1
Science
An Ecolabel for McDonald's Fish Fare
The company's offerings have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as responsibly harvested.
2
Crosswords/Games
Barry at the South Pole
Barry Hayes is on a stroll - at the South Pole. What are the chances he will make it back to the South Pole Marker?
3
U.S.
Obama Focuses on Status Quo, Not Left, in Battle With G.O.P.
Much of the president’s early second-term energy seeks simply to preserve the status quo as he continues to face off with Republicans over fiscal issues.Ratings and Rates
The interest rate on U.S. long term debt is up a bit, briefly breaking above 2 percent today. So, is this reflecting worries about US debt sustainability?
Of course not — and by now it seems that even financial reporters get it. The main cause of the slight uptick, according to news reports, was a better-than-expected durable goods number, which brings marginally closer the day when the Fed might finally start raising rates. In other words, it was economic optimism, not pessimism, behind the rate rise.
And according to the FT Alphaville post linked above, a second reason may have been a statement by Fitch that a US downgrade is less likely. That’s right, reduced fears of a downgrade lead to higher, not lower, US borrowing costs.
Why? Because scare talk from the rating agencies feeds the deficit scolds, making destructive austerity more likely, and therefore pushing back the date when the Fed might raise rates. You might say that the only thing we have to fear from the rating agencies is fear itself — not market fear, because the bond markets don’t seem to care, but political fear, the instinctive tendency to overreact to talk of bond vigilantes.
All of which is just a bit more evidence that everything the Very Serious People have been saying about confidence and the bond markets is wrong."
Of course not — and by now it seems that even financial reporters get it. The main cause of the slight uptick, according to news reports, was a better-than-expected durable goods number, which brings marginally closer the day when the Fed might finally start raising rates. In other words, it was economic optimism, not pessimism, behind the rate rise.
And according to the FT Alphaville post linked above, a second reason may have been a statement by Fitch that a US downgrade is less likely. That’s right, reduced fears of a downgrade lead to higher, not lower, US borrowing costs.
Why? Because scare talk from the rating agencies feeds the deficit scolds, making destructive austerity more likely, and therefore pushing back the date when the Fed might raise rates. You might say that the only thing we have to fear from the rating agencies is fear itself — not market fear, because the bond markets don’t seem to care, but political fear, the instinctive tendency to overreact to talk of bond vigilantes.
All of which is just a bit more evidence that everything the Very Serious People have been saying about confidence and the bond markets is wrong."
4
Science
Cute Anger, Wingprints and a Dolphin-Crocodile Hybrid
A sampling of some of the day’s science headlines.
5
Business Day
Keeping an Eye on Bouncing Prices Online
With retailers’ Internet prices now changing more often, new online tools like Hukkster automatically scan for price changes and alert shoppers when the price drops.
6
Business Day
Start-Up Puts Streaming TV on Campus
Tivli tries to reconcile students’ viewing habits, which increasingly involve mobile devices, with the desire of companies to be paid for wireless content.
7
World
Indonesia's Sexual Education Revolution
A movement is under way to teach students about AIDS and contraception.
"Sumarsono, head of reproductive health at the women’s and social
empowerment agency in Yogyakarta, responded that there were already too
many subjects in school.
“Due to the limitations in the curriculum, our effort now is to make sex
education an extracurricular activity,” he said."
Learning is better done in school. Activity is for bed.
8
Technology
Google Says Electronic Snooping by Governments Should be More Difficult
Google argues that government requests for user information have been increasing, particularly in the United States, where law enforcement does not need a judge's consent to ask for private online information.
9
World
Italians Have a New Tool to Unearth Tax Cheats
The new tool, known as the “redditometro,” aims to minimize the wiggle room for evasion by examining a taxpayer’s expenditures and comparing them with declared income.
10
N.Y. / Region
3 Years After Inception, a DNA Technique Yields Little Success for the Police
Investigators have used partial match DNA to locate criminals in more than two dozen cases in New York City, but law enforcement officials said they knew of no cases solved because of a lead generated by the technique.
11
World
2 Outlets Find Prized Sources in Algeria Siege: The Fighters
The gas facility in Algeria was cordoned off during the hostage crisis, but two little-known news agencies from Mauritania published updates on the attack and even cited the attackers.
12
Job Market
Learning From Setbacks
The head of First Wind, a wind power company, says he has learned more from a couple of negative experiences in his career than from the successes.
13
Business Day
Treasury Auctions Set for This Week
The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week.
14
15
Business Day
At Fed, Nascent Debate on When to Slow Asset Buying
The Federal Reserve has left little doubt about its immediate plans, but inside the central bank, debate is moving from whether the Fed should do more to boost the economy to when it should start doing less.
16
Arts
Stanley Karnow, Historian and Journalist, Dies at 87
Mr. Karnow’s books “Vietnam: A History” (1983) and “In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines” (1989) were adapted into successful PBS documentary mini-series.
Formats |
Amazon price | New from | Used from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kindle Edition | -- | $13.49 | -- | |
| Hardcover | $18.00 | $18.00 | $19.14 | |
17
Fashion & Style
Here Comes the Neighborhood
A proposed $312 million renovation is expected to transform the Design District into an ultra-high-end retail destination within a year or two.
18
Opinion
A Tale of Two Islamisms
While jihadists take over the north of Mali, a republican form of Islamism is peacefully conquering the south.
19
Science
A Solar-Powered Shed for India's Perishable Food
While the unit is too costly for the vast majority of India's farmers, designers hope one day to make it available to the poorest of the poor.
20
Business Day
Court Overturns E.P.A.’s Biofuels Mandate
The court ruled that a quota set by the Environmental Protection Agency for incorporating liquids made from woody crops and wastes into car and truck fuels was unrealistic.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
@19:47
1
Crosswords/Games
Barry at the South Pole
Barry Hayes is on a stroll - at the South Pole. What are the chances he will make it back to the South Pole Marker?
2
Opinion
When an Elephant Falls...
A close encounter on the front lines of Africa's continuing elephant slaughter.
3
U.S.
Obama Focuses on Status Quo, Not Left, in Battle With G.O.P.
Much of the president’s early second-term energy seeks simply to preserve the status quo as he continues to face off with Republicans over fiscal issues.
4
Science
Cute Anger, Wingprints and a Dolphin-Crocodile Hybrid
A sampling of some of the day’s science headlines.
5
Business Day
Keeping an Eye on Bouncing Prices Online
With retailers’ Internet prices now changing more often, new online tools like Hukkster automatically scan for price changes and alert shoppers when the price drops.
6
Business Day
Start-Up Puts Streaming TV on Campus
Tivli tries to reconcile students’ viewing habits, which increasingly involve mobile devices, with the desire of companies to be paid for wireless content.
7
Science
Market for Bear Bile Threatens Asian Population
The extraction of the substance from their gall bladders on makeshift farms causes deep suffering. And some bears' organs are harvested through poaching.
8
World
Indonesia's Sexual Education Revolution
A movement is under way to teach students about AIDS and contraception.
9
Technology
Google Says Electronic Snooping by Governments Should be More Difficult
Google argues that government requests for user information have been increasing, particularly in the United States, where law enforcement does not need a judge's consent to ask for private online information.
10
World
Italians Have a New Tool to Unearth Tax Cheats
The new tool, known as the “redditometro,” aims to minimize the wiggle room for evasion by examining a taxpayer’s expenditures and comparing them with declared income.
11
N.Y. / Region
3 Years After Inception, a DNA Technique Yields Little Success for the Police
Investigators have used partial match DNA to locate criminals in more than two dozen cases in New York City, but law enforcement officials said they knew of no cases solved because of a lead generated by the technique.
12
World
2 Outlets Find Prized Sources in Algeria Siege: The Fighters
The gas facility in Algeria was cordoned off during the hostage crisis, but two little-known news agencies from Mauritania published updates on the attack and even cited the attackers.
13
Business Day
Treasury Auctions Set for This Week
The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week.
14
Business Day
At Fed, Nascent Debate on When to Slow Asset Buying
The Federal Reserve has left little doubt about its immediate plans, but inside the central bank, debate is moving from whether the Fed should do more to boost the economy to when it should start doing less.
15
Arts
Stanley Karnow, Historian and Journalist, Dies at 87
Mr. Karnow’s books “Vietnam: A History” (1983) and “In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines” (1989) were adapted into successful PBS documentary mini-series.
16
Fashion & Style
Here Comes the Neighborhood
A proposed $312 million renovation is expected to transform the Design District into an ultra-high-end retail destination within a year or two.
17
Opinion
A Tale of Two Islamisms
While jihadists take over the north of Mali, a republican form of Islamism is peacefully conquering the south.
18
Science
A Solar-Powered Shed for India's Perishable Food
While the unit is too costly for the vast majority of India's farmers, designers hope one day to make it available to the poorest of the poor.
19
Business Day
Court Overturns E.P.A.’s Biofuels Mandate
The court ruled that a quota set by the Environmental Protection Agency for incorporating liquids made from woody crops and wastes into car and truck fuels was unrealistic.
20
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