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Monday 01.09.2012
Why Rising Debt Will Lead to $10,000 Gold
By: Nick Barisheff - MarketOracle.co.uk
Good afternoon, it's a pleasure to speak about gold at this Outlook for 2012.
Today, I'd like to focus on one important idea: the direct relationship between the rising price of gold and the rising levels of government debt that result in currency debasement. Since we measure investment performance in currencies a clear understanding of the outlook for currencies is critical.
Gold Bottom Targets Trend to $4000
There has been so much talk about gold and so little understanding of the reality behind the move in the price of the yellow metal over the last 90 plus days that I think it’s necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff. I want to discuss what gold has done, where it’s at now, and then end with where it’s going from here and postulate why it’s going to do what it will do.
Right now you need to understand that gold is beginning the twelfth year of major bull market; perhaps the most unprecedented bull market in our lifetime. Here’s a quick snapshot of what that bull market has looked like since the 1999 bottom and the 2001 retest of that bottom:
Gold, silver, platiniun, palladium
looks extremely bullish in 2012
CommodityOnline.com
GOLD High : $2100 Low : $1590 Average : $1765
Black swan events are by nature high-impact, hard to predict and beyond the realm of expectations. By that reckoning financial markets are awash with them and forecasting for Goldin this environment is treacherous. Never has forecasting been so difficult - gold's fortunes are primarily linked to those of the dollar and the Euro and by extension to decisions made by politicians.
Fundamentally gold remains a good bet - the market is supply constrained and demand in Asia remains robust. As such gold has a strong underpinning. However the 'economic premium' in the gold price may remain volatile, reflecting increased uncertainty and heightened anxiety during H1. On the negative side a firmer dollar (in election year) could provide a drag on runaway prices.
Exclusive Interview –
Ned Naylor-Leyland:
"The Chain of Custody
Behind Gold’s Price Setting Mechanism
Appears to be Breaking"
By Tekoa Da Silva - BullMarketThinking.com
I had the chance to speak with Ned Naylor-Leyland yesterday, Investment Director with Cheviot Asset Management, and adviser to an offshore precious metals fund. It was a spectacular interview, as Ned is one of the few truly free thinkers in the investment business today.
During the interview Ned shared his thoughts on the new PAGE(Pan Asia Gold Exchange) launch in 2012 & the great opportunities it will provide investors, the recent pullback in gold and silver, and what may end up taking gold to go much higher levels.
In regards to the impending PAGE launch Ned said, "The great thing about this new exchange in China and the philosphy behind it, is its harking back to the old days of gold where you pay cash and get your gold…they’re opening up a 1 to 1 fully allocated recieipts market in gold. If Jeff Christian is to be believed, there is 350 to 1 leverage[in the Western paper gold markets]. That will give you a 0.3% coverage interms of real metal behind your contract."
Rounding Errors In the Big Scheme of Things
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
The markets did a 'pop and flop' on the 'better than expected' payroll numbers. While the number did beat expectations, it was largely due to temporary hiring for Christmas delivery and sales that was not properly deseasonalized.
I did not write something about this, but I do wish to point out something new. The BLS has always rounded the headline number of course, but now they are starting to round the 'raw number' as shown in the first picture below. That I have never seen before.
Silver Confirms the Bullish Outlook for Precious Metals
By: Przemyslaw Radomski - MarketOracle.co.uk
The new year started off with a bang with precious metals out-shining the competition. Is this a harbinger of things to come? We think so and we are not alone. Forecasts for gold for 2012 include a price per ounce of $2,200 by Morgan Stanley, $2,050 by UBS, and $2,000 by Barclays.
The year 2011, for other than gold investors, has been a disappointment, more like a train wreck. Growth has been paltry, unemployment remained high, sovereign debt in the stratosphere. The U.S. political system has been dysfunctional unable to make easy decisions, never mind the hard ones. There was no housing rebound and the eurozone looked like it was a house of cards. But look on the bright side. Despite a prophecy by Harold Camping, the world did not end on May 21.
'Reasons why silver to hit $50 in April 2012'
By Ted Butler - CommodityOnline.com
I believe the short squeeze that took Silver to $49.73 in April has taught the commercials how tight the physical silver market actually is, and that the commercials "appear to have no interest in massively shorting silver again". As a result, I look for silver to make massive gains in the near futures, as the commercials turn and go net long, resulting in $50 silver appearing "cheap" in the near future.
The big commercial silver shorts had a near death experience when the price approached $50 in April. They were at the end of their rope and needed to do something in a hurry. That’s why they rigged prices lower; so that they could buy and save themselves. These well-connected commercials knew, perhaps for the very first time, just how tight the silver market had become and how close we were to a profound physical shortage. The key is that the silver shortage wasn’t caused by excessive speculative buying or a bubble or a mania. The extreme tightness and near shortage in silver was as a result of the gradual and cumulative impact of normal investment buying over the past five years. There is nothing to suggest that the long term and steady silver investment buying has ended.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Files 8k Form Initializing $15,000,000 in Gold-Linked Bonds
By Tekoa Da Silva BullMarketThinking.org
.... Additionally–Will the sucking sound of this first filing be one of many to vacuum away market capital which would otherwise have been allocated to mine financing?
It appears likely. But the major elephant in the room remains MF Global. The ramifications of their bankruptcy event have yet to be fully seen in the marketplace, and in this writer’s opinion, MF Global will be the first of many high-profile broker-dealer bankruptcies coming in the years ahead. Although short term pain, setbacks, and competing products continue to mount pressure on gold and silver mining share investors, when the final bankruptcy extinction-level event ripples through the global financial system, physical metal holders and mine owners will the be the kings and queens of tomorrow’s financial elite.
Russia, Iran Proceed With Bilateral Trade,
Drop Dollar; Russian Warships Park In Syria;
Iran Accelerates Nuclear Enrichment
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
For anyone wondering how the abandonment of the dollar reserve status would look like we have a Hollow Men reference: not with a bang, but a whimper... Or in this case a whole series of bilateral agreements that quietly seeks to remove the US currency as an intermediate. Such as these: "World's Second (China) And Third Largest (Japan) Economies To Bypass Dollar, Engage In Direct Currency Trade", "China, Russia Drop Dollar In Bilateral Trade", "China And Iran To Bypass Dollar, Plan Oil Barter System", "India and Japan sign new $15bn currency swap agreement", and now this: "Iran, Russia Replace Dollar With Rial, Ruble in Trade, Fars Says." And ironically, the proposal to dump the greenback did not come from Iran. Per Bloomberg: "Iran and Russia replaced the U.S. dollar with their national currencies in bilateral trade, Iran’s state-run Fars news agency reported, citing Seyed Reza Sajjadi, the Iranian ambassador in Moscow. The proposal to switch to the ruble and the rial was raised by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Astana, Kazakhstan, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the ambassador said."
Iran to launch nuclear work in bunker in "near future"
By Parisa Hafezi
(Reuters) - Iran will in the "near future" start enriching uranium deep inside a mountain, a senior official said, a move likely to further antagonize Western powers which suspect Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons capability.
A decision by the Islamic Republic to conduct sensitive atomic activities at an underground site - offering better protection against any enemy attacks - could complicate diplomatic efforts to resolve the long-running row peacefully.
American, British, Israeli and Iranian Warships
Sailing Towards Confrontation
Submitted by George Washington - ZeroHedge.com
The U.S. and Israel are conducting their largest-ever joint warfare exercises near Iran. And see this.
England is sending its most advanced ship – the HMS Daring – to the region.
Only days after finishing its last wargames in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has announced another set of wargames in February.
WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Looking behind the headlines:
- The people pushing for war against Iran are the same neocons who pushed for war against Iraq. See this and this.
- China and Russia have warned that attacking Iran could lead to World War III.
- War against Iran was planned at least 20 years ago.
Iran, Israel and US plan Gulf exercises
By James Blitz in London - FT.com
Tension in the oil shipping lanes of the Gulf looks set to intensify amid indications that Iran, Israel and the US will hold military exercises designed to test weaponry and tactics.
As the US and European Union press ahead with oil sanctions on Iran, Tehran’s defence minister announced on Friday that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps will hold large-scale exercises in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf next month.
Ex CIA Director Warns Iran on 'Inexorable' Path to Nukes
By Paul Scicchitano and Fred Fleitz - MewsMax.com
Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA, warns that Iran is on an "inexorable" path to develop a nuclear capability and that the time has come for international unity for the broader good.
Hayden declared in an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV on Friday that Iran is shaping up to be the single biggest threat of 2012.
Iran on edge over upcoming elections
Parliamentary elections in March seen as the most sensitive in the history of the Islamic republic
By Saeed Kamali Dehghan - Guardian.co.uk
Iran is set for what its senior officials have described as "the most sensitive" elections in the history of the Islamic republic, amid economic and political discontent at home and fears of a major confrontation with the west over its nuclear programme.
More than 5,000 candidates have put their names forward for parliamentary elections in March, the first national vote since the 2009 disputed presidential poll when popular uprisings against the results challenged the legitimacy of the regime.
Forget inflation: Is deflation the real threat?
By John Waggoner, USA TODAY
Ask most investors what they worry about, and they'll tell you it's inflation — specifically, a period of soaring prices that destroys the value of the dollar.
But a growing number of economists and money managers are starting to worry about the opposite of inflation: deflation, a period of falling prices and declining incomes.
Sure, the government's consumer price index has gained 3.5% the past 12 months. Even stripping out food and energy, the CPI is up 2.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. And anyone who lives in the real world knows you can't live without food and energy.
Oil Pipeline Bypassing Hormuz
Said to Be Delayed as Iranian Tensions Mount
By Bruce Stanley and Ayesha Daya - Bloomberg.com
A pipeline that would allow oil from the United Arab Emirates to bypass the Strait of Hormuz separating it from Iran has been delayed because of construction difficulties, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
As many as 270 construction issues have pushed back the completion date, said the two people, declining to be identified because they’re not allowed to speak publicly on the matter. The $3.3 billion project won’t be ready until at least April, one of them said. Abu Dhabi, holder of most of the U.A.E.’s oil reserves, had planned to start exports in January 2011 through the pipeline to a port outside the strait, Dieter Blauberg, the project’s former director, said in May 2009.
Durable during two years of crisis, the euro begins to slide
By Howard Schneider - WashingtonPost.com
Through two years of crisis, the embattled euro has stayed comparatively strong against the dollar, falling as Europe lurched from one difficulty to another but always rebounding.
But in recent weeks, the currency has begun a downward slide that some analysts see as longer lasting, reflecting the region’s worsening economic conditions.
A corrosive dynamic could be taking hold with European governments adopting austerity measures, banks scaling back credit to meet new regulatory demands and households and companies hunkering down for a possible recession.
'Dollar could hinder gold, but fundamentals still
LONDON (Commodity Online): Deutsche Bank said it still views gold’s underlying fundamentals as bullish and it anticipates a stronger U.S. dollar over the next few months will hinder advances for the yellow metal.
"The persistence of negative real interest rates will sustain the appeal of holding gold. We also expect central-bank Goldbuying will continue and that tail-event risk as it relates to the European sovereign-debt crisis and the ECB’s balance sheet will encourage Gold prices to recover," bank added.
Big tax break depends on difference
between being investor and being businessman
By John Aloysius Farrell - WashingtonPost.com
Todd Dagres, a prominent venture capitalist and independent movie producer, earned $3.5 million in 2003 and paid not a cent in federal income tax.
The IRS challenged the math and sent Dagres a bill for $981,980 in back taxes, plus $196,369 in penalties.
Dagres lawyered up. His attorneys waived one lucrative tax break to exploit an even better one and claimed victory in the case in March.
An Appalling Idea, Even by Washington Standards
by: Robert Greenstein - OffTheChartsBlog.org
For legislation to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of 2012, House Republicans are expected to push for a provision on unemployment insurance (UI) that is appalling even by current Washington standards. Neither President Obama nor Congress should accept any payroll-tax legislation that includes it. Here’s why:
The provision, part of a full-year payroll-tax bill that the House passed in December, would deny UI benefits to any worker who lacks a high school diploma or GED and is not enrolled in classes to get one or the other — regardless of how long the person worked or whether he or she has access to adult education, which itself has been subject to significant budget cuts in the past few years and is heavily oversubscribed.
China data, Geithner trip on Asia’s agenda
By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — China’s economy and its relations with the U.S. will likely be in focus in Asia during the coming week, as the markets begin to rev back up from the holiday season.
With investors across Asia awaiting policy-easing moves from Beijing, Chinese inflation numbers may prove key, as they will offer clues as to how much the central bank can loosen policy without risking a large run-up in prices.
Crisis Conditions Grip Eurozone
by Stephen Lendman - ThePeoplesVoice.org
From inception, the euro system was doomed to fail. In the 1990s, Progressive Radio News Hour regular Bob Chapman predicted it.
So didn't British economist/euro expert Bernard Connolly before its January 1999 introduction. His 1995 book titled, "The Rotten Heart of Europe: The Dirty War for Europe's Money" explained the risks in detail enough to understand.
More recently, he said troubled Eurozone countries can't cut their way to recovery. Austerity is a hairbrained disastrous policy. So is the "malignant lunacy of monetary union," combining 17 dissimilar countries under one monetary/fiscal system.
Davos:
10 power brokers to watch at the World Economic Forum
In just two weeks' time, global power brokers will meet in Switzerland in an attempt to pull the eurozone back from the brink of destruction.
By Louise Armitstead - Telegraph.co.uk
Fur and finance, snow and supremacy: there are just two weeks to go before global leaders converge at the World Economic Forum's annual jamboree in the Alpine resort of Davos.
Off the piste the heady mix of royalty, billionaire tycoons and top politicians are officially tasked with tackling "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models".
Rarely has a conference title had more poignant urgency: the European Union leaders' summit on the advancing debt crisis follows immediately on January 30. Germany's Angela Merkel, France's Nicolas Sarkozy, Christine Lagarde of the IMF and Mario Draghi, the boss of the European Central Bank (ECB), are among those most likely to spend the week crafting mechanisms to prevent the eurozone sliding off a precipice.
Monti Says No More Budget Cutting Needed
to Balance Italian Budget by 2013
By Andrew Davis - Bloomberg.com
The Italian government will not have to carry out an additional package of budget cutting measures to meet its goal of eliminating its deficit in 2013, Prime Minister Mario Monti said.
His government will now focus on producing a package of measures to spur economic growth and competitiveness in Italy to be presented before a meeting of European Union finance chiefs on Jan. 23, Monti said on the "Che Tempo Che Fa" talk show on state-owned RAI television.
Hungary Has No Preconditions
in Aid Talks With IMF, Ready to Apply Plan
By Edith Balazs - Bloomberg.com
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban abandoned all previous objections to a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, indicating his government was open to "any kind" of credit line to prop up financing.
"As far a we’re concerned, there’re no preconditions during negotiations, all issues that the involved parties deem necessary can be debated," Orban said in an interview with state news service MTI today. Tamas Fellegi, the country’s chief negotiator in aid talks, has a mandate to accept "any kind" of credit line that strengthens the country’s market financing, Orban said.
Bullard Says New Quantitative Easing Unlikely
By Vivien Lou Chen and Meera Louis - Blomberg.com
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the Fed probably won’t begin a new round of bond purchases following "encouraging" data showing the U.S. economy gained 200,000 payroll jobs in December.
"Hopefully, we will keep this momentum going in 2012," Bullard told reporters yesterday after a speech in Chicago. "The tone of the data has been very strong" and the central bank "probably could wait and see for now" before deciding whether there is a need for more accommodation, he said.
Who's in charge the next time banks fail?
In his supremely readable memoirs, Nigel Lawson picks apart what he describes as the "Johnson Matthey debacle".
By Kamal Ahmed - Telegraph.co.uk
The year was 1984 and Lord Lawson received a telephone call at 6am on October 1 informing him that the Governor of the Bank of England wanted to see him "before the markets opened".
At the duly arranged meeting some 90 minutes later, Lord Lawson was informed that Johnson Matthey Bankers (JMB) was on the brink of collapse. The Bank would need to take JMB over or face a possible run on the bank's parent company, Johnson Matthey, a key player in the London bullion market. Sir Robin Leigh-Pemberton, the Governor, explained that there was no alternative as all other options – a private sector rescue – had been exhausted. JMB, he explained, had a very bad loan book. Losses could total £100m and the Treasury (and hence the taxpayer) was in line to make up any shortfall in funding that could not be provided by the Bank.
Banks Can Go Below Basel Minimum Liquidity Levels in Crisis
By Jim Brunsden - Bloomberg.com
Banks will be allowed go below minimum liquidity levels set by global regulators during a financial crisis so that they can avoid cash-flow difficulties.
"During a period of stress, banks would be expected to use their pool of liquid assets, thereby temporarily falling below the minimum requirement," the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s governing board said in a statement on its website today, following a meeting in the Swiss city.
New Law Will Investigate FDIC's Role in Bank Failures
BY: RYAN SCHUETTE - TheMReport.com
The New Year began without any bank failures, but one new law will task the FDIC inspector general with checking the books to see if the agency helped exacerbate failures in 2011.
The bill’s sponsors, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Georgia) and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), hailed its passage in a joint statement.
"Community banks are the economic engine of our towns and cities, and the large number of failed banks in Georgia can have a devastating effect on our economic recovery," Westmoreland said.
SEC changes settlement rules
for companies found guilty of crimes
By David S. Hilzenrath - WashingtonPost.com
The Securities and Exchange Commission has modified its controversial policy of letting defendants settle cases without admitting or denying wrongdoing — but the change is so narrow and applies under such limited circumstances that one critic denounced it as "less than meaningless."
Until now, the SEC has condoned a contradiction. Defendants could plead guilty to criminal charges or be convicted of them and still settle related SEC civil cases by stating that they neither admit nor deny the agency’s charges.
'Renter Nation' rages on as new reality in U.S.
By Diana Olick, CNBC.com
Despite record low mortgage rates and rising affordability in most U.S. housing markets, rent is the new reality for former home owners and new households alike.
For some it is post-traumatic stress from the housing crash, for others it is the inability to get financing to buy a home. Either way, the rental market continues on its tear.
In the last quarter of 2011, the apartment sector saw its largest quarterly increase in occupied stock of the year, according to Reis Inc.
Freddie Mac to give unemployed homeowners a break
Freddie Mac will allow homeowners who lose their jobs to skip payments for up to a full year on loans backed by the mortgage giant.
By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times
Homeowners who lose their jobs will be able to skip payments on loans backed by Freddie Mac for up to a full year under a new policy taking effect Feb. 1 at the mortgage finance giant.
The change, doubling the forbearance extended to the unemployed, squares Freddie Mac's policies with those that its sister company, Fannie Mae, adopted in September 2010. The two firms, operating under government conservatorship since nearly melting down three years ago, own or guarantee more than half of all U.S. mortgages.
New rules allow
more holders of underwater mortgages to refinance
Changes in the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, remove some refinancing barriers for those with underwater loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
By Liz Weston - Money Talk - LATimes.com
Dear Liz: I have an adjustable-rate mortgage that is currently at 3.125%. I'd like to fix the rate, but no one will even discuss it with me because my house has been appraised at less than $100,000 and the balance of the mortgage is $144,319. I have never been late, and my credit scores are above 800. What can I do? I don't want a mortgage modification. I just want a fixed rate.
Answer: If your loan was backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and if it was originated before June 1, 2009, you may be in luck, thanks to recent improvements to the federal government's Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP.
Hidden Mortgage Tax
Gives Congress Another Way to Pick Your Pocket
BY DAVID ZEILER, Associate Editor, Money Morning
Americans had better enjoy the extra $40 they'll continue to get in their biweekly paychecks for the next two months, because most of them will be paying for it many times over in the form of higher mortgage costs.
Lost in the contentious debate over the payroll tax cut extension - a 2% cut in U.S. workers' Social Security tax - was the devious way Congress devised to pay for it.
The law that Congress passed - and U.S. President Barack Obama signed - included a provision that will increase a guarantee fee that finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge to mortgage loan originators - a fee that will get passed on to borrowers as a slightly higher interest rate.
Mortgage modification scams trap desperate homeowners
By Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press - USAToday.com
The foreclosure crisis that has spread across the country is producing another epidemic: mortgage modification scams that have cost desperate borrowers thousands of dollars — even their homes.
"There are devastating consequences to this fraud," said Christy Romero, deputy special inspector general who monitors potential fraud in the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
White House calls for modest 0.5% pay raise
for federal civilian workers
By Ed O’Keefe - WashingtonPost.com
After a two-year freeze in federal workers’ salaries, President Obama will propose a 0.5 percent pay increase for civilian employees as part of his 2013 budget, senior administration officials said Friday.
The plan is likely to become part of an election-year confrontation between the White House and Congress over government spending. Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates have called for freezing basic pay rates for at least one more year, with some pitching it as a way to pay for extending the payroll tax cut.
Fed Policy Makers Urge More Housing Aid
By Scott Lanman and Vivien Lou Chen - Bloomberg.com
Three Federal Reserve policy makers said the U.S. government should try new ways to spur the housing market without agreeing about how much more the central bank needs to do to bring downinterest rates.
New York Fed President William C. Dudley said in New Jerseyyesterday that "additional housing policy interventions" can help boost growth, even as the Fed should consider further easing. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, speaking in Connecticut, took the more-aggressive position of supporting the purchase of mortgage-backed securities, while Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke said in Virginia that the central bank’s current monetary stance is "appropriate."
Fracking for oil, natural gas spurs sand mining in Midwest
By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press - USAToday.com
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. – The rolling hills and scenic bluffs of western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota hide a valuable resource that has sparked what's been called a modern-day gold rush.
The object of desire is not gold but a soft sandstone needed by drilling companies to unlock underground natural gas and oil supplies in a controversial practice called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Largely overlooked in the national debate over fracking is the emerging fight in the U.S. heartland over mining "frac sand," which has grains of ideal size, shape, strength and purity. Mining companies say the work provides good jobs in rural areas, but some residents fear the increase in mining could harm human health and the environment.
Five myths about the American dream
By Michael F. Ford - WashingtonPost.com
Few ideas are as central to American self-identity as the “American dream.” Politicians invoke it, immigrants pursue it, and despite unremittingly negative economic news, citizens embrace it. But what is the American dream? We began regular study of how people define and perceive the dream three years ago, and have discovered many misunderstandings worth a second look.
New Jersey Will Pay You $1000
To Destroy The 2nd Amendment
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
There is nothing more disgusting or detestable than a citizen informant. Without citizen informants, tyrants could never retain the kind of power they wield. In fact, without citizen informants, totalitarian movements would never gain traction. This is why EVERY functional oligarchy throughout history has implemented programs designed to encourage the development of common spies, using the promise of monetary reward, or collective recognition.
Sadly, there are many in our society that would gladly sell out their closest friends and family to the tortures of authoritarian bureaucracy for nothing more than a firm pat on the head and a few fiat dollars. If there was ever a more degraded lot of bottom feeding opportunist scum, the citizen informant is the very epitome.
Cadillac Reveals Compact ATS
Sport/luxury sedan designed to compete with German models is due for unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show.
By Bob Golfen - Automotive.SpeedTV.com
Cadillac today introduced its 2013 compact sports/luxury sedan, the ATS, prior to its unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show this week, revealing the all-new car designed to compete with such premium compacts as the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class that dominate the segment.
With the styling of Cadillac’s new Art and Science credo, the rear-drive sedan boasts the lowest curb weight – 3,400 pounds – of its class along with the choice of three engines, two four-cylinders and a V6.
Where Did Nine Million Cable Subscribers Go?
By Peter Kafka - AllThingsD.com
New year, new chance to talk about cord-cutting/shaving/avoiding. Which is either a big deal that’s going to get bigger, or basically imaginary, depending on who you like to listen to.
If you’re in the big-deal camp, then you’ll like a new survey from Deloitte, which finds that a staggering one in five U.S. residents say they have either cut the cord or are thinking about doing it. The breakdown: Nine percent of survey respondents say they’ve recently cut the cord and are getting their shows from Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, etc. And another 11 percent say they might do it.
Apple coming to Target?
From Best Buy to Apple: The Transformation of Retail
By Tim Carmody - Wired.com
All Best Buy stores sell Apple products. Over 600 of them feature dedicated "Apple Shops," hands-on "stores within stores" that prominently feature Apple’s full line and (in 250 stores) specially trained solution consultants.
Apple Shops don’t just extend the reach of Apple’s own retail stores; they’re an oasis in the giant and often disorienting desert of warehouse-style big-box retail. Even if you don’t use a Mac, the shops just look and feel nice. Borrowing Steve Jobs’ joke about running iTunes on Windows, these tidy little Apple shops can feel like giving a glass of ice water to someone in hell.
David Cameron: we will not negotiate over the Falklands
There is "no question of negotiating" with Argentina over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, David Cameron pledged on Sunday.
By Robert Winnett - Telegraph.co.uk
The Prime Minister said that he had spent a "serious amount of time" ensuring the security of the Falklands amid renewed Argentinian hostility over the islands.
Last month, the Argentinian president called for urgent talks over the future of the islands and South American countries banned ships from the Falklands using their ports.
Argentina's Capital Flight
The government clamps down as the economy deteriorates and capital attempts to flee the country.
By Mary Anastasia O'Grady - WSJ.com $$
[Google title for free article pass]
Travelers in Latin America are accustomed to the sight of trained dogs searching luggage for illegal narcotics. But last month Argentine President Cristina Kirchner began employing her teams of savvy canines to root out a "crime" that she has reason to fear more than drug trafficking: the flight of dollars to Uruguay.
Argentina imposed capital controls in 2002 and in November tightened them again, requiring all currency transactions to be authorized by the tax agency on a discretionary basis. Then came the dollar-sniffing brigades, and not only at the airport. Beachcombers traveling by car ferry across the Rio de la Plata this summer are being met by four-legged inspectors on the prowl for greenbacks leaving the country.
China syndrome dictates Barack Obama's Asia-Pacific strategy
Obama has no wish to conjure the spectre of a new cold war but is determined to beat back any Chinese bid for hegemony
By Simon Tisdall - Guardian.co.uk
Barack Obama made a special trip to the Pentagon this week to unveil America's post-Iraq, post-Afghanistan defence strategy. But amid all the president's talk about a leaner American military, evolving challenges of the new century, and shifting priorities after a decade of warfare, one particular word was nowhere to be heard: China.
The omission is understandable, but misleading. As a politician running for re-election as a peacemaker, Obama has no wish to conjure the spectre of a new cold war with the only serious challenger to America as number one global superpower.
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