.
USA TODAY:
More tests find undisclosed compound in two supplements
New tests on the popular sports supplements Craze and Detonate have again found an amphetamine-like compound that’s not disclosed on their labels, according to a scientific journal article.
RT:
‘Stop GMOs’: Russian scientists urge 10-year ban on genetically modified products
Russian scientists are calling for a 10-year moratorium on GMOs to thoroughly study their influence on human health, stressing that such examinations are vital.
“It is necessary to ban GMO, to impose moratorium [on it] for 10 years. While GMO will be prohibited, we can plan experiments, tests, or maybe even new methods of research could be developed,” vice president of Russia’s National Association for Genetic Safety, Irina Ermakova, told Interfax news agency.
The Independent:
Scientists ‘incredibly concerned’ for fate of banana as plagues and fungus infections spread across world’s supplies
The world’s supply of bananas is under threat from plagues of bugs and fungal infections which could be disastrous if they continue to spread, researchers say.
The government in Costa Rica, one of the biggest suppliers of the fruit, has already declared a “national emergency” over the state of its crop.
USA TODAY:
A USA TODAY investigation shows MRSA bacteria, once confined to hospitals, are emerging in communities to strike an increasing number of children, as well as schools, prisons, even NFL locker rooms.
Indeed, a deadly form of MRSA had sprung from nowhere, picking off otherwise healthy people. The cases thrust Iqbal and his colleagues to the front lines of modern medicine’‘s struggle against antibiotic resistant bacteria – perhaps the nation’s most daunting public health threat. No drug-defying bug has proved more persistent than MRSA, none has caused more frustration and none has spread more widely. In recent years, new MRSA strains have emerged to strike in community settings, reaching far beyond hospitals to infect schoolchildren, soldiers, prison inmates, even NFL players.
Los Angeles Times:
Firms to pay $1.1-billion in long-running lead paint lawsuit
A Northern California judge Monday ordered three companies to pay $1.1 billion to remove lead-based paint from inside California homes, concluding a 13-year legal case.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James P. Kleinberg ruled that ConAgra, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams created a “public nuisance” by selling lead-based paint for decades before it was banned in 1978, finding them liable for exposing children to a known poison.
The Daily Dot:
Your wireless router could be murdering your houseplants
Are you slowly killing your houseplants? Probably! But there might be a reason (other than neglect) why they’re all yellow and wilty: your Wi-Fi router.
An experiment by a handful of high school students in Denmark has sparked some serious international interest in the scientific community.
