ROUND-UP
FT markets round-up:"Stocks are struggling for traction as the bull run that has taken many equity barometers to multiyear or, in some cases, record highs endures one of its periodic pauses. The FTSE All-World index is down 0.2 per cent, retreating from its latest four-year peak as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.1 per cent and after the Asia-Pacific region shed 0.3 per cent. Wall Street's S&P 500 is slipping 4 points from its best close in five years of 1,556, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading near its previous record close of 14,447." (Financial Times)
Coca-cola probed over mapping in China: "The government of a remote province in western China says it is investigating Coca-Cola over allegations that it illegally mapped parts of the province, as China and the US engage in an escalating war of words over cyber espionage. The Yunnan Geographical Information Bureau of Surveying and Mapping said the US drinks company had been "illegally collecting classified information with handheld GPS equipment", according to a Yunnan government website." (Financial Times)
Republicans unveil $4.6 trillion of cuts: "Republicans in the US House of Representatives have unveiled a staunchly conservative fiscal package that would slash government spending by $4.6tn over a decade and balance the budget within 10 years, with spending and revenues each worth 19.1 per cent of the economy. On Tuesday, Paul Ryan, chairman of the House budget committee and former Republican vice-presidential nominee, presented for the third consecutive year a budget that cuts deeply into US social programmes, while sparing defence and not raising any new revenue beyond tax rises on the wealthiest Americans agreed in January." (Financial Times)
Spy chief warns on budget risks to security: "Automatic budget cuts are threatening to cause "insidious" damage to US intelligence services and leave the country more vulnerable to cyberattacks and terrorism, the country's leading intelligence official warned yesterday. James Clapper, director of national intelligence, said that the US risked the same sort of "downward spiral" in intelligence capabilities that it witnessed before the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington ." (Financial Times)
FURTHER FURTHER READING
- Mortgage equity withdrawal less negative.
- Commodity prices in the (very) long run.
- Crude Sachsisms.
- What is your long Kindle book? See also.
- Gold is the worst investment of 2013.
- Why Apple has to become more open.
- The world's biggest gold-hoarders, why it doesn't matter.
- German central bank profits from ECB bond-buying.
- The myopic empiricism of the minimum wage.
