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U.S. criticizes Japan's latest 'clunkers' plan | The Detroit News U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Japan's decision to use EPA "city" mileage ratings instead of EPA "combined city/highway" mileage ratings as the basis for determining eligibility sharply limited the number of U.S. models that will qualify under the program in the world's third-largest auto … Read more

BoC, Other Banks Tighten Property Loans – JLM Pacific Epoch Some commercial banks are suspending loans to real estate developers, due to excess lending in 2009 and greater regulatory focus on real estate risk, China Business News reports February 3 quoting an unnamed commercial bank employee. (tags: China real_estate banks) Amazon's E-Book Price Reversal: A … Read more

Amazon's Self-Defeating War on Publishers | The Big Money Amazon, perhaps panicked by the degree of old-media collusion with its Cupertino rival, Amazon shut down the sales of all Macmillan titles–electronic and physical–on Friday. How that blatant act of bullying will advance Amazon’s agenda remains difficult to see. The lost sales will be significant for … Read more

Japan Kan says more BOJ action may be needed-media | Reuters The Bank of Japan may need to do more to beat deflation, the finance minister said in a newspaper interview, keeping pressure on the central bank to help support a fragile economic recovery (tags: Japan deflation monetary_policy) China moves again on lending, economy shows … Read more

US Firms Facing too Many 'Headaches' in China: Locke – CNBC Chinese policies that promote domestic firms and create barriers against foreign ones could cause American companies to lose interest in China, U.S.Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Thursday. (tags: trade_policy China) Washington Bickering Leaves Little Hope for Change – WSJ.com It's becoming increasingly clear … Read more

Dissecting the Media's 'Gloom and Doom' Short-term indicators, such as the AAII survey, are showing bumps in the road, as they swing from bullish to bearish extremes. However…we continue to see long-term disbelief by the major media in regard to the market's performance. This is all the more remarkable because it's counter-trend to what the … Read more

China Economy – Jim Chanos: China's Real Estate Bubble Is Unprecedented – CNBC The bubble in China's real estate is unprecedented and companies exporting for the country's construction sector should be watched carefully, James Chanos, president and founder of Kynikos Associates, told CNBC Monday. (tags: bubbles China real_estate) Obama to seek 3-year freeze on US … Read more

VIX and More: VIX Spike of 35% in Four Days Is Short-Term Buy Signal …from a timing perspective, a long SPX position entered after a 35% spike will generally perform best over the course of a five day time horizon. (tags: volatility VIX trading_strategy)

Taxing Wall Street Down to Size – NYTimes.com The banking system has become an agent of destruction for the gross domestic product and of impoverishment for the middle class. (David Stockman, a director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan) (tags: banking banks tax_policy)

President Obama: "Never Again Will the American Taxpayer be Held Hostage by a Bank that is 'Too Big to Fail'" | The White House This morning the President proposed what he called "the Volcker Rule," named after one of the fiercest advocates for financial reform over the past year, and who has been particularly focused … Read more