News: 2014-01-09

Japan

Turning Japanese | FT Long Short

“When the European Central Bank governing council meets on Thursday in Frankfurt, sushi is unlikely to be on the menu. But officials should have a concern: is the eurozone turning Japanese? This chart shows headline inflation (in Japan the measure excludes fresh food) for Japan since its bubble turned to bust in 1990, heralding a slide into deflation. Radical action by its central bank is just beginning to return price rises, as the far right hand side shows.”

Japanese Keep Holding Cash, Despite New Technology – Japan Real Time – WSJ

 

Federal Reserve

The Fed Shifts Ground on Big Banks – NYTimes.com

FOMC Minutes – The Quick Review – Tim Duy’s Fed Watch

BBC News – Improving US jobs growth led to Federal Reserve taper

Fed wanted cautious approach to QE3 taper: minutes | Reuters

Fed Vacancies Prompt Push to Name Community Banker: Economy – Bloomberg

Fed Officials Saw Declining Benefits From QE: Minutes – Bloomberg

 

North America

Record-High 42% of Americans Identify as Independents

David Dayen: Elizabeth Warren, Tom Coburn Introduce “Naked Capitalism Was Right About the Corruption of Financial Regulators Act” (Not Actually Called That) | naked capitalism

Macy’s posts strong holiday season sales, gives upbeat 2014 outlook | Reuters

Macy’s to cut 2,500 jobs to sustain profits – Telegraph

Consumer Credit in U.S. Increases on Non-Revolving Debt – Bloomberg

Analysis: Arctic chill exposes weakness of U.S. natural gas system | Reuters

Private sector adds more jobs than expected in December | Reuters

US inflation expectations hit four-month high – FT.com

Bank of America ramps up credit card loans | Reuters

Wells Fargo Creates Swat Team to Keep Loans In-House: Mortgages – Bloomberg

Unemployment to Steadily Drop Over Next 6 Months | Brookings Institution

A Quick Look At Retail Sales – STA WEALTH

Will Corporate Spending Float The Economy in 2014? – STA WEALTH

 

Europe

This is the year of make or break for Europe | John Palmer | Comment is free | The Guardian

David Cameron ‘very much suspects’ climate change is behind recent storms | Politics | theguardian.com

Halifax says house prices up 7.5pc in 2013 – Telegraph

Britain: Retailers hit by Christmas slowdown

German Factory Orders Rose More Than Expected in November – Bloomberg

Greece begins EU presidency by saying austerity policies are intolerable | World news | theguardian.com

ekathimerini.com | Euro-area unemployment rate holds at 12.1 percent; Greece reports 27.4 percent in September

 

China

Charlene Chu, a Widely Cited Analyst Who Warned of Risks Building Inside China’s Banking System, Resigns From Position at Fitch – China Real Time Report – WSJ

China inflation hits 7-month low, eases tightening fears | Reuters

 

Economics

RPT-Fitch: The money printing myth – why sovereigns default on local currency debt | Reuters

 

Technology

SwiftKey Is Embedding Itself in Your Dash

Ski jump looks pretty awesome from this never-before-seen perspective

Samsung Plans Galaxy S5 by April With Possible Eye-Scan Security – Bloomberg

T-Mobile Will Pay Up to $350 to Customers Coming From Other Carriers

T-Mobile CEO John Legere refuses to deny acquisition by Sprint | The Verge

Android’s Rise To Platform Dominance In One Graph | TechCrunch

Popular and profitable, Plex wants to double down on personal media — Tech News and Analysis

French Watchdog Fines Google Over User Data – WSJ.com

T-Mobile Added 800,000 Prized Customers in Fourth Quarter – WSJ.com

 

Markets

What’s That You’re Calling a Bubble? – Justin Fox – Harvard Business Review

Bitcoin isn’t Money—It’s the Internet of Money | The Ümlaut