Straight to it, albeit belatedly and with little embe.llishment, we begin in the Big Apple with the Wall Street Journal:
Shelters Fill as Rent Aid Disappears
New York City residents who received rent subsidies are flocking to homeless shelters.
New York City homeless shelters—swelling with record-high populations not seen since the Great Depression—are increasingly being sought out by people who participated in a now-defunct rent-subsidy program designed to reduce homelessness, according to a report to be released Saturday.
The author of the report, the Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit advocacy group, held up the report as evidence that homeless families need longer-term government help with rent to stay out of the shelter system. Since the rental-payment program, known as Advantage, was canceled by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration after state budget cuts in June 2011, the city’s homeless shelter system population has grown to its highest-ever levels: 52,000 people, including 22,000 children.
As of August, the coalition report found, 49.4% of family placements in the Advantage program had returned to the shelter system, climbing from 24.5% nearly three years ago. The numbers rose rapidly as subsidies ran out in 2012, with more than 300 families a month seeking shelter from the city during that summer after losing their rent subsidies. In 2013, more than 200 such families were entering shelters each month, the report said.
MarketWatch uncovers another austerian dimension:
America’s hidden retirement crisis is racial
A troubling new study, Race and Retirement Insecurity in the U.S., reveals that America’s retirement crisis is particularly dire for blacks and Latinos.
“If nothing changes, the future for people of color is frightening,” author Nari Rhee, research manager for the nonprofit National Institute on Retirement Security, told me.
Rhee’s report comes on the heels of other recent surveys from financial services firms and consultants with their own scary stats documenting the general lack of retirement savings among blacks and Latinos.
Reuters closes a chapter:
Fannie Mae settles with Wells Fargo as mortgage review ends
Wells Fargo & Co will pay a net $541 million to Fannie Mae to settle claims over defective home loans, completing the government-controlled mortgage company’s efforts to have banks buy back troubled loans made before the financial crisis.
Fannie Mae said on Monday it has reached settlements worth roughly $6.5 billion over loan buybacks with eight banks, including Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lender and fourth-largest bank by assets.
About damn time, with USA TODAY:
13 states raising pay for minimum-wage workers
State minimum wages will exceed the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour in 21 states on Jan. 1.
The trend reflects growing concerns about the disproportionate spread of low-wage jobs in the U.S. economy, creating millions of financially strained workers and putting too little money in consumers’ pockets to spur faster economic growth.
The Progressive covers the despicable:
Norquist Tells ALEC He Wants U.S. to Revive Decapitation
During a speech about criminal justice reform earlier this month at the annual American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference, anti-government crusader Grover Norquist compared criminals to fish caught in a net and exclaimed that he would like to see America revive the practice of beheading convicted killers.
“We gotta fight crime, we gotta have less crime, we have to be more secure in our persons and our property,” he said. “I’m all in favor of chopping the heads off of people who commit murder and putting people in prison for a long, long time. There’s no bleeding heart whatsoever. This is about punishing real criminals and making sure we don’t just toss everybody in the net, the porpoises and the tuna, and treating them all the same.”
And CBC heard the giant sucking sound:
NAFTA turns 20: Mexico is pact’s biggest winner
North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada. U.S. and Mexico signed in 1994
Ross Perot may have had it right after all about who would win under NAFTA.
The North American Free Trade Agreement was an important step for all three members, but the evidence points to Mexico — at the time the weak sister in the group that included two G7 economies, the United States and Canada — as by far the biggest winner.
News Corp Australia takes us global:
World braces for retirement crisis
A GLOBAL retirement crisis is bearing down on workers of all ages.
Spawned years before the Great Recession and the 2008 financial meltdown, the crisis was significantly worsened by those twin traumas. It will play out for decades, and its consequences will be far-reaching.
Many people will be forced to work well past the traditional retirement age of 65. Living standards will fall and poverty rates will rise for the elderly in wealthy countries that built safety nets for seniors after World War II. In developing countries, people’s rising expectations will be frustrated if governments can’t afford retirement systems to replace the tradition of children caring for aging parents.
Off across the pond with Europe Online:
Sceptics, right-wingers set to challenge EU in 2014 poll
Four years into its fight against a debilitating economic crisis, the European Union will in 2014 face a new litmus test: the ballot box.
In May, citizens from the bloc’s 28 member states will vote for a new European Parliament. And the indications are that eurosceptic and far-right parties will score big gains, amid public frustration over the painful measures that have been implemented to tackle the crisis.
“For many, making ends meet isn’t as easy as it used to be, and could well become even harder for their children,” EU President Herman Van Rompuy noted during a recent speech in Berlin. “Today, Europe is seen as being intrusive, meddling, dictating, correcting, prescribing, imposing, even punishing,” he added.
The eurobankster speaks, via Xinhua:
Draghi plays down anticipation of immediate rate cut
European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi has tried to play down the anticipation of an immediate rate cut in an interview published on Saturday.
Draghi told German magazine Der Spiegel that he saw no need of an immediate rate cut, citing “many encouraging signs” including the economic recovery in some euro area countries, decreasing budget deficits and other improvements.
His claim came as expectations for more monetary easing by the ECB are running high. The ECB has clarified in its forward guidance that the current low interest rates would remain for a long period of time or become even lower.
On to Britain with the South China Morning Post and a familiar name on the UC Berkeley campus:
Li Ka-shing’s British power firm UKPN under fire over alleged tax avoidance
UK Power Networks allegedly reduced tax bill with payments to firms in the Cayman Islands
UK Power Networks, owned by Li Ka-shing, is alleged to have avoided £38 million (HK$485 million) in British taxes over last three years. Photo: Sam Tsang
A British energy firm owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing has come under fire amid allegations the company, at the centre of a storm over Christmas power blackouts, avoided paying millions of pounds in taxes.
Fretting with Sky News:
Millions Stress About Finances ‘Every Day’
Money worries are an even greater concern for Britons than health or job security, new research reveals.
In the UK, 18.1 million people feel stressed about their finances every day, according to new research seen by Sky News.
The Independent bills:
Migrants will have to pay at A&E – and all patients will have to prove they are not foreigners to get free NHS treatment
As part of proposals to recoup up to £500m from visitors from outside the European Union who use the NHS, hospitals will be required to identify those patients who are not eligible for free care – and make foreigners pay for life-saving treatment they receive on accident and emergency wards.
But the reforms mean that eligible patients will also have to prove they have the right to be treated free of charge.
Sweden next, where TheLocal.se beggars the conscience:
Swedish professor: Ban begging handouts
A leading Swedish professor has said that it should be illegal for people to give money to beggars but his idea has been described as a “joke” by campaigners.
Bo Rothstein, a political science professor long associated with the University of Gothenburg, made the argument for a begging donation ban in an opinion editorial in Dagens Nyheter.
“Anybody who begs in front of us on the street doesn’t offer anything apart from their social vulnerability and the person that gives is exploiting their situation to get satisfaction and ease their social conscience,” wrote Rothstein in the newspaper.
TheLocal.no takes us to Norwegian opposition:
Most Norwegians oppose new private schools
Norway’s government has said it would like to make it easier to open fee-paying private schools, but most Norwegians are against the idea, according to a new poll.
53 percent of those asked by pollsters Sentio Research said they were opposed to allowing more private schools to open. Some 36 percent were in favour, with 11 percent saying they didn’t know. The poll was carried out for radical left-wing newspaper Klassekampen.
Norway’s governing parties, Høyre and Fremskrittspartiet, have said they want to change the law regulating private schools by the end of 2015. The law currently requires that private schools have a special religious or educational philosophy to qualify for co-financing from the state. The government wants to remove this requirement and allow all private schools that pass quality tests to qualify.
Holland next where DutchNews.nl brings us Beancounters Behaving Badly:
Accountants KPMG fined for role in Ballast Nedam bribery case
Accountancy group KPMG has reached a €7m out of court settlement with the public prosecution department over its role in a construction sector bribery scandal.
The investigation into three former KPMG accountants is continuing, the public prosecution department said in a statement.
KPMG was accused of disguising bribes paid on behalf of building group Ballast Nedam to win orders. The company also failed to pay proper attention to ensuring integrity demands were met, the public prosecutor said.
On to Germany with the London Telegraph:
Draghi complains of ‘perverse angst’ among Germans
ECB head says German worries over eurozone are misplaced
Mario Draghi has spoken out against the “perverse angst” displayed by Germans over the European Central Bank’s policies.
The Frankfurt-based central bank cut rates to a new record low of 0.25pc in November, despite resistance from German policymakers, who are fearful that low interest rates could fuel housing bubbles in its major cities. In April, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country’s economy, which has consistently outperformed its eurozone peers since the financial crisis, was ready for a rate rise even though the rest of the single currency bloc needed looser monetary policy.
Reuters looks for a final solution:
Merkel says permanently fixing euro zone crisis vital for Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel will tell Germans their fate is so closely entwined with the European Union that it is imperative to come up with answers on how to permanently resolve the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis.
In an advance text of the traditional New Year’s Eve address that she will deliver on Tuesday evening, Merkel said Germany had a lot of work to do to maintain its own economic strength.
EUobserver constrains:
Merkel allies keen to curb EU powers
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian sister party, the Christian-Social Union (CSU), plans to call for fewer EU commissioners and less new EU legislation in next year’s European Parliament elections.
“We need a withdrawal treatment for commissioners intoxicated by regulation,” the party’s four-page election strategy paper – seen by Der Spiegel and due to be adopted in January at a CSU congress – says.
TheLocal.de has conflicts:
MPs spar over eastern EU immigration fears
Hours before immigration restrictions on people from Romania and Bulgaria coming to Germany are lifted, politicians are arguing over attempts to discourage those with poor work prospects from coming to the country.
As of January 1st, Bulgarians and Romanians will be free to seek work throughout the European Union, which their countries joined back in 2007. This has prompted fears of a flood or an influx of people seeking welfare payments in richer countries.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies have reacted by drawing up proposals to toughen social welfare laws, prompting criticism from Social Democrat politicians – now their coalition partners in the national government.
France next and taxing time with Al Jazeera America:
France’s top court approves 75 percent ‘millionaire tax’ on employers
Companies will be taxed for employees who make more than 1 million euros a year
France’s Constitutional Council – the country’s highest court – gave the green light on Sunday to a controversial “millionaire’s tax,” to be levied on companies that pay salaries of more than 1 million euros ($1.38 million) a year.
The measure, introduced in line with a pledge by President Francois Hollande to make the rich do more to pull France out of crisis, has infuriated business leaders and soccer clubs, which at one point threatened to go on strike.
On to Spain with separation anxieties from El País:
Premier Mas admits EU will expel an independent Catalonia
Government would look for other alternatives “outside the treaties,” says regional leader
For the first time since heated debate broke out over Catalonia’s proposed independence referendum next year, regional premier Artur Mas, who is pushing for the status vote, has admitted that his northeast region would be ejected from the European Union if it seceded from Spain.
Stop the presses with TheLocal.es:
Struggling Spanish paper closes print edition
Spanish national newspaper La Gaceta has scrapped its print edition, a spokeswoman said on Monday, as it fights to survive a financing crisis in the recession-damaged country’s media.
“The paper edition has been closed” since Friday, said a spokeswoman for the strongly conservative newspaper, which was founded in 1989 and employs about 60 people.
“The newspaper will continue, but online — that is what we will focus on,” the spokeswoman told news agency AFP.
Occupy USA TODAY:
Spain squatters take over buildings after foreclosures
One in four Spaniards is out of work, which in a country that boasts one of the highest rates of home ownership in the world means many families fall behind on their mortgage payments and face foreclosure.
At the same time, the number of empty buildings across the country swelled after a building boom went bust.
The Spanish government estimates that there are more than 650,000 finished properties that sit empty across the country, alongside nearly half a million properties that were left idle while under construction.
El País covers a breakthrough:
ETA prisoners recognize damage caused by campaign, accept legitimacy of jails
Collective releases statement giving 527 inmates go-ahead to begin negotiating early release
The prisoner collective of terrorist group ETA, which represents more than 500 inmates from the Basque separatist organization, released a taped statement on Saturday recognizing the legality of Spain’s penitentiary system, expressing its agreement for individual prisoners to negotiate individual early release terms, and rejecting the violence and “suffering and multilateral damage caused” by their terror campaign.
Portugal next with EUbusiness:
EU ready to offer Portugal more help: Rehn
European Union is ready to offer Portugal further aid once its current bailout expires in May, Economics Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Monday.
“Europe will keep its word” and continue to help Portugal, but only on condition it “continues reforms already under way,” Rehn wrote in an editorial for business daily Diario Economico.
“The absolute priority is to successfully conclude the current programme,” Rehn wrote, while warning that it was “indispensable that Portugal maintain budgetary discipline and structural reforms in the upcoming years”.
And on to Italy with ANSAmed:
Italy: Poverty hits record high amid unemployment, recession
Absolute poverty double since 2005, triple in industrial north
The number of people in crisis-hit Italy living in absolute poverty has doubled between 2005 and 2012 and tripled in the industrial north, up to 6.4% from 2.5%, according to an annual report on social cohesion by national statistics bureau Istat released on Monday.
Overall, more than 1.7 million families live in a state of absolute poverty for a total of 4.8 million individuals amid rising unemployment and a stubborn recession, Istat said.
On to Eastern Euroipe, with in Solvenia with EUobserver:
Slovenia: Bank tests treated as military secret
Bank stress tests indicate that Slovenian lenders do not need a bailout, but private consultancies played a controversial role in the evaluation.
The test results, published last month and accompanied by positive statements from the Slovenian government, the Bank of Slovenia and the European Commission, say Slovenia can recapitalise its banking sector without international help.
South China Morning Post covers a tragedy:
Romania’s children being left behind as their parents seek work abroad
A generation is growing up with absentee parents, who are supporting their families by working in more prosperous western Europe
Tens of thousands of Romanian children are growing up parentless because their mothers and fathers work abroad, according to figures that raise questions about the extent and impact of large-scale migration on the eve of new EU rules governing Bulgarians and Romanians.
According to the Romanian ministry of labour, family and social protection, there are now more than 80,000 families in Romania in which both parents are working abroad while their children stay at home, with 35,000 more families in which one parent is overseas.
After the jump, the Greek crisis unfolds, Latin American inflation, changes in Cuba, Chinese neoliberalism, Japanese boosterism, environmental woes, and the latest stunning chapter of Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
Our first Greek headline comes with optimism from The Guardian:
Greece will leave bailout scheme in 2014, says prime minister
Antonis Samaras told long-suffering Greeks that the end of the country’s financial assistance plan was in sight
Samaras told long-suffering Greeks that the end of the country’s financial assistance plan was in sight after almost four years of painful austerity, and that the new year would bring the prospect of normality.
Greek Reporter promises:
Schaeuble: ‘Europe Won’t Abandon Greece’
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble stated on Monday that Europe won’t abandon the Greek people and that the assumption of the EU presidency is a great opportunity for the country. According to the German politician, the EU presidency will offer Greece identity, self confidence and also pride.
In a pre-release of an interview that will be published in the popular German newspaper Bild on Tuesday, Schaeuble said, “The presidency will show the Greek people that Europe is its future.”
The Independent is armed with mordida:
German arms firms in bribery claims over sale of Leopard tanks to Greece
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s insistence that Greece tackle corruption to beat the Euro crisis took an embarrassing turn on Sunday with allegations that German arms manufacturers bribed a top Athens defence official to buy their tanks and submarines for the Greek armed forces.
Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said a clampdown on a culture of illicit payments to officials had led Athens state prosecutors to arrest a former top Greek Defence Ministry official who is reported to have confessed to taking €8m (£6.7m) in bribes in return for buying weapons from arms manufacturers in five countries.
The Associated Press opens fire:
Greece: Shots outside home of German ambassador
Police in Greece say the home of Germany’s ambassador to Athens was sprayed with gunfire from automatic weapons in an overnight attack that caused no injuries.
Anti-terrorism police cordoned off streets around the official residence of Ambassador Wolfgang Dold following the attack Monday in the Halandri area of the capital and recovered more than 60 bullet casings from the scene.
No group has claimed responsibility for attack.
ANA-MPA lectures:
Draghi: Greece’s efforts should not be relaxed, in spite of encouraging signs
European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine that “many things in Greece are changing to the better, but there is no doubt that many more things still have to be done.”
In an interview with the magazine to be out on Monday, Draghi notes that in the case of Greece it is no surprise that great patience is required.
Greek Reporter yearns:
One of Two Greeks Wants to Emigrate
According to an opinion poll that was conducted by Kapa Research on behalf of the newspaper “TO VIMA,” one out of two Greeks would seek better luck abroad if the right opportunity arises. It’s no secret that Greeks — especially the younger ones — are really worried about their future.
Poll results showed that Greeks anticipate the new year with far greater anxiety and fear as they believe the worst is yet to come.
Some 55.6 percent of the polled, stated they would leave Greece if the right opportunity arises. Another interesting aspect of the poll is that 45.9 percent stated they would consider leaving the large cities and starting a new life in the countryside.
ANA-MPA dreads:
Unemployment: Citizens’ biggest fear in 2013, opinion poll shows
Unemployment is the issue that mostly terrifies Greek citizens, according to the results of an opinion poll conducted by Kapa Research for Sunday newspaper “Vima”.
Unemployment is the most important issue of 2013 and leads with 61.2 percent, followed by the haircut on bank deposits in Cyprus with 24.7 percent and the arrest of far-right Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) leadership with 14.1 percent.
The citizens put the blame for the unemployment on the trade unions (95.2 pct), on the enterprises bodies (89.8 pct) on the main opposition SYRIZA (88.9 pct) and on the government (84.1 pct).
Greek Reporter charts another rise:
Study: Extreme Poverty Rises in Greece
A study conducted by Athens University of Economics and Business along with the Associate Professor of the University, Manos Matsaganis, showed that the percentage of Greeks that live in poverty has increased significantly. Some 14 percent of the Greek population lives in poverty for the year 2013, whereas in 2009 the percentage of those who lived in poverty was 2 percent of the country’s population.
Victims of this situation amount to 630,000 people who are unemployed and some 455,000 Greek households in which none of their members have a job. The survey suggests that this situation of extreme poverty was not only a result of the deep and constant recession. The lack in an effective social mechanism that would protect and support those who have a low-income is another important and determining factor that led in the outburst of poverty in Greece.
ANA-MPA declines:
Salaries in Greece dive to seven-year low in 2013
Greek salaries in 2013 recorded a massive drop to 2006 levels, as they have been falling for 13 successive quarters, or more than three years, as shown by data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
In the past three years, workers have lost one-fourth (25 pct) of their income and Greece now ranks among the countries with the biggest wage reduction on a European level.
Kathimerini English liberates:
Former Greek state hospital head released on bail
The former board chairman of a state children’s hospital charged with soliciting a bribe has been released on bail after a long deposition.
Haris Tobouloglou must post a 150,000-euro ($206,000) bail and is forbidden to leave the country. He faces charges of soliciting a 25,000-euro ($34,000) bribe from an advertising firm that had secured a $190,000-euro ($260,000) contract to coordinate an information campaign against child obesity.
Tobouloglou, 54, was arrested on Christmas Eve after he was handed the requested bribe in marked notes. He was fired from his hospital position and his full-time job at the National Bank of Greece Friday.
Kathimerini English liberates another one:
Ex-minister gets suspended term over fake plates
Former Transport Minister Michalis Liapis was handed a four-year suspended jail sentence on Monday after being found guilty on charges of false certification and forgery for driving his car with forged license plates and no insurance.
Liapis was represented by his lawyers, who said the minister stayed home to avoid reporters, whom he has accused of hounding him since his arrest earlier this month.
The former conservative minister, who can pay off his sentence for just under 73,000 euros, was also given a 3,000-euro fine for driving an uninsured vehicle, which was stopped after running a stop sign in Artemida, eastern Attica, on December 17.
And ANA-MPA assures:
FinMin: No third bailout memorandum, no haircut on bank deposits
“The country will not sign a third bailout memorandum and will regain access to financial markets in 2014,” Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said in an interview with Sunday newspaper Realnews.
In addition, he ruled out a haircut on bank deposits and said that there will be no mass layoffs in the public sector.
Stournaras revealed that the taxation will be reduced in 2016 and that the social security contributions will decrease in 2014.
Greek Reporter adds another burden to a 313-mile trip:
Greek Drivers to Pay 58 Euros in Tolls From Athens to Thessaloniki
An unpleasant surprise is in store for Greek drivers next year. The Greek government decided to increase, in unprecedented levels, the cost of the tolls in all motor-ways, something that’s causing a headache for Greek drivers.
If someone wants to drive from Athens to Thessaloniki, they will have to pay 58 euros in toll fees. The cost of the toll fee is larger than the price of the fuel needed for the trip! This large increase in the tolls, along with the ongoing economic crisis, will make the Greek drivers turn to other means of transport as they cannot afford the unbearable cost of the new tariffs.
While Greek Reporter also frets:
Greek Companies Anxious About Turkish Political Instability
The radical developments on the political scenery of Turkey lately have caused anxiety among policymakers of more than 500 Greek companies that have “cashed” money to the neighboring country. The companies’ officials believe that their investments are not at risk, but they’ve decided to monitor the situation closely in order to prevent any unpleasant turn of events.
The most worrisome thing for the Greek firms is the continuing slide of the Turkish lira. In particular, over the past six months, the Turkish lira has lost 25 percent of its value, something that has caused an increase in the price of Greek products. Despite this negative development, no problems occurred in interbank transactions… at least until now, the firms’ officials report to Kathimerini.
Cyprus next, and more declines from ANSAmed:
Crisis: Cyprus motor registrations down 29.4% in Jan–Nov
The sales of petroleum products in November decreased by 18.6%
Total registrations of motor vehicles in the Republic of Cyprus decreased by 29.4% to 17.013 in January–November, from 24.104 in January–November 2012, as CNA reports quoting figures released by the national Statistical Service.
The figures showed that private saloon cars decreased to 12.372 from 17.977 in January–November 2012, i.e. there was a decrease of 31.2%. Meamwhile, always according to the Statistical Service, last November the total sales of petroleum products decreased by 18.6% compared to the previous month
Latin American next and another tax from Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Brazil slaps tax increase on overseas tourism spending
Brazil on Saturday imposed a hefty six per cent increase on the surcharge paid by its citizens when making credit cards purchases overseas.
The increase, which went into effect Saturday, raised the tax from 0.38 per cent to 6.38 per cent. The tax also applies to cash withdrawals from overseas bank machines and purchases made when using travellers checks.
The announcement will come as a rude surprise to millions of Brazilians many of whom already have departed the country on their summer holiday travels. The measure is expected to add some 552 million reals (US$205 million) to government coffers next year.
MercoPress offers a mixed report:
December inflation doubles in Brazil but at an annualized 5.51% remain on target
Brazil’s general price index, known as the IGP-M, more than doubled in December, posting a rise of 0.60% compared with a 0.29% increase in November, the Getulio Vargas Foundation said Friday.
Despite the increase, the latest figure came in line with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 0.57% to 0.75%. The December IGP-M figure measured prices from Nov. 21 to Dec. 20. The IGP-M measures inflation adjusted for annual rental contracts of housing and commercial properties across Brazil.
Caracas contains, via Bloomberg:
Venezuela’s Forced Price Cuts Damp World’s Fastest Inflation
Venezuela’s monthly inflation rate fell in November and December after President Nicolas Maduro ordered shops to cut prices on everything from refrigerators to Christmas lights.
Consumer prices rose 2.2 percent this month and 4.8 percent in November, compared with 5.1 percent in October, the central bank said in a report posted on its website. The median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for prices to rise 4 percent in November. The central bank didn’t provide the annual inflation figure or an updated scarcity index.
And BBC News covers change in Havana:
Cuba eases restrictions on loans to small businesses
The Cuban government has eased restrictions on loans to private borrowers in the latest measure aimed at boosting the island’s troubled economy.
Individuals and small businesses can now borrow smaller amounts and have more time to pay back the government.
Off to Asia, starting with the Times of India:
US to proceed with prosecution of Devyani Khobragade, no question of apology: Sources
US is proceeding with the prosecution of senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade and has no intention to withdraw the case of visa fraud against her.
US sources here said today that more evidence was being gathered against the 39-year-old diplomat before the indictment is filed. The deadline for indictment is January 13.
There is no question of apology to India over the arrest of Khobragade, the then deputy consul general of India, in New York on December 12 which has led to strong protests by the Indian government and widespread indignation in India.
Moving eastward with Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Deadly clashes erupt in Bangladesh as opposition march gets underway
Bangladesh police fired water cannon and shotguns at opposition protesters in the capital on Sunday, killing one person, at the start of a banned mass march aimed at thwarting next month’s general election.
Hundreds of demonstrators, some throwing home-made bombs, battled police as they tried to gather at the opposition’s headquarters and other places throughout Dhaka for the so-called “March for Democracy”.
Some 11,000 police and elite Rapid Action Battalion officers were patrolling the capital to try to halt the march, Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP.
South China Morning Post takes us on to Hong Kong:
Elderly face 3-year wait for care home places as developers’ incentive scheme flops
Not a single unit for elderly is built under 2003 policy offering tax breaks to developers, with waiting lists longer than they were 10 years ago
A decade-old government scheme giving tax breaks to developers who build care homes for the elderly has been a total failure.
Investigations by the South China Morning Post revealed that not a single care unit has been built under the scheme. And the city’s old and needy are now waiting even longer for housing than they were 10 years ago.
$3,4 trillion of read ink with SINA English:
China estimates direct govn’t debt at 20.7 trl yuan
The National Audit Office (NAO) said Monday in a statement that governments at various levels in China were liable for a total direct debt of 20.7 trillion yuan (3.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of June 2013.
Total debt guaranteed by governments at various levels amounted to 2.93 trillion yuan at the end of June, the NAO said in the statement posted on its website.
Debt for which governments at various levels might shoulder some of the rescue burden amounted to 6.65 trillion yuan, data revealed.
SINA English again, accelerating:
Economic reform will be faster than expected
The pace of Chinese economic reform would surprise people, and it will be faster than commonly expected, said Blu Putnam, Chief Economist at Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, in London.
China appears to be choosing to accelerate its reforms and increase the pace of economic liberalization with more market-based initiatives, said Putnam in a recent interview with Xinhua.
“China managed its deceleration and transition to new leadership very well. We will be going to see a lot of market-oriented reform, more investments are allowed to the markets, particularly the futures markets, more Chinese investors have better linkage with the global markets, and a faster normalization of currency,” said Putnam.
People’s Daily extinguishes:
Chinese officials banned from smoking in public
Chinese officials are asked to “take the lead” in adhering to the smoking ban in public spaces.
According to a circular from the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, officials are not allowed to smoke in schools, hospitals, sports venues, public transport vehicles, or any other venues where smoking is banned.
From China Daily, northern exposure:
Bigger role considered in the Arctic
China’s market, investment and labor forces could assist
China can play a bigger role in the increasingly ice-free Arctic, using its investment advantages and the size of its markets and labor force, but it is “far from becoming a power player in the Arctic”, said the head of the polar strategic research division under the Polar Research Institute of China.
“As a latecomer, China has a lot of homework to do to learn more about the rapidly changing region and then to better serve the country’s development,” Zhang Xia, who is also deputy chief of the new China-Nordic Arctic Research Center, told China Daily.
On to Japan and a major upswing from the Yomiuri Shimbun:
Tokyo stocks close record year with series of highs
Tokyo stocks closed at a record high for the year Monday, the last trading day of this year, as the yen further weakened in overseas markets.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 112.37 points, or 0.69 percent, from Friday’s close to finish at 16,291.31, setting a yearly high for the seventh business day in a row.
Buoyed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Abenomics economic policy, the Nikkei average rose 52 percent from the beginning of this year, the highest gain in 41 years since it logged 92 percent growth in 1972. This was higher than the 41 percent growth seen during the IT bubble in 1999 and the 42 percent increase recorded during the economic bubble in 1988.
The Japan Times grows rosy:
IMF may upgrade growth forecast
The International Monetary Fund may upgrade its growth forecast for Japan, although the nation must start fiscal and structural reforms in 2014, IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton was cited as saying in an interview in the Financial Times.
The IMF’s economic growth forecast of 1.2 percent next year will probably rise because of extra stimulus measures, the FT said, citing Lipton. The government expects gross domestic product to increase 1.4 percent, according to budget documents released Dec. 22. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012 pledging a three-pronged, or a so-called three-arrow, strategy of aggressive monetary easing, fiscal stimulus and deregulation to end 15 years of deflation.
Reuters raises:
Japan’s top business lobby agrees to raise base pay next year: media
Japan’s most influential business lobby has agreed to raise workers’ base pay for the first time in six years as the economy gains momentum and corporate earnings improve, the Asahi newspaper reported on Sunday.
Many economists say an increase in base pay is essential to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge to end 15 years of mild deflation and to help the Bank of Japan meet its 2 percent inflation target.
The Keidanren business lobby will encourage its member companies to raise base pay next year in annual spring wage negotiations, the Asahi reported, citing a draft of the business lobby’s negotiations strategy.
NewsOnJapan frowns:
Japan’s gangsters not pleased with Abe, anti-nuc rallies
Writing in Shukan Post (Jan. 1-10), yakuza journalist Tomohiko Suzuki reveals the results of a survey of 100 gang members – including those from the Yamaguchi-gumi, Sumiyoshi-kai and Inagawa-kai – conducted over a one-week period earlier this month.
Since taking office one year ago, Abe has attempted to encourage inflation via a number a policies dubbed “Abenomics.” Of those polled, only 19 percent support Abe, while a mere six percent feel that the economy is recovering. When asked if their business is better this year compared to one year ago, only four percent answered positively.
“The yakuza economy is like the tail of an airplane,” says a 56-year-old gangster from Tokyo. “For take off we are the last to leave the ground, but then for landing we are the first.”
Jiji Press grows homesick:
Fukushima Evacuees to Spend 3rd New Yr’s Day Outside Homeland
Many Fukushima Prefecture citizens displaced by Japan’s worst ever nuclear accident in March 2011 will spend their third New Year’s holiday in temporary housing for evacuees outside their homeland.
Some 29,000 evacuees still live in temporary housing complexes in the northeastern prefecture, without prospects for when they can return to their hometowns that were contaminated with radioactive fallout from Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s stricken Fukushima No. 1 power station.
Under the law relating to assistance for disaster-affected people, the use of temporary homes is limited to two years in principle.
NHK WORLD sleeps over:
Workers given OK for overnight stay in Fukushima
Japan’s central government has decided that under certain conditions workers will be allowed to stay overnight in some of Fukushima’s off-limit areas.
The purpose is to speed up the decontamination process nearly three years since the March 2011 nuclear accident.
The decision applies to areas where residents are currently permitted visit their homes only during the daytime.
Jiji Press makes a connection:
Mitsubishi to Tie Up with TEPCO
Major Japanese trader Mitsubishi Corp. plans to collaborate with Tokyo Electric Power Co. in order to launch its power generation business, Mitsubishi President Ken Kobayashi said in a recent interview.
The move reflects such electricity industry reforms as the separation of the power generation and transmission businesses.
And Reuters alarms:
SPECIAL REPORT- Japan’s homeless recruited for murky Fukushima clean-up
Homeless recruited for Fukushima at minimum wages
Labor brokers skim their pay; charge for food, shelter
Some say better homeless than going into debt by working
Little oversight on companies getting clean-up contracts
Gangsters run Fukushima labour brokers; arrests made
Jiji Press fills a need:
Japan to Develop Research Facilities in Fukushima
Japan will discuss ways to develop research facilities in coastal areas in Fukushima Prefecture, home to the crippled nuclear plant, Kazuyoshi Akaba, state minister of economy, trade and industry said Monday.
The ministry will form a panel of local government leaders and experts to discuss the matter, Akaba said at a press conference in the city of Fukushima.
The move is part of the central government’s efforts to help foster new industries and promote reconstruction in the northeastern Japan prefecture following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters.
Al Jazeera America gives us another fuel and another major problem:
Researchers find 7,300-sq-mile ring of mercury around tar sands in Canada
Bitumen in the tar sands being excavated to produce oil is the likely culprit of the mercury deposits
Scientists have found a more than 7,300-square-mile ring of land and water contaminated by mercury surrounding the tar sands in Alberta, where energy companies are producing oil and shipping it throughout Canada and the U.S.
Government scientists are preparing to publish a report that found levels of mercury are up to 16 times higher around the tar-sand operations — principally due to the excavation and transportation of bitumen in the sands by oil and gas companies, according to Postmedia-owned Canadian newspapers like The Vancouver Sun.
For our final item, South China Morning Post covers another pollution woe:
China says more than 3m hectares of land too polluted to farm
About 3.33 million hectares (8 million acres) of China’s farmland is too polluted to grow crops, a government official said on Monday, highlighting the risk facing agriculture after three decades of rapid industrial growth.
China has been under pressure to improve its urban environment following a spate of pollution scares.
But cleaning up rural regions could be an even bigger challenge as the government tries to reverse damage done by years of urban and industrial encroachment and ensure food supplies for a growing population.
