News Links: German negative yields as harbinger of deflation

Sorry for not adding the links you sent yet; they are coming as well

• FT Alphaville » German negative yields as harbinger of deflation

  In short, we suffer a decline of ‘safe’ assets in the developed world, a situation which calls for united central bank action more than ever.

• peHUB » Hostess Brands Files for Chapter 11

  Hostess was unable to reach an agreement with its unions regarding pensions, health and welfare benefits and work rule changes that ultimately led to insufficient liquidity, it said in court papers.

• Google "Plus-ifies" search with social features in effort to un-plus Facebook

  In an attempt to take the lead on "social search," Google has introduced three new features into its search engine that more deeply integrate the Google+ social network. The new features, which collectively are referred to as "Search plus Your World," allow users to focus on results from their own personal social network connections, and highlight content published on Google+. It’s a change that significantly drives up the visibility of Google’s social network in its bid to take on Facebook, and builds on Google’s already significant plus-ification of its other services.

• Gross Expands Local Bonds to the Most in Five Years: Muni Credit

  Pacific Investment Management Co., which runs the world’s largest bond fund, has boosted holdings of U.S. municipal debt to the most in more than five years and may buy more.

• 10 Stubborn Body Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science – Lifehacker

  Hair grows back thicker when you shave it! Reading in dim light turns you blind! Peeing on a jellyfish sting will soothe the pain! The way our bodies work is a bit of a mystery, and our desire to unlock its secrets has led to a vast amount of misinformation.

• Democrats Unleash Bain Assault On Mitt Romney – With The Help Of Newt Gingrich | TPM2012

  For months Democrats had planned to wait until Mitt Romney won the GOP nomination and then they would unleash their secret weapon. Well, not-so-secret weapon, really: it’s something that most observers say cost Romney his campaign against Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1994, and has bedeviled him in every campaign since. The weapon is one short and unfortunately homophonic word: Bain.

• The two faces of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital – The Washington Post

  First, there’s venture-capital Romney – the Bain businessman who invested in fledgling start-ups, typically through obtaining a minority stake. This is the version that Romney himself likes to tout on the campaign trail. In his early years at Bain, Romney helped make deals like the $5 million investment sunk into Staples in the 1980s – buying a minority stake that ultimately made Bain $13 million when the office-supply store went public in 1989. Bain was also among a handful of venture-capital firms that helped found the Sports Authority through another minority stakeholder investment. Though they were prominent during Romney’s early years at the firm, such start-up investments are now only a fraction of Bain’s portfolio: Bain Capital Ventures currently manages just $1.5 billion of the $60 billion of the firm’s total global assets, according to the firm’s Web site.

• Americans Gorge on Credit Card Offers | The Mess That Greenspan Made

  Tempting offers had the desired effect on Americans as they racked up new credit card debt in November at a rate not seen since before the wheels fell of the global financial system back in early-2008.

• BBC News – Fitch: Italy likely to be downgraded by end of January

  There is a "significant" chance that Italy will have its credit rating downgraded this month, an executive at the ratings agency Fitch has said.

• Fond memories of Brazil credit bubble | beyondbrics | FT.com

  Brazil reported the highest rise in consumer defaults in nine years in 2011. Consumer delinquencies rose 21.5 per cent during the year compared with 2010, the biggest increase since a 24.7 per cent jump in 2001. "For Serasa’s economists, the rise in inflation, which reduced workers’ earnings, and high interest rates affected the capacity of consumers to pay amid a rise in indebtedness in 2011," the agency said.

• Hungary: savers move cash to Austria | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com

  Many Hungarians remain nervous after the currency last week hit a record low against the euro – and some have decided that enough is enough.   Among them is Anna Kovacs (not her real name), a 27-year old account manager at a Budapest public relations firm, who went to her local bank, withdrew her savings, and – on Monday – drove to Austria with her mother.

• Newt Gingrich veers from nice to nasty, with few advisers to guide him – The Washington Post

  "You can never say ‘linear path’ and ‘Newt Gingrich’ in the same decade, much less the same sentence," said Rich Galen, who was a press secretary to Gingrich when he was House speaker. "I would have thought he understood that he had to keep ‘Angry Newt’ in the box." Gingrich has no one around to help him do that, Galen and others said.

• Mitt Romney’s Firing People Gaffe – US Business News Blog – CNBC

  "I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means that if you don’t like what they do, you could fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone isn’t giving the good service, I want to say, I’m going to go get someone else to provide this service to."