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
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
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
China
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