– The Fed: Life after zero (CNN Money):
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Federal Reserve has a two-day meeting next week to discuss what to do with interest rates. That’s two days more than the central bank needs.
– False Fears of Deflation in Dangerous Inflationary Waters
(American Institute for Economic Research)
– Tim Geithner: Too Close to Goldman Sachs to Be Treasury Secretary, Critic Says (Yahoo Finance)
– China Rejects Currency Manipulation Charge (New York Times)
– China denounces US currency accusation (Reuters)
– Obama Signals Tough Restrictions on Banks in Rescue Package (Bloomberg)
– McCain Now Obama’s No. 1 Senate Ally (NewsMax):
GOP Sen. John McCain is positioning himself to be one of President Barack Obama’s strongest supporters, effectively giving Democrats the votes they need to override any GOP attempt to block the new administration’s legislative agenda.
– Intelligence Agencies’ Databases Set to Be Linked (Wall Street Journal)
– California jobless rate jumps to 9.3 percent (Reuters)
– ‘Stealth tax’ on recession victims (Independent)
– Lights go out across Britain as recession hits home (Guardian)
– Minister unleashes savage attack on ‘masters of the Universe’ over recesssion (Daily Mail)
– City Minister Lord Myners attacks bankers for greed and arrogance (Times Online)
– Venture Capital Fell 33% Last Quarter to Lowest Level Since ’05 (Bloomberg):
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Venture-capital investment dropped 33 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, hammered by a recession that drove software deals to their lowest levels in a decade and cut access to capital for alternative energy firms. Total investment in startup companies fell to $5.4 billion, the lowest total since early 2005,
– Schlumberger sheds 5,000 after oil price fall (Financial Times):
Schlumberger, the world’s biggest oil services company, on Friday said it would reduce its staff by 5,000 worldwide as it reported a 17 per cent drop in fourth-quarter earnings following the collapse of oil prices.
– Bank of America holders sue over Merrill purchase (BusinessWeek)
– Pressure builds on BofA’s Lewis (Financial Times)
– Taro Aso gives Japanese £100 each to spend way out of recession (Times Online):
The move, which he has described as “the best economic measure of all”, involves a handout of at least 12,000 yen (£100) to every citizen over the age of 18. The prospect of the windfall has unleashed a national wave of speculation about how the money might best be spent, and the eccentric world of Japanese retail is pushing hard to attract the cash. (What can you say???)
– Big Inflation Coming (Gold Seek)
– US allows use of embryonic stem cells (Financial Times)
– FDA approves human embryonic stem cell study (CNN)
– Frogs are being ‘eaten to extinction’ with one billion taken from wild each year (Daily Mail)