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February 2008 Archives
"follow bangkoktraffic [on twitter] to get the most latest high traffic jam info."
Insane use of Twitter...
Having spent a decent amount of time enjoying the cuisine of both Italy and Japan, this is good news!
A farm near Milan is raising Japanese Wagyu cows to woo meat-loving Italians with the world's most expensive Kobe steaks.The Italians are hoping the tender, marbled beef will revive falling beef consumption and give their profits a boost.
Described by one chef as "the Ferrari of meat," Kobe has been making inroads in Italy even though it costs about 100 euros ($148.2) per kg to buy. That's twice the price of Italy's Fiorentina T-bone steaks from Chianina cows.
Italian farmers pin beef hopes on Japanese cows - Yahoo! News
Steve Lohr of the New York Times would have us believe that there are lessons to be learned from Japan's decade+ recession [From Japan’s Slump in 1990s, Lessons for U.S.] but I know that Richard Katz of the Oriental Economist knows better and Katz's commentary in the WSJ Asia is a more compelling read: Crisis Comparisons.
Three factors define the difference between today's American subprime crisis and Japan's lost decade: the source of the crisis, the magnitude of the strain and the response of policymakers.
More good news on the healthy Japanese economy from Takehiro Sato of Morgan Stanley: Be Prepared for Dual Recession
Stuff like this is always great to start the day with:
The risk of dual recession is mounting. Our US economics team is already calling for capex-induced negative GDP growth in successive quarters (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun), for a technical minor recession in the first half of the year by definition. We are forecasting that Japan will cling on to a modicum of growth in the Oct-Dec 2007 quarter, boosted by external demand, but there is a possibility that, like the US, that quarter will mark the peak and the economy will retreat in Jan-Mar.
Sato ends with another cheerful note:
Our China team believes that if signs of a pullback appear, the authorities could loosen their tight monetary policy and there is still ample scope for fiscal stimulus. The problem though is that taking macro measures once demand has already headed down is like pushing on a string, and frequently fails to achieve the intended effects. If China does fare worse than expected, the risk that a dual recession could escalate into a triple recession would come into play.
My good friend fleep.com has a great new deep house mix, City Streets, up at the XFADE dj archives. If you like deep house, I strongly recommend it.
NB: My comments are still broken so I'll turn them off for the time being.
