Links: 2013-10-31
Inflatie in eurozone op laagste punt in vier jaar – De Standaard
Inflation in the euro zone is at the lowest level in 4 years. It was 0.7% year-on-year this month. Unemployment is 12.2%
U.S. private hiring slows, inflation stays muted | Reuters
“U.S. private-sector employers hired the fewest workers in six months in October while tepid domestic demand kept inflation benign last month, suggesting the economy was still in need of stimulus from the Federal Reserve.”
Economy, Taxes Help Shrink U.S. Deficit – WSJ.com
“The deficit fell to 4.1% of the country’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, down from 6.8% in 2012. This measure, preferred by economists because it offers greater context, also remained historically high. The deficit peaked at 10.1% of GDP in 2009 but from 2002 to 2008 ranged between 1.2% and 3.5%. “
BBC News – Facebook revenue surges 60% on strong ad sales
“Social network giant Facebook reported a 60% surge in revenue, to $2.02bn (£1.26bn), in the third quarter.
Revenue from advertising grew by 66% to $1.8bn, with nearly half of that coming from mobile ads.”
Italian magazine says U.S. spies listened to pope, Vatican says unaware | Reuters
“Panorama magazine said that among 46 million phone calls followed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) in Italy from December 10, 2012, to January 8, 2013, were conversations in and out of the Vatican.
In a press release before full publication on Thursday, Panorama said the “NSA had tapped the pope”. It cited no source for its information.”
U.S. Budget Deficit Down to $680B, Lowest in 5 Years | TIME.com
“That’s the smallest imbalance since 2008, when the government ran a $458.6 billion deficit.
The deficit is the gap between the government’s tax revenue and its spending. It narrowed for the budget year that ended on Sept. 30 because revenue rose while spending fell.
Revenue jumped 13.3 percent to $2.77 trillion, reflecting a slightly better economy and higher tax rates. And government spending declined 2.4 percent to $3.45 trillion, in part because of across-the-board spending cuts that took effect in March.”
“Barack Obama seemed to recognize that as early as 2002, in arguing against the invasion of Iraq; and through his 2008 campaign against Hillary Clinton based on her misjudgment in supporting the Iraq war; and in 2013 in saying that it was at last time to conclude the otherwise open-ended “Global War on Terror.”
But the revelations that come out every day of programs that began under Bush and have continued under Obama suggest that he doesn’t grasp this as clearly as he should. Or recognize the lasting stain it threatens to leave on his record.”
Obama’s approval rating at all-time low, says new NBCNews/WSJ poll | MSNBC
“Just 42% of those polled approve of the president’s performance in office–down five points from a mid-shutdown poll taken earlier this month. His disapproval rating at 51% is tied for his all-time high.
Only 22% view the GOP positively, another all-time low for the poll, and 53% say they have a negative view of the Republican Party. A 30% plurality says they see the GOP “very negatively”–another record for the poll.
Democrats haven’t been immune to the public’s frustration with government and lawmakers. The last NBC/WSJ poll showed Democrats with an eight point advantage on who should control Congress after the 2014 midterms; that’s now been cut in half, showing the party with only a four point edge on the generic congressional ballot, 45%-41%.
The upside for Democrats is that more Americans still blame congressional Republicans for the shutdown, by a 38%-23% margin–but 36% say both sides carry equal blame.”
HealthCare.gov deferred final security check, could leak personal data | Ars Technica
“Site shares identifying data with analytics vendors, might expose more to attackers.”
NSA Fallout Hits ATandT’s Ambitions In Europe – WSJ.com
“German and other European officials said any attempt by AT&T to acquire a major wireless operator would face intense scrutiny, given the company’s work with the U.S. agency’s data-collection programs.
Resistance to such a deal, voiced by officials in interviews across Europe, suggests the impact of the NSA affair could extend beyond the diplomatic sphere and damage U.S. economic interests in key markets.”
Bank of Japan stuns bond market into submission – FT.com
Punters anticipating a blow-up have been wrong. That doesn’t mean Abenomics will succeed however. It just means the central bank can and has anchored yields.
“on Wednesday the benchmark 10-year yield dropped below 0.6 per cent, to its lowest since early May, stretching away from Switzerland as the lowest in the world, as investors anticipated another firm commitment to easing at the BoJ’s policy meeting on Thursday.”
US says German exports harming eurozone economy – Telegraph
“US Treasury attacks Germany for harming global economy and says China has not done enough on yuan appreciation “
U.S. Treasury Blasts Germany’s Economic Policies – WSJ.com
“Employing unusually sharp language, the U.S. on Wednesday openly criticized Germany’s economic policies and blamed the euro-zone powerhouse for dragging down its neighbors and the rest of the global economy.
In its semiannual currency report, the Treasury Department identified Germany’s export-led growth model as a major factor responsible for the 17-nation currency bloc’s weak recovery. The U.S. identified Germany ahead of its traditional target, China, and the most-recent perceived problem country, Japan, in the “key findings” section of the report.
With the latest report, the Treasury Department has now criticized the world’s three largest economies after the U.S. for their economic policies.”
“In a statement, Google said it was “troubled by allegations of the government intercepting traffic between our data centers, and we are not aware of this activity”.
It added: “We have long been concerned about the possibility of this kind of snooping, which is why we continue to extend encryption across more and more Google services and links.”
Yahoo said: “We have strict controls in place to protect the security of our data centers, and we have not given access to our data centers to the NSA or to any other government agency.””
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review | Android and Me
This phone is a BEAST
“This device packs the latest processor, the 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 quad core. If you’ve never used a Snapdragon 800 powered device, you’re missing out. I never liked Snapdragon processors, including the Snapdragon 600, but the 800 managed to sway me. Everything you do is fast and buttery smooth, an experience the Snapdragon 600 can’t quite provide. It also features 3GB of RAM, something most other phones don’t have.
On top of that, you get a 5.7-inch full HD 1080p Super AMOLED display, and let me just say, it’s stunning. I have never seen a display this beautiful, and I’ve played with almost all modern high-end smartphones. It far outclasses the S 4 and Note II in my opinion.
Other specs include a 13MP rear camera, 2MP front facing camera, 32GB of memory with a microD slot and a 3,200 mAh battery. It’s a high-end phone in every regard and won’t disappoint a spec fiend.”
Kathleen Parker: Virginia is a GOP wake-up call – The Washington Post
As I said during the shutdown, this will be brutal for moderate Republicans. Virginia is a swing state and so we see the carnage.
“Fifty-five percent said the shutdown is very important to their vote.”
“The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with knowledgeable officials.”
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