2014/01/17 LEAP/E2020 Press Review on the Global Systemic Crisis. Libertad, Igualdad, Pluralidad. Noticias-Notícies-News.

GEAB N°81 is available! 2014 –World political chaos, statistical « smog », risk that the financial planet explodes… But solutions for the future continue to emerge

One danger is the statistical “smog” (2) which will probably characterise the year: first, the US economic and financial indices have lost any sense of direction by dint of being manipulated in order to hide the catastrophic reality; and second, the emerging world’s tools of statistical transparency aren’t sufficiently reliable to properly throw light on the reality. A collapse of visibility ongoing for several years on the one hand, the beginning of an organised transparency which the world economy needs to plan strategies on the other, in 2014 we are on statistical understanding’s trough of the wave. And that won’t be without its consequences.

LEAP/E2020 - Public announcement GEAB N°81 (Jan. 16, 2014)

Congress finally passes US budget

The US congress has finally agreed how to apportion more than a $1tn worth of annual government spending, passing a 1,524-page appropriations bill by a comfortable majority in the Senate.

The Guardian

Breaking Out Is Hard

The global economy is unlikely to accelerate in 2014. The hope that the U.S. economy is reaching escape velocity won't pan out. Abenomics is likely to fizzle out in 2014. Emerging economies will likely remain in low gear. The chances are that the global economy, weighted by nominal GDP at current exchange rates, will grow at 2 percent

Caixin

Exclusive: Obama to announce overhaul to controversial NSA program

President Barack Obama will announce on Friday a major overhaul of a controversial National Security Agency program that collects vast amounts of basic telephone call data on foreigners and Americans, a senior Obama administration official said.

Reuters

Shell issues shock profit warning as results plummet

Royal Dutch Shell's new boss Ben van Beurden has admitted the oil firm's performance was not what he expected from the group in 2013 as he issued a shock profit warning just two weeks after taking over at the helm.

The Guardian

Economist defends Singapore bubble claims

Economist and Forbes columnist Jesse Colombo's initial argument, published on Monday, claimed that the Singapore economy faces a ballooning credit bubble - in its property and finance sectors and other parts of the economy - fueled by ultra-low interest rates. Much like Iceland, he argued, Singapore is being falsely perceived as a safe-haven economy that will eventually crash.

CNBC

Elon Musk’s SolarCity soars after Deutsche Bank upgrade to ‘buy’

Shares of SolarCity Corp., the rooftop solar-panel installer backed by Elon Musk, rallied Thursday after analysts at Deutsche Bank rated the company’s stock a buy, saying that sinking costs will allow the technology to better compete with existing utility grids.

MarketWatch

Shanghai to Test Yuan-Denominated Gold Contract

Gold buyers in the world’s biggest consumer of the precious metal want more of a say in its price, and the government wants to increase the international use of its currency: The Shanghai Gold Exchange is combining these two wants with the upcoming launch of an “international board” for gold trading in Shanghai’s pilot free-trade zone. Now, the question is whether investors demonstrate a need for gold contracts denominated in China’s currency.

Wall Street Journal

Egypte: un déluge de «oui» au référendum sur la nouvelle Constitution

En Egypte, les résultats officieux du référendum sur la nouvelle Constitution donnent le « oui » victorieux frisant les 98%. Un résultat qui ouvre la porte à de nombreuses critiques, tant en Egypte qu'à l’étranger. Pour plusieurs analystes, les premiers responsables de ce vote massif pour le « oui » sont les Frères musulmans eux-mêmes qui ont fait campagne pour le boycott du scrutin.

RFI

"Bangkok shutdown" feared to be going on until Feb. 2 election day

National Security Council chief Paradorn Patanatabut said the prolonged street protests, headed by former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban and several ex-legislators of the Democrat Party, might probably be going on until the polling date because they apparently meant to disrupt the electoral process and force acting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and members of the caretaker cabinet to step down.

Xinhuanet

Catalans vote on holding independence referendum

Regional MPs in Catalonia have voted to seek a referendum on breaking away from Spain, setting themselves up for a battle with an implacably opposed central government in Madrid.

Scotsman

Why Trying to Hurt China in the Trade Game Could Backfire Read more: Why Trying to Hurt China in the Trade Game Could Backfire

Michael Froman, the U.S. trade representative, is in the midst of negotiating two of the largest trade bills ever envisioned. The Atlantic and Pacific pacts, once completed, could encompass more than 60% of the world’s economy, including most of Europe and Asia. The dirty little secret about the treaties: they both exclude the world’s largest and fastest-growing economy: China.

Swampland

Supreme Court hands Monsanto victory over farmers on GMO seed patents, ability to sue

The high court left intact Monday a federal appeals court decision that threw out a 2011 lawsuit from the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association and over 80 other plaintiffs against Monsanto that sought to challenge the agrochemical company’s aggressive claims on patents of genetically-modified seeds. The suit also aimed to curb Monsanto from suing anyone whose field is contaminated by such seeds.

RT

ENQUETE : La Fed réduira encore son "QE3" en janvier

La Réserve fédérale devrait annoncer en janvier une nouvelle réduction de 10 milliards de dollars du montant mensuel d'actifs obligataires rachetés - actuellement de 75 milliards - malgré des créations d'emplois aux Etats-Unis nettement inférieures aux attentes en décembre, selon une enquête Reuters publiée vendredi.

Les Echos

The end of the mortgage party? Home lending plummets at Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase

The mortgage party is officially over. Rising mortgage rates mean that fewer people are refinancing their homes, which bludgeoned fourth-quarter mortgage results at Wells Fargo & Co. WFC +0.02% and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM -0.14% , the country’s leading residential lenders, according to earnings reports released Tuesday.

Market Watch

L’Ukraine ne veut plus de gaz européen

Le géant russe Gazprom a diminué les prix de son gaz naturel d'un tiers, après l'accord d'Union douanière signé en décembre entre la Russie et l'Ukraine. Kiev a immédiatement suspendu ses importations de gaz naturel venant des pays européens. Depuis le début de l'année, l'Ukraine n'a donc rien importé en provenance d'Europe.

Euractiv

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