Europe has to do whatever it takes By Martin Wolf

Astonishingly, yields on Italian and Spanish 10-year debt have fallen from 6.3 per cent and 7.0 per cent, respectively, at the beginning of August 2012, to a mere 2.3 and 2.1 per cent early this month. That is below the yield on UK gilts.

Fiscal policy also continues to tighten, even though interest rates are at the zero bound: the OECD has forecast that the cyclically adjusted fiscal deficit of the eurozone would shrink from a mere 1.4 per cent in 2013 to an even more austere 0.9 per cent in 2014.

Russia restricting Austria's gas supplies

According to the energy regulator E-Control, Gazprom supplied Austria 15 percent less gas than had been previously agreed. Similar issues have hit Poland, which has seen their supplies cut by 45 percent, and Slovakia, which has ten percent less gas than expected for the period.

Poland on Thursday accused Russia's Gazprom of slashing gas deliveries by half, which analysts said was likely aimed at sending a message to the EU amid tensions over the Ukraine conflict.

How Much Europe Depends on Russian Energy

How Much Do People Forget?

In Runquist’s 1983 study, the best learning method produced average forgetting at 34%, whereas all the other learning methods produced average forgetting of 78%

Switch to Natural Gas Won't Reduce Carbon Emissions Much, Study Finds

In its announcement, the academy recalled Alfred Nobel’s desire that his prize be awarded for something that benefited humankind, noting that one-fourth of the world’s electrical energy consumption goes to producing light.

The iEconomy

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work

How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes

The third great wave

A third great wave of invention and economic disruption, set off by advances in computing and information and communication technology (ICT) in the late 20th century, promises to deliver a similar mixture of social stress and economic transformation

Powerful, ubiquitous computing was made possible by the development of the integrated circuit in the 1950s

Back to reality

Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF  VGK

UPDATE: European stocks might enter the sweet spot in 2015

Technology isn’t working

Technology isn’t working

n the 1970s the blistering growth after the second world war vanished in both Europe and America. In the early 1990s Japan joined the slump, entering a prolonged period of economic stagnation.

German Study Finds GM Crops Good for Farmers and the Environment

Solar and Wind Energy Start to Win on Price vs. Conventional Fuels

In Texas, Austin Energy signed a deal this spring for 20 years of output from a solar farm at less than 5 cents a kilowatt-hour.

Without subsidies, the firm’s analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents.

The Debate About GMO Safety Is Over, Thanks To A New Trillion-Meal Study

The Debate About GMO Safety Is Over, Thanks To A New Trillion-Meal Study

Europe’s German Ball and Chain

The Broken Model Of The Eurozone

The North is competitive. The South is 20% overvalued.And I realized that's all you need to know about the eurozone and about why it will fail. Or has already failed, to put it more accurately. There's no other information required. Other than a bit of context, perhaps, to clarify.Before the euro and the eurozone, countries like Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, would perform 20% or more lower economically than Germany or Holland would. And that was kind of alright, because periodically, their governments and central banks would revalue (devaluate) their currencies down against;

Of course, Germany hated this to an extent, since it made it harder for its industries to compete against Greek and Italian companies. Which may, by the way, well be a mostly hidden reason for them to push the eurozone on the Mediterranean.