U.S.
Gov. Jerry Brown Begins Last Term With a Bold Energy Plan
The California governor issued a call to slash gas consumption by cars and trucks by as much as 50 percent as part of a campaign to battle global warming.U.S.
Scott Walker, Starting Second Term as Wisconsin Governor, Resists New Union Battle
The governor has indicated that he does not want to expand the fight with labor that defined his first term, but fellow Republicans seem determined to challenge the power of unions.World
Hezbollah Appears to Acknowledge a Spy at the Top
Remarks were taken as confirmation of reports that a senior Hezbollah operative had been caught spying for Israel, disrupting several assassination plots abroad.World
Leo Tindemans, 92, Dies; Belgian Prime Minister and Voice for European Unity
Mr. Tindemans saw European integration and a single currency as a means of overcoming the virulent nationalism of the past.Europe’s Trap
"There are many risks in the world economy right now — a possible Chinese hard landing (local governments depend heavily on land sales
for revenue? Oh, boy), a financial crisis in Russia and other oil
exporters, etc.. But one thing is not a risk, because it has already
happened: the euro area has entered a Japan-style deflationary trap.
No, it’s not literally
deflation at an EA-wide level, but that doesn’t matter — slightly
positive and slightly negative inflation with interest rates already at
the zero lower bound are essentially the same. Furthermore, southern
Europe still needs substantial amounts of “internal devaluation” — that
is, still needs to reduce costs and prices relative to Germany — so that
a low overall euro area inflation rate means destructive deflation in
much of the continent.
And if you look at the implied market forecast, it’s truly disastrous. Right now, German 5-year bonds
offer a yield of zero — an implicit firm forecast that Europe will be
in a liquidity trap for the foreseeable future, while 5-year index bonds
are yielding about -0.35 percent. That’s telling you two things:
investors see so little in the way of profitable investment
opportunities that they’re willing to pay the German government to
protect their wealth, and they expect something like 0.3 percent
inflation over the next five years, which is catastrophically below
target.
How is this supposed
to end? I like and admire Mario Draghi, and believe that he’s doing his
best. But it’s really hard to see how the ECB could gain enough traction
here to solve the problem even if it didn’t face internal dissent from
the hard-money types.
So don’t think of
Europe as having a tough but workable economic strategy, endangered by
Greek voters and such. Europe is at a dead end; if anything, Greece is
doing the rest of Europe a favor by sounding a wake-up call."
U.S.
In New Mexico Tent City, a Glimmer of Hope
Officials in Las Cruces, N.M., transformed an encampment in a dangerous part of the city into a hub of services for homeless people.Business Day
The Economics (and Nostalgia) of Dead Malls
High-end shopping malls are thriving across the country, but as midtier retailers like Sears and J. C. Penney flounder, they are also dragging down their malls.Technology
Moving Videos Between Mac and Android Gadgets
Plus, how to track system updates on a Windows tablet.Kindle applications
Amazon released a "Kindle for PC" application in late 2009, available as a free download for Microsoft Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP.[77] This application allows thousands of books to be read on a personal computer in color, with no Kindle unit required, for e-books purchased from Amazon's store.[78] Amazon later released a version for the Apple Macintosh, in early 2010.[79] In June 2010, Amazon released a "Kindle for Android" version. With the Google Android application release, versions for the Apple iPhone, the iPad, Windows and Mac computers, and BlackBerry cellphones are also available.[80] In January 2011, Amazon released Kindle for MS Windows Phone 7.[81] In July 2011, Kindle for HP TouchPad (running under webOS) was released in the US as a beta version.[82] In August 2011, Amazon released an HTML5 based webapp supporting the Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers called Kindle Cloud Reader.[83] As of 2013, Amazon has expressed no interest in releasing a separate application for the GNU/Linux operating system; however, the Cloud Reader can be used in Linux using the browser.[84]On April 17, 2014, Samsung announced it would discontinue its ebook store effective July 1, 2014 and would partner with Amazon for the Kindle for Samsung app, which would permit Samsung Galaxy users using Android 4.0 or higher to use Amazon’s catalog, and would add a free book service, Samsung Book Deals, that would allow users of the app to choose one free ebook monthly from a selection provided by Amazon.[85]
The Upshot
Illinois Introduces Automatic Retirement Savings Program, a First for the Nation
Starting in 2017, most state residents lacking a retirement plan at work will have money taken out of their paychecks and put toward an I.R.A.Europe’s Trap
There are many risks in the world economy right now — a possible Chinese hard landing (local governments depend heavily on land sales
for revenue? Oh, boy), a financial crisis in Russia and other oil
exporters, etc.. But one thing is not a risk, because it has already
happened: the euro area has entered a Japan-style deflationary trap.
No, it’s not literally
deflation at an EA-wide level, but that doesn’t matter — slightly
positive and slightly negative inflation with interest rates already at
the zero lower bound are essentially the same. Furthermore, southern
Europe still needs substantial amounts of “internal devaluation” — that
is, still needs to reduce costs and prices relative to Germany — so that
a low overall euro area inflation rate means destructive deflation in
much of the continent.
And if you look at the implied market forecast, it’s truly disastrous. Right now, German 5-year bonds
offer a yield of zero — an implicit firm forecast that Europe will be
in a liquidity trap for the foreseeable future, while 5-year index bonds
are yielding about -0.35 percent. That’s telling you two things:
investors see so little in the way of profitable investment
opportunities that they’re willing to pay the German government to
protect their wealth, and they expect something like 0.3 percent
inflation over the next five years, which is catastrophically below
target.
How is this supposed
to end? I like and admire Mario Draghi, and believe that he’s doing his
best. But it’s really hard to see how the ECB could gain enough traction
here to solve the problem even if it didn’t face internal dissent from
the hard-money types.
So don’t think of
Europe as having a tough but workable economic strategy, endangered by
Greek voters and such. Europe is at a dead end; if anything, Greece is
doing the rest of Europe a favor by sounding a wake-up call."
Fashion & Style
Seeking a Gentle Cleanser for a Harsh Winter
Cosmetics and Toiletries; SkinSelecting a mild facial treatment without all the unnecessary extras.
Your choice. I seem to manage.
Sports
Rams Owner Stan Kroenke Reveals Plan for Field in Los Angeles Area
Stan Kroenke announced plans to build an 80,000-seat stadium that would rise in proximity to a city that has been without an N.F.L. team for two decades.
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U.S.
Grand Juror in Ferguson Sues to End Silence Rule
The juror, bound to secrecy under Missouri law, says in a federal lawsuit that the public’s impression of the grand jury’s work in the Michael Brown case is “not entirely accurate.”N.Y. / Region
Plan to End Overnight PATH Service Irks Riders
Govs. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey have proposed eliminating PATH train service between 1 and 5 a.m., a lifeline to many riders.Sports
Pick Me! Four American Cities Put Best Olympic Foot Forward
Reporters in Boston, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco describe the local mind-set as the U.S.O.C. decides which finalist to back as a potential host city. The Games will be awarded in 2017.World
As Refugee Tide Swells, Lebanon Plans a Visa Requirement for Syrians
Some 1.1 million Syrians are said to have sought refuge in Lebanon, a nation of four million people.Health
Keeping Older Pedestrians Safe
Older adults account for a disproportionate number of pedestrian deaths, so they need to make sure they have enough time to cross a street.Opinion
The Central Crisis in New York Education
The state, which regards itself as a bastion of liberalism, has the most racially and economically segregated schools in the nation.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/thinking-about-international-bond-yields/
. . . "The crucial point here
is that German bonds are denominated in euros, while U.S. bonds are
denominated in dollars. And what that means in turn is that higher U.S.
rates don’t reflect fear of default; they reflect the expectation that
the dollar will fall against the euro over the decade ahead.
But why should we
expect a falling dollar vis-a-vis the euro? One big reason is that
European inflation is very low and falling, while the U.S. seems to be
holding near (although below) its 2 percent target. And other things
equal, higher inflation should translate into a falling currency, just
to keep competitiveness unchanged. If you look at the expected inflation
implied by yields on inflation-protected bonds relative to ordinary
bonds, they seem to imply roughly 1.8 percent inflation in the US over
the next decade versus half that in the euro area, which means that the
inflation differential explains about 60 percent of the interest rate
differential." . . .
Read it all for full impact.
U.S.
