Euromoney (April Issue)
“There is a strong feeling abroad that Europe is making good progress on the road to banking union, with a credible regulator in the European Central Bank soon subjecting banks to uniform regulation and chipping away at some of the fudges on asset quality that national regulators have previously winked at.”
Tags: Asset quality, Banking union, Banks, ECB, Europe, Feeling, Progress, Regulation, Regulator
The Economist (April 12)
Rising energy demand, is leading “two of the world’s rising industrial powers, India and China,… to look at the idea of building reactors that run on thorium.” More abundant than uranium, thorium is also less conducive to weapons use, minimizing the threat that it could be misused by rogue bomb makers. China already has over 400 people working on this, with plans for a working prototype reactor by 2015.
Tags: Abundant, Bomb, China, Demand, Energy, India, Industrial, Prototype, Reactor, Reactors, Thorium, Threat, Uranium, Weapons
Wall Street Journal (April 10)
“The U.K. and U.S. economies are recovering, and pessimistic predictions that fiscal consolidation was incompatible with economic recovery have turned out to be comprehensively wrong,” writes George Osborne. The UK’s chancellor of the exchequer is equally upbeat that the both countries will surpass the “gloomy arguments” being put forth by pessimists of secular stagnation. Free markets continue to be the “engines of progress…. we can secure lasting economic growth and ensure that all of our citizens benefit.”
Tags: Chancellor, Citizens, Economies, Free markets, George Osborne, Growth, Predictions, Progress, Recovering, Recovery, Secular stagnation, U.K., U.S., Upbeat
Chicago Tribune (April 9)
The talks between Israel and Palestine “are on the verge of collapse.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry should quit trying to prop them up. “The U.S can’t broker a peace deal absent strong motivation from both sides to surmount formidable, historic hurdles.”
Tags: Collapse, Historic, Hurdles, Israel, John Kerry, Motivation, Palestine, Peace deal, Talks, U.S.
Financial Times (April 8)
“Whatever the thundering herd of investors may think, it is too soon to declare that Mr Draghi has won the war for the euro. The eurozone still faces deep underlying economic and political problems that are beyond the control of the president of the ECB and his colleagues.”
Tags: Colleagues, Draghi, ECB, Economic, euro, eurozone, Herd, Investors, Political, President, Problems
4/9 Issue
From this week’s stories one might infer prevailing thought is frequently overblown.
The Financial Times suggests optimism for the eurozone may be overblown. Draghi has done a commendable job, but underlying weaknesses remain to be addressed by political and other leaders. Victory is neither achieved nor assured.
Institutional Investor suggests fears over the impact of the rising sales tax are overblown. If the slowdown proves temporary and Japan’s economy has the momentum to overcome the tax increase, overseas investors may regret the withdrawals they have been making since the start of the year.
Throughout history, doom and gloom population scenarios resurface periodically, but the New York Times believes alarm over falling fertility is overblown. Instead “slower population growth creates enormous possibilities for human flourishing.”
An overblown hand may have wasted Putin’s long-term advantage. With his bellicose short-term successes, Putin ultimately provided a wake up to the rest of Europe, which The Economist believes will now work to winnow its energy dependence on Russia.
Talk of empowerment and other progress tends to be overblown. It still takes until April 8 for the average woman to earn what the average would have earned in 2013. The Washington Post calls on companies to move beyond lip service toward real progress.
If, however, you hear about throngs of Chinese tourists flooding Korea, the Financial Times suggests this might not be overblown. They’re flocking to South Korea for shopping and even driving schools, where they can get a license in a sixth of the time it would take in China.
Perhaps with a vague sense of self-awareness, CNN points to the overblown speculation regarding the fate of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Three weeks later, there are still no real clues.
As always, links are provided to the original source so you can get further detail, but please note these are frequently updated and links that were valid at publication may later be broken. For your chance to see the media’s takes on these and other developments from around the globe, you can browse Global News highlights below and also at http://www.irken.jp/gn/.
Institutional Investor (April 7)
In 2013, asset managers “poured a record of $43.7 billion into Japanese equities….and the massive net inflows helped propel the Nikkei 225 index up nearly 57 percent—it’s largest gain in more than 40 years.” As concerns mount about the sustainability of Abenomics, however, “many of those investors have been reversing course.” Nevertheless, some top analysts, such as Mizuho’s Yohei Osade and Nomura’s Jun Konoumi, believe the concerns are overblown and that any consumption tax related slow down will be temporary.
Tags: Abenomics, Analysts, Asset managers, Consumption tax, Equities, Inflows, Investors, Japan, Jun Konoumi, Mizuho, Nikkei, Nomura, Yohei Osade
New York Times (April 6)
“In reality, slower population growth creates enormous possibilities for human flourishing.” Japan may be at the forefront of graying societies, but the nation is hardly alone. Most developed countries are already shrinking. Many developing countries, like China, are soon forecast to contract. This is fueling “dark prophecies” and causing alarm over the future. It shouldn’t. “Population doom of one kind or another is a recurring fad. Like most fads, this one can be safely ignored. Humanity has many legitimate problems to worry about. Falling fertility is not one of them.”
Tags: Alarm, China, Dark prophecies, Developing countries, Doom, Fad, Fertility, Future, Graying, Humanity, Japan, Population growth, Possibilities, Reality
The Economist (April 5)
“Reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas is possible—but it will take time, money and sustained political will.” With his belligerence and threats, Putin has indirectly done Europe’s leaders a favor by galvanizing their collective will. “They already knew what to do. They just didn’t want to do it.”
Tags: Belligerence, Dependence, Europe, Gas, Money, Putin, Russia, Threats, Time, Will
Washington Post (April 4)
Prime Minister Abe is not the only one worried about empowering women. Companies should be just as worried. Equal Pay Day falls on Tuesday, April 8, symbolizing how far into 2014 women must work to earn what men earned in 2013. “Lip service isn’t enough. Corporate policy matters, too. As long as firms are resistant to changes that will help attract and retain female talent—like more flexible work arrangements, which can actually boost worker productivity—they will be limiting their own potential as well as that of female workers.
Tags: Abe, Attract, Change, Companies, Corporate policy, Equal Pay Day, Flexible work arrangements, Lip service, Potential, Retain, Talent, Women, Worker productivity
