UK - A voluntary quarantine for the sick man of Europe. Strangely, the United Kingdom exhibits the same symptoms as Israel and the
United States. As is the case with Israel, Cameron must do the splits between
his public opinion, long nurtured in Euroskepticism, and the realities of the
exercise of power in England, which is wholly dependent on Europe. It therefore
seeks to avoid at all costs the 2015 referendum on the country’s EU membership,
while providing Euroskeptic guarantees to its population (particular the right
wing of Cameron’s party). But it is too late to change the English mind. Thus
Cameron must appear inflexible in negotiations while in fact releasing ballast
so as not to become entirely isolate, as seen in the EU budget negotiations. In
some way, the UK can be seen as having opted to quarantine itself from Europe,
nevertheless hoping to keep on weighing on EU decisions in a remote manner. From
the standpoint of our team, the resulting blocking of the EU in fact
increasingly emancipates Euroland, as we will see. LEAP/E2020 -
Excerpt GEAB N°70 (Dec. 2012)
Brazil Proposes WTO Candidate for 2013 . With recent WTO chiefs hailing from either Europe or Asia, a candidate
from Latin America or Africa is widely tipped for the prestigious trade position
next year. Several other people are jostling to take over from France’s Lamy
however, including candidates from Costa Rica, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico,
New Zealand and South Korea... Rio
Times
Vers l'abolition du «goulag chinois». Les sinistres camps de travail chinois pourraient disparaître dès cette
année. C'est le plus haut responsable chinois en matière de sécurité, Meng
Jianzhu, qui l'a annoncé ce lundi, en révélant que le projet de suppression du
système de «rééducation par le travail» avait été soumis aux commissions
compétentes du Parlement chinois... Le
Figaro
NHS being 'atomised' by expansion of private sector's role, say
doctors. 
Why Companies Still Aren't Likely to Invest—or Hire. Stocks are sharply higher for the very young 2013, but uncertainty abounds
as Congress faces critical deadlines in the months ahead that could yet lead to
a government shutdown, not to mention steep cuts in defense and domestic
spending and an inability for the U.S. to keep funding its massive deficit
spending. CNBC
Japan's Growing Sovereign Debt Time Bomb. The eyes of the financial world are on Greece and other heavily indebted
euro-zone countries. But Japan is in even worse shape. The country's debt load
is immense and growing, to the point that a quarter of its budget goes to
servicing it. The government in Tokyo has done little to change things...
Der
Spiegel
Turkey stops publishing details of oil imports from Iran. Turkey’s refiner Tupras has urged the country's statistics agency to stop
divulging details of its oil imports from Iran amid US sanctions on Tehran’s oil
sector over its nuclear energy program... Press
TV 
China: A New Economic Ground Plan. Policymakers wrapped up the Central Economic Work Conference on December
16, pledging to take both short- and long-term measures to ensure stable growth
in the future. They also reiterated a pledge to continue socialist market
reforms with an approach that will demand even greater political courage and
wisdom. Importantly, the leadership promised – for the first time –
clearly-stated plans and a road map for each area of reform. Caixin
White House sees promise in revisiting elements of ‘grand bargain’ on
taxes, spending. The White House is eyeing a return to elements of a “grand bargain” it
tried to reach late last year with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) as
perhaps the best hope of defusing a fresh threat to the U.S. economy in just two
months, according to people familiar with the discussions. Washington
Post
Emprunts étudiants: la nouvelle bulle qui menace les États-Unis. 1 000 milliards de dollars! C'est le montant des emprunts contractés par
les Américains pour leurs études. Un fardeau de plus en plus insupportable... et
une "bulle" qui pourrait exploser. Sur les réseaux de type Copains d'avant, qui
pullulent sur Internet, il n'est pas rare de voir des "amis" grisonnants
célébrer, à plus de 50 ans, la dernière mensualité de leurs cours de
sociologie... L'Express
Why the next U.S. downgrade will really matter. RBC Capital Markets is calling it: the U.S. is going to lose its triple-A
rating from another rating agency. And this one may matter more because it would
affect how investors have to look at the government’s debt. “In the absence of a
grand bargain in the next two months, it is likely that the U.S. is downgraded,”
analysts led by Tom Porcelli, RBC’s chief U.S. economist, wrote in a note
Thursday... Market
Watch
Signs of hope for euro zone, but new worry for U.K. - PMIs . entative signs the euro zone may have passed the worst of its downturn
emerged in December but business surveys also suggested Britain’s economy tipped
back into contraction in the final months of 2012. Friday’s purchasing managers
indexes, which measure the activity of thousands of companies worldwide, brought
mixed news from Europe... 
Congress’s feeble finish to the ‘fiscal cliff’ fiasco . The United States will have to wait longer yet for its inevitable budget
reckoning. Lawmakers are girding for battle over raising the debt limit, and
sequestration’s spending cuts will continue to threaten vital government
operations, including at the Pentagon. That means more brinkmanship in the next
couple months. Then Congress and President Obama will have to tackle future
annual budgets... Washington
Post 
U.S. mentally ill and their families face barriers to care. Lori, a 39-year-old mother in New Jersey, would like to save for the usual
things: college, retirement, vacations. But those goals are far down her wish
list. For now, she and her husband are putting aside money for a home alarm
system. They're not worried about keeping burglars out. They need to keep their
son in... Reuters
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This special Press Review reviews articles from the French and
Engligh-speaking international online media relating to the unfolding global
crisis.
It is delivered freely on a weekly basis to 60,000 recipients worldwide.
Subscription / Contact: centre@europe2020.org
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Subscription / Contact: centre@europe2020.org
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