8/6 Issue
The Chinese government is “considering its first mandatory cap on coal use,” according to USA Today. Domestic and economic issues, rather than concerns about the global environment, seem to be behind this and other steps to reduce CO2. Smog in major cities poses a threat to health and social stability while getting a head start on developing and marketing green technologies could keep China’s economy humming well into the future.
The Financial Times reported that “US judges have declared it illegal for Argentina to make payments to the holders of restructured bonds unless it includes full payments to holdouts too.” This ruling caused Argentina to miss scheduled bond payments in the U.S., leading Standard & Poor’s to declare Argentina to be in selective default. Argentina could restructure all its debt into bonds issued under local law, but this would be very costly. They may still be able to settle with the holdouts, but it’s not clear how Argentina will proceed.
In Japan, some outcomes seem suspiciously clear. The Nikkei newspaper predicts financial results of publicly traded companies with eerie precision. The Financial Times notes the articles, available only in Japanese, cause markets to react more strongly than the actual results. Non-Japanese do most of the trading in Tokyo stocks, and many feel the so-called “Nikkei previews” are tantamount to insider trading.
While a newspaper may be able to influence a stock market, foreign governments came together this week to prove they can influence an entire economy. The Wall Street Journal reports that “the U.S. and European Union on Tuesday finally made good on their threats of robust sanctions on Russia.” The fear of a war spiraling out to other areas of Europe spurred some hesitant E.U. states to assent to the sanctions. The U.S. said it is trying to prevent bloodshed in Ukraine but does not see this as the start of a new Cold War.
And while Israel may be militarily winning the war with Palestine, it is losing world opinion polls. The Economist states that “public opinion matters. For a trading nation built on the idea of liberty, delegitimisation is, in the words of an Israeli think-tank, ‘a strategic threat’. But it is also because some of the foreign criticism is right.” The Israeli government may not like the criticism it is receiving, but it needs to be practical about possible long-term solutions.
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To see the overseas media’s takes on these and other developments, you can browse the Global News highlights in app or at http://www.irken.jp/gn/. Links to the original sources are provided above, but please note these are frequently updated. Links that were valid at publication may later be broken.
