The crass callousness displayed by the developed and the developing while deliberating on climate considerations at Copenhagen last week didn’t really come as a surprise. The developed don’t want to change their lifestyles and the developing want essentially the same lifestyles for themselves.

The dollar is going strong again, oil is at 73 and equities are chugging along. Growth of unemployment has slowed, bankers are beginning to smile, though brooding over pay restrictions being slapped, and life is, well, going on.

Europe suddenly realised last week that Moody’s had become “the de facto decision maker” on Greece’s ability to receive loans from the ECB! Greece’s sovereign ratings have been downgraded by Moody’s and S&P and ECB will have to alter rules to accept Greece’s sovereign bonds as collateral. Meanwhile, the ECB claims to have developed a reliable model that can predict asset price busts two years in advance.

Germany now boasts of 300 solar farms, and is expanding solar energy furiously, though sceptics insist it might go the way Spain did as it will be difficult to sustain subsidies. A recent report says one of every seven Germans is below the poverty line, the definition being 60% or less of per capita income.

China is apparently trying to gently cool its property market by imposing taxes on transactions, and is expanding nuclear power from nine to 70 gigawatts by 2020 and further to 400 by 2050. New nuclear power capacity being planned is three times what the rest of the world is planning. Foreign trade is to grow 15% next year, compared to a decline of nearly 18% this year, to a little over $2 tn, though there are apprehensions of more protectionist measures by trading partners. In Jan-Sep 2009, 88 anti-dumping investigations were launched by 19 countries against imports from China.

Japan said it is determined to fight deflation, Brazil is moving to get into satellite launch business again, in cooperation with Ukraine (it had put it on hold in 2003 after a disaster that killed 21), and Peru’s sovereign credit rating has been upgraded one level by Moody’s.

And the US? Well, it would say where it is after Christmas sales figures are out in early January. As long as the Dow stays above 10K and a euro is worth less than USD 1.5, Americans believe there is nothing to worry about. A defence budget of nearly $700 bn was passed by the Senate without a whimper on Saturday. US may ask those securitizing loans to retain five percent of the risk, though financial innovation isn’t about to become history. The latest is covered bonds, secured by a pool of loans, to be issued by banks. Meanwhile, two US senators have independently proposed reinstatement of The Glass-Steagall Act, which bars banks from investment banking. There is some support for this in UK also.

Consciousness about the need to focus more on jobs than on indices appears to be increasing. While Obama implored US bankers strongly last week to lend more to SMEs, China is offering incentives to lure graduates to rural areas and small firms.

Citi shares had to go at $3.15 last week. Wells Fargo is to repay $25 bn of TARP funds after raising $10 bn from share sale, and Goldman Sachs is being sued by a retirement fund for paying excessive bonuses. Credit Suisse has agreed to pay $536 mn in fines for having helped Americans evade taxes and for carrying out transactions with Iran, Libya, Sudan, Burma and Cuba; it even published guidelines for explaining how clients could escape US taxes.

ExxonMobil announced purchase of XTO Energy for about $30 bn in stock, which would make it the largest producer of natural gas in US; more acquisitions of smaller gas producers are expected by markets.

ArcelorMittal, employing 285000 worldwide, is planning to cut 10,000 jobs in Europe, VW is to takeover MAN and Scania, and GE says the worst is over but expects flat performance in the near future. Philips says sales of consumer electronics are picking up and revenue in Q4 may exceed euro 2.8 bn. Foster Wheeler is moving its headquarters to Switzerland as nearly 85% of its revenue comes from outside North America.

Carlsberg expects a superlative performance in 2009 because Russia has decided to hike excise duty by 200% from Jan 1 next; beer sellers are stocking up. Renault, with partner Nissan, says it will continue to cooperate with Russia’s Avto as the collapsed Russian market is expected to bounce back next year.

Google has been asked to pay about half-a-million USD in damages to French publisher La Martiniere for having scanned the latter’s publications without express authorization. Analysts believe Google is looking forward to monopolise information in the long term. Nike says it would stand by Tiger Woods and expects to resume growth this quarter. Ryanair of Ireland has dropped plans to order 200 aircraft from Boeing, for delivery in 2013-16.

US army enlistments of Asians have risen 80% this year because of promise of citizenship and believe it or not, the state of Pittsburgh is to impose a one percent tax on tuition fees.

The Pope has started using YouTube and MySpace for reaching out to youth and has started communicating through www.pope2you.net and a team of techies is busy creating quizzes on the Bible. A digital rosary was developed a year ago.

A British law firm has sold more than 60 divorce vouchers, intended to be used as Christmas gifts, that entitle the holder to a 30 minute consultation with a divorce lawyer. Germany and Spain are saddled with excess swine flu vaccines because their citizens aren’t interested in the ‘protection,’ perhaps because they know a flu is a flu is a flu.

The teaser last week was how did Tiger Woods manage to keep so many affairs secret for so long? Perhaps he should at least write a book, if not offer training.

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