Daily Digest 3/12 - Fed Officials Await Clear Economic Signals, Up To 47 Dead In Homs, Japan's Energy Rebellion

• As Fed Officials Prepare to Meet, They Await Clearer Economic Signals
• The Unpersuaded
• 'Many Dead' In Fresh Homs Attacks
• ut Of Course It's Not One Giant Cesspool Now Is It?
• High Oil Prices Cushion Iran from Sanctions
• Japan's Energy Rebellion
• How The Yakuza Went Nuclear
• Nuclear Disaster in Japan Was Avoidable, Critics Contend

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Economy

As Fed Officials Prepare to Meet, They Await Clearer Economic Signals (jdargis)

The Fed plans to complete by the end of June its current campaign to suppress long-term interest rates, keeping borrowing costs low for businesses and consumers. Some Fed officials see no reason for new measures, as the economy appears to be gaining strength. Others are eager for a new campaign, arguing that the recovery remains weak. But public remarks by Fed officials suggest a decision will not come before the committee’s next meeting in April.

The Unpersuaded (jdargis)

'Many dead' in fresh Homs attacksNo Speaker of the House had ever refused a President’s request to address a joint session of Congress, but the House Republicans refused to budge, and the back-and-forth, which was dominating and delighting the political news media, threatened to overwhelm the President’s message on jobs. In the end, Obama agreed to speak on the eighth.

'Many Dead' In Fresh Homs Attacks (jdargis)

Mr Hague's comments echoed those of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who said the Syrian government had "failed to fulfil its responsibility to protect its own people and instead has subjected its citizens in several cities to military assault and disproportionate use of force".

ut Of Course It's Not One Giant Cesspool Now Is It? (June C.)

Take a minute and read that last line again for me. Now think about buffoon extraordinaire Cramer's admonition "of course he's not a hack he's been on CNBC before". Think about Quintanilla's question to serial ponzi-ist Allen Stanford "Whats it like to be a billionaire". Think about all the grovelling and ass kissing of the D.C. and Wall St. oligarchy by the boobs and boobs in chairs from the propaganda network CNBC. JPMorgan will pull their advertising from the offending network if they have someone on again?!

Energy

High Oil Prices Cushion Iran from Sanctions (James S.)

Some of Iran’s problems will come from tanker companies being unable to secure insurance if they carry Iranian petroleum. This obstacle, however, is likely to be overcome by trucking gasoline through Asia and by building overland pipelines to Pakistan, India and China. Pakistan is already openly defying the US on this score. Petroleum is fungible, and once it leaves Iran, it is hard to see how it can be sanctioned. In essence, it can be laundered. During the sanctions on Iraq in the 1990s, the Baath regime was able to smuggle petroleum through Jordan and Turkey and to squirrel away billions with which to cushion its officials. The Iraqi middle classes were destroyed, but that development benefited the regime, since they no longer had the wherewithal to oppose it.

Japan's Energy Rebellion (guardia)

The anti-nuclear movement grows in the wake of public distrust of TEPCO. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.

How The Yakuza Went Nuclear (guardia)

Tepco has long been a scandal-ridden company, caught time and time again covering up data on safety lapses at their power plants, or doctoring film footage which showed fissures in pipes. How was the company able to get away with such long-standing behaviour? According to an explosive book recently published in Japan, they owe it to what the author, Tomohiko Suzuki, calls "Japan’s nuclear mafia... A conglomeration of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, the shady nuclear industry, their lobbyists..." And at the centre of it all stands Japan's actual mafia: the yakuza.

Environment

Nuclear Disaster in Japan Was Avoidable, Critics Contend (jdargis)

But some insiders from Japan’s tightly knit nuclear industry have stepped forward to say that Tepco and regulators had for years ignored warnings of the possibility of a larger-than-expected tsunami in northeastern Japan, and thus failed to take adequate countermeasures, such as raising wave walls or placing backup generators on higher ground.

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