News for Thursday

Storms leave thousands without power across England

Thousands of homes and businesses in England have spent the day without power after areas were hit by winds of more than 100mph (160km/h).

BBC,

5 January, 2012

About 2,000 properties are without power in the East and West Midlands after supply was cut by falling trees and wind-blown debris.

A woman and 10-year-old boy were taken to hospital after a tree fell on their car in Shenley, Hertfordshire.

A wind gust of 111mph (178km/h) was recorded at Great Dun Fell in Cumbria.

The Met Office said the gust recorded at 2,780ft above sea level on Wednesday night was the highest wind speed recorded during the week

Winds of 93mph (149.6km/h) were recorded at High Bradfield, near Sheffield.

Asia Stocks Fall on Europe

Wall Street Journal,

5 January 2012

Chinese stocks finished at their lowest level in nearly three years to lead broad losses among major Asian markets Thursday, as worries about the property sector and tight liquidity conditions hit investor sentiment.

Japanese and Australian stocks also declined as investors turned more cautious after Wednesday's rally amid more fears over Europe's debt problems. Energy producers, lifted by rising crude-oil prices, boosted Hong Kong's

For article GO HERE

Australia: Heat fear for the poor

Herald Sun, 

31 December, 2011

VICTORIANS are living in sweat boxes, fleeing to shopping centres or sitting in cold baths over summer to cope with soaring power bills.

Welfare agencies fear growing numbers of householders are too scared to turn on airconditioners when it is sweltering because of crippling price rises.

Some are already going without proper cooling or heating for months at a time.

Victorian Council of Social Service chief Cath Smith warned the frail, elderly and those at risk of potentially disastrous health complications not to gamble with their lives.

"As temperatures go up and as bills go up, we would expect to see more rationing of power," Ms Smith said.

"But it is critically important for vulnerable people and those with chronic illnesses make sure they keep cool and drink water."

The Brotherhood of St Laurence says some customers are cutting back on food, heating frozen meals instead of cooking stews and using one lamp at night to save power.

Others stay cut off for months after failing to pay bills, a submission to the Australian Energy Market Commission warns.

Electricity prices for an average Victorian home jump up to 9 per cent from tomorrow, sparking calls to shop around for the best deal.

The Australian Energy Market Commission estimates a likely 33 per cent rise in the three years to 2013-14.

The State Government's extension of electricity concessions to the entire year will soften the blow for low-income households.

St Vincent de Paul Society spokesman Gavin Dufty said the Government should ban electricity disconnections when the mercury soars above 35C because of health implications.

The Essential Services Commission is investigating concerns about unfair treatment of customers and a rise in disconnections.

Mr Dufty said it was more expensive to cool a modern, open-plan home than a small room in an older property.

Japan Likely Relapsed Into Contraction

Bloomberg,

6 January, 2011

Japan’s rebound from the aftermath of a record earthquake was probably cut short in the fourth quarter as the impact of Europe’s crisis outweighed the support from reconstruction spending.

Gross domestic product (JGDPAGDP) probably shrank in October and November, pointing to a 0.1 percent contraction for the quarter, according to calculations by the Japan Center for Economic Research, an independent analysis group in Tokyo. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is among banks cutting projections for GDP in the period.

“It was a very tough quarter for the Japanese economy,” said Yuki Masujima, a senior economist at JCER who used to compile economic forecasts at the Bank of Japan. (8301) “The biggest risk this year is the double-hit from the European crisis -- first from the strong yen that will make it harder for exporters to sell their products, then from the drop in real demand.”

A third contraction in four quarters would widen Japan’s gap with China, which overtook it as the world’s second-largest economy in 2010, and undermine a global recovery clouded by Europe’s failure to contain the debt crisis. It also risks deepening public opposition to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s plan, approved by the cabinet today, to double the nation’s 5 percent sales tax by 2015. Lawmakers from the opposition, along with some ruling-party members, have said a higher levy would undermine Japan’s fight against more than a decade of deflation.

For article GO HERE