As the shakeout settles into its consolidation phase, patterns emerge.
We open with a warning from the Economic Times:
Retreating US stimulus poses risk to world recovery
The world economy should finally overcome its hangover from the global financial crisis this year as growth picks up and house prices rise, but reduced US monetary stimulus will pose a challenge.
After months of angst, investors will see how the US Federal Reserve handles its decision to curtail its policy of easy money, starting from this month.
From CBC News, a sad reality:
Good-looking CEOs may attract better stock returns
U.S. research finds correlation between how S&P 500 companies perform and CEOs’ attractiveness
Companies with attractive CEOs perform better on the stock market, especially in the early days of their tenure or just after any time they appear on television, new research from two American economists suggests.
Joseph T. Halford and Hung-Chia Hsu from the University of Wisconsin published a paper recently that found a correlation between how companies listed on the S&P 500 performed, and the attractiveness of their CEOs.
The Guardian notes a potential political advantage:
Leading Republicans’ states among worst hit by jobless benefits cuts
Analysis shows rolling cuts to unemployment benefits will severely hurt constituencies of prominent GOP leaders
Senior Republican senators including Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul represent some of the states most affected by the controversial cancellation of long-term unemployment benefits, according to a Guardian analysis of data released this week.
More from the Christian Science Monitor:
Obama asks Republicans to offer holiday charity to jobless. Dare they say no?
The US unemployment rate has been steadily dropping, but millions of Americans remain jobless and many of those are losing unemployment benefits. President Obama is urging lawmakers to extend such benefits.
Fault-finding with the Los Angeles Times:
L.A., Santa Monica buildings may sit atop quake faults
The cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica in the last decade have approved more than a dozen construction projects on or near two well-known faults without requiring seismic studies to determine if the buildings could be destroyed in an earthquake, according to a Times analysis.
The structures include a 49-unit apartment complex on the Westside and a three-story office building near the Mormon temple, whose landmark hill was formed by the Santa Monica fault.
State law prohibits construction on top of faults and requires extensive studies before approval of any building within about 500 feet of faults zoned by the state. But the state has not created fault zones for the neighborhoods around the Hollywood or Santa Monica faults, so the cities are not required to enforce the law there.
CNBC makes an exception:
US put China-made parts in F-35 fighter program
The Pentagon repeatedly waived laws banning Chinese-built components on U.S. weapons in order to keep the $392 billion Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013, even as U.S. officials were voicing concern about China’s espionage and military buildup.
According to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters, chief U.S. arms buyer Frank Kendall allowed two F-35 suppliers, Northrop Grumman and Honeywell International, to use Chinese magnets for the new warplane’s radar system, landing gears and other hardware. Without the waivers, both companies could have faced sanctions for violating federal law and the F-35 program could have faced further delays.
From euronews, a pathetic choice — your money or your livelihood:
Boeing workers vote to save jobs but lose pensions
Boeing’s machinists narrowly approved a labour contract that secured thousands of jobs worth billions of dollars but will cost workers their pensions.
The deal means Boeing will build its new 777X jetliner and wings in Seattle where the company has build aircraft for 90 years.
Europe Online delivers a demand:
US: EU members must share risks, costs in banking union
The banking union being gradually assembled for the fragile eurozone economy must go beyond the planned centralized regulator and resolution process for failing banks, a US Treasury senior official said Friday in Washington.
To fully restore confidence in Europe’s financial institutions, the banking union must further establish a capacity to recapitalize banks and forge credible deposit insurance, the Treasury official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Those measures would require “significant” sharing of risk and cost among the eurozone’s member countries.
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is expected to discuss Washington’s perspectives on the eurozone’s long-running financial crisis during a transatlantic trip next week.
Off to Britain with a bonus from the Yomiuri Shimbun:
Goldman Sachs raised pay for top U.K. bankers amid cuts
The average pay for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top British bankers rose 77 percent in 2012 even as it declined at U.S.-based peers amid calls from governments and the public to reduce executive compensation.
Goldman Sachs paid an average of $4.67 million in 2012 to British employees deemed by regulators as risk-takers, as well as their managers, up from $2.64 million in 2011, according to figures disclosed by the firm. For similar staff at Citigroup Inc., average pay climbed 9 percent to $2.38 million. At Bank of America Corp. it fell 2 percent to $2.36 million, and at JPMorgan Chase & Co. it slid 3 percent to $3.4 million, totals disclosed separately show.
The largest U.S. banks reported their figures for 2012 as recently as last week under European disclosure rules that are part of a regulatory push to alter pay practices blamed for contributing to the 2008 financial crisis. The filings show a divergence between Goldman Sachs, which shrank headcount while boosting revenue 19 percent in 2012, and competitors such as JPMorgan, which lost more than $6.2 billion that year on botched derivatives bets by London traders. Figures for 2013 won’t be released until later this year.
From the London Telegraph, inflating the bubble:
Business lending slump deepens, as mortgage approvals hit fresh high
Slump in business lending deepens in November, even as British banks approve highest number of mortgages in five years
The slump in business lending has deepened, it has emerged, further sharpening the contrast with a surging mortgage market.
Companies took £4.7bn less in loans in November, the biggest drop in more than two years and nearly five times the recent average monthly decline of £1bn, according to figures from the Bank of England. The slide was due to a fall in lending to large businesses, as loans to small and medium-sized companies actually edged up slightly.
And what have those mortgages accomplished? From The Guardian:
Housing bubble fears renewed after price surge of 8.4% last year
London and Manchester areas showed greatest rise, as survey finds average home deposit grew to £31,000
House prices across the UK rose by an average of 8.4% last year, helped by a late surge in property values which recorded £40 a day being added to the price tag of an average British home in the final weeks of last year.
However, the headline data on prices, collected by the Nationwide Building Society, masked huge regional variations, with the value of homes in Manchester soaring by 21% in the past 12 months, and some London boroughs surging by as much as 25%. At the other end of the scale large cities such as Newcastle, Coventry, Edinburgh and Glasgow managed annual growth of 1% to 2%. In a few areas, such as the north-east coast of Northern Ireland, Herefordshire and the Isle of Wight, property prices remain in decline.
The Independent delivers an austerian blow:
Ancient woodland could be destroyed to make way for building in ‘offsetting’ push
The Environment Secretary has suggested that ancient woodland over 400 years old could be cut down if younger trees are planted elsewhere
Developers could be granted permission to destroy ancient woodland if they agree to plant new young trees elsewhere, the Environment Secretary has suggested.
Despite admitting that it would be impossible to recreate in the present highly developed ancient woodland habitats, Owen Paterson argued that the loss could be mitigated by a “huge offset” of planting elsewhere.
Ancient woodland is classed as areas that have been continuously wooded for over 400 years. A third of all woods in England are ancient, covering 350,000 hectares.
From the London Telegraph, blast with the past:
Britain flaunts triumph of Waterloo in heart of Euroland
British diplomats in Brussels flaunting Duke of Wellington’s triumph at Battle of Waterloo as David Cameron seeks to wrest back powers from the European Union
It was an audacious and cunning victory that put paid to French ambitions for a European superstate.
Nearly two centuries later, British diplomats in Brussels are flaunting the Duke of Wellington’s triumph at the Battle of Waterloo, as David Cameron seeks to wrest back powers from the European Union.
The Independent counts austerian costs:
George Osborne’s ‘stealth cuts’ will force millions to miss economic recovery
More than three million low-income families risk missing out on the economic recovery even if wages start to keep pace with inflation, according to an analysis for The Independent.
The Resolution Foundation, an independent think-tank which aims to improve living standards for the less wealthy, accused George Osborne of burying a £385m “stealth cut” in the small print of last year’s Autumn Statement, which will force the working poor to “run uphill” and earn an extra £1,000 a year just to stand still.
The foundation has analysed the impact of the Chancellor’s decision to freeze the “work allowance” – the amount people can earn before their payment under universal credit starts to be withdrawn. The freeze means that even if their wages rise in line with the cost of living, their income will fall in real terms because the allowance does not keep pace with inflation.
Off to Finland with a warning via Bloomberg:
Bank of Finland Warns Debt Level Poised to Double: Nordic Credit
The Bank of Finland is warning that the euro area’s best-rated economy risks sliding down a path that could see its debt burden rival Italy’s.
Finland has little room to deviate from a proposal to fill a 9 billion-euro ($12.3 billion) gap in Europe’s fastest-aging economy if it’s to avoid debt levels doubling in the next decade and a half, according to the central bank.
The northernmost euro member risks joining the bloc’s most indebted nations if the government fails to reform spending, according to calculations by the Helsinki-based Bank of Finland. Without the measures, debt could exceed 110 percent of gross domestic product by 2030, according to the bank. The ratio was 53.6 percent in 2012. Success with the plan would help restrain debt levels to about 70 percent by 2030, the bank said.
Germany next, with the winning numbers from Capital.gr:
German employment hits record high in 2013
The number of people in employment in Europe’s biggest economy hit a record high for the seventh consecutive year in 2013, although the increase was smaller than in the last two years, Germany’s Statistics Office said on Thursday.
According to Reuters, with 41.8 million people in work, some 232,000 jobs were created last year but the rise was roughly half the size of the average for 2012 and 2011, the office said.
Germany’s jobless rate has held steady at just below 7.0 percent for the last two years and is the envy of crisis-hit euro zone partners such as Spain and Greece where more than one in four people is officially out of work.
TheLocal.de stigmatizes:
‘Fingerprints for foreigners’ sparks outcry
The debate over Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants arriving in Germany reached a more sinister level on Friday, when one leading Conservative politician called for finger prints to be taken to stop eastern Europeans getting benefits.
Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Elmar Brok, told newspaper Bild: “Immigrants who only come to Germany for Hartv IV (unemployment benefits), child benefit and health insurance must be sent back quickly to their home countries. To prevent multiple entries we should think about taking finger prints.”
Brok, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), was criticized by his own party for the comments.
Fallout from Europe Online:
German coalition infighting over EU immigration policy escalates
A German debate over so-called benefit tourism escalated on Saturday, with Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Horst Seehofer accusing his centre-left coalition partners of “ignorance” about their own immigration policies.
The infighting between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party the CSU and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), comes after Bulgarians and Romanians gained access to the European Union’s labour market on January 1.
The disagreement relates to calls by Merkel’s conservatives to issue a three-month ban on welfare payments for immigrants from Eastern European member states. A CSU pamphlet suggesting that “those who commit fraud are out” is a particular cause for concern among centre-left Social Democrats.
Lisbon next, where the cost of austerity is written on your face. From the Portugal News:
Portuguese smiling less
The Portuguese smile very little and have done so ever less in the last year or so, according to a study whose author said had found a “drastic and worrying reduction in the frequency and intensity” of their smiling.
The study, titled “A decade of smiling in Portugal” analysed almost 400,000 photographs published in the press from 2003 to 2013 and concluded that “the Portuguese smile very, very little and this behaviour has been frightening accentuated in the past two years,” according to Freitas Magalhães, director of the Laboratory of Facial Expression of Emotion at the Faculty of Health Sciences of Fernando Pessoa University.
In particular, the results of the analysis in the second half of 2013 reveal “a sharp reduction in the frequency and intensity, the greatest since the start of the study in 2003″, he said at the study’s launch, adding that this was “extremely worrying in terms of the health of the Portuguese.”
On to Italy, and wiseguy pollution from TheLocal.it:
Bishops plea for aid in Italy’s Triangle of Death’
A cardinal and bishops in Italy’s so-called “Triangle of Death” have called for urgent action to tackle toxic mafia dumps blamed for rising cancer rates near Naples.
“Act quickly. We urge the authorities to intervene and be decisive, to stop the spread of worry, fears and ills,” Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, wrote in an open appeal to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, along with bishops from the affected areas.
The local Camorra crime syndicate has been burning and secretly burying millions of tonnes of waste in the Campania countryside for decades but the extent of the problem has only recently been revealed – sparking furious protests from citizens who insist the government take action.
After the jump, the Greek crisis continues, Turkish anger, Israeli arms, , NAFTA shafting, Brazilian worries, Indian tweaking, Bangladeshi turmoil, Indochinese upset, the latest Chinese neoliberal moves and warnings, Japanese economic priorities, GMOS, and the latest Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
On to Greece, first with an austerian ax from ANA-MPA:
Admin. Reform ministry to present layoffs plan to troika on January 15
The Administration Reform ministry must present to the troika of Greece’s lenders on January 15 the implementation plan to lay off 11,000 civil servants in 2014 and by end February the plan to place 12,500 civil servants on a mobility scheme.
Moreover, it must also present a plan to lay off 4,000 civil servants that was among Greece’s commitments for 2013 but got an extension until January.
The 4,000 civil servants are estimated to derive mostly from state organisations and agencies that are going to be abolished or merged. The layoffs will take place after a relevant draft law passes; it will be tabled in parliament within the month.
Greek Reporter delivers a jeremiad:
Simitis: Europe is Sacrificing Greece
The former Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas Simitis, in an article in the newspaper “To Vima,” comments on the role of Greece in the European crisis and the future of the Euro zone.
Simitis refers to Greece as the “Iphigenia of Europe,” pointing out that the country has been sacrificed for the recovery of the euro zone.
Explaining his position, the former Greek Prime Minister highlighted the paradox of Greek debt. In his opinion it is unsustainable and cannot be reduced to 124% of GDP by 2020, as scheduled by the Greek government and the Troika.
ANA-MPA opposes:
Amendment against 25-euro hospital fee tabled in Parliament
The opposition Independent Greeks party on Saturday tabled an amendment in Parliament for the abolition of the recently imposed 25-euro hospital admission fee charged by state hospitals since January 1. The amendment, if passed, would also scrap the one-euro fee for each social insurance prescription filled by pharmacists.
Party spokesman Notis Marias was scathing in his criticism of the “memorandum majority of ND-PASOK”, noting that they had voted the unconstitutional Medium-Term strategy legislating for the measures in 2012 and were now “shedding crocodile tears” about the new charges faced by patients.
On to Turkey with a euronews admonition:
Erdogan accuses judiciary of coup plot
Turkey’s Prime Minister has launched a stinging attack on the country’s judiciary over its inquiry into bribery and corruption within the government.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims he is the victim of a conspiracy that is threatening Turkey’s “future and stability”.
Speaking to 45 prominent members of the Turkish media Erdogan said: “In this process, there has been a coup attempt by the judiciary in Turkey. There has been an attempt to seize the sovereignty from the people and transfer it to the judiciary.”
An Israeli plea for open arms from Want China Times:
Israeli firms demand gov’t ease limits on arms exports to China
Defense and technology firms in Israel have recently requested that the government ease restrictions on exports of military equipment to China, Ora Coren reported in an article written for Haaretz, a left-leaning newspaper based in Tel Aviv on Dec. 31.
A source from the Israeli defense industry told Coren that weapon manufacturers in Israel had already gained support from the prime minister’s office as well as the economic and foreign ministries since it is the policy of the nation to expand its economic and political ties with China. For this reason, various government officials within Israel have welcomed the discussion regarding the change of the regulations as Coren stated in the report.
Latin America next, first with a Mexican headline from MintPress News:
At 20 years, NAFTA Didn’t Close Mexico Wage Gap
While auto, electronics and agriculture sectors in Mexico have grown, a majority of Mexicans have seen little benefit in income.
Looking around a Mexico dotted by Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Krispy Kreme outlets, it’s hard to remember the country before the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has dramatically expanded consumer choice and trade since it took effect 20 years ago on Jan. 1.
While it changed the country in some fundamental ways, the treaty never met many of its sweeping promises to close Mexico’s wage gap with the United States, boost job growth, fight poverty and protect the environment. Mexico’s weak unions and competition from Asia and Central America kept wages down; the tightening of security along the U.S. border closed off Mexico’s immigration “escape valve,” and environmental provisions in the agreement proved less powerful than those protecting investors.
More from The Guardian:
NAFTA: 20 years of regret for Mexico
Mexico’s growth has been weak since the ‘free trade’ deal was signed, and it missed out on the region’s poverty reduction
Our neglected infrastructure aside, it is easy to see that NAFTA was a bad deal for most Americans. The promised trade surpluses with Mexico turned out to be deficits, some hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost, and there was downward pressure on US wages – which was, after all, the purpose of the agreement. . .
But what about Mexico? Didn’t Mexico at least benefit from the agreement? Well if we look at the past 20 years, it’s not a pretty picture. The most basic measure of economic progress, especially for a developing country like Mexico, is the growth of income (or GDP) per person. Out of 20 Latin American countries (South and Central America plus Mexico), Mexico ranks 18, with growth of less than 1% annually since 1994. It is, of course, possible to argue that Mexico would have done even worse without NAFTA, but then the question would be, why?
Brazil next, with taxing news from the Rio Times:
IOF Tax on Pre-Paid Debit Cards Up to 6.38% for Brazilians
Brazilians hit by foreign purchases tax hike on loop-hole pre-paid debit cards and traveler’s checks.
Residents of Brazil making purchases abroad using travelers’ checks and pre-paid debit cards have been caught unawares by a surprise hike in the foreign transactions tax IOF. The Imposto sobre Operações de Crédito, Câmbio e Seguro (Tax on Credit, Exchange and Insurance Transactions) has been raised to 6.38 percent from 0.38 percent effective Saturday, December 28th.
Unlike other tax increases, which must be announced thirty days in advance by law, the Brazilian government is at liberty to alter the IOF-rate by decree with immediate effect.
MercoPress settles accounts:
Mantega releases crucial data to calm market anxiety about Brazil’s accounts
Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega insisted on Friday that the government is keeping spending under control as he sought to calm anxiety about the deterioration of the government’s accounts. The minister said the primary budget surplus, (excess of revenue over expenditure before debt payments) would be above the goal of 73 billion Brazilian Reais for 2013 (30.5bn dollars), equivalent to about 1.5% of gross domestic product.
The minister is off on holidays Monday but just in case the announcements “will help to calm nerves” The minister is off on holidays Monday but just in case the announcements “will help to calm nerves”
“We met our fiscal result and we did a little bit more than 1.5% of GDP,” Mr. Mantega told reporters at a news conference in Brasilia, underlining that this was due to higher tax collection and stronger economic growth.
The Rio Times does debt:
Microcredit Small Business Loans Up 26.7% in Brazil
Despite strong growth, only one in four eligible micro-businesses benefit.
The end of the year has brought some good news for Brazil’s smallest businesses as microcredits have grown by an impressive 26.7 percent year-on-year. In November 2013, the total value of microcredits reached a record high of R$4.873 billion, compared to R$3.570 billion in the same month of the previous year.
Argentina next, with punitive outage outrage from MercoPress:
Argentina sanctions power companies for repeated outages that affected millions
Argentina announced sanctions on electricity companies Edesur and Edenor following the power outages suffered by hundreds of thousands of citizens in Buenos Aires City and surrounding areas, amid a historic heat wave that brought stifling temperatures for 18 days.
Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido said the government of President Cristina Fernandez will not give in to “companies’ pressure’ that seek to reach a tariff hike.
“The system failed where there was no investment,” the minister affirmed accusing Edenor and Edesur of “extorting (the government) to obtain a tariff hike that will not come.”
The smoking lamp warms up, from RT:
Peru calls for debate on the legalization of marijuana
Peru should consider legalizing marijuana, the former head of the country’s National Drug Control Commission has said. Uruguay recently became Latin America’s first nation to legalize the marijuana industry, encouraging its neighbors to follow suit.
Former director of the Peruvian National Drug Control Commission (DEVIDA) Ricardo Soberon appealed to the government to consider the legalization of marijuana in an interview.
“We must open the debate with Carmen Masias, the President of DEVIDA, and the Peruvian Medical School. Let’s open a forum that deals, first and foremost, with the health issues and secondly with safety and the implications of its [marijuana] use,” Ricard Soberon told news website Terra. He said that the legalization of the marijuana market could be a solution to the illegal drugs trade in Peru.
Asia next, starting in Pakistan with the Express Tribune:
Investors flocking to business-friendly Pakistan: Report
Investors are heading to Pakistan to benefit from a newly-elected, business-friendly government that is rolling out a programme to aid the struggling economy, a recently published Wall Street Journal report said.
In its report on Friday, the American daily said the benchmark index traded in the financial capital Karachi jumped 49.4% last year, ranking among the world’s top performers.
The report said the rally is also part of a broad move by money managers willing to take on high risks in frontier markets across the globe on hopes of juicy returns that beat traditional emerging markets. That bet paid off handsomely in 2013 with countries like Argentina, Venezuela and Vietnam, with histories of volatility and sudden declines, scoring big gains.
India next. Anticipating action with the Economic Times:
RBI to check benchmark rates?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the government to amend laws to empower the central bank with powers to regulate benchmark rates. The move comes in the wake of the Libor scandal in Europe where regulators have penalized leading banks for ‘fixing’ the benchmark London Interbank Offered Rate by providing misleading quotes.
Following the Libor scandal, UK announced that the Libor is a regulated activity by the Financial Services Authority under UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act, 2000 with effect from April, 2013. The Monetary Authority of Singapore ( MAS) announced a proposed regulatory framework for financial benchmarks in June, 2013, which will introduce specific criminal and civil sanctions under the Securities and Futures Act for manipulation of any financial benchmark.
BBC News does the image thing:
Delhi’s new chief Arvind Kejriwal opts for smaller home
Arvind Kejriwal assumed office of the Chief Minister of Delhi on 28 December 2013
The new chief minister of the Indian capital has abandoned plans to move into the official residence after it provoked widespread criticism.
Arvind Kejriwal had defended his move into the two spacious five-bedroom flats – one to serve as his office. But his opponents said it flew in the face of the election promises he made that helped bring him to office.
Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Admi – or Common Man – party (AAP) won elections last month with a strong anti-corruption message.
Bangladesh next with The Guardian:
Bangladesh elections: at least 60 polling stations hit by arson attacks
Two people killed in clashes as main opposition party intensifies protests in final runup to Sunday’s poll
Scores of polling stations across Bangladesh have been hit by arson attacks and at least two people have been killed in scattered clashes before Sunday’s controversial election.
More than 60 schools due to house polling stations have been hit by arson attacks in the last 36 hours.
More from South China Morning Post:
Polling booths torched on eve of violence-torn Bangladesh election
As opposition holds general strike and boycotts vote, fears grow that what now amounts to a one-party contest will spark more violence
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is boycotting the vote, called the 48-hour strike but it has little chance of thwarting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s re-election in what is effectively a one-party contest.
On to Thailand with the Bangkok Post:
First stage of shut Bangkok set for Sunday
Harsh security measures planned
News Anti-government protesters will begin the first part of their “Bangkok Shutdown” campaign Sunday, as the government threatens strict enforcement of security measures to keep peace and order. The People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) will stage a march in downtown Bangkok as a warm-up for its planned shutdown of the capital on Jan 13.
Marches will also take place on Tuesday and Thursday but only in daytime daylight hours because of safety concerns, PDRC spokesman Akanat Promphan said.
More from the Toronto Globe and Mail:
Thailand’s pro-government Red Shirts ready to ‘fight’ coup attempts
Thailand’s Red-Shirt movement expects a half-million government supporters to take to the streets on Jan. 13, the day anti-government forces have pledged to “shut down” Bangkok, and says it can marshal 10 times that number to protest if needed.
The Red Shirts stand ready to “fight,” and are organizing a meeting of 4,000 to 5,000 core leaders on Jan. 7 to plan future steps, Tida Tawornseth, one of the movement’s top leaders, told the Globe and Mail in an interview Saturday.
Down Under and a new record from the Australian Financial Review:
Household wealth hits new record
A combination of rising house prices, surging equity markets and an entrenched savings culture pushed average Australian household wealth to a record $872,000 in 2013, according to Outlook Economics.
Indonesia next, with a phenomenon shared in common with Americans, via the Jakarta Globe:
More Than 90% of Digital Conversations About House of Representatives Express Negative View: Study
Most online conversation about Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) portray the body in a negative light, according to the results of a study conducted by Prapancha Research, released on Friday.
“Digital conversation concerning the DPR is dominated by a negative image,” researcher Ahdiat Adi said at a Friday press conference.
Based on comments from five Indonesian news portals — Detik.com, Kompas.com, Tempo.co, Tribunnews.com and Okezone.com — the study found that almost all mentions were pejorative, throughout 2013.
Off to the China with the Global Times:
China’s non-manufacturing PMI drops in December
The non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipped for the second month on the trott in December, due to a slowdown in construction and service sectors, new data showed Friday.
The non-manufacturing PMI declined to 54.6 percent last month from 56 percent in November and 56.3 percent in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
The index tracks non-manufacturing sectors including construction, software, aviation, railway transport and real estate. A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 percent reflects contraction.
China Daily makes offerings:
IPO approvals start rolling in
On the 11th floor of the Fukai Building in Beijing’s Financial Street, representatives of securities firms are waiting for special documents — written approvals from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for new share issues.
At midnight on Monday, the CSRC gave the good news to the representatives of five companies out of 82 that had finished the IPO review and approval process. Another six companies got their written approvals the next day.
China Daily caters:
Foreign banks retooling products for Chinese rich
Some offshore institutions are struggling to find the best way to generate profits from China’s wealth management sector, Xie Yu reports from Shanghai
The swelling wealth in China is attracting foreign financial institutions in a proverbial gold rush, but experts suggest it’s wise to look before leaping.
The term “private banking” was brought to China by foreign banks in about 2006. Seven years later, the market has grown significantly, but foreign institutions still struggle to find the best way to generate profits here, according to Jimmy Leung, head of banking and capital markets at PwC China.
Quartz frets:
George Soros just said something very worrying about China’s debt dilemma
The biggest risk that the world economy now faces isn’t the stability of the euro zone or the logjam of US politics, according to famed investor and philanthropist George Soros. Rather, China is the reason to doubt optimism about the global economy, he says.
Soros’s concern, expressed in a column for Project Syndicate, is that the Communist Party’s renewed focus on economic growth is at odds with its commitment to structural reform. He also likens China’s financial condition to those in the US before the financial crisis.
“[T]here is an unresolved self-contradiction in China’s current policies: restarting the furnaces also reignites exponential debt growth, which cannot be sustained for much longer than a couple of years,” writes Soros. “How and when this contradiction will be resolved will have profound consequences for China and the world.”
Japan next, with a plea from Jiji Press:
Abe Urges Japanese Companies to Raise Wages
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Saturday urged companies in the country to accept requests for higher pay in the coming “shunto” spring wage negotiations with the labor side.
“We need to create a good cycle in which improved corporate earnings get reflected in wages, lead to consumption growth and then boost corporate earnings further,” Abe said in an address to a New Year’s gathering.
“Each of us must do what we can,” he said, apparently urging companies to pay more to employees to help the country out of deflation.
Cause for concern from the Yomiuri Shimbun:
Foreign economies chief concern in poll
Most leaders of major companies believe the economy is picking up, but many of them are still cautious about making capital investments, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey.
While many corporate heads expect the nation’s economy to continue on a recovery trend, some are concerned about stagnation and deterioration of the economy, as they are unable to shake their uncertainty regarding the situation after the consumption tax hike in April.
Next up, Fukushimapocalypse Now!
The Mainichi covers an alarming story:
TEPCO seeks refunds of evacuation payments from employees, rejects ADR settlement
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is seeking refunds of compensation payments made to employees who evacuated from their homes as a result of the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant disaster and has rejected a settlement proposed by a dispute resolution organization in one case, it has been learned from inside sources.
Over 100 million yen in refunds are being sought, and young employees in their 20s have been leaving the company because of TEPCO’s efforts to get the refunds. Critics say the dispute could adversely affect work to repair the Fukushima plant.
The government’s policy on TEPCO’s compensation to evacuees is that the evacuees receive, among other payments, 100,000 yen a month in emotional damages, money to cover transportation and other costs associated with temporary visits to their evacuated homes, and money to cover the costs of household appliances they purchase for their new homes after evacuating.
A companion piece from the Mainichi:
TEPCO worker frustrated over company’s treatment of employees
An employee of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), who was asked by the utility to return evacuation compensation payments he received for the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster, lamented the company’s frosty attitude toward workers like him who had devoted themselves to bringing the crippled plant under control.
The employee was among those who worked on the front lines immediately after the onset of the nuclear disaster in March 2011, under the leadership of then plant manager Masao Yoshida. Amid high levels of radiation, the employee and his colleagues trembled with fear as they worked to contain the unprecedented atomic disaster.
Faced with TEPCO’s unsympathetic treatment of them, however, young employees are leaving the company in despair. Declining morale among workers is casting a shadow on ongoing efforts to decommission the plant’s reactors.
NHK WORLD digs beneath the surface:
TEPCO to clean up Fukushima plant’s tunnels
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is preparing to begin cleaning underground tunnels at the site after freezing the mouths of the tunnels.
The tunnels are believed to be one of the sources of radioactive materials that are polluting the groundwater at the facility on a large scale.
Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to block the flow of tainted water between the damaged buildings and the tunnels.
Another fuel, another problem from USA TODAY:
Louisiana AG: Judge ignoring state’s BP claims
State’s lawyer wants appeals court to intervene and name a different judge to handle case.
Louisiana Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell has accused a federal judge of ignoring the state’s claims over BP’s 2010 Gulf oil spill and asked an appeals court to intervene.
In a court filing this week, Caldwell’s office asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to transfer its spill-related claims from U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to a different judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
CBC News gives us our first GMO headline:
GMO seeds resistant to 2,4-D considered for U.S. approval
U.S. Agriculture department looks at environmental impact of herbicide associated with Agent Orange
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering whether corn and soybean seeds genetically modified to resist the weed killer 2,4-D should be commercially available.
2,4-D is approved for use by both gardeners and farmers, but is controversial as the main ingredient in Agent Orange, the herbicide widely used during the Vietnam War.
The pesticide 2,4-D, once sold throughout Canada under brand names such as Killex, is prohibited for lawn care in most provinces east of Manitoba and in Alberta as part of a much broader prohibition on lawn care products.
McClatchy Washington Bureau gives us a second:
Genetically altered ‘Arctic’ apples may be headed to market
An apple genetically engineered not to turn brown is putting the Agriculture Department and the apple industry on the spot.
The department appears inclined to approve the so-called Arctic apple, designed by a small Canadian company. First, though, officials must confront some enduring public distaste for genetically modified foods.
“This is an economic disaster,” Henry House, an organic apple grower in Davis, Calif., recently warned the Agriculture Department.
People’s Daily offers a third, our last headline:
GM ‘maize-rice’ not ready for application: expert
A technique to produce high-yield rice genetically modified (GM) using a gene from maize is still under academic discussion and not ready for practical application, an expert said on Friday.
Deng Qiyun, chief scientist of China’s hybrid rice national key laboratory and a student of Yuan Longping, known as “the father of hybrid rice,” told Xinhua there is still a long way to go before the technique could be applied to actual production.
Yuan Longping said in an earlier interview that he was trying to improve rice’s efficiency in photosynthesis and thus raise yields by integrating a C4 gene from maize into rice.
