The Economist (November 9)
“The biggest problem facing the rich world’s central banks today is that inflation is too low. The average inflation rate in the mostly rich-world OECD is 1.5%, down from 2.2% in 2012 and well below central banks’ official targets (typically 2% or just under)…. None of this means that inflation will not one day be a risk. But it is not today’s problem.”
Tags: Central banks, Inflation rate, OECD, Official targets, Risk
New York Times (November 7)
“The competition to get into higher-ranked universities is destroying the lives of young people and their families in countries like South Korea and Japan…. The paradox is these ridiculous tests don’t necessarily lead to demanding college classes.”
Tags: Classes, College, Competition, Demanding, Families, Japan, Paradox, Ridiculous, South Korea, Tests, Universities, Young people
Los Angeles Times (November 6)
“President Obama is slowly extricating the U.S. from its Bush-era fixation on the Middle East. But he is turning his attention in the wrong direction. Europe, not Asia, should be his main focus.”
Cover (November 5)
“Over two-fifths (44%) of Brits say they are currently undergoing a period of stress, according to new research.” Money and job worries were the two biggest factors behind the UKs high stress levels. “Stress is most prevalent amongst 45-54 year olds with half (50%) saying they’re stressed, and least prevalent amongst the 55 and overs— with only 38% stating they are currently stressed.”
Chicago Tribune (November 5)
“The U.S. drone program has come under enormous pressure from critics who say it claims innocent victims. President Barack Obama has vowed to provide more transparency in how targets are chosen and more accountability for strikes. But the death of Mehsud shows the enormous value of this high-tech warfare…. An international threat who was most likely beyond the reach of conventional troops has been felled. His predecessor met the same fate by the same means.”
Tags: Accountability, High-tech, Mehsud, Obama, Strikes, Targets, Threat, Transparency, Troops, U.S.. Drones, Victims, Warfare
Wall Street Journal (November 4)
By year end, the U.S. is likely to unseat Russia and become the second largest global producer of liquid fuels. The U.S. is now well positioned to escape the capricious yoke of OPEC and “even could surpass Saudi Arabia to become the leading global producer within the next decade.” Former Secretary of State George Schultz and FedEx CEO Fred Smith write, the nation’s leaders should “embrace both the supply revolution now well under way and the emerging demand revolution in oil-displacement technology that, together, promise a more secure and prosperous future.”
Tags: Demand, Energy security, FedEx, Fred Smith, Fuel, Future, George Schultz, Oil-displacement, OPEC, Producer, Revolution, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Supply, Technology, U.S.
Financial Times (November 3)
“Some kinds of public investment bring very high returns for the rest of the economy–such as spending on basic scientific research or fixing infrastructure bottlenecks–and they are under grave threat from today’s swingeing spending cuts in the US.” Austerity is reigning in public sector capital investment, which “has dropped to just 3.6 per cent of US output compared with a postwar average of 5 per cent.”
Tags: Austerity, Bottlenecks, Capital investment, Cuts, Economy, Infrastructure, Output, Postwar, Public sector, Returns, Scientific research, Spending, U.S.
The Economist (November 2)
“America will not and should not stop spying. But a clearer focus and better oversight are needed to restore trust.”
Washington Post (November 1)
The dysfunctional relationship between Japan and South Korea “threatens to undermine U.S. security interests, including dealing with a rising China and an aggressive North Korea.” Relations between the two countries “have descended to another low, fueled by issues of wartime history and the still-poisonous legacy of Japan’s harsh colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945. The two countries’ leaders have not met since May 2012, and polls show that three times more Koreans view China favorably than Japan.” The U.S. is going to have to abandon neutrality and encourage a solution. “The reality is that neither Japan nor South Korea seems capable of finding a path toward reconciliation on its own.”
Tags: China, Japan, North Korea, Reconciliation, Relationship, Security interests, Solution, South Korea, U.S.
New York Times (November 1)
An ongoing border dispute between India and China has led to war and confrontation. A recent agreement, however, “gives both sides an incentive to review their now very different maps of the region and settle on a permanent border. Until that happens, the possibility of serious conflict remains very real.”
