Tensions
over money flows bode poorly for global economy - (www.reuters.com) For
a bunch of people who just agreed the global economy is
doing better, top officials from the world's rich and poor nations sound rather
worried. For poor nations, the easy monetary policies in advanced economies are
leading to big swings in capital flows that could destabilize emerging markets.
For rich countries, the hoarding of currency by developing nations is blocking
progress toward a more stable global economy.
Those tensions, which have been brewing for years, seemed to be rising as finance ministers and central bank chiefs from
the Group of 20 economies gathered last week in Washington, as evidenced by
harsh words from Washington and Delhi. Both rich and poor say they are acting
in their own self interest, and what makes the conflict so intractable is that
both have very rational arguments. Even though the G20 agreed
the global economy was on better footing, the tensions suggested little
progress ahead in rebalancing the global economy away from a state where the
rich world borrows massively to buy things from the poor world. "This is
not a healthy place," Raghuram Rajan, governor of India's central bank,
told a panel ahead of the G20 meeting.
Small
U.S. Colleges Battle Death Spiral as Enrollment Drops - (www.bloomberg.com) At
a Dowling College campus on Long Island’s south shore, a fleet of unused
shuttle buses sits in an otherwise empty parking lot. A dormitory is shuttered,
as are a cafeteria, bookstore and some classrooms in the main academic
building. “There’s a lot of fear here,” said Steven Fournier, a senior who
lived in the now-closed dorm for his first three years. “It’s not the same
college I arrived at.” Dowling, which got a failing grade for its financial
resources from accreditors last month, epitomizes the growing plight of many
small private colleges that depend almost entirely on tuition for revenue. It’s
been five years since the recession ended and yet their finances are worsening.
Soaring student debt, competition from online programs and poor job prospects for
graduates are shrinking their applicant pools. “What we’re concerned about is
the death spiral -- this continuing downward momentum for some institutions,”
said Susan Fitzgerald, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service in New York. “We
will see more closures than in the past.” Moody’s, which rates more than 500
public and private nonprofit colleges and universities, downgraded an average
of 28 institutions annually in the five years through 2013, more than double
the average of 12 in the prior five-year period.
J&J gives up on Botox rival - (www.cnbc.com) Johnson
& Johnson said
on Friday it was ending its efforts to bring to market a rival drug to Allergan
Inc's popular Botox anti-wrinkle treatment. J&J had acquired the drug,
PurTox, with its 2009 purchase of Mentor, a leading maker of breast implants
for cosmetic augmentation and reconstructive surgery. "After careful
consideration, our Mentor business has decided to discontinue its neurotoxin
program, commonly known as PurTox, in order to focus on its core breast surgery
business, where we are an established leader and see greater opportunities to
benefit patients and grow our business," J&J spokesman Thomas Sanford
said in an emailed statement. Ending the PurTox development program will result
in the elimination of a small number of jobs in the United States, the company
said. Botox is Allergan's biggest selling product with annual sales of more
than $2 billion and little serious competition.
Ukraine's
east braces for anti-rebel operation as deadline passes - (www.reuters.com) Pro-Russian
separatists on Monday ignored an ultimatum to leave occupied government
buildings in easternUkraine while
another group of rebels attacked a police headquarters as a threatened military
offensive by government forces failed to materialize. Rebels in the town of
Slaviansk, which was expected on Monday to be the focus of a broad government
"anti-terrorist" operation involving the army, issued a bold call for
Russian President Vladimir Putin to help them. Ukraine's interim president
Oleksander Turchinov said on Monday the offensive would still go ahead. But in
a sign of discord behind the scenes in Kiev, he sacked the state security chief
in charge of the operation.
Finance
Officials Push for Bold Action to Sustain Economic Growth - (www.nytimes.com) At
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual spring meetings, concerns
about crisis have given way to concerns about complacency. The euro zone has
re-emerged from recession. Emerging-market jitters have quieted. The fiscal
battles in the United States have abated. But the recovery remains fragile and
in many cases, growth remains sluggish, leaving a jobs gap of 62 million. “The
overriding topic for discussion will be the topic of growth, quest for higher
growth, better quality growth, more inclusive growth and sustainable growth,”
said Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the fund, speaking with
reporters on the eve of the weekend conference. “We need to act now.” Underlying
the discussions of inflation, interest rates, fiscal balance and trade policy
among the assembled ministers were concerns about Ukraine, as news of
pro-Russian activists seizing official buildings in the eastern part of the
former Soviet republic sent jitters through the meetings. Officials said they
hoped that the situation would not escalate. But if it did, it might pose
serious consequences to Europe’s fragile recovery.
No
doubt that Russia behind unrest in Ukraine: UK's Hague - (www.reuters.com)
Ukraine Tension Turns Deadly in ‘Worst Case Scenario’ - (www.bloomberg.com)
Ukraine Tension Turns Deadly in ‘Worst Case Scenario’ - (www.bloomberg.com)
Markets wrong to think euro
crisis over: UBS chair
Technology Bears Miss Payouts After Giving Up on Shorts - (www.bloomberg.com)
Putin Turn to China Heralds New Look at Yuan Debt: Russia Credit - (www.bloomberg.com)
Technology Bears Miss Payouts After Giving Up on Shorts - (www.bloomberg.com)
Putin Turn to China Heralds New Look at Yuan Debt: Russia Credit - (www.bloomberg.com)
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