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from Photographers Blog:
Inside the world’s biggest nuclear plant
Kashiwazaki, Japan
By Kim Kyung-hoon
“Sleeping nuclear giants” - That was my first impression when I visited the world’s biggest nuclear power station, Kashiwazaki Kariwa power plant in Japan's Niigata Prefecture.
GALLERY: IMAGES FROM THE PLANT
With seven reactors which can produce a total of 8,212 megawatts of electricity, this power station is officially registered as the largest nuclear power station in the Guinness Book of Records. But the reality of the power station is much different than its reputation. Two of its reactors were shut down for a time after the 2007 earthquake and the remaining reactors were taken offline for safety checks and maintenance due to public concerns about the safety of nuclear energy in the quake-prone country after Fukushima’s nuclear disaster.
However its operator Tokyo Electronic Power Co (TEPCO) hopes to get this power plant operating because they are overwhelmed by the soaring cost of fuel as well as radiation cleanup costs and compensation payments to displaced residents. TEPCO invited the Reuters multimedia team into the nuclear power plant in order to show their upgraded safety practice.
The tour of the nuclear power plant started as we passed through the tightly secured main gate and we entered the nuclear station which has been the scene of countless battles against the invisible threat of radiation.
from MacroScope:
Fiscal cliff could help U.S. avoid road to Japan – but probably won’t
The “fiscal cliff” is widely seen as a massive threat looming over a fragile U.S. recovery. But with a little imagination, it is not difficult to see how the combination of expiring tax cuts and spending reductions actually presents an opportunity for tilting the budget backdrop in a pro-growth direction, even if political paralysis makes this scenario rather unlikely.
For Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG in New York, the cliff presents a unique chance for the United States to avoid sinking deeper in the direction of Japan’s growth-challenged economy by shifting incentives away from consumption and towards investment:
from Breakingviews:
Japan risks consumer electronics death spiral
By Peter Thal Larsen
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
“We are among the losers in consumer electronics.” That frank assessment by Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga sums up the state of Japan’s once world-beating electronics industry. The economy is partly to blame for slumping demand for Japanese gadgets, but so are rivals like Apple and Samsung. The worry is that the financial squeeze undermines product development, leaving Japan ever further behind.
from Breakingviews:
Europe, China holding back Asian export recovery
By Wayne Arnold
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Asia’s export engine could remain stuck in neutral as long as Europe and China are slowing. An uptick in September exports has buoyed hopes for a U.S.-led rebound in regional trade. But in the past decade, Asian economies have shifted focus to Europe and responded to China’s rise by supplying the manufacturing juggernaut. A U.S. upturn alone won’t be enough.
from Ian Bremmer:
America’s way or Huawei
If you watched the third presidential debate this week, you got the sense that in the U.S.-China relationship, there are only good guys and bad guys, and all the bad guys are in China. The Americans are the valiant defenders of well-paying jobs; the Chinese are the ones who make tires so cheap it hurts the Americans. The Americans have a currency so free it’s the envy of the world; China’s is so manipulated it stunts competition the world over. But the squabbling isn’t limited to what you heard at the debate or just the two governments. It’s also happening between governments and private companies.
For years, Huawei, a Chinese telecom giant, has been trying to break into the U.S. market. Huawei wants to provide communication infrastructure to the U.S., but the U.S. wants to make sure Huawei, founded by former members of the People’s Liberation Army, isn’t actually a spy organization. Huawei claims to be just like any other Silicon Valley tech giant. U.S. intelligence agencies, despite finding no evidence of spying, view Huawei’s technology as too vulnerable to hackers. The House Intelligence Committee classified Huawei as a national security threat. State capitalism and the challenge it poses have expanded enough that the government is officially worried about them.
from The Great Debate:
America’s way or Huawei
If you watched the third presidential debate this week, you got the sense that in the U.S.-China relationship, there are only good guys and bad guys, and all the bad guys are in China. The Americans are the valiant defenders of well-paying jobs; the Chinese are the ones who make tires so cheap it hurts the Americans. The Americans have a currency so free it’s the envy of the world; China’s is so manipulated it stunts competition the world over. But the squabbling isn’t limited to what you heard at the debate or just the two governments. It’s also happening between governments and private companies.
For years, Huawei, a Chinese telecom giant, has been trying to break into the U.S. market. Huawei wants to provide communication infrastructure to the U.S., but the U.S. wants to make sure Huawei, founded by former members of the People’s Liberation Army, isn’t actually a spy organization. Huawei claims to be just like any other Silicon Valley tech giant. U.S. intelligence agencies, despite finding no evidence of spying, view Huawei’s technology as too vulnerable to hackers. The House Intelligence Committee classified Huawei as a national security threat. State capitalism and the challenge it poses have expanded enough that the government is officially worried about them.
from Breakingviews:
Japan exporters should fear slowdown, not boycott
By Wayne Arnold
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Squabbles over remote islands have sparked a Chinese backlash against Japanese brands. But China’s slowing economy is having an even bigger impact on Japan’s exports. And while China has toppled the U.S. as Japan’s biggest market, both nations face a common economic enemy in the form of plunging demand from Europe.
from Global Investing:
Ireland descends from risky debt heights
Good news for Europe as the cost for insuring sovereign debt against default fell in the third quarter of 2012, according to the CMA Global Sovereign Credit Risk report.
Ireland slipped out of the 10 most risky sovereigns for the first time since the first quarter of 2010 according to CMA, making space for Lebanon to enter the club of the world's ten most risky sovereign debt issuers.
from Breakingviews:
Softbank-Sprint tie-up gets bad signal from market
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By John Foley
Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son has received a strong signal from investors. They wiped $6.2 billion in value off the Japanese telecoms operator’s market value on Oct. 12 after it confirmed it was in talks with U.S. rival Sprint Nextel. That’s three times more than U.S. investors added to Sprint’s worth the previous day. No wonder: a takeover would be a financial stretch for Softbank, and could preclude other deals closer to home.
from Breakingviews:
BOJ’s conundrum is how to be more irresponsible
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The Bank of Japan has a conundrum: how to make a credible commitment to recklessly printing more money. The central bank wrote the primer on unconventional monetary policy a decade ago when it pioneered quantitative easing. But as other central banks have embraced loose money, the BOJ has become an increasingly forlorn figure in a crowded rogues’ gallery.
