News Links: Europe can learn from Japan’s austerity endgame as Japan’s economy continues to shrink
- Europe can learn from Japan’s austerity endgame – FT.com
The road to fiscal hell is sometimes paved with the best intentions. As Europe’s politicians seek to win electorates round to brutal budget cuts, they would do well to look to the experience of Japan, which shows how counter-productive austerity can be in a post-bubble recession. When Japan’s bubble economy imploded, public finances were in surplus and government debt was a mere 20 per cent
- Japan economy shrinks more than expected in Q4, weak | Reuters
Japan’s economy shrank a bigger-than-expected 0.6 percent in October-December, hurt by slowing global growth, Thai floods and a strong yen, casting doubt about expectations that growth will resume this quarter as Europe’s debt crisis clouds the outlook.
- Greek lawmakers approve austerity bill as Athens burns | Reuters
Greece’s parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill Monday to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.
- Sick Customer Throws Up In Kroger, Employees Still Treat Her Like A Human Being – The Consumerist
She’s been hit with a vicious stomach bug. While picking up some medicine and supplies at Kroger yesterday, the worst happened: she threw up in the dairy aisle, a situation that could have been a lot worse if employees and fellow customers had been rude. But they weren’t at all. They cleaned up after her, and were genuinely concerned for her well-being
- Jeremy Lin Is No Fluke – NYTimes.com
absolutely nobody saw this coming. Lin was cut during the pre-season by the Golden State Warriors, and then again by the Houston Rockets, one of the more statistically savvy teams in the league. Lin had been undrafted out of college
- Music exec: Whitney Houston looked ‘healthy and beautiful’ days earlier – CNN.com
The shock and grief from fans worldwide was immediate: Houston’s pipes and presence, her grit and glamour had made her an icon.
- Whitney Houston: life in pictures – Telegraph
- Steve Jobs FBI file: four humanizing revelations – CSMonitor.com
- Whitney Houston dies: Pop titan was 48 – latimes.com
The singer is found unresponsive at the Beverly Hilton hours before Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy Awards party. Once a ruler of the pop charts, Houston had seen addiction take a toll on her success.
The FT article misses the point – impressive since he clearly highlights a political dimension just the consequence rather than the cause.
Does the Italy government want to introduce austerity? Does the Spanish government want to also? I doubt it, they are being required to by the creditor nations. What he needs to ask is why are the creditor nation politicians requiring that and the answer is that they answer to their own electorates. And therein lies the problem of the EZ – the lack of a common electorate.
William Black on Financial Fraud https://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/02/william_black_o.html
Given the consequences for millions of ordinary working people the above is 1 hour 22 minutes that will render you speechless.
Dave, I posted that one last week. it’s good stuff and I am listening to it right now by chance
Oh sorry, I must have missed it.
Yes EconTalk is the kind of thing you just don’t get from the MSM.
Platform wars, app stores and ecosystems https://www.ben-evans.com/post/17494691925/platform-wars-app-stores-and-ecosystems