Forbes (January 20)
In the U.S., the debt-ceiling has become a dangerous bargaining chip, which should be eliminated. “A nation cannot simply spend and spend. Yet the conversation about growing more pennywise must be divorced from the one about the debt limit. By the time talk turns to the ceiling (currently more than $16 trillion), the bills already exist—and pols are basically advocating for dine-and-dash en masse. Better to accrue fewer to start than use a devastating event to pressure the spending conversation.”
Tags: Bills, Debt ceiling, Spending, U.S.
New York Times (January 20)
“A detailed report put out by JPMorgan Chase last week on how it lost $6 billion from ill-fated trading in 2012 should be required reading for policy makers and financial executives. The 129-page document serves as a case study of how excessive complexity and poor oversight still threaten many parts of the financial system more than four years after the failure of Lehman Brothers.”
Tags: Complexity, Financial system, JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, London, Oversight, Trading loss
The Economist (January 19)
“China and Japan are sliding towards war. In the waters and skies around disputed islands, China is escalating actions designed to challenge decades of Japanese control.” The Economist warns the risks of war are rising and risks of a clash between China and Japan are rising “and the consequences could be calamitous.”
Tags: China, Consequences, Japan, Risk, Senkaku islands, War
Los Angeles Times (January 18)
Though the Rape of Nanking took place 75 years ago, it remains a major irritant troubling the relationship between China and Japan. “What is alarming is that the leaders of Japan…have an understanding of their country’s wartime history that is grounded primarily in fiction.” There can be no question that the notorious event took place given the abundant evidence including eyewitness testimony and film footage. “Japanese denial in the face of all this ensures that a historical event will continue to fan the flames of anger and distrust. The sooner the facts are recognized and Japanese leaders renounce paying tribute to mass killers and rapists, the sooner true healing can begin.”
Wall Street Journal (January 17)
Over the past 5 years, the EU has been suffering from “a kind of schizophrenia about the role that credit-rating agencies such as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch should play in the markets.” Some of the reforms have been hare-brained, like trying to silence downgrades, but the latest package is on target with a proposal to write the agencies out of EU law. “Denying ratings any sort of official status is the best reform for a business that has long dined out on the privileged position that regulators granted them. It should also really be the only reform you need.”
Tags: Credit-rating agencis, EU law, Fitch, Moody's, Official status, Regulators, S&P
Financial Times (January 15)
”Britain’s high streets are in mourning. Another chapter of retail history seems set to close after the collapse of HMV, the UK’s last national music chain. It is the latest in a series of household names to shut up shop. But instead of mourning past glories (Sir Edward Elgar opened the first HMV store in 1921), there are good reasons to welcome the process of creative destruction that is finally taking its toll on UK retailing – however agonising it is for those affected.” Killing off zombie companie frees up capital for more productive enterprises. Though some may see the passing of HMV and other worn out retailers as “the end of the high street,” it’s really just “a new beginning.”
Tags: Capital, Creative destruction, High streets, HMV, Retail, UK, Zombies
Washington Post (January 15)
“America is dangerous to your health. A recent international commission reported that U.S. men rank last in life expectancy for the 17 industrial nations in the study; U.S. women rank next to last. When it comes to health, the United States is exceptional — exceptionally bad.” The U.S. needs to quit worrying about fiscal cliffs and focus on matters of life and death.
Tags: Death, Fiscal cliffs, Health, Industrial nations, Life expectancy, U.S.
New York Times (January 13)
Beijing’s notorious air pollution hit a new low on Saturday. First the background. The Air Quality Index of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranges from 0-500, with levels between 301 to 500 considered hazardous for all outdoor activity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a score of 500 indicates over 20 times the safe level of particulate matter. Beijing’s new record in dirty air left some speechless. “What phrase is appropriate to describe Saturday’s jaw-dropping reading of 755 at 8 p.m., when all of Beijing looked like an airport smokers’ lounge?”
Tags: Air pollution, Air Quality Index, Beijing, EPA, Hazardous, Particulate matter, WHO
Euromoney (January issue)
“It won’t take much to improve on last year’s ECM and M&A revenue numbers. According to Dealogic’s preliminary full-year 2012 figures, ECM revenue fell to $13.3 billion last year—the lowest since 2003. M&A revenue was $17.3 billion in 2012—down 15% compared with 2011.” Debt capital markets, however, fared better in 2012 with DCM revenue at $21.1 billion, a 23% increase over 2011.
The Economist (January 12)
“In the rich world, men are closing the longevity gap with women.” The major factor has been the reduction in smoking among males. The results have been staggering. “In England and Wales, the biggest peacetime difference between the life expectancies at birth of the two sexes was 6.3 years. That was in 1967. It is now 4.1 years, and falling.”
“In the rich world, men are closing the longevity gap with women.” The major factor has been the reduction in smoking among males. The results have been staggering. “In England and Wales, the biggest peacetime difference between the life expectancies at birth of the two sexes was 6.3 years. That was in 1967. It is now 4.1 years, and falling.”
